Information for offer holders
Applying for a Visa – Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies
- Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)
- CAS statement
- Prospective Students
- Students Who Have Different Tier 4 Sponsor
- Reporting Responsibilities
- What should you do?
Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)
Before applying for your visa (or a visa extension) you will need a CAS from Loughborough University as your sponsoring institution. The CAS is a virtual document, similar to a database record. This will be issued to you as a number which you will need to state when submitting your visa application.
- If you are a new student applying for a new visa to study at Loughborough University, you will be provided with a CAS once you have meet the full conditions of your offer and confirmed how you will be funding your studies, but you cannot use the CAS to apply for a visa earlier than three months before your start date.
- If you are a current student and are applying for a visa extension, you will need to visit the Student Enquiries Counter in the Rutland building.
- Please note that if you are not attending any formal lectures, tutorials etc. as part of a taught degree programme or undertaking supervised research-based activities as part of a research degree you will NOT be eligible for a CAS.
If you are a new student, you will be able to submit your visa application within three months of the commencement of your studies. If you apply earlier than this three month period, your application will be refused. So for example, if you are coming to study with us in October 2012, then you are not permitted to apply for your visa before July 2012. Your CAS will be valid for six months.
If you are an existing student, you can come and apply for a CAS for your visa extension up to 6 months before your existing visa runs out.
CAS Statement
As the first step, the University will apply to the UK Border Agency (UKBA) on your behalf for a CAS. This electronic CAS application will provide the UKBA with detailed information (see below). When it has received the CAS, the UKBA will allocate a number to the CAS and inform the University of this number.
The CAS number is a vital piece of information for you and it will be notified to you by the University as part of a CAS Statement. This document will be sent to you by email and will repeat the information submitted to the UKBA with the CAS application. This includes personal information about you, data about your programme of study, any amounts paid towards your tuition fees to date, and crucially (for new students only) the statement stipulates which key documents the university reviewed in making the decision to grant you a place on the programme named in your CAS (typically certificates or transcripts for your qualifications and evidence of how you meet English language requirements).
It is important that you check the information associated with your CAS as you will need to ensure that this matches the information you provide when making your visa application. Any documents mentioned in the ‘Evidence used to obtain offer’ section will also need to be provided with your application.
For further details on the student visa system, please visit the Studying in the UK pages of the UKBA website.
Prospective Students
Prospective Undergraduate Students
The CAS will be issued by the Undergraduate Admissions Office to students who have:
- Made Loughborough University their firm choice through UCAS
- Satisfied all the conditions of their offer
- Provided the University with a scanned copy of their current passport via email to admissions@lboro.ac.uk
- Entered their current passport number on UCAS Track
If you have a conditional offer, you need to send us the results of your examination and English language qualification (if relevant) before we can issue a CAS.
If you are booked onto a Pre-Sessional English Language Course that is shorter than three months, and have met all other conditions of your offer, your CAS will be for both the language course and your undergraduate degree programme.Prospective Postgraduate Taught Students
The CAS will be issued by the Postgraduate Taught Admissions Office to students who have:
- Satisfied all the conditions of their offer
- Completed and returned their Acceptance Form
- Completed and returned their Financial Confirmation Form
- Provided the University with their passport number
Please note that if you are booked onto a Pre-Sessional English Language Course that is shorter than three months and have met all other conditions of your offer, your CAS will be for both the language course and your postgraduate study.
Prospective Postgraduate Research Students
The CAS will be issued by the Research Student Office to students who have:
- Satisfied all the conditions of their offer
- Completed and returned their Reply Form
- Provided a letter confirming their sponsor (if applicable)
- Provided us with their passport number
Please note that if you are booked onto a Pre-Sessional English Language Course that is shorter than three months and have met all other conditions of your offer, your CAS will be for both the language course and your postgraduate study.
Students Who Have a Different Tier 4 Sponsor
This information is relevant to students in the UK who already hold Tier 4 permission which was obtained to study elsewhere following a visa application made on or after 31 March 2009. It would be preferable for you to apply to the UKBA to extend your visa for studies at Loughborough University before your course starts – you will then know that you have permission to complete all your studies. However, this may not always be possible. How you can change your Tier 4 sponsor and whether you can enrol at Loughborough University will depend on when you applied for your last visa:
If you applied for your current Tier 4 visa before 5 October 2009, you must at least apply for written permission from the UKBA to study elsewhere. You can request permission to switch your Tier 4 educational sponsor by sending form T4 (PTS) ‘Application for Permission to Switch Tier 4 Educational Sponsor’ to the UKBA. If you have applied to the UKBA as required you can start a new course but you do so at your own risk as the UKBA may subsequently refuse permission. Before allowing you to register we will ask you to provide:
- Proof of when you applied for your current visa e.g. your passport page and/or Biometric Residence Permit (BRP), recorded delivery receipt, UKBA acknowledgement letter, and
- Proof that you have applied for permission from the UKBA to study your course at Loughborough University, e.g. proof of recorded delivery postage, UKBA acknowledgment letter, or
- A copy of the UKBA decision granting you permission to study your course at Loughborough University.
If you have already applied to the UKBA to extend your Tier 4 visa and are waiting for a decision, you can instead provide: a copy of your last immigration permission (passport or Biometric Residence Permit (BRP)) and proof of application, e.g. recorded delivery receipt, UKBA acknowledgment letter.
In order to continue with your studies, we will require proof that permission has subsequently been granted by the UKBA, when new immigration permission is granted you must show this to Student Enquiries or the Research Student Office as appropriate.
If you applied for your current Tier 4 visa on or after 5 October 2009, you must make a fresh Tier 4 application to the UKBA while you still hold immigration permission before your course starts. If you have applied to the UKBA as required, you can start a new course but you do so at your own risk as the UKBA may subsequently refuse your application. Before allowing you to register we will ask you to provide:
- A copy of your passport pages and/or Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) showing your identity and last immigration permission, and
- Proof you have applied before your last immigration permission expired, e.g. recorded delivery receipt, UKBA acknowledgment letter.
Reporting Responsibilities
Both students and the University must comply with Home Office requirements under Tier 4 of the Points Based System, further information is available here. If you hold immigration permission as a Tier 4 student, failure to comply can result in you being reported to the UKBA which could lead to your immigration permission being cancelled.
What should you do?
- Make sure we have your current email address as most, if not all, correspondence with you will be by email.
- If you have applied with the support of an Agent or Education Advisor, please ensure that we also have your personal email address.
- Ensure that you send us all relevant documents (such as transcripts) and that you also accept the offer of a place as quickly as possible to enable us to request a CAS for you promptly. The University will need time to check documentation and then make the CAS application to UKBA.
- If you have not already provided the University, or if you are applying for an undergraduate course UCAS, with your passport number, please ensure that you do so as soon as possible.
- Please apply for your visa, or make a visa renewal, as early as possible within the three months prior to the start of your course as it can take up to 15 working days and sometimes even longer for the UK Visa authorities to consider your visa application.
- Make sure you register with the University at the appropriate time after arrival.
- Make sure you comply with the terms of your visa and report relevant information to the University and UKBA as required.
Undergraduate Students - admissions@lboro.ac.uk
Postgraduate Taught Students – pgtadmissions@lboro.ac.uk
Postgraduate Research Students – pgresearch@lboro.ac.uk
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