Applying for your CAS and Student Visa

Once you have accepted your unconditional offer of a place, you will be required to complete the CAS Shield process, pay your deposit and complete the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) request form. 

New students can request a CAS from six months before the start of their course, providing the visa application will be made outside of the UK. If the visa application will be made from inside the UK, a CAS can be requested up to three months before the course start date. As part of the assessment of your CAS request form, you may be asked to attend a Pre-CAS interview.

To request a CAS you will need to:

• Hold an unconditional offer from the University of Lincoln.
• Have paid your tuition fee deposit. The amount will be outlined in your offer letter.
• Complete the online CAS request form by logging into the University's online application system, OneUni. Once you have logged in using your applicant ID number and password, please click on the 'My Details' function in the 'Forms' tab.
• Students from Ghana, India, Iran, Iraq, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Syria should ensure they have completed their Pre-CAS interview after submitting their CAS request and before paying their deposit.

You may be required to provide a bank statement after submitting your CAS request. This is to ensure that the financial documents you submit with your visa application meet the requirements of the Student Visa route. Please see "Step 2" below for details of these requirements.

Please note: if you pay any further fees after your CAS has been issued, please do not request that your CAS be updated. Instead you should submit official proof of your payment with your visa application.

We strongly encourage applicants to complete the deposit payment and CAS request process as soon as they are eligible to do so. This will help to ensure you have sufficient time to apply for your visa and to arrive in the UK before the start of your studies. You may also be required to clear a pre-CAS interview before being issued with your CAS.

Before you pay your deposit and complete the CAS request form, please visit the UK Government website to find out more information regarding the different types of visa services that may be available and the cost. It is important that you also carefully check the visa processing times in the country you are applying from.

Once you have submitted your CAS request, the International Admissions Team will carry out final checks on the documents you have provided to ensure that they meet UKVI, as well as University, requirements. If additional information is requested, please ensure that you provide this as quickly as possible to enable the International Admissions Team to assess your eligibility for a CAS.

As part of the application and CAS issuing process, the International Admissions team may ask you to consent to having your academic documents verified. You will be asked to provide written consent.

How are documents verified?
The verification is carried out by QCAS – Qualification Checked At Source, in association with Qualification Check. Once you have provided written consent, your transcript and certificate will be uploaded to the QCAS portal and QCAS will contact your institution directly for verification.

How long does verification take?
This really depends on how long it takes for your institution to respond to the request from QCAS. The average is 7-10 working days.

What happens if I do not wish to give my consent?
If you do not wish to consent to having your documents verified, you can inform the International Admissions team and the team will withdraw your application. If you have paid a CAS deposit, the University of Lincoln’s Admissions Terms and Conditions give details of the University’s refund policy.

As part of your visa application, you will need to show evidence that you have sufficient funds to cover the cost of the first year of your course, or the whole course if it is less than 12 months long. You will also be required to show that you have enough funds to cover your living costs such as food and accommodation – this is often referred to as ‘maintenance’ by the UK Home Office.

For visa applications made on or after 30 November 2026 the amount of money you will need to show is increasing to £1203 per month of your course, up to a maximum of 9 months. For visa applications made before this date, the amount of money you need to show for your living costs is £1171 per month of your course, up to a maximum of 9 months.

The above amounts are set by the UK Government and are subject to change, so it is important that you carefully check the most up-to-date information prior to submitting your application.

If you are self-funding, you will need to provide evidence that you have held the required amount of money for at least 28 consecutive days before the date of your visa application. This will usually be in the form of a bank statement, or a letter from your bank. Detailed information regarding acceptable forms of evidence can be found by reading the Student Visa policy guidance document on the UK Government website.

Your bank statement must be in your name, or in one or both of your parent’s or guardian’s names. You can use more than one bank account if you wish.

If you use a parent’s bank account as evidence, you must also provide a birth certificate or household register showing the relationship between you and a letter from your parent giving you permission to use the money in the account. If your funds are not in British pounds (GBP) then you should use the OANDA currency converter to show how much your money is worth on the date of your visa application.

Sponsored Students

If you have an official financial sponsor, you will be required to provide a letter from your sponsor confirming this. If your sponsor is not covering all your maintenance requirements, you must show that you have the remaining funds yourself (see above). Further information regarding who can be an official financial sponsor and the details they must provide can be found by reading the Student Visa policy guidance.

In addition to preparing your financial evidence, you will also be required to submit supporting documents. This includes:

• Evidence of any qualifications or English language tests that are referred to on your CAS
• Receipts for any money you have paid to the University for tuition fees, or for University accommodation (up to £1,265)

Additional supporting documents that maybe required include:

• ATAS certificate If you are studying a certain science or technology based course, you may be required to obtain an ATAS certificate. If this applies to you, the University’s Admissions team will specify the requirement in your CAS
• TB test

Depending on your country of residence, you may be required to have a tuberculosis (TB) test. Further information regarding TB tests can be found on the UK Government’s Tuberculosis tests for visa applicants page.

It is important that your supporting documents are originals as copies are not accepted. If the documents are not in English or Welsh, you will be required to provide an official translation.

Complete your Visa Application Form and Attend Your Appointment

After you have prepared your supporting documents and financial evidence, you will need to complete a Student visa application. As part of your application, you will be required to pay a visa fee in addition to the Immigration Health Surcharge.

You can apply for your visa no more than 3 months before your course start date, and no more than 6 months after you get your CAS. The time it takes to process visa applications can vary so we recommend that you visit the UK Government website to see how long this is likely to take.

As part of the online visa application, you will be required to book an appointment to attend a Visa Application Centre in order to submit your documents. You will also be required to have your biometric information taken such as your fingerprints and a photograph. You may also be asked to attend a Credibility Interview.

After your Visa Application Centre appointment, you will receive a decision letter from UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) regarding the status of your visa application. If your application has been approved, you will be issued with a visa sticker (called a vignette) in your passport. The vignette will be valid for 30 days to enable you to travel to the UK. It is important that you carefully check that your details are correct on the vignette and your decision letter as soon as you receive it.

Credibility Interviews

As part of your visa application, you may be asked to attend a credibility interview to ensure that you intend to travel to the UK for genuine reasons. Interviews may take place face-to-face, by telephone or via a video link, and you must attend if asked to do so or your visa application could be rejected.

If you are called for an interview, you may be asked questions about:

• Your ability to speak English (even if you have met the IELTS score for your course).
  
  
• Your knowledge of the course you are going to study
  
  • Details about your course e.g. the modules you will be studying
  • Details about the qualification which your course leads to
  • Details about how you found the course/university you have applied for
    
    
• Your academic history
  
  • Details of your previous study
  • Details of any study gaps you may have
  • Details about why you are returning to education now.

• Your plans to return home after studies
  
  • Details about what you are planning to do after you have completed your studies.
• Your personal details
  
  • Details about your family at home or in the UK
  • Details about who is supporting your studies
  • Details about what you plan to do with the qualification after the course

• Your finances. The Interviewing Officer may ask questions about your financial background. They may question where money has come from based on current wages, family background etc.

The interviews may take place face-to-face or by telephone or via a video link. If you are asked to attend an interview, you must do so. If you do not attend without providing a reasonable explanation this will result in your visa application being rejected.

Declaring Previous Visa Refusals When Submitting Your Application

Please ensure that you inform us of any visa refusals that you have previously received when you submit your application, and provide a copy of your refusal document(s).  Please note that this requirement is not limited to refusals for the UK.

If you subsequently submit a CAS request form, the refusal documentation will be assessed in order to determine whether the University is able to issue you with a CAS. 

If you have previously had a visa refused on credibility grounds, or because it was claimed that you had provided fraudulent documents, it is unlikely that the University will be able to issue you with a CAS.  However, if you successfully appealed the refusal decision, then the University may approve your CAS request.

As stated in the University’s Student Admissions Terms and Conditions (PDF), if it is discovered that your application contains material inaccuracies or fraudulent information, or that significant information has been omitted from your application form (for example, previous visa refusals), the University may withdraw or amend your Offer, or terminate your registration at the University.  In such circumstances, any deposit paid by you will be retained by the University.

Arrive in the UK and Collect Your eVisa

Once you have received your visa, you will need to arrange your travel to the UK and ensure you arrive in Lincoln by the start date displayed on your Confirmation of Acceptance of Study (CAS) document.

When you arrive in the UK, you will be required to show the vignette and your decision letter (mentioned in step 4) to immigration officials at the border.

Students will be required to show their eVisa upon enrolment for verification by the University. Find out more about the new eVisa on the UK Government website. 

To help you prepare for your travel to the UK, our pre-departure webpages contain lots of helpful information and advice, including what to pack, how to get to the UK, and what to expect in your first few weeks.