UK Student Visa Guidance

You will be eligible to apply for a student visa if you can claim the 70 points required under the student visa category.

• 50 points for having a valid Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from Sotheby’s Institute of Art
• 10 points for having enough money to cover course fees and monthly living costs, also known as maintenance or funds. If you have studied in the UK for the last 12 months and making an in-country student visa application you do not need to provide financial evidence to the UKVI.
• 10 points for the English Language requirements. An applicant will also meet the English language requirement if:
• - This requirement was met successfully in a previous application made either outside or inside the UK.
• - You have obtained either a GCSE, A Level or Scottish equivalent in English language or literature following education at a UK school whilst below the age of 18.
• - Students who are nationals of Malta will be classed as being from a majority English speaking country. Such students can rely on their nationality, and students of other nationalities can submit academic qualifications taught at an institution in Malta.
• You must meet the Financial Evidence requirements
• You must not be subject to refusal under general grounds (for example, declared previous refusals/criminal records etc.)

To apply for your student visa you must

• hold an unconditional offer for a full-time course Sotheby’s Institute of Art and have been issued with a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)
• prove that you can pay for your course and living costs in the UK

Please ensure you read all the guidance provided by the UKVI before contacting us.

You can follow these steps to prepare your documents for your student visa application.

Your Conditional /Unconditional Offer

We encourage you to please read the conditions of your offer letter and the terms and conditions very carefully. By accepting an offer for a place to study at Sotheby’s Institute of Art London, you agree to all of the Student Contract/Terms and Conditions.

A conditional offer means that you have not yet fulfilled the criteria set in your offer letter, such as academic requirements, English language or other entry requirements; please refer to your offer letter. If you are awaiting results of an English Language test please ensure that you submit the result as soon as it is available to. You will need to bring the original certificate when you enrol at the Institute (unless Sotheby’s Institute of Art is able to verify your results online with the test provider e.g. IELTS TRF service).

Other documents required for an unconditional offer. These may include submitting a copy of the bio page of your current passport, copies of any previous Student visas you have held, or an academic reference. Please ensure you email these documents as soon as possible to the Admissions Team.

Once you have met the conditions of your offer, you must contact the Admissions team who will then assess that you are eligible to be upgraded to an unconditional offer in order for Sotheby’s Institute of Art to be able to issue a CAS.

An unconditional offer means that you have been offered a place to study at Sotheby’s Institute of Art and do not have any outstanding conditions that need to be met before you can be accepted onto the programme.

Once you have achieved unconditional status, you can submit your bank statements for assessment, and any other relevant supporting documents and Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) request to the Visa Compliance team. Your student visa application must be supported with a CAS. Your CAS letter will be sent to you by email and you must enter the CAS reference number in the relevant section of the student visa application. You do not need to submit your CAS letter when applying for your visa.

Please note that you will not receive an unconditional offer or be issued with a CAS until we have received evidence of your English language ability (if you were required to submit this).

Obtaining your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from Sotheby’s Institute of Art.

The Institute can only issue a CAS when you have met the following conditions:

• You have achieved unconditional offer status;
• You have provided evidence of all qualifications as requested;
• You have provided a copy of the passport you intend to use to apply for your student visa
• You have demonstrated that you are a genuine student and have met all of UKVI's student visa eligibility criteria;
• You have met all of the Institute’s CAS eligibility criteria;
• You have provided evidence that you have sufficient funds to cover your tuition fees and living expenses during your studies; and
• You have paid either your full first semester tuition fees unless you are exempt.

UKVI Finance and Maintenance Requirement

Please note: If you have studied in the UK for the last 12 months and making an in-country student visa application you do not need to provide financial evidence to the UKVI.

The UKVI requires you to show that you have at least £1,334 for each month of your studies up to a maximum of nine months which is £12,006 If you're a financially sponsored student, your sponsor must be officially recognised as such (e.g. British Council, a government, an international organisation or company, a university).

If your sponsor is not meeting all your costs then you must provide proof that you have the remaining funds available.

Students who are applying for permission to stay in the UK and have been living in the UK with permission for 12 months or more on the date of application won’t need to meet the financial requirement.

Your tuition fees can either be held in your bank account for the 28 days required or you can pay them directly to the Institute. Your

CAS can be updated with any additional fee payments you make if you inform us.

You must provide the Visa Compliance Team evidence that you have sufficient funds to cover your tuition fees and living expenses during your studies (this applies to all applicants including nationals from countries that are eligible for 'different documentary requirements' by UKVI). This evidence must be in the form of a bank statement (covering28 consecutive days period-finishing on the date of the closing balance) or other document confirming the funds available to you.

Tuition Fees

The tuition fee amount you need to pay will be indicated in your CAS. Please note that any outstanding tuition fees must be paid by or on enrolment.

Please note that once we have received all required documents and/or fee payment your CAS will normally be issued within 5 working days from the date of receipt.

Issuing a CAS and/or a CAS Letter does not guarantee that an applicant will be successful in securing a UK visa/leave to remain permission. The Institute is not responsible for any decisions made by the Home Office/UKVI and cannot accept any liability for an applicant failing to obtain a visa/leave to remain and/or for the consequences and/or losses (whether financial or otherwise) of such failure. Nor is Sotheby’s Institute of Art liable for consequences of declining to issue a CAS/CAS Letter for an applicant on request.

Deadline for Applying for a CAS

If you are applying for a CAS from outside the UK. Latest date we will assign you with a CAS if you have confirmed you will be using one of the following visa applications services

Standard Visa Application service – 4 weeks before latest start date

Priority Visa Application Service- 3 weeks before latest start date

Super Priority (1 day) Visa Application Service- 1 week before latest start date.

Requesting your CAS

The CAS request form can be found on MySIA in the Visas section. Access to MySIA is granted after you have made your tuition deposit. Please contact admissions@sia.edu if you have not yet received access to MySIA.

Applying for Your student visa

Once we have assigned your CAS and you have received your CAS letter from us, you should be able to apply for your student visa. If you are applying for a visa from outside of the UK, please refer to the UKVI student visa guidance for information on the visa application process. Please provide us with a copy of your visa once it has been approved.

How and Where to Submit Your Application

A student visa application is made on-line, unless you are from North Korea, in which case you must make a paper application. You need to make the application from the country that you are ordinarily resident in. If you hold a residence permit in a country other than your nationality you may be able to apply from there. Please check this first with the local British Embassy/High Commission.

When to Make an Application

The earliest you can submit an application is six months before the start date of your programme. If you submit an application earlier than this you will automatically be refused. The application date is the date you pay for your application (whether this is online or at a visa application centre). This is the date shown on your payment receipt. Healthcare charge All student visa applications made for a programme of study of more than 6 months in duration must pay a fee for access to the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. You must pay this fee in advance and it is a mandatory requirement for a visa application. If you do not pay it your visa application will be refused.

What Do You Need to Make an Application?

• Application form: You will need to print off a copy of your on-line application.
• Application fee: You will need to pay the application fee NHS surcharge: You will need to pay the immigration health surcharge fee as part of your application. You can calculate the surcharge fee using the calculator on the UKVI website
• Passport(s): You will need to provide your current passport and any previous passports needed as part of the application
• Proof of qualifications: You will need to provide certificates or transcripts of the qualifications you used to obtain your unconditional offer at the Institute. These documents will be listed on your CAS. You only need to provide the documents listed there. If your documents are not in English you will need to provide official verified translations in addition to the originals
• English language: Your CAS letter will state whether you need to provide proof of English CAS statement:

Your CAS from the Institute

• Financial evidence: For information about what evidence you need to provide for your finances please click here. If your documents are not in English you will need to submit an official verified translation.
• TB screening; in some countries you must show that you have been screened for Tuberculosis (TB). Please check with your local visa application centre to find out if you need to obtain a certificate confirming you are free from TB before you apply for a visa. More information can be found on the UKVI website.

Travelling with Family Dependants

• You can bring your husband, wife, unmarried partner, and children (under 18) to the UK with you as a Student dependant if one of the following applies to you:
• You are studying a postgraduate course of 9 months or more
• You are a government-sponsored student and studying a course at any level of 6 months or more
• Your dependants can apply to enter the UK at the same time as you or they can apply separately at a later date. If they do not apply at the same time as you they should ensure that you have received your visa before they make an application themselves.
• Each of your dependants will have to show that they have at least £845 for each month of the main Student migrant's leave, up to a maximum of 9 months (£7,605).
• You and your family dependants will have to apply for entry clearance in your home country before travelling to the UK.

Before following the application instructions below, please review these three initial steps:

• Step 1: Your Offer
• Step 2: Your CAS
• Step 3: Your Student Visa

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How to Apply for your Student Visa

You will need to complete an online application form which includes paying the relevant fee. The cost of a standard student visa application is currently £348. Priority and super priority services may be available at a higher cost.

As part of the application process, you will need to prove your identity. As an EEA or Swiss national you can do this using the UK Immigration: ID Check app. Using the app, you will need to scan your passport with a biometric chip and upload a photo of yourself. You will need either an iPhone 7 or later model or an Android phone to use the app.

You will firstly need to complete the online student visa application. When you get to the identity verification stage you will be given instructions to verify your ID using the phone app. Guidance on using the app is provided on the gov.uk website.

If you can’t use the app

If the app does not work on your phone, you could ask a family member or friend to use their phone. You only need to use the app to verify your ID. No information is stored on the app and you can delete it from the phone after you have completed this step. If you are still unable to use the app, you will need book an appointment at a visa application centre as part of your application.

If you don’t have a biometric passport

You will need to book an appointment at a visa application centre as part of your application.

Documents

As an EEA/EU or Swiss national, you qualify for differentiation arrangements when you apply for your student visa. For most students this means you do not need to provide documents to support the application except for your passport, which will be used to verify your identity via the app. Some clarification is outlined below.

English language ability

No evidence of English language ability needs to be submitted as part of the visa application, even if this was a condition of your offer to study at the Institute.

Your CAS will confirm that the Institute, as a Higher Education Provider, has assessed your English language ability and it is at the required level.

Financial requirements

As an EEA and Swiss national, you are not required to provide any financial evidence to support your student visa application. UKVI advises that you should still make sure you have the required funds and they reserve the right to ask you to provide evidence of this. You are expected to have sufficient funds to cover your course fees as stated in your CAS plus £1334 in living costs for each month of your course up to a maximum of 9 months. The guidance on the gov.uk website has further information about financial requirements.

TB Screening

If you have only lived within the EEA/EU and Switzerland in the last 6 months, you will not need to have a Tuberculosis (TB) test as part of your student visa application. If you are coming to the UK for more than 6 months and have lived for at least 6 months in one of the countries specified by UK Visas and Immigration on their website in the period prior to making your application, you will be required to provide a TB clearance certificate with your application.

Health Surcharge

Applicants coming to the UK for 6 months or longer will be required to pay a mandatory immigration health surcharge to access healthcare services in the UK. This is charged at £470 per year for the duration the visa will be granted. If the permission granted includes part of a year that is 6 months or less, the amount payable for that year would be £235. Payment is made online as part of the visa application. The amount charged is calculated based on the course start and end dates inputted into the application form and takes into consideration the short post-study period you will be granted on the end of the visa.

If your visa application is not successful, you will automatically be refunded the immigration health surcharge (but not the visa application fee).

Application outcome

You will receive an email confirming the outcome of your application. The visa will be granted as a digital immigration status which you can view online if you used the verification ID app.

Your student visa will be valid:

• from 7 days before your planned date of travel to the UK, as stated in your visa application form

OR

• from the date of issue if granted after the intended date of travel as stated on the visa application form.

Check your digital status to make sure the information is correct. Contact the Admissions Team immediately if you identify any errors.

Need assistance?

We offer general advice sessions for EU applicants on how to apply for a student visa. To schedule an appointment, click here. Please note these are short basic information advice sessions and we cannot help you complete a student visa application during one of these appointments.

Please email a scanned copy of your visa to the Admissions Team once it has been approved.

Important Notice

Issuing a CAS does not guarantee that a student will be successful in securing a student visa. Sotheby’s Institute of Art London is not responsible for any decisions made by the Home Office and will not accept liability for any student failing to obtain a visa and/or for any losses incurred. Points to help you avoid a visa refusal include:

Only using your CAS number to apply for a visa up to six months before the date your course is due to start.

When you make your student visa application you must include all original documents stated on your CAS, where required. Failure to do so could result in a visa refusal.

If you are applying for your student visa from inside the UK your course must start within 28 days of your current visa expiry date.

The issuing of a CAS is at the Institute's discretion and Sotheby’s Institute of Art reserves the right not to issue a CAS under certain circumstances. Examples include:

• insufficient time to make a successful Student visa application
• student does not have the required maintenance funds
• student is unlikely to arrive before the latest course start date
• student has submitted documents or made statements that are deemed to be fraudulent
• CAS request is submitted after the deadline
• CAS request is submitted more than 90 days before a course starts

Academic Progression

In order to show academic progression the new course should normally be above the level of the previous course for which permission to stay in the UK as a student was granted (ie, progressing from an under graduate to a postgraduate degree programme).

However, if the new course is at the same level as the previous course, it may exceptionally be considered to represent academic progression. If you wish to study a course with us which is at the same level as your current course, you are advised to contact the Admissions Office for further advice.

Exemptions

You are not required to demonstrate academic progression in the following circumstances:

• you are making a Student visa application from overseas
• you are making a first application to complete an existing course commenced at a student sponsor that had its license revoked
• you are applying to re-sit an examination or repeat a course module
• you are applying to complete the PhD or other doctoral qualification for which you were last given Tier 4 or student leave (including where you are completing the qualification at a new sponsor).

UK Home Office guidance on applying for a student visa: https://www.gov.uk/student-visa 

UKCISA guidance on applying for a student visa: https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/