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UK student visa: how long the Student Visa takes, what it costs, and whether it leads to permanent residence

Q: Do you need a job offer for Student Visa?

Not published on the page we read. The opened GOV.UK Student visa overview does not print a job-offer rule.

Q: What education does Student Visa require?

The page states no education minimum. Page requires an offer from a licensed student sponsor, not a named prior education level. Previous stored value 'high_school' was unsourced and has been removed.

Q: How much money do you have to show for Student Visa?

From GBP 1,171. Living-cost floor published as £1,171 per month (up to 9 months) outside London, or £1,529 per month (up to 9 months) in London. Course fees for 1 academic year are extra and appear on the CAS. Not required if you have already been in the UK with a valid visa for at least 12 months, or if you are a student union sabbatical officer. Some nationalities are under the differential evidence requirement and may be asked later.

Study permit

Temporary visa to study with a licensed student sponsor if you are 16 or over. A later Graduate visa is a separate temporary permission, not settlement.

Source: UK Visas and Immigration · verified 2026-09-24

Does Student Visa lead to permanent residence?

Residency: Temporary — not a permanent-residence route on its own
Source: UK Visas and Immigration · verified 2026-09-24

Do you need a job offer for Student Visa?

Job offer

Not published on the page we read

The opened GOV.UK Student visa overview does not print a job-offer rule.

Source: UK Visas and Immigration · verified 2026-09-24

What education does Student Visa require?

Education

The page states no education minimum

Page requires an offer from a licensed student sponsor, not a named prior education level. Previous stored value 'high_school' was unsourced and has been removed.

Source: UK Visas and Immigration · verified 2026-09-24

How much money do you have to show for Student Visa?

Funds

From GBP 1,171

Living-cost floor published as £1,171 per month (up to 9 months) outside London, or £1,529 per month (up to 9 months) in London. Course fees for 1 academic year are extra and appear on the CAS. Not required if you have already been in the UK with a valid visa for at least 12 months, or if you are a student union sabbatical officer. Some nationalities are under the differential evidence requirement and may be asked later.

Source: UK Visas and Immigration · verified 2026-09-24

How much does Student Visa cost to apply for?

Application fee

GBP 558

Student visa application is £558 from outside or inside the UK. The immigration health surcharge is a separate charge. The overview does not print the surcharge amount. Do not treat 558 as the total cost of the application.

Source: UK Visas and Immigration · verified 2026-09-24

How long does Student Visa take to process?

Processing time

No commitment to a processing time

Open the authority's page for this fact

Source: UK Visas and Immigration · verified 2026-09-24

We tell you when we re-read a route you follow, in the note from that check, with the official link.

What does UK Visas and Immigration actually require?

Quoted from the pages named beside each rule, not paraphrased.

Age: You can apply for a Student visa to study in the UK if you’re 16 or over. If you’re 16 or 17 and you want to study at an independent school, you may be eligible for a Child Student visa instead.
Source: UK Visas and Immigration · verified 2026-09-24
Language: You’ll usually need to prove English. Degree level or above: equivalent to CEFR B2. Below degree level: CEFR B1. A Higher Education Provider may assess degree-level English itself, still equivalent to B2. Exemptions apply for certain nationals and prior proofs.
Source: UK Visas and Immigration · verified 2026-09-24

Not published on the pages we read

We checked for each of these and the page carried no figure. The absence is recorded with the reason, so this page states nothing the authority does not.

Processing time
Outside-the-UK processing table opened 2026-09-24: the Student row is '3 weeks'. That page does not state an inside-the-UK time. The previous '8 weeks' inside-the-UK figure is not on this page and has been removed from this note. UKVI publishes weeks, not months. No month range is stored.
Page we read
Source: UK Visas and Immigration · verified 2026-09-24
Minimum language level
Official requirement is CEFR B2 or B1 by course level, not the app enum 'intermediate'. The enum has been removed; see languageRequirement.
Page we read
Not yet verified against an official source

What changed when we last checked this record

Visa is open and has replaced Tier 4 (General). Temporary only. Graduate visa is a separate later application (2 years if applied on or before 31 December 2026; 18 months from 1 January 2027; 3 years after a PhD). Previous stored high-school minimum, USD 15,000 funds, USD 500 fee, 1–2 month processing, intermediate language enum, and 24-month PR pathway were unsourced or contradicted and have been removed.

Source: UK Visas and Immigration · verified 2026-09-24

Other verified United Kingdom routes

Other study routes: New Zealand student visa: Fee Paying Student Visa · Australia student visa (subclass 500) · Canada student visa: Study Permit → PGWP · Germany student visa: Student residence permit · Netherlands student visa: Student residence permit for university or higher professional education · Portugal student visa: study, exchange, internship or volunteering · Sweden student visa: Residence permit for studies at higher education · UAE student visa: Residence permit for study

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Official sources

UK Visas and Immigration

Disclaimer: Viovena is an informational planning tool for immigration pathways and eligibility estimates. It is NOT a registered immigration agency, legal advisor, or licensed consultant. Visa decisions belong solely to government authorities — we do not guarantee approvals. All profile-fit scores and timelines are estimates for planning purposes only. Always verify requirements, fees, and processing times on official government websites before applying.