Visas and immigration

Cranfield offers advice and guidance to international students who require a visa to study in the UK.

If you require a visa in order to study at Cranfield University, the Student Immigration and Funding Team can offer support and advise in the following areas:

• Student visa;
• PBS (Student) Dependant;
• Studying at Cranfield with a visitor visa;
• Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS);
• CAS numbers;
• Other visa categories on which you can study.

Students coming to Cranfield to study one of our full-time programmes, some part-time research programmes, or our English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programme, will need to apply for a Student visa. Students coming to Cranfield to study one of our short courses or most of our part-time programmes will need to apply for a visitor visa.

Please read the following information carefully, and if you have any questions regarding immigration please email us.

Information for EEA and Swiss students

For those arriving in the UK after 11pm on 31 December 2020, (after the end of the Brexit transition period) you will have to apply for a visa under the Student visa route in place for all international students. You can apply for your Student visa within 6 months from your course start date. To apply under the Student visa route you will need to be issued a CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) by Cranfield University. You will be able to complete your application, including identity verification, using a smartphone app called (ID Check). Some applicants may need to attend a Visa Application Centre if they are unable to access the application, or if they do not have a biometric passport. The UK Government published a guide for EEA students which provides more information. EEA and Swiss passport holders are exempt from requiring an ATAS certificate for UK study.

Graduate route visa

The Graduate route visa is a new two-year (three year for PhD students) work visa. Students holding a valid Tier 4 or Student visa, who have completed a degree at undergraduate level or above at a UK Higher Education Provider with a track record of compliance, are able to apply to remain in the UK and work or look for work.

IMPORTANT: Please do not submit an application until you meet all the eligibility criteria below otherwise you risk a visa refusal and/or losing your application fee.

Eligibility

• Must be on a Tier 4 or Student visa.
• Must apply from within the UK before your Tier 4/Student visa expires. It is not possible to apply for the Graduate visa outside the UK.
• You will need the CAS number that you used for your most recent Tier 4/Student visa application.

You must obtain 70 points in total. The areas that points will be awarded for are:

• Successful completion requirement,
• Qualification requirement,
• Study in the UK requirement.

There are also certain requirements to be met for the application to be valid (accepted). The following sections provide further information:

• Successful completion requirement

• You must have successfully completed the course you studied on your most recent student visa.
• The University will need to confirm your course has been successfully completed by the date of application. The University aims to report all successful completion to UKVI within 2 weeks of you receiving your pass letter

• Qualification requirement
  
  
  • This requirement will be met as long as you have successfully completed a course for which you have been or will be awarded, such as a master’s degree, MPhil or PhD. PGCert and PGDip awards are not currently eligible under the Graduate route.
  • If the course title changed but the course content remained unchanged you could still meet this requirement.
  • The qualification must have been obtained in the last grant of Student permission.
  • If you hold Student permission (visa) to cover a Student Union Sabbatical Officer position, the course must have been successfully completed within the last grant of student permission to study as a student. Please contact us if you have had 2 periods of student sabbatical leave.

• Study in the UK requirement
• You must have studied in the UK for a certain minimum period of the course:

Course duration	Minimum period of study required
Less than 12 months	Full duration of course
More than 12 months	Minimum 12 months

Remote study

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many students are studying online/via blended learning during the last academic year and are outside the UK. Students will still be eligible for the Graduate route visa as long as they are able to meet one of the following situations:

Covid concessions

Students on courses of 12 months or less

• If you started the course in 2020 or spring 2021 through distance learning and you are entering UK for the first time, you must have arrived either before your student permission expires or by 27^th September 2021, whichever is sooner.
• If you start the course in autumn 2021 or spring 2022, you must enter UK latest by 30^th June 2022. However, it is recommended you travel to the UK as soon as you are able to do so and not wait until June 2022.
• If you are a student with existing student permission who began a course of 12 months or less in 2020 or 2021, already travelled to the UK during that period of student permission and then returned home for period of distance learning, you will be able to make a graduate route application if you are present in the UK before the end date of that student permission.

Students on courses of longer than 12 months

If your course is longer than 12 months, the following periods of distance learning will not prevent you from applying for the Graduate route visa:

• 24/01/2020 - 27/09/2021 any distance learning in the UK or overseas.
• 27/09/2021 - 30/06/2022 any distance learning overseas only.

Finances

There is no financial requirement for the Graduate route. Unlike other visas, you will not need to keep a certain amount of money in your bank account or submit bank statements with your visa application.

You will need to make the following payments at the point of application by debit or credit card:

• Application fee: £700
• Immigration Health Surcharge: £624 per year. Master’s graduates will pay £1,248 for a 2-year visa, PhD graduate will pay £1,872 for a 3-year visa.

When to apply

You should submit a visa application after you have been awarded and meet all the eligibility criteria but before your Student/Tier 4 visa expires.

Your degree must have been awarded and confirmed to UKVI by the University. The University aims to report all successful completion to UKVI within 2 weeks of you receiving your pass letter. Pass letters are usually processed within 2-3 weeks after the exam board date.

If you have any outstanding assessments after your course end date has passed, you will have to bear in mind an estimated award date. If this is after your visa expiry date, this may affect your Graduate visa eligibility.

For further information about the Graduate route visa please see the UKVI and UKCISA websites.

Cranfield University is implementing a range of activities to enable its graduates to take advantage of Government proposals to allow international students to work in the UK after graduation.

Find out more about the support Cranfield offers

Using eGates at the border

Since 2019, nationals from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the United States of America have been able to use eGate entry at the border in 15 UK airports and the Eurotunnel.

If you are a national from one of these countries please note the instructions below:

• You are eligible to use the eGates, however, we will require proof that you entered the UK during the validity period of your vignette (entry visa in your passport). As such, please be sure to have evidence such as your boarding pass, flight tickets or flight booking available at registration.
• Similarly, if you are coming for a short period of study less than 6 months or are studying a part-time, distance learning course then when you arrive on campus we will need to see evidence such as your boarding pass, flight tickets or flight booking. By using the eGates you will be a standard visit visa holder (please see below)

All other nationalities and visa holders must use the standard entry points and be seen by a border force officer.