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Short-term Study Visa

Short-term Study Visas are intended for individuals who want to study English in the UK for a period of between 6 months and 11 months.

Individuals wishing to study English in the UK for less than 6 months may instead be able to do so as a ‘Standard Visitor’. While some people are able to enter the UK as a Standard Visitor without a visa, others may need to apply for and be granted a Standard Visitor Visa before travelling to the UK. Whether you require a visa or not for short visits to the UK will depend on your nationality and other personal circumstances.

Those wishing to study or attend a course for a subject other than the English language for longer than 6 months should instead consider whether they need instead to apply for a Student Visa.

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Required documents

When applying for a Short-term Study Visa, the Home Office must be supplied with:

  • a valid passport or other travel document
  • evidence of being able to financially support oneself for the duration of the trip
  • details of travel and accommodation plans
    • NB: evidence of your intentions is usually sufficient; you do not need to provide proof that flights or accommodation have been booked and paid for before you apply
  • proof that you have paid any course fees, or have enough money to do so

If applicable, you may also need to submit the following:

  • tuberculosis test results, if you are from a country where the UK requires this
  • if you are under 18:
    • contact details for a parent or guardian in your home country
    • written consent from your parent/s or guardian if you are travelling to the UK alone or with a third party

Process and fees

An application for a Short-term Study Visa must be made from outside the UK, and no more than three months before your intended date of travel to the UK.

Applicants will have to visit a visa application centre in order to have their photographs and fingerprints taken. Once the application and all supporting information (including photograph and fingerprints) have been submitted to the Home Office, decisions are usually made and communicated within three weeks. Depending on which visa application centre you use, it may be possible to pay an additional fee for a premium or super premium service in order to get a decision within a matter of days rather than weeks.

The standard Home Office fee for a Short-term Study Visa is £200. Applicants will also have to pay a healthcare surcharge in advance of receiving their visa.

Restrictions

A Short-term Study Visa does not permit holders to change course once they arrive in the UK, study at a publicly-funded school or do any paid or unpaid work while in the UK. Holders are not permitted to bring members of their family with them to the UK as dependants on this visa.

This visa is not eligible to be extended. If holders wish to stay in the UK after their Short-term Study Visa expires they should consider applying to switch to another visa well in advance of the expiry date.

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Demetris Demetriou

Demetris is a dual-qualified lawyer in the UK (Solicitor) and Cyprus (Advocate) with 10+ years of experience in UK immigration. He completed his legal studies at University College London and City University London. Over the course of his career, he held key roles as Head of Immigration at Legal 500 firms and within the Big4, overseeing teams of 15+ fee earners handling 2000+ applications annually.

Demetris went on to co-establish his firm in London and continues to offer innovative solutions and strategic immigration planning to multinationals, SMEs, and private clients.

He personally represented 1500+ clients in 30+ visa routes including investors, entrepreneurs, innovators, sole representatives, students, family visas, global talent, UK ancestry, administrative reviews and appeals. Demetris has managed corporate relocations, conducted immigration law training and implemented post-Brexit immigration policies for corporate clients.

Demetris has been featured in various events and publications focusing on UK immigration, notably at the Cambridge Network, the Westminster Policy Forum and most recently at DGEMS, a global mobility summit hosted by Forbes India.

If you would like to discuss your UK immigration matter or have any questions about your options for immigrating to the UK, you can book a consultation here.

Tatiani Preifelt

Tatiani has a wealth of expertise in global mobility and corporate immigration. Her ample skills were acquired within leading immigration practices including three out of the Big4 firms in both the UK and Sweden. Tatiani went on to co-establish her firm in London where she continues to advise clients predominantly in corporate, business and skilled work migration.

Having personally relocated to 10 different countries, Tatiani understands the importance of an expedient and successful immigration process and takes pride in delivering a seamless experience to her clients as well.

Over the course of her career, she has assisted over 500 individuals and businesses to obtain the appropriate visa permits in the UK.

Her awarded academic work at The University of Oxford, The London School of Economics, and at The Geneva University is in the fields of Political Science, International Human Rights Law, and Global Migration Governance.

She regularly provides immigration training and has recently participated as a speaker and panellist at DGEMS 2023, a global mobility summit hosted by Forbes India.

If you would like to discuss your UK immigration matter or have any questions about your options for immigrating to the UK, you can book a consultation here.