Immigration & Student Visa Applications

Yes. Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is licensed to sponsor you for a Student visa. We are a Higher Education Provider (HEP) with a track record of compliance.

The type of visa you need to apply for will depend on the length of the course you are intending to study. In most cases, you will need a Student Visa. You can check if you need a visa here. The Home Office’s UK Visas and Immigration Department (UKVI) regularly makes changes to its immigration guidance and you are advised to check the latest advice on gov.uk before submitting any application.

You can find details of the application process on GOV.UK and UKCISA website. Please note that Trinity Laban is unable to send your application to the Home Office on your behalf.

Trinity Laban will issue you with a CAS, which is a number linked to an electronic record of your details, that can be seen by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).

If you are currently on a Student (formerly Tier 4) visa on another programme of study, you will be required to apply for a Student visa for your new programme.

Please note we will not issue a CAS for part-time study unless there is a mitigating reason, which you should discuss with Admissions.

You must have met all your conditions of entry, hold an unconditional offer, and have paid the deposit (if applicable) before you can request a CAS number and begin the visa application process.

Step 1  

The visa questionnaire for 2026 entry will be available in May 2026.

Step 2

Prepare the following documentation, where applicable:

• Academic Qualifications
  Please scan and send a copy of your qualifications (as detailed on your UCAS Conservatoire offer) to Admissions.  You will require a certified translation if your original qualifications are not in English. Please check the UKVI Policy Guidance for more details.

• English Language Qualifications
  If you are not a citizen of a majority English-speaking country you will need to prove that you have the required English level. 

Detailed information about acceptable English qualifications and language requirements can be found here.

Please note that students enrolling on Foundation programmes (or any below degree level) are required to take an IELTS for UKVI test (Academic or General Training) or one of the Secure English Language Tests (SELT) approved by the UKVI. You can only take a SELT outside the UK with one of the following providers:

• IELTS SELT Consortium

• LanguageCert SELT

• Pearson SELT

• PSI Services (UK) Ltd

Read further details about English language requirements.

Financial Evidence

The UK Government details Financial Evidence requirements. You may be required to hold sufficient funds in your bank account for 28-days before you apply for your visa. You will be required to send this to us, unless you are from an exempt country.

You should have an amount equivalent to your fees and maintenance money [Tuition fee + £13,761 (£1,529 x 9 months), this is £1,529 for each month of your course up to a maximum of 9 months].  You can find the fees for undergraduate programmes here. Fees for postgraduate programmes are here, and published on individual programme pages.

In some cases, you may have to prove that you are able to pay for your studies and your living costs without being employed in the UK. You will need to show that you have enough money to cover the course fees and living costs. The amount required for maintenance is £1,483 for each month of your course, up to a maximum of 9 months.

You must show evidence that:

• you have paid all or part of your course fees and up to £1,334 towards accommodation fees to Trinity Laban; and/or

• you have enough money to cover your remaining course fees and living costs, if any; and/or

• you are receiving official financial sponsorship

The maximum amount to be deducted on your CAS for accommodation is £1,334; even if you have paid more than that amount in advance for accommodation.

Important: In most cases where students have their visa application refused, it is because there was a problem with their proof of finances. It is really important that you understand all the rules regarding maintenance funds. Your bank statements, if required as part of your application, need to show that the money has been in your account for at least 28 days prior to your application. Your account balance cannot drop below this amount for even one day. 

The UKVI has strict rules about what types of documents are acceptable as proof of money and from which institutions. You must always check your documents against the latest version of the Home Office Student policy guidance.

If you have been given a financial award by Trinity Laban, this will be deducted on your CAS from the total fee amount required. Please note that having a scholarship from Trinity Laban does not make Trinity Laban your Financial Sponsor.  Bank statements must to be in your name or that of your parent/guardian. For more information on bank statements format required by the UKVI and financial information, please see the UKVI Policy Guidance.

The documentation can be scanned and sent to admissions@trinitylaban.ac.uk. Please ensure that the documents are high resolution pictures and are sent as attachments, rather than in the body of the email.

Step 3

Once we have received all of your documentation, we will prepare a draft of your CAS which we will send to you to review and confirm is correct. We will then issue your CAS.

Please note that we will not begin processing CAS statements until early June at the very earliest. 

To Note:

It is important that all your documentation is provided in a timely manner, labelled, and that the scans are clear and in focus. Failure to do so will result in a delay with the processing your documentation and consequently, the issuing of your CAS statement.

We will endeavour to issue your CAS within 14 working days of having submitted all the documents requested in the correct format.

If you are already studying in the UK, you must apply for a new Student visa before enrolment in September even if your current leave doesn’t expire until after enrolment.

Term dates for your programme can be found on our website here.

Please note all communications from Trinity Laban relating to your Student visa will be directly with you (the student) via email.

Once you have your CAS

You can apply for your Student visa online.

UKCISA website contains useful information about the application process, whether you are applying outside the UK or in the UK. Please check the latest version of the Student Route Guidance for up-to-date UKVI requirements.

If you have any queries regarding your visa you can contact admissions@trinitylaban.ac.uk. Please state your full name and name of the programme you are applying for.

Should your visa application be unsuccessful because you did not submit all the required elements (for example,  the required financial documentation) we reserve the right to not issue a further CAS for your studies.

The length of time for a visa application varies from country to country. You can find out more information about this on gov.uk.

We advise that you begin the process of application as soon as you are able but please note that we will not begin processing CAS statements until early June at the very earliest.

Physical immigration documents such as BRPs and passport vignette stickers have now been replaced by a digital immigration status known as an eVisa. For students applying on or after 15 July 2025, study route visas are issued as an eVisa only. To access your eVisa, you will usually need to register for a UKVI account (in some cases, UKVI may create this for you). Once registered, you can view your immigration status online and share it with organisations such as the university or accommodation provider. This is done through the “View and prove” section of your UKVI account. More information about eVisas can be found here.

You may be able to extend your Student visa to stay longer and continue your course or study a new one. This applies even if you currently hold a Tier 4 (General) student visa. Please check the details on UKCISA and contact Admissions if you have any questions.

UKVI aims to process all visa applications submitted in the UK within eight weeks. You should not travel outside the Common Travel Area (United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) until you have received a decision. Your application will be withdrawn if you do.

If you are refused a visa, you should contact admissions@trinitylaban.ac.uk immediately, with full details of the reasons for refusal and a copy of the letter from the Entry Clearance Officer.

In most cases (unless UKVI has made a mistake) you will need to make another application with a new CAS (and pay the fee and healthcare surcharge again).

Please make sure that you have addressed the problems which led to your first application being refused. Trinity Laban reserves the right to not issue a further CAS unless we are satisfied that the problem has been addressed and that a subsequent application is likely to be successful.

Trinity Laban, alongside many other Higher Education Institutions, will not provide a CAS/Student Visa for Part-Time study unless there are exceptional reasons, which will be considered by Admissions on a case-by-case basis.

• Part-time study includes a number of significant restrictions by UKVI:
• Part-time students are not permitted to engage in any form of work in the UK, including unpaid work placements and internships.
• Part-time students are required to pay the full Immigration Health Surcharge for the program’s entire duration.
• Part-time students cannot bring dependents to the UK.

Your partner and children (‘dependants’) may be able to apply to come to the UK or stay longer in the UK.

You must be one of the following:

• a government-sponsored student starting a course that lasts longer than 6 months

• a full-time student on a postgraduate level course (RQF level 7 or above) that lasts 9 months or longer

If your postgraduate level course starts on or after 1 January 2024, it must be either:

• a PhD or other doctorate (RQF level 8)

• a research-based higher degree

Please note that at Trinity Laban, only our Research Degree Programme (RDP) is eligible for this requirement. No other postgraduate programmes (including MFA) are eligible for bringing dependents under a Student visa. More details can be found on GOV.UK.

If you have studied in the UK and successfully completed a degree or other eligible qualification at an approved UK higher education provider, you may be able to apply for the Graduate route. This visa allows you to stay in the UK to work, or to look for work, after completing your studies.

Under the current rules:

• Undergraduate and Master’s graduates can stay in the UK for up to two years
• PhD or other doctoral graduates can stay in the UK for up to three years

Update: changes from January 2027

• From 1 January 2027, the length of permission granted under the Graduate route will change for some applicants.

Students who successfully complete an eligible UK bachelor’s or master’s degree and apply on or after 1 January 2027 will be granted 18 months under the Graduate route (reduced from the current two years).

These changes do not apply to anyone who applies before 1 January 2027. Students who complete a PhD or other doctoral qualification are not affected by these changes and will continue to be granted three years under the Graduate route.

For more detailed guidance, please see UKCISA’s Graduate route webpage.

If you have any further queries regarding your visa status, you can contact admissions@trinitylaban.ac.uk for assistance. We’re here to support you.