Applying for a student visa (outside the UK)
Applying for a Student visa should be fairly straight forward as long as you are prepared. This page is designed to answer your initial questions.
This information relates to making an application outside of the UK.
If you plan to apply from within the UK because, for example, you have a valid UK visa that permits you to extend/switch to the Student visa category in the UK, or you are progressing to a higher level of study and your current Student visa expires less than 28 days before your course start date, please visit our Student Visa inside the UK application page.
How to make your application
You need to make your Student Route visa application from the gov.uk application page, and choose applying outside the UK (entry clearance).
Overstaying your visa
If you are eligible to extend your student visa from within the UK, you must ensure that you submit your visa application before your current visa expires. If you do not submit your application in-time, you will become an overstayer.
Overstaying means allowing your visa to expire and staying in the UK which is a criminal offence.
If you have become an overstayer, you will need to depart the UK immediately. Any further visa application you make will need to be submitted from outside the UK. You may also be required to provide evidence to show that you have left the UK before the university considers assigning a new CAS and could also impact on your ability to get a new visa.