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Points Based System (PBS)

What is the Points Based System?

The Points Based System (PBS) is the UK immigration system which went into affect from April 2009.  This affects all international applicants from outside the European Economic Area applying for a student visa.  

The following sections on this page are designed to provide you with more information on the visa system and what you need to know in order to make an application.

In order to ensure you have the most up to date information please visit the UK Border Agency (UKBA) website.  The procedures you will need to follow vary depending on which country you are applying from so please also check the following additional pages before submitting your application.

 

What is a CAS and how do I get one?

CAS stands for Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies. We issue a CAS to successful applicants once they have met all conditions of their offer (if applicable) and:

Undergraduate students - your CAS is issued once you have accepted your unconditional offer with us. 

Masters students - your CAS is issued once you have accepted your unconditional offer and we have received the required International Deposit. 

Research students - your CAS is normally issued once you have formally accepted your unconditional offer and paid the required International Deposit. 

Study Abroad students -  please see below
 

You will receive your CAS is the form of a letter which we will send to you by a PDF attachment in an email to the correspondence address which you have supplied to us, we do not send this to you in the post.

The letter will contain your specific CAS number which you will be asked to provide to the UKBA (See a sample of a CAS letter). UKBA will have received all the information we have about you (name, address, course, fees of your course, start date, what fees you have paid to the University already etc) and will access this information about you through your CAS number.

The student visa you gain is specific to the institution and course of the CAS that is used when applying for the visa. Note it is not possible once you gain your visa to change the institution you actually attend in the UK. 

How do I apply for my student visa?

To apply for your visa, we recommend you gain assistance from one of our approved education representatives/agents where possible to help ensure you receive your visa easily and avoid disappointment. A list of our approved education agents in each country is on the relevant country page on our website at www.uea.ac.uk/international/country. Click on the 'agents' tab on your country page.  If we do not have any approved agents in your area, follow the guidance very carefully on the UKBA website. Most can submit your online visa application through the Visa4UK website, but certainly follow the guidance for your country.

 

Note: you cannot apply for your visa earlier than 3 months before your course start day. For example, if your course start date is 15 September, UKBA will not allow you to apply for your visa before 15 June. Also, note your CAS is only valid for a maximum of 6 months and will expire if not used before the end of this period.

 

What are proof of funds?

You must prove to UKBA you have sufficient funds available for your course fees and living costs in order to obtain your visa. For courses that are 12 months or longer, you must show you have 100% of your tuition fees for the first year plus living costs.

UKBA calculate your living costs as:

£800 per month if you are studying the majority of your course on our Norwich campus
£1000 per month if you are studying the majority of your course on our London campus

You must show these funds in a personal bank account (not shares, or a business account or in any other format) and show they have been in the account in your name (or your parents/legal guardians) for at least 28 days before your visa application is received. Failure to do so will result in a visa rejection. 
 

How do I obtain a joint CAS?

If you have chosen to study at UEA for the 8, 6 or 4 week Pre-Sessional English course then we can now offer you a joint CAS enabling you to apply for only one visa to cover both the Pre-Sessional Course and your main degree course.  This can save you valuable time and money as it should mean you only need to apply once for a student visa to study within the UK. We can only offer this joint CAS to students who have completed the following conditions.

To be eligible for a joint CAS you must:
1. Apply and be offered a place on the 8, 6 or 4 week course studying at the UEA INTO centre
2. Have paid your deposit to INTO UEA centre
3. Have been offered and accepted a place on your main degree course at UEA
4. Have no outstanding academic conditions with UEA
5. Postgraduate Taught masters students must have also paid their deposit to UEA

What is an ATAS certificate, and do I need one?

The ATAS is designed to ensure that people who are applying to study certain sensitive subjects in the UK do not have links to WMD programmes. We advise you to find out if you need an ATAS certificate before applying for a student visa or extension. Visit our page on ATAS certificates for full information.

 

What do I do if my visa is rejected?

We hope that these guidelines will assist in obtaining a visa. If you feel your application was wrongly rejected however, please contact us immediately by email (visa@uea.ac.uk) so that we can investigate why this has happened. We would need a copy (scanned or faxed) of the rejection slip from the Entry Clearance Officer and will do everything we can to help overturn the decision if we feel an error has been made.

 

What if I am a study abroad/exchange student coming to the UK to study for less than 6 months?

If you are coming to the UK to study for 6 months or less, you may have the option to apply for a Student Visitor Entry Clearance outside PBS (note this is not available for all nationalities).

Student Visitor Entry Clearance is only usually applicable to students participating in an undergraduate one-semester study abroad programme, but could also be an option for any other participant of a short-term programme less than 6 months. This flow chart from the UKBA website may help you determine which visa is best for you. 

Note you are NOT able to come on Student Visitor Entry Clearance and change to a Tier 4 student visa or gain a Student Visitor visa later on and remain in the UK. If there is any chance you may want to extend your period of study and/or wish to work (even volunteer) while you are studying, please apply for a Tier 4 PBS student visa as described above.