UK Student Visa (Student Route) Explained
The points-based test behind every UK Student visa case — CAS, the financial requirement, and the English-language bar that rose to B2 in January 2026.
A quick but important note before anything else: this article was drafted with a direct fetch of gov.uk blocked by network egress. It relies on web search results and multiple independent secondary sources — immigration-law firms, education consultancies, and visa-guidance publishers — cross-checked against each other. Where sources agreed consistently, that is noted as a widely reported figure, not a confirmed Home Office publication. Financial-requirement and fee figures in particular are reviewed periodically; always confirm current numbers directly on gov.uk, or with a qualified immigration adviser, before quoting them to a client.
This site already covers several pieces of the UK Student Route individually — the CAS itself, the Immigration Health Surcharge, ATAS clearance for certain postgraduate STEM courses, and the restriction on bringing dependants. None of those posts lays out the Student Route's own core eligibility test in one place, which is the gap this piece closes — the same connective-tissue role our 221(g) and I-485 posts play for their respective US topics.
The points test: three requirements, all mandatory
Sources consistently describe the Student Route as assessed on a 70-point scale built from three separate requirements, each contributing its own points and each required independently — a strong showing on two does not offset a shortfall on the third. A valid Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from a Home Office-licensed sponsor carries 50 points; meeting the financial requirement carries 10 points; and meeting the English-language requirement carries 10 points.
A 70-point test across three requirements
Sources consistently describe the Student Route as points-based: 50 points for a valid Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from a licensed sponsor, 10 points for meeting the financial requirement, and 10 points for meeting the English-language requirement — 70 points total, with no route to a grant if any one of the three is missing, regardless of how strong the other two are.
A funds figure that moves with location and course length
The financial requirement is commonly reported as outstanding tuition fees shown on the CAS (reduced by any deposit already paid and reflected there) plus a monthly maintenance figure — reported as roughly £1,529/month studying in Inner or Outer London and roughly £1,171/month elsewhere in the UK, for up to 9 months of a course. Funds must be held for a continuous 28-day period ending within 31 days of the application date, per widely repeated secondary-source guidance — a rule that has tripped up otherwise-eligible applicants over timing alone.
English requirement raised from B1 to B2 — a genuinely recent change
Multiple sources report that for Student Route applications made from 8 January 2026, the required Common European Framework (CEFR) level rose from B1 to B2 for degree-level study (B1 still applies below degree level), evidenced through a Home Office-approved Secure English Language Test — commonly IELTS for UKVI, a distinct product from the standard IELTS Academic test used for university admissions. This is a materially higher bar than many consultancies quoted clients even a year earlier.
A CAS is not automatic once an offer letter exists
As our CAS explainer already covers in depth, the CAS is a distinct, time-limited digital reference a licensed sponsor issues only once specific pre-conditions are met — it is not the same document as a university offer letter, and a CAS issued too early or allowed to lapse before the visa application is submitted routes back through the sponsor, not the Home Office.
The financial requirement, and its timing trap
Reported figures describe the financial requirement as two components added together: any tuition still outstanding after a deposit (stated on the CAS itself) plus a monthly maintenance figure for up to nine months of the course — commonly cited as roughly £1,529 per month studying in Inner or Outer London, or roughly £1,171 per month elsewhere in the UK. What consultancies most often see clients get wrong is not the amount but the timing: sources describe the funds needing to sit in the relevant account for a continuous 28-day period that itself must end within 31 days of the application date — a balance that dips below the threshold on day 27, or that was only deposited yesterday, can mean a genuine refusal regardless of the client's actual means.
English language: a materially higher bar since January 2026
Multiple sources report a change worth flagging to every client with an application date from 8 January 2026 onward: the required Common European Framework (CEFR) level for degree-level study rose from B1 to B2, evidenced through a Home Office-approved Secure English Language Test (SELT) — most commonly IELTS for UKVI, which is a distinct test product from the standard IELTS Academic exam most universities accept for admissions purposes. Courses below degree level are reported as still requiring B1. A client who has already sat IELTS Academic for their university application may still need a separate SELT sitting for the visa itself — a distinction worth surfacing early, since retesting on a compressed timeline is a common, avoidable source of delay.
How this connects to what else this site already covers
A CAS is a necessary but not sufficient condition — our CAS explainer covers how a sponsor issues one and why it is a distinct, time-limited reference rather than the same thing as an offer letter. Every Student Route grant also carries the Immigration Health Surcharge, covered in full in our IHS explainer. Certain postgraduate STEM courses require ATAS clearance as an additional pre-condition before a CAS can even be issued — a separate gate our ATAS explainer covers on its own. And our dependants restriction piece covers which Student Route applicants can, and cannot, bring family members. This piece is the connective layer describing the Student Route's own core test that each of those pieces assumes the reader already understands.
What a consultancy should actually verify
To be direct about what this article will not do: it will not state the current maintenance-fund figures, the current visa or IHS fee, or the exact English-test score thresholds as confirmed Home Office fact, because none of those specifics were verified directly against gov.uk at the time of writing — all were cross-checked across multiple independent secondary sources instead. Maintenance-fund figures in particular are reviewed periodically, and quoting a stale number to a client risks a genuinely avoidable refusal on a case that was otherwise straightforward. Confirm current figures directly on gov.uk, or with a qualified immigration adviser, before relying on anything above for a specific case.
Frequently asked questions
What are the three requirements to get a UK Student visa?
Sources consistently describe the Student Route as a 70-point test built from three separate requirements, all of which must be met: a valid Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from a Home Office-licensed student sponsor (50 points), evidence of sufficient funds to cover outstanding tuition and living costs (10 points), and evidence of the required English-language level (10 points). Meeting two of the three strongly does not compensate for failing the third — each is evaluated as a pass/fail gate within the overall points total, per widely repeated guidance from immigration practitioners.
How much money does a UK Student visa applicant need to show?
Reported figures describe two components added together: any tuition fees still outstanding after a deposit (the CAS itself states the outstanding amount), plus a monthly living-cost figure for up to 9 months of the course — commonly cited as roughly £1,529 per month while studying in Inner or Outer London, or roughly £1,171 per month outside London. Multiple sources describe these funds needing to be held in the applicant's (or an eligible parent/guardian's) account for a continuous 28-day period that ends within 31 days of the visa application date — a timing rule, not just an amount rule, that consultancies should walk clients through explicitly rather than assume is obvious. These figures were last revised for 2026 and should be reconfirmed against current Home Office guidance before being quoted to a client, since maintenance-fund figures are reviewed periodically.
What English language level does the UK Student visa now require?
Multiple sources report a change effective for Student Route applications made from 8 January 2026: the required Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) level for degree-level study rose from B1 to B2 — evidenced through a Home Office-approved Secure English Language Test (SELT), most commonly IELTS for UKVI. Courses below degree level are reported as still requiring B1. IELTS for UKVI is a distinct test product from the standard IELTS Academic exam most universities accept for admissions, and consultancies should confirm with each client which specific test their intended sponsor and the Home Office both recognise, since submitting the wrong test product is a recurring, entirely avoidable refusal cause.
How is a CAS different from a university offer letter, and where does that fit in?
Our CAS explainer covers this distinction in full: a CAS is a specific, time-limited digital reference number a licensed sponsor issues once its own internal conditions are satisfied — a firm offer alone is not the same thing and does not itself carry points. The Student visa application cannot proceed to a decision without a currently valid CAS number entered on the form, so a consultancy tracking a client's file needs to treat "has an offer" and "has a CAS" as two separate milestones, not one.
Does every Student visa applicant also pay the Immigration Health Surcharge?
Yes — sources describe the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) as payable by essentially every Student Route applicant as part of the same application, covering the full length of the granted visa upfront. Our IHS explainer covers the current per-year rate and how it is calculated across a multi-year course in detail; this piece focuses on the Student Route's own points test rather than repeating that figure here, since IHS rates are reviewed independently of the Student Route's own requirements.
Does this apply to every international student, or are there exceptions?
Some applicants are reported as exempt from parts of this test — for example, nationals of majority English-speaking countries, or applicants who have already completed a qualification taught entirely in English, are commonly described as exempt from the separate English-test requirement, though their sponsor may still need to confirm this. Certain postgraduate STEM courses additionally require ATAS clearance before a CAS can even be issued, which our ATAS explainer covers as its own, separate pre-condition layered on top of — not instead of — this points test. A consultancy should confirm exemption eligibility with the specific sponsoring institution rather than assume it applies, since the sponsor makes that determination first.
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