Everything an Indian student needs to apply for the UK Student Visa (formerly Tier 4): eligibility, CAS, maintenance funds, the Immigration Health Surcharge, biometrics, processing times and the refusal reasons our counsellors see most often.
The UK Student Visa replaced the old Tier 4 (General) route and is the single permission that allows an Indian student to live and study in the United Kingdom for the length of a full-time course. It is a sponsored route, which means you cannot apply on your own initiative — a UK institution holding a Student Sponsor licence must first accept you and issue a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies. Every one of Envision's 150+ partner universities holds that licence, so the sponsorship step is never a barrier for our students.
The visa is points based. You need 70 points in total: 50 for a valid CAS from a licensed sponsor, 10 for meeting the financial requirement, and 10 for meeting the English language requirement. Once those three boxes are ticked, the decision becomes largely mechanical — which is precisely why careful document preparation matters far more than luck.
You will normally qualify if you are 16 or older, hold an unconditional offer from a licensed sponsor, can prove English at CEFR level B2 for degree-level study, and can show you hold enough money to pay your first year of fees and your living costs. Most Indian applicants prove English with IELTS Academic or UKVI, PTE Academic UKVI or TOEFL iBT. A significant number of universities also accept a Medium of Instruction letter or strong Class 10 and 12 English marks in place of a test — our counsellors keep a live list of which institutions currently do.
Academically, a three or four-year Indian bachelor's degree is accepted for master's entry at the overwhelming majority of UK universities, and 55 to 60 per cent is a workable benchmark. Students with a lower percentage are not automatically excluded: a strong statement of purpose, relevant work experience or a pre-master's pathway frequently bridges the gap.
1. Secure your unconditional offer. Apply to a shortlist of universities that genuinely fit your profile and budget. Conditional offers become unconditional once you submit final transcripts and, where required, your English score.
2. Pay your tuition deposit and request your CAS. Deposits typically range from £1,000 to £5,000 and are deducted from your first-year fee. The university then issues your CAS, usually within three to ten working days.
3. Prepare and mature your funds. The money has to be visible in an acceptable account for 28 unbroken days before you apply. Start this clock early — it is the most common reason a well-qualified student misses an intake.
4. Complete the online application on GOV.UK. You will declare your CAS number, course details, travel history and finances. Accuracy matters: inconsistencies between the form and your documents are treated as credibility issues.
5. Pay the visa fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge. Both are paid online during the application. Keep the payment references safe.
6. Book biometrics at a VFS Global centre. You will provide fingerprints and a photograph and upload or hand over your supporting documents. Priority and super-priority processing can be added here.
7. Receive the decision. Standard decisions from India take roughly three weeks. You will be issued a digital eVisa linked to your UKVI account, plus a short entry vignette in your passport if one is required for travel.
The financial requirement is where most refusals originate, so it deserves close attention. You must show your outstanding first-year tuition plus monthly living costs — £1,483 per month in London and £1,136 per month elsewhere, for a maximum of nine months. For a one-year master's in Manchester with £16,000 of remaining tuition, that means roughly £16,000 plus £10,224, or about £26,224 in total.
The funds must be held for 28 consecutive days in an account in your name, your parent's name (with a consent letter and birth certificate) or an official financial sponsor's name. The closing balance must never dip below the required amount during those 28 days, and your statement must be dated within 31 days of the application. Sanctioned education loans from recognised Indian banks and NBFCs are accepted, which is the route the majority of our students take.
| Item | Indicative cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Student visa application fee | £490 | Applying from outside the UK |
| Immigration Health Surcharge | £776 per year | Paid upfront for the full visa length |
| Priority service (optional) | Approx. £500 | Decision in about five working days |
| Super priority (optional) | Approx. £1,000 | Next working day decision |
| TB test in India | ₹3,000 – ₹6,000 | UKVI-approved clinics only |
Fees are reviewed by the Home Office periodically, so treat these as planning figures rather than quotations. Your Envision counsellor will confirm the exact amounts before you pay anything.
Published Home Office immigration statistics show that sponsored study applications from India are granted at a very high rate, and that the refusals which do occur cluster around a small set of fixable problems. In our casework the recurring causes are: maintenance funds that break the 28-day rule; bank statements without the account holder's name, account number or bank stamp; a credibility interview in which the student cannot explain the course, the fees or the career logic behind the choice; unexplained academic gaps; and missing certified translations.
Each of these is preventable. Envision runs a line-by-line document audit against the current Home Office guidance and a recorded mock credibility interview for every student before submission, which is how we have sustained a 97 per cent approval rate across 14 years of UK casework.
Once approved you can travel up to one month before your course begins if your visa is longer than six months. Register with your university, collect your student ID, open a UK bank account, register with a GP and confirm your eVisa status through your UKVI account. Envision's pre-departure briefing covers accommodation handover, forex, SIM cards, packing and the first-week checklist.
After you finish your degree you can switch to the Graduate Route, which allows two years of unrestricted work in the UK (three years for doctoral graduates). Many of our alumni use that window to move into a Skilled Worker visa with a sponsoring employer. You can read more in our cost of studying in the UK guide and our top UK universities guide.
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