Short-Term Study Visa vs Student Visa

Side-by-side comparison

What the Short-term study route covers

The route is for an applicant aged 16 or over accepted on an English-language course that includes no other subject. The course must last longer than six months but no more than 11 months and be delivered by an accredited institution.

It is an unsponsored route: there is no CAS, but the applicant needs written acceptance showing the course name, duration and cost. The provider must hold a suitable sponsor licence or accreditation recognised by the published rules.

If the English course is shorter or longer

• Six months or less: study may normally fall under the Standard Visitor route at an accredited institution.
• Longer than six and up to 11 months: the Short-term study visa may fit.
• Longer than 11 months: use the Student route if the course and licensed sponsor qualify.

Do not stretch course dates to fit a preferred route. The acceptance letter and actual programme must match the application.

Short-term study evidence

The applicant must show a genuine intention to take the stated English course, leave within the permitted period, and avoid making the UK their main home. Typical evidence includes:

• Current passport or travel document.
• Written course acceptance with name, duration, cost and accommodation information where relevant.
• Evidence course fees are paid or affordable.
• Evidence of adequate maintenance and accommodation without public funds.
• Funds for the return or onward journey.
• Travel and accommodation plans without making non-refundable commitments before approval.
• Approved TB certificate where required.
• Certified translations for documents not in English or Welsh.
• Parental consent and care/travel arrangements for an applicant aged 16 or 17.

There is no fixed published monthly maintenance figure like the Student route. The evidence must credibly cover tuition, living costs and departure using funds permitted by Appendix Finance.

Short-term study restrictions

The route is deliberately inflexible. A holder cannot:

• Work, whether paid or unpaid.
• Do work experience or a work placement.
• Carry out business or professional activity.
• Study another course.
• Change the approved English course in the UK.
• Study at a state-funded school.
• Extend the Short-term study permission.
• Bring partner or children as dependants.
• Claim public funds.

GOV.UK describes the stay as the course length plus 30 days, provided the total stay does not exceed 11 months. The eVisa end date controls. A course finishing early does not authorise unrelated work or study.

What the Student route covers

The Student route is for eligible sponsored study. The applicant needs an unconditional offer and a CAS from a licensed sponsor, must meet the financial and English requirements, and may need ATAS and TB evidence.

Eligible study can include degree-level programmes, certain below-degree courses, pre-sessional English, recognised foundation programmes and specific study-abroad arrangements. The visa is tied to the sponsor and course recorded on the CAS.

Student route financial structure

A Student normally shows outstanding first-year course fees from the CAS plus maintenance. Current maintenance is £1,529 per month in London or £1,171 outside London for up to nine months. Funds normally need to be held for 28 consecutive days, with the evidence closing within 31 days before the online application.

This prescriptive calculation differs from the Short-term route’s adequate-funds assessment. Neither route permits invented sponsorship or temporarily borrowed statements that do not represent genuinely available money.

Work on a Student visa

Work rights depend on the sponsor, level and study pattern. Appendix Student currently provides:

Students generally cannot be self-employed, work as professional sportspeople or sports coaches, work as entertainers, or fill a permanent full-time vacancy except under specified route-switching provisions. The individual eVisa and sponsor calendar must be checked.

Dependants on the Student route

The Student visa is not a general family route. For courses starting on or after 1 January 2024, new dependants are normally possible only where the main applicant is government-sponsored on a full-time course longer than six months or is studying a full-time PhD, doctorate or research-based higher degree lasting at least nine months at a qualifying provider.

Each dependant makes a separate application, pays fees and IHS, proves the relationship and normally shows £845 per month in London or £680 outside London for up to nine months.

Changing or extending

A Short-term Student cannot change course or extend in the UK and cannot switch in-country to Student permission. If longer or different study is planned, the person normally leaves the UK and makes the appropriate application from overseas.

A Student may be able to extend or take a new course, but a new CAS, valid application, academic progress and correct timing may be required. Changing to a different university normally means a new sponsor and new Student application.

After study

Short-term study does not lead to the Graduate route. Time on this route is for the approved English course and departure.

An eligible Student who successfully completes a qualifying UK course with a higher education provider that has a track record of compliance may apply for the Graduate visa from inside the UK after the sponsor reports completion. Current GOV.UK guidance says non-doctoral Graduate permission is two years for applications made on or before 31 December 2026 and 18 months from 1 January 2027; doctoral graduates receive three years.

Which route fits common situations?

Common selection mistakes

• Using “short-term” to mean any course under one year.
• Applying for Short-term study for a business, foundation or mixed-subject course.
• Assuming the Short-term visa allows 20 hours of work.
• Planning to switch to Student permission without leaving the UK.
• Bringing family as Short-term dependants.
• Using a non-accredited English provider.
• Assuming a CAS is unnecessary for the Student route.
• Ignoring the Student sponsor and course restrictions.
• Budgeting only the application fee and forgetting IHS or living costs.

Decision checklist