In order to be eligible for a Tier 4 General Student Visa, you will need to have

• enough money (10 points)
• You must show the balance of your one year's tuition fees plus £7,200 for living expenses in Sheffield.
• If your course is less than nine months, you need to show the balance of your tuition fees plus £800 per month for your living costs.
• If you are self-funding you will need to prove you held this amount in your bank account every day for 28 days prior to making your visa application.
• If you have been studying in the UK recently, the amounts of funds may be lower. Please go to UKCISA for further information.
• If you are officially sponsored for all your costs, you will only require an original sponsor letter instead of bank statements. An official financial sponsor includes Her Majesty's Government, the student's home government, the British Council or any international organisation, international company, university or UK independent school.
• It is possible to show your parents' bank statements instead of your own to meet the funding requirements. However you will also need to show your original birth certificate and a letter of consent from your parents. Please see UKCISA for further information.
• a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) (30 points)
• original supporting documents (e.g. degree certificate) as listed on your CAS
• evidence of your English language ability
• Check your CAS – if it lists either your IELTS certificate or SELT (Secure English Language Test) result then provide the original certificate. There are some exemptions to the need to show your English language ability, so if your CAS does not list your English qualification then you may not need to submit it.
• a valid passport
• some courses require an ATAS certificate – please see below
• other documents (e.g. photos, payment) as specified by your Embassy or Visa Application Centre

For information on how to apply, find your country in the UKBA list of UK visa application centres. It costs approximately £298 to apply from outside the UK but fee levels do change.

Your dependants can apply for immigration permission to join or remain with you only if

1. You are a government-sponsored student and your course is more than six months long
   or
2. You are doing a postgraduate level course of 12 months or more at a Higher Education Institution
   or
3. You had Tier 4 or pre-Tier 4 student leave for your previous course where the course was more than six months long
   and
   your permission is current or expired no more than three months before this immigration application
   and
   your new immigration application is for a course more than six months long
   and
   your dependants already have Tier 4 dependant or 'student' dependant leave
   and
   you apply for immigration permission at the same time as your dependant

You can use UKCISA's new interactive web tool to help you determine whether you can have family members with you while you are in the UK.

Your details will be uploaded to the UK Border Agency database and you will receive a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) which includes a reference number. You will need this number to apply for your visa.

The CAS will be sent to you after you have fulfilled the conditions of your offer and paid the required deposit towards your tuition fees. Your visa will be tied to the institution that issued you the CAS.

The sponsor licence number is a reference which indicates which University you are coming to study at.

The sponsor licence number for Sheffield Hallam University is G5N8YGW40.

You may experience problems at immigration control when you try to gain entry to the UK if the sponsor licence number or CAS number on your Tier 4 student visa does not match the university you wish to study at.

We cannot enrol you at Sheffield Hallam University if your visa is attached to a different university. Therefore we recommend you make a fresh Tier 4 student visa application in your home country with your CAS from Sheffield Hallam University before you travel here.

Yes, in most cases, but you will need to apply for a new visa before we can enrol you onto your course. Your visa must have the Sheffield Hallam University Sponsor License Number on it. We will help you apply for a visa before enrolment, or advise on the action you need to take.

If you are not sure whether your visa is valid for Sheffield Hallam University, please email internationalsupport@shu.ac.uk for more advice. If you know you will need to change your visa, call our reception on 0114 225 3813 to book an appointment as soon as possible.

Please note
If your current visa ends before your course at Sheffield Hallam starts, there can only be a maximum gap of 28 days between your visa end date and course start date. For example

• Visa ends 20 August 2013, course starts 17 September 2013 – you can apply in the UK. You must apply before your current visa expires – contact us for advice.
• Visa ends 20 August 2013, course starts 22 September 2013 – you cannot apply in the UK. You will need to go home and apply for your next visa from there.

If you are applying for a postgraduate or research course you may need to obtain an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate before applying for UK entry clearance. If you do need this, it will be stated at the end of your offer letter.

To check if you need one and to apply, please visit the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website.

Your CAS is valid for six months after issue, and you should not receive a CAS more than six months before the start of your course. You can apply for a visa a maximum of three months before the start of your course. Remember that if you are self-funding you will need evidence that you have sufficient funds to cover living expenses and tuition fees for 28 days prior to application.

We strongly recommend you apply for your visa as soon as you can. This is because it will give you plenty of time to solve any problems you may have during the application process. It can take between a few weeks to a few months to get your visa application processed, depending on where you are applying and how busy your visa application centre is. You will need to check the timescales with your visa application centre before you apply.

If you are a national of the EEA you do not need a visa to study in the UK. A list of EEA countries is available on the UK Border Agency website. Further advice for EEA nationals can be found at UKCISA.

If you have an unconditional offer for a pre-sessional course and a conditional offer for a subsequent course you will need to apply for a Tier 4 general student visa. The visa will only be given initially for the length of the pre-sessional course plus one month. When you have passed the pre-sessional course and received your unconditional offer for the subsequent course, you may apply to extend your visa while you are in the UK. You must apply for an extension before the end date of your visa.

If there is more than one month between the expiry of your student visa and the start of your new course, you will need to return home to obtain a new student visa for your next course.

If you obtain a student visitor visa you will not be able to switch to a Tier 4 student visa while you are in the UK. You will have to return home and apply for a Tier 4 general student visa from your home country. Usually the gap between the end of the pre-sessional course and the longer course is quite short, there is not much time to return home and apply for a visa, so it is much better to apply for a general student visa from the start.

If you have an unconditional offer for a pre-sessional course and an unconditional offer for a subsequent course, you may be able to get a CAS to cover both courses. This means you may be able to get a visa to cover both courses.

Your visa should be issued for the duration of your course. You will also receive some additional time at the end of your course. This varies depending on the course level and duration.

Yes – if you are studying at Sheffield Hallam at degree level or above (including Sheffield Hallam foundation degrees) you can work 20 hours per week during term time and full-time during vacations.

If you are studying below degree level you can work 10 hours per week during term time and full-time during vacations.

Always check what the visa in your passport says as this will confirm what hours you are eligible to work.

After you graduate, you may be able to apply for a Tier 2 General visa. To qualify for this visa inside the UK you must have a job offer from an employer who has a sponsor licence number. You must meet certain requirements including

• the job must be a graduate level job and a shortage occupation or a job for which the employer has carried out the Resident Labour Market Test
• the job must have an appropriate wage
• you will also need to prove your English language ability and meet the maintenance requirements for Tier 2

Sheffield Hallam University international support and careers advisers offer workshops to help you prepare for this visa.

You can read more about the rules from the UKBA website and UKCISA.

You may also be eligible to apply for the Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur visa. This visa allows you to work in the UK if you have a credible business idea. The Research and Innovation Centre will decide whether they wish to sponsor your business idea and must give you a certificate of endorsement. If you are successful in gaining this visa you will be granted one year with the possibility of a further one year's extension. You can read more about the rules on the UKBA website.

As a student looking forward to beginning your studies in the UK you will now start preparing for your journey. As part of your preparation we want to make sure you have everything you need to get through the UK border as securely and quickly as possible. The following advice explains some of things you can do to help with this.

1. Make a note of a suitable UK contact including full name, address and a phone number which will be required when you complete your landing card.
2. Ensure you complete your landing card before you meet the Border Force officer in the UK.
3. If you carry your passport in a protective wallet, please take it out before you present it to a Border Force officer.
4. Never give false or misleading information (including forged or counterfeit documents) to a Border Force officer.
5. Have your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) letter and medical card (if you have one) in your hand luggage that you carry with you on to the aircraft. If you don't have a CAS letter, please bring thorough details of your course of study.
6. There are restrictions on food products that you can bring to the UK from outside the European Union, even for personal use. Restrictions apply to products made from meat, dairy, fish, eggs and honey, as well as some fruit, vegetables and plants (e.g. bulbs, seeds, cut flowers and tree bark).
7. There are also restrictions on the amount of goods such as tobacco, alcohol and gifts you can bring into the UK. If you exceed your allowances all of your goods can be taken away from you.
8. Never bring in counterfeit goods, illegal drugs, firearms (including realistic imitations), offensive weapons (including knives) or indecent or obscene material.
9. You must declare any sums of cash of £10,000 or more (or the equivalent in another currency) if you are travelling from a country outside the European Union.
10. Make sure you are familiar with the conditions of your visa including the number of hours you are allowed to work.

If you would like further information on any of the above please check the UK Border Agency website for more information.