Requesting a CAS to complete your course
As a Student Sponsor, the University of Essex must adhere to all the requirements set out in the Home Office Student Sponsor Guidance to maintain our sponsor status. We will need to gather information and documents from you and check your student record before we can issue a CAS to you, these checks can take us some time to complete.
The International Services Team will consider your request for a CAS in accordance with our Student Immigration Sponsorship policy which outlines the circumstances in which we can and cannot offer Student visa sponsorship.
Once we are satisfied you are eligible for our immigration sponsorship, we will issue you with a CAS and your CAS statement will be available to view on your myEssex student portal. Your CAS is valid for six months from the date of issue and can only be used to make one Student route application. As a Student visa holder, you will have many additional responsibilities and considerations and should read all the information in the Studying with a Student visa section.
As a Student Sponsor, we reserve the right to refuse to sponsor you and issue a CAS. We will withdraw our sponsorship/a CAS if we believe you are not a genuine student or cannot meet all the requirements of the Student Immigration Rules and Student Sponsor Guidance.
If you are starting a new Essex course the information below does not apply to you. Your CAS will be issued by our Admissions team, please read our International pages to find out more.
Before requesting a CAS
If you need to apply for Student immigration permission to complete your current course, before requesting a CAS please read our Student route application page to ensure you are able to meet all the requirements to make a successful Student route application. We will ask you to confirm you meet all the requirements when you make your CAS request.
If you wish to make your application in the UK, you must check if you meet the requirements to do so as it is not always possible. Read the UKCISA guidance ‘Can you apply in the UK?'
To meet the financial requirements of the Student route, you must have enough money to support yourself financially without recourse to public funds or the need to work and be able to demonstrate this as required within the Student Immigration Rules and Guidance. You will need to clear any debt before we will consider your CAS request. We may also request to see the financial evidence you intend to submit with your application to ensure this meets the requirements.
How and when to request a CAS to complete your course
Our International Services team are responsible for issuing CAS to eligible registered Essex students who wish to make:
- a student application to complete their current Essex course
- a student application before changing to a different course part way through their programme (following advice from International Services)
We recommend requesting your CAS four months before your current visa is due to expire when applying in the UK or six months before you are due to return to your course if applying from overseas.
Students who have studied their current course inside the UK
To make a Student route application from within the UK or from overseas to complete your current course, you will need to:
- Request a CAS via our online enquiry form for current Essex students.
Please note: Students who are not required to study in person inside the UK will not be eligible for our sponsorship and will not be issued with a CAS.
If you wish to return to the UK to resit an in-person exam(s) you can apply for a CAS for a new Student visa or may wish to apply for a Visitor visa instead. Please contact us to discuss this so you can choose the best option for your situation.
If you would like to make your Student visa application from within the UK, you must be able to meet all the requirements to make a valid application for permission to stay by the date your current permission expires. If you are unable to do so you may have to leave the UK and apply from overseas. Once you have submitted your application from within the UK you are permitted to remain in the UK and study whilst you wait for your Student visa outcome.
If you are making your Student visa application overseas, it usually takes four weeks for your application to be processed and can take longer, you must ensure you are able to obtain your Student visa in time to return to continue your course. You may wish to consider using a priority (fast track) service, available at extra cost, to ensure you can return to your course in time. Please visit VFS Global or TLS contact to check what services are available in your location.
If you have had your Student route application rejected or refused and need a new CAS
If you would like to make a new Student route application, you will need to send us a copy of the outcome notification and seek advice before we can confirm if we are able to issue you with a new CAS. Please follow the instructions on the Student route outcome page.
Our CAS process
Your CAS request will be assessed in line with the Student Immigration Rules and guidance in force at the time of your request. Our compliance checks usually take at least 10 working days from the date we have received all the information we require from you, your department or school, Admissions, Income and SWIS (if you are returning from a period of medical intermission). However, it can take much longer in peak periods, especially in the summer and autumn term and we may have to prioritise requests.
If your CAS request is received less that one month before your current visa expires and you are in the UK, we cannot guarantee that we can issue you a CAS in time and you may have to leave the UK to apply for your Student immigration permission overseas, we may need additional evidence from you of your ability to meet the financial requirements.
There are a number of checks we have to make to ensure you are eligible for our sponsorship including, but not limited to:
- you must have confirmed you can meet all the requirements to make a successful application
- your current passport and immigration documents
- your financial documents, if we have requested them
- for degree level students or below we have to check you will not exceed the maximum time you’re allowed to spend in the UK studying as a sponsored student
- your English language level meets the requirements
- your engagement, attendance and progression on your course is satisfactory
- your payment/debt record. We will not usually issue a CAS if you are currently in debt to the University
- your immigration history
- confirmation from SWIS that you are fit to return if you have been intermitting on medical grounds
- for PhD students, please refer to the PhD Sponsorship Policy (.pdf). We will need your supervisor to confirm arrangements for supervision
- if you have an ATAS certificate, you will need to obtain a new one from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office before we can process your CAS request. It can take at least 30 working days (6 weeks) to obtain a new certificate (sometimes longer). Please read our our ATAS page for more information.
- if you are wishing to apply in the UK, we will check you are eligible to do so
- if you need to apply overseas, then it may be possible to do so in a University vacation and return to your course for the start of the next term
Receiving your CAS
Your CAS statement will be uploaded to your myEssex current student portal. When it is ready, you will receive an email to let you know it is there.
When you receive your CAS, check it to make sure all the details are correct. If we have made any mistakes please contact us immediately and before you make an application to let us know.
If you have made payments to our University towards your tuition fees and/or University accommodation this should be recorded on your CAS and show on your CAS statement. If you make payments after we have issued your CAS, or you think the amount shown is incorrect, you can request that your CAS is updated by contacting us.
Questions about your CAS
If you are waiting for your CAS, please do not chase us if you made a request for your CAS less than four weeks ago unless you are in the UK and your current immigration permission is expiring within the next two weeks.
If you are overseas and are waiting for your CAS, we apologise for the wait and would ask that you do not chase us as this causes further delays, we appreciate that you are anxious, but we are processing CAS requests as fast as we can and will contact you if we need more information. You will receive an email as soon as your CAS is issued, and it will be available to view on your myEssex student portal. You should not make arrangements to travel until you have been issued with a Student visa by the UKVI and the start date for your Student visa is valid.
If your CAS has been issued by International Services and it needs amending, contact us before you make your Student route application.
Making your Student route application
Once you have received your CAS and made sure it is correct, you should be able to make your application for your Student visa. However before you apply please read our Student route application page to ensure you are able to meet all the requirements and have the required documentation.
You will have told us on your CAS request form where you were going to be applying from, within the UK or from overseas. If you change your mind it is important you contact us first as the information on your CAS will need amending and further checks may need to be made to ensure you are eligible.
If you are applying from within the UK, make sure you told us this when you requested your CAS and have checked that you are eligible to do so by reading the UKCISA guidance ‘Can you apply in the UK?'. We highly recommend you apply with the assistance of SUAdvice.
