CAS application

On

If your course starts in September 2025 and you have accepted an Unconditional offer, you will be able to request a CAS through your Pre-Registration tasks from June 2025.

What is a CAS?

If you are an International student, it is likely you will need a Student visa to study in the UK. To apply for a Student visa, you will need a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS). The CAS is a unique reference number which confirms that the University has agreed to be your sponsor, and provides information about you and your course to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).

Please note that when students are issued with a CAS, they become subject to UKVI rules on monitoring International students. This means that we will have to report you to UKVI if you do not register at the University, or if you do not attend your course.

If you need a CAS for your academic course, please read the Arranging your CAS for your academic course section
If you need a CAS for your pre-sessional English course at the University's English Language Teaching Centre (ELTC), please read the Arranging your CAS for your ELTC course section
If you need a Combined CAS to cover both your academic and pre-sessional English course, please visit the Combined CAS webpage

Sections in bold text indicate where you need to do something.

When to apply

We encourage you to apply for your CAS as soon as you are able to.

If you are applying from outside the UK and are not intending to use a priority service, you should submit your CAS application to the University at least 3 weeks before your course start date.

If you are using a priority service, the final deadline to submit your CAS application to us is 1 week before the latest possible start date for your course. Please visit our New Students webpages for more information on late registration and start dates.

Arranging your CAS for your academic course

Arranging the CAS is one of the tasks completed as part of your Pre-Registration at the University of Sheffield. You will be sent an email inviting you to begin Pre-Registration and giving you access to the Pre-Registration system when:

You have accepted an Unconditional offer of a study place at the University; and
It is less than four months before the start of your course.

The CAS Application task will appear in the Pre-Registration system when

It is less than four months before the start of your course;
You have accepted an Unconditional offer of a study place at the University; and
You have paid any fee deposit we have requested (postgraduate taught applicants only).

Application stages

Activate the CAS application

The CAS task will appear in the Pre-Registration system within 5 working days of you accepting an Unconditional offer of a study place at the University of Sheffield (and paying any associated fee deposit) or 4 months before the start of your course, whichever is later.

Open the CAS task within the Pre-Registration system and follow the on-screen instructions to activate your CAS application.

The Admissions Service will then prepare your CAS application. When the CAS application is ready for you, it will become visible within the CAS task. This should happen within 2 working days of you activating your CAS application.

Complete the CAS application

We will send you an email inviting you to complete your CAS application.

Follow the instructions given in the email to complete your CAS application. You should check that all the CAS Information is present and correct. If any information is missing or incorrect, you will be able to enter the correct information. When all the information is present and correct, you should confirm this by clicking the 'Submit' button.

This will submit your CAS application to the Admissions Service.

CAS application processed by the Admissions Service

When you have submitted your CAS application, we will check it and submit your information to UKVI within 5 working days.

If you have made any errors or missed any sections, we will send your application back to you to amend and complete.

Receive your CAS Statement

When we have sent your information to UKVI, UKVI will process it and allocate you a CAS number. They will send this number to the University (not to you) and we will create a CAS Statement for you that includes this number and the information we used in your CAS application.

We will email you to tell you that your CAS number has been assigned and your CAS Statement is ready. You will be able to view the CAS Statement by logging back in to your record in the Pre-Registration system.

Log in to your Pre-Registration account and check the information in CAS statement is correct.

Apply for your visa

When you have received your CAS Statement, you can apply for your visa via the UKVI website.

You will be able to apply for your visa a maximum of 3 months before the date your course is due to start if you are applying from inside the UK, or 6 months if you are applying from outside the UK.

Arranging your CAS for your ELTC course

If you are studying an in-person English language course at our English Language Teaching Teaching Centre and need a Student visa, you will need a CAS.

The following describes how to request a standard CAS for your ELTC course and explains the steps we have to undertake before your CAS can be issued. Please visit our Combined CAS webpage for information about how to request a Combined CAS.

We will only arrange a CAS for you when:

It is less than 4 months until your course start date; and
You have accepted an Unconditional offer.

Application stages

Accept your ELTC course offer and return the Visa Request Form

When we send you an offer letter for your ELTC course, we will also send you a link to our Visa Request Form.

Complete the Visa Request Form to indicate whether you want a single CAS or a Combined CAS, or whether you have alternative immigration permissions to study in the UK.

CAS request processed by the Admissions Service

When you have returned your Visa Request Form, the Admissions Service will check your response. If you have requested a CAS, we will assess whether you are eligible for a CAS and activate your CAS application through your Pre-Registration tasks. This can take up to 5 working days.

Complete the CAS application

We will send you an email inviting you to complete your CAS application.

Follow the instructions in the email to complete your CAS application. You should check that all the CAS Information is present and correct. If any information is missing or incorrect, you will be able to enter the correct information. When all the information is present and correct, you should confirm this by clicking the 'Submit' button.

This will submit your CAS application to the Admissions Service.

CAS application processed by the Admissions Service

When you have submitted your CAS application to us, we will check it and submit your information to UKVI within 5 working days.

If you have made any errors or missed any sections, we will send your application back to you to amend and complete.