Student Visa duration

Type of course	Entry clearance granted before course starts	Entry clearance granted after course ends
12 months or more	1 month*	4 months
6-12 months	1 month*	2 months
Pre-sessional course less than 6 months	1 month*	1 month
Course of less than 6 months that is not a pre-sessional course	7 days	7 days
Postgraduate doctor or dentist	1 month	1 month

*Intended date of travel

• When you complete your Student visa application online, you will confirm your intended date of travel to the UK.

Your visa will be valid to travel to the UK from the latest date of:

• 30 days before your course start date (as stated on your CAS); or
• 7 days before your intended date of travel to the UK

If your visa is issued later than 7 days before your intended date of travel to the UK, it should be valid for travel to the UK with immediate effect.

Where you don’t yet have an unconditional offer for your degree course, your leave entitlement will only be for the length of any preparatory course (English or Foundation).

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BRP expiry date of 31 December 2024

Your BRP will have a latest expiry date of 31 December 2024, even if your immigration permission or visa expires after this date. This is because physical documents such as BRPs, and vignettes placed in your passport, will eventually be replaced by a digital immigration permission known as an ‘eVisa’.

The eVisa system is still being developed and you can read further details from the Home Office about its roll-out of eVisas at Guidance Online immigration status (eVisa). It is possible to register with the gov.uk webpage for notifications of updates.

This applies if you have been issued with a BRP only. If you have been issued a digital status, the digital status should show the correct length of visa as per the table above, and should still be reported as an error if it is not correct.

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See also:

Applying for a Tier 4 Visa Inside the UKApplying for a Tier 4 Visa Outside the UK