Student visa timeline: work backwards from your course start date
Almost every deadline in a Student visa application is counted backwards from one of two dates: the day your course starts, or the day you submit the application. If you know those two dates you can lay out the whole process on a calendar, and see the two places where people most often run out of time: the money, and the CAS.
The fixed points
| Rule | What it says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Earliest you can apply from outside the UK | 6 months before the course starts | GOV.UK |
| Earliest you can apply from inside the UK | 3 months before the course starts | GOV.UK |
| Usual time to a decision | 3 weeks outside the UK, 8 weeks inside | GOV.UK |
| How old your CAS can be | Issued no more than 6 months before you apply | ST 1.2 |
| How long your money must be held | 28 days in a row, ending no more than 31 days before you apply | GOV.UK |
| Earliest you can arrive | 1 month before a course longer than 6 months; 1 week before a shorter one | GOV.UK |
Two of these are counted from the course start date, and three from the day you apply. The decision time runs from the application too, so it sets the latest sensible date to apply rather than the earliest.
A worked example: a course starting 20 September 2027
Take someone applying from their home country for a three-year degree that begins on 20 September 2027.
- 20 March 2027 is the first day an application can be made: six months before the start.
- They plan to apply on 1 July 2027. Their CAS must therefore have been issued on or after 1 January 2027. A CAS issued the previous autumn for a deferred place would be too old.
- Their funds must have been in the account for 28 consecutive days, and that 28-day period must end within 31 days of 1 July 2027. So the balance must not have dipped below the required amount on any day of a 28-day run ending between 31 May 2027 and 1 July 2027. If the run ends on the day they apply, the money needs to have been in place since 4 June 2027 at the latest.
- With a usual decision time of three weeks, applying on 1 July 2027 points to a decision in late July. That is a guide, not a guarantee: GOV.UK says “usually”.
- The earliest they could arrive is 20 August 2027, one month before the course starts — and never before the start date printed on the visa, whatever the course date.
Where the time actually goes
The 28 days cannot be compressed. If the money arrives in the account on 20 June, the earliest the 28-day period can end is 17 July, and no amount of urgency changes that. Counting the 28 days is the first thing to put on the calendar, not the last. The financial requirements guide covers how much, and which accounts count.
The CAS depends on someone else. You cannot apply without it, and your sponsor issues it only once your offer is unconditional. If your offer depends on exam results that arrive in August, your whole timetable starts in August, and the three-week decision time leaves little slack before a September start. Ask your sponsor now how long it takes to issue a CAS after results.
Proving your identity is part of the application. GOV.UK says you will need to prove your identity as part of applying; depending on your nationality and passport that may mean an appointment. Find out which applies to you before you fix the date you intend to apply.
A faster decision may be on offer. GOV.UK says you may be able to pay for one, and that you are told when you apply whether it is available. Do not plan around it until you know. Our processing time guide has more on what affects decision times.
If you are applying from inside the UK
The window is shorter and the wait is longer: you can apply no earlier than three months before the course, and the usual decision time is eight weeks. You must apply before your current visa expires, and GOV.UK says your new course must begin within 28 days of that expiry. One thing is easier: if you have been in the UK with permission for 12 months or more on the date you apply, you do not need to show funds at all (Appendix Student, ST 12.1).
A one-line plan
Get the money in place first and leave it alone; chase the CAS the moment your offer is unconditional; check the CAS against your passport and your payments; apply as soon as both are ready; do not book travel that cannot be changed until the visa is in your hand.
Sources
This article explains published rules and data. It is not immigration advice, and it cannot tell you how an individual application will be decided. Found an error? Tell us; corrections are recorded in the corrections log.
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