UK Student Visa Sponsor List 2026

Search our independent copy of the UK register of licensed student sponsors. Find the legal sponsor for your university, college or school and check its route and status in the dated Home Office snapshot below. This is a study-visa register, not an employer or scholarship list.

To study in the UK on a Student visa (or send your child on a Child Student visa), your institution must appear on this list: only licensed sponsors can issue the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) required for a visa application. Use the filters below to narrow the register, or the search box to find an institution by name. You can also browse dedicated pages by city and institution type.

Search the register

What this snapshot tells you

The table contains 1,303 route entries, grouped into 945 distinct name-and-town combinations. This is not a count of separate sponsor licences: one organisation may appear for both Student and Child Student routes. A registered town is not necessarily every campus where it teaches.

The largest groups by registered location are London (222 entries), Oxford (26 entries), Cambridge (21 entries), Edinburgh (21 entries), Reading (20 entries). Use location as a starting point, then confirm the teaching campus directly. Our provider profiles link addresses and websites to possible register matches; they are not a league table.

Before paying a deposit

1. Search the legal sponsor name on your offer, including former names and any separate pathway provider.
2. Check the Route column: an entry for Child Student does not establish eligibility for an adult Student application.
3. Ask admissions to confirm that your exact course and intake are eligible for a CAS. A listing is not a promise that the provider will issue one to you.
4. Check the official register again before payment and application. Save your offer, refund terms and the name under which the CAS will be issued.

We regroup public records to make those checks easier, but do not verify course quality or act for UKVI. Read how the data is checked.

How to use this list

1. Search for your institution by name, or filter by town to see every option in a city.
2. Check the Status column. A “Student Sponsor – Track Record” or “Student Sponsor” status means the licence is active. If an institution has disappeared from the register since you last checked, contact it before paying any fees.
3. Check the Route column matches your situation — Student (16+) or Child Student (4–17).
4. Request your CAS. After satisfying the provider's admissions and sponsorship checks, obtain the reference you need to apply for the visa. An offer alone does not guarantee a CAS.

Reading the register

The Status column describes immigration sponsorship, not teaching quality, scholarships or a guarantee of a CAS. Course eligibility, your circumstances and the provider's admissions checks still apply. Read the official sponsor guidance for the privileges and restrictions attached to each status.

The Student route is for eligible applicants aged 16 and over. The Child Student route is for eligible children aged 4–17 at independent schools. A provider may have an entry for each route under its licence.

How often is this list updated?

We schedule a daily download. The snapshot date changes only when the downloaded data changes; failed checks retain the last valid data. See the last successful check. This copy can lag a new publication, so the official GOV.UK register is authoritative.

Source: Home Office student sponsor register, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Snapshot: 2 October 2026. See our methodology and limitations; always recheck GOV.UK before paying or applying.