INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

International students

This section is specifically for students who come from outside the European Union (EU) and wish to study in England and/or those who do not qualify under residency conditions as a home student. For a list of EU member states, please visit the section for European students.

As an international student, you will have two main costs to meet – tuition fees and living expenses.

International student status

International student fees and financial support differs considerably from that for students defined as Home or EU. It is important to determine whether or not you are classed as a Home or EU student. In very general terms, Home and EU students are:

• Persons who have permanent residence in the UK and have been resident in the UK for three years
• European Economic Area (EEA) migrant workers and their families in the UK who have lived in the EEA for three years
• EU nationals and their children who have lived in the EEA for three years
• Refugees (recognised by the UK government) and their families
• Persons who applied for asylum and as a result have been granted Exceptional Leave, Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave, and their families

Additional information and advice about fees and funding for refugees and asylum seekers who are academics is provided by CARA the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics.

Living costs

As a guideline, it is estimated that a single student living in London will need around £9,000 per year to meet basic living expenses such as accommodation, heating, food, local travel, books, equipment, clothes and other necessities. This does not include tuition fees.

Sources of funding

British Council Scholarships

The British Council offers a number of awards for international students studying in the UK. For further information about scholarships available for international students please go to the British Council’s Quality Unit web page and click on the scholarships database.

One of them is the British Chevening Scholarship, funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development (DfID), which enables international students to study in the UK.

Offered in more than 150 countries for study in any subject field, the scholarships are for those pursuing a full-time postgraduate, or second degree course, or full-time research at a UK Higher Education Institution. The scholarships cover all or part of the cost of the period of study. For further information, visit www.chevening.com.

Visa and entry information

If you are national of the EEA (EU plus Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein) you will not need to apply for a student visa.

Applying from outside the UK

Most students from outside the EEA will need a student visa to study in the UK.

Application forms and advice about the visa process is available from www.ukvisas.gov.uk or your local British Council office, please note that some countries have different procedures for the visa application.

To apply for a student visa you will need to provide:

• A completed visa application form (VAF1) which is available from the UKVisas website
• Original unconditional offer letter from WCC (or UCAS for an undergraduate course)
• Certificate of Acceptance from WCC (this will be sent to you once you have accepted our offer)
• Proof of qualifications - the visa office will want to see original certificates to prove you have the appropriate qualifications
• Proof that you (or your sponsor) has the available funds to afford the course fees and your living expenses while in the UK

Applying from the UK

If you are a current student at LSBU and need to extend your student visa you can obtain an application form (FLR (S)) from www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk. Your faculty office will be able to provide you with a letter for the Immigration and Nationality Directorate to say that you are enrolled on a course at the University. Please allow plenty of time to renew your visa.

Please look at our prospectus to obtain more information about each of our courses.


Download Prospectus »

Download & Print Application form »

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If you require further advice on studying in the UK please contact UKCOSA, 9-17 St Albans Place, London N1 0NX (www.ukcosa.org.uk) »