UK Student Visa Biometrics, Application Steps and Decision Times

Completing the online application

Every UK Student visa application starts online on GOV.UK. You complete the form, pay the application fee and the immigration health surcharge, and provide your CAS reference and supporting details. You apply from outside the UK if you are coming to study, or from inside the UK if you are switching or extending and are eligible to do so.

When and where you apply matters because the application route, the way you prove your identity, and the published decision times differ for in-country and out-of-country applications. Start the form on the official Student visa pages rather than through any third-party copy.

Proving your identity: biometrics or the ID Check app

As part of the application you must prove your identity. Depending on your nationality, passport type and where you apply, you do this in one of two ways: by attending a visa application centre to give your biometric information (a photo and fingerprints), or by using the 'UK Immigration: ID Check' smartphone app to scan your identity document and confirm your identity remotely.

The service tells you which method applies to you while you complete the application. If you attend a visa application centre, you book an appointment and take your documents; if you use the app, you may not need to attend in person. Follow the exact instructions the GOV.UK service gives for your case.

• You'll be told whether to give biometrics in person or use the ID Check app.
• Biometrics route: book and attend a visa application centre with your documents.
• App route: scan your document and face with the 'UK Immigration: ID Check' app.
• Keep your passport and CAS details to hand throughout.

Standard, priority and super-priority processing

Once you have submitted your application and proven your identity, the Home Office aims to decide within a published service standard. GOV.UK lists a standard processing time for applications made outside the UK and a different (longer) standard for applications made inside the UK.

Where it is offered, you may be able to pay extra for a priority or super-priority service that aims to decide your application faster. Availability and the current timescales vary by location and over time, so check the official decision-time and priority-service pages for your country before counting on a faster result.

• Standard decision times differ for outside-UK vs inside-UK applications.
• Priority / super-priority services aim for a faster decision for an extra fee.
• Availability and timescales vary by country and change — verify on GOV.UK.
• Don't book non-refundable travel until you have a decision.

The decision, your eVisa and travelling to the UK

If your application is granted, your permission is recorded as an eVisa — a digital status in your UKVI account. Depending on how you applied and where, you may also be issued a short-validity entry vignette (a sticker in your passport) to travel within a set window, after which your status is held digitally.

Before you travel, make sure you can access your UKVI account and that your passport is linked to it, because your status is checked digitally at the border. Set up your access to your eVisa and know how to generate a share code for enrolment and accommodation once you arrive.

This is general information, not immigration advice. Always verify the current application steps, identity method and decision times on the official GOV.UK Student visa pages.