Study for less than 6 months

If you are coming to Oxford Brookes to study for less than 6 months you may be able to study on a Student visa or apply for a Standard Visitor visa/enter as a visitor to study. Studying on a Visitor visa or entering as a visitor could be the best route if you are studying for one semester on an exchange programme or retaking modules. Please use the links below to decide which is the right option for you and contact ISAT if you are not sure.

You must show that you are a genuine student and that you will leave the UK after 6 months. For further details, please see UKCISA’s guidance on showing you are a genuine student.

How to apply for a Visitor visa or enter as a visitor

Firstly, you will need to check if you are a 

  • visa national, or
  • non-visa national/EU/EEA/Swiss national. 

You can do this by seeing if the country you are a citizen of is on the Visa national list or EU/EEA country list.

Healthcare

If you are in the UK on a Standard Visitor visa, only certain health services, for example accident and emergency services will be free for you. The UKCISA guidance on health and healthcare in the UK explains international students' entitlement to free medical treatment in the UK. As accessing medical treatment (other than emergency services described above) is prohibited as a visitor, we advise that you take out private medical insurance.

Visitor visa restrictions

You cannot:
  • apply for a Visitor visa in the UK.

  • extend your Visitor visa/stay as a visitor in the UK.
  • switch to Student visa in the UK.
  • do paid or unpaid work for a UK company or as a self-employed person
  • claim public funds (benefits)
  • live in the UK for long periods of time through frequent or successive visits
  • marry or register a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership - you’ll need to apply for a Marriage Visitor visa.