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.
Visa nationals
If you are a visa national, you will need to apply for a visa before you come to the UK by following the steps:
- Complete the online application form. You will need to select 'short term study (up to 6 months)' as the main reason for your visit to the UK when you complete the application form.
- Pay the application fees which is currently £100 for a 6 month Visitor visa.
- Provide documents to show the reason for your visit (see Documents needed below).
Non-visa nationals/EU/EEA/Swiss nationals
If you are a non-visa national or EU/EEA/Swiss national, you do not have to apply for a visa before you travel to the UK - you can request entry as a visitor upon arrival.
If you request to enter as a visitor upon arrival, you still might need to present all the documents to support your application to a Border Force Officer when you arrive in the UK.
If you are a non-visa national from a specific country who can use the e-gates, you should still have these documents ready in case you are asked to present them. See Use of the e-gates and Documents needed in the sections below.
Documents needed
Documents needed with your Visitor visa application or when entering the UK as a visitor:
- We advise that you use your Oxford Brookes unconditional offer letter.
- Provide evidence that you have enough money to pay your tuition fees and you can support yourself while you are in the UK. As the UKVI does not give a specific amount, we suggest you use the Student visa maintenance requirements as a guide, which is £1023 per month of your course. If you have already paid your tuition fees or accommodation cost, you should show receipts as evidence.
- Please see the Home Office’s guidance for supporting documents for full details of what you should provide with your application.
Use of the e-gates
Non-visa nationals of the EU/EEA/Switzerland or Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the USA have the option of entering the UK via the e-gates if you have a biometric passport. If you enter this way, you automatically receive leave to enter the UK for 6 months as a visitor. You will not receive a stamp.
If you are from any of the countries listed above but do not have a biometric passport, you will need to see a Border Force Officer to enter the UK as a Visitor (see section above).
If you use the e-gates to enter the UK, you will need to keep documentation of your arrival into the UK as you will need to have a record of the date you entered. This could be your flight ticket/boarding pass/booking confirmation for the Channel tunnel. You will need to make sure you do not stay in the UK longer than 6 months after the date on this document. Please send this documentation to isct@brookes.ac.uk.
