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Overseas (non-EU) students

There are five very important steps you need to take in order to start your studies with us:

1. Accept or decline? Let us know

Whether your offer is conditional or unconditional you need to let us know, as soon as possible, whether you wish to accept the offer. It is very important that you do this so that we can send your registration pack as we move closer to the start of your studies. All you have to do is email us at pgadmissions@le.ac.uk.

  • Please put ‘Reply to Offer’ in the subject of the email (that way we can easily spot it).
  • Include the following details in your reply:
    • Name
    • University of Leicester number
    • Decision: accept or decline?

2. Meet conditions and send documents

If your offer is conditional, (for example we have asked you to send in references or provide evidence of your academic qualifications), please provide us with the documentation as soon as you have it. It is essential that you do this so that we can send you an unconditional offer letter and your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) numbe, which you will need before you can arrange your visa. Please email these documents to: pgadmissions@le.ac.uk or post them to us at:

  • Postgraduate Admissions Office, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK

Please make sure you include your name and University of Leicester number when you send these documents.

3. Apply for a CAS number and a Visa

In order to apply for a Tier 4 General Student visa you need to be issued with a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) number. This is a unique reference number issued by the UK Border Agency (UKBA). Once you have firmly accepted your offer with us we can start the process of providing you with your CAS number. If there is less than six months to go before the start of your course, you’ll receive an email from us very soon.

  1. Accept your unconditional offer with us. Your unconditional offer will be sent once you have met the conditions of your offer.
  2. We will send you a CAS request form, asking you to confirm your personal details and the course you intend to study. If you accept more than one offer with us you can only request a CAS number for one course.
  3. Once we receive your CAS request form we will apply to the UKBA for your CAS number.
  4. We will email you your CAS number, along with details of the documents we used to assess your application. If your application is complete and we are not waiting for any information such as your passport number, then we aim to get your CAS to you by email within two working days. If you do not have a working email, the number will be posted to you and it will take longer for you to receive it. If you have applied through an agent, we will email it to them. Please note your CAS number is only valid for six months and you cannot make your visa application more than three months before the start of the course.
  5. If you are granted a visa, it will specify that you will study at the University of Leicester. You will not be able to use this visa to study at any other university in the UK.

For information about how to apply for a Tier 4 Visa, please see the International Students section of our website. Please note that Tier 4 Visa application also requires evidence of English language ability.

4. Pay your fees

A tuition fee deposit is not compulsory at the University of Leicester. However, paying a deposit may support your visa application as it will show commitment to your studies. Any tuition fee deposit that you pay will be offset against your total tuition fee. You can pay your fees by:

Please note: The University does not accept credit card or debit card payments over the telephone, or cash payments.

5. Registration

When we receive your reply to our offer we will send you your registration pack. If you are starting in October this will arrive from August onwards. You will receive your pre-registration documents which you should read, complete and send back to us. We will also send you instructions about how to register online.

We will send the registration pack to your permanent home address, so if this changes it is important that you let us know as soon as possible. You can change your address by emailing pgadmissions@le.ac.uk (Please make sure you include your name and University of Leicester number).

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