International and european applicants FAQs

We encourage you to prepare in advance for your visa application and apply as soon as you receive your CAS.

You can apply for your Student visa up to six months before the start of your academic degree course.

Please note that your CAS may still state three months because this is a recent change, but you can still use your CAS to apply up to six months before the start of your course.

You can enter the UK only once your visa has been issued. You can arrive up to 1 month prior to course start date (for courses more than six months in length). You must not travel to the UK before the start date given on your visa, no matter when your course starts.

For us to send you a CAS:

• your offer must have been accepted
• you must have met all of the conditions of your offer, including paying your Advanced Payment.

We can then send your CAS, but this will be no sooner than 16 weeks before your course start date in line with UKVI regulations.

We only issue CAS Statements via email. To submit a visa application you will need to use the CAS number stated in the email - you do not need to submit a hard copy or PDF version of the CAS as part of the visa application.

We only issue CAS Statements by email.

If you get an invalid CAS message it may be that you have input an incorrect number or letter. We know that the 1 (number) and I (letter) look very similar. This can be a problem because they look the same in the CAS letter format.

Please try inputting again replacing the 1 with an I, or the I with a 1.

If this remains a problem you can contact us.

As an international student you will be sent a copy of your offer letter by email.

The start date for your course is stated on your CAS email and offer letter email from NTU. You can also check your course induction timetable online.

On your CAS, the 'Start Date' is the date your course will begin and you should be on campus ready to attend classes on this date. It is important that you are ready to attend on this date because there will be induction sessions which are vital to your success on your course.

On your CAS, you will also see a 'Latest Start Date'. This date is for exceptional circumstances only and refers to the latest date a student would be allowed to start.

You should always plan to arrive for your course 'Start Date'. You may only arrive after your 'Start Date' if you have applied for your visa application in good time, but are experiencing delays outside your control. Please ensure you read all emails from NTU carefully about start dates.

We encourage you to arrive in time to attend Welcome Week. It's a great opportunity to get settled into student life before your academic degree starts.

Unfortunately, if you are unable to arrive for the start of your course there is no online start available.

If you have applied to us directly you can defer your place by one academic year.  If you choose to do this please contact us on the Ask NTU online form.

Your advance payment is only refundable if one of these categories applies to you:

• You have requested the return of your advance payment within 14 days of receipt of payment to NTU under the Consumer Protection Regulations 2014.
• If your UK Student visa application is rejected (for non-fraudulent reasons). You will need to provide the visa refusal stamp in your passport and a letter from the Entry Clearance Officer explaining their decision with your refund request form.
• If you fail to meet the academic conditions of your offer. Also if NTU has made an error in making the offer and now needs to withdraw the offer/CAS.
• If you made the visa appointment in time for the latest enrolment date of the course, taking into consideration processing times, but there has been a delay in approving the decision by UKVI.
• NTU is unable to provide the academic programme originally applied for, offered, and accepted and you do not want to accept a place on any alternative offered.

You will need to complete and return the refund request form along with any supporting evidence if any of these reasons apply.

You can request a refund up to 3 months after the start date of the course. After this point, your request will not be accepted.

Please note, the refund process takes a minimum of 12 weeks once the refund is approved and provided you have given all the information correctly on the request form.

We will not consider an advance payment refund for any of these reasons:

• If your visa is refused or your CAS not issued due to using fraudulent documents or deception as part of the application process or has been rejected for the second time for insufficient funds.
• If you do not enrol after deferring your place to the next intake unless you experience exceptional unforeseen circumstances between now and the next intake which mean you cannot join NTU. A refund is not guaranteed in these circumstances and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and only when accompanied by official documents that support the refund request.
• If you have fully enrolled at NTU.
• If you request your refund 3 months after the start date of the course. Applicants have up to 3 months to request a refund and after this point, your request will not be accepted.
• If we have evidence that you have changed your visa status to asylum you may not be eligible for a refund.

If you do not enrol after deferring your place to the next intake, you will only be able to receive a refund if you do not meet the entry requirements and can demonstrate you have attempted to do so, receive a visa rejection (except for fraudulent reasons or a repeated attempt where not enough funds demonstrated) or  experience exceptional unforeseen circumstances between now and the next intake which mean you cannot join NTU. A refund is not guaranteed in these circumstances and will be assessed on a case by case basis and only when accompanied by official documents that support the refund request.

If you have already paid your advance payment, before you defer your offer and advance payment, we recommend you consider your circumstances. You can submit a new application for your course for the next intake if you are eligible to request a refund now. You can email international@ntu.ac.uk if you need any more advice.

Please note we strongly advise against studying the Pre-Sessional English courses on an Electronic Visa (ETA) or as a visitor. The ETA / visitor permission does not allow you to apply for your student visa for your main course from within the UK, so you will need to leave the UK to apply for your student visa.

The course end date of the PEAP course and the start date of the follow-up course does not allow sufficient time to: leave the UK, apply for your visa and re-enter the UK in time to start your course. If you arrive after your course start date, you may not be allowed to enrol for that intake.

As an international student at NTU, it's really important that you are well-prepared and budget carefully because it isn’t just your fees you will need to pay. You will have immediate costs when you arrive, and daily, weekly and monthly expenses too.

You can use websites such as the National Student Money Survey to do your research.

Here is some information relating to Nottingham to get you started.

Nottingham is based in the East Midlands, which has been identified as one of the cheapest regions to study in the UK. The cost of living for a student in Nottingham remains cheaper than in other big cities in the UK. How much you spend of course will depend on your own lifestyle. You may find that the costs of goods and services in the UK are different to those in your own country and this can take some time to get used to.

You'll find a breakdown of costs in Nottingham on our living costs webpage, with lots of advice for budgeting and managing your money.