Verified against official sources — 30 Oct 2026

UK Student Visa Documents Checklist: What GOV.UK Requires, and What Depends on You

NEW Published 30 October 2026

The two documents everyone provides, the evidence GOV.UK says you may also need, and the conditional items — ATAS, TB, parental consent, sponsor consent — that decide real applications.

SECTION 01What Every Applicant Provides

GOV.UK's list opens with the two universals, in its own framing: "When you apply for your Student visa you must provide" the following.

• RULE — A current passport or other valid travel documentation. This is the document your identity is proven against — scanned through the ID Check app or taken to a visa application centre — and the document your eVisa will be linked to for travel.
• RULE — A Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from your course provider. You enter the CAS reference number on your application; you must have it before you apply, and you must apply within 6 months of receiving it. See our CAS guide.

SECTION 02Proof of Money

GOV.UK lists proof of money among the documents you may need to provide, because for a minority of applicants — those in the UK 12 months or more, and differential-evidence nationals — it is not filed up front. For everyone else, including all applicants from India, it is a core document set.

• RULE — Evidence of your course fee and living costs. Enough for the course fee for one academic year (the amount on your CAS) plus £1,529 a month in London or £1,171 a month outside London for up to 9 months. Amounts and mechanics are in our financial requirement guide.
• RULE — The money held for 28 days in a row, ending within 31 days of applying. Your evidence must show the full 28-day holding period, not just a closing balance.
• RULE — Loan or sponsorship evidence from the company, if that is your source. GOV.UK: if you have a student loan or financial sponsorship, you provide evidence of it from the loan or sponsorship company.
• CONDITIONAL — Your financial sponsor's written consent for your application. Required if you have received sponsorship for your course fees and living costs in the last 12 months.
• CONDITIONAL — Extra money evidence for each dependant. £845 a month in London or £680 a month outside London per dependant, up to 9 months, held 28 days — only where dependants are eligible at all; see the dependants guide.

SECTION 03The Conditional Documents: ATAS, TB, Consent

• CONDITIONAL — A valid ATAS certificate. Required if your course and nationality require it: certain sensitive subjects, mostly at postgraduate level, for nationals not on the exempt list — India is not exempt. You must have it before you apply for the visa. See our TB and ATAS guide.
• CONDITIONAL — Your tuberculosis (TB) test results. Required if you are coming for 6 months or more and have lived in a listed country — India is listed — for 6 months or more, at an approved clinic. The certificate is valid for 6 months.
• CONDITIONAL — Parental or legal guardian consent, if you are under 18. Written consent covering your visa application, your living and care arrangements in the UK, and your travel to the UK, from both parents or legal guardians (or one with sole responsibility).
• CONDITIONAL — Proof of your relationship to your parent or guardian, if you are under 18. GOV.UK names a copy of your birth certificate, or another government-issued document, showing your parents' names.
• CONDITIONAL — Relationship evidence for dependants. For a partner, a marriage or civil partnership certificate is GOV.UK's example; for a child, a birth certificate — plus 2 address documents for the child from GOV.UK's list.

GOV.UK closes its list with a sentence worth treating as an item in itself: "You may need to provide additional documents depending on your circumstances." The online application generates your own document instructions as you complete it — follow those over any general list, including this one, wherever they differ.

SECTION 04Proof of English

• RULE — Evidence at the level your course requires. CEFR B2 at degree level or above, B1 below degree level — by UK school qualification, UK degree, a degree taught in English (Ecctis-assessed if awarded outside the UK), or a Secure English Language Test from an approved provider. Full routes in our English requirement guide.
• CONDITIONAL — Nothing to file, if your Higher Education Provider assessed you. At degree level or above, an HEP can assess your English itself; the assessment is the sponsor's, and your CAS records your route. Confirm with your sponsor what, if anything, you upload.

SECTION 05Preparing the Set

• ADVICE — Check the CAS before anything else. The fee figure, course and your personal details on the CAS anchor the whole application. Errors found after you apply become delays; errors found before become an email to your sponsor.
• ADVICE — Sequence the dated documents inside their windows. CAS: apply within 6 months. Money: 28 days held, ending within 31 days of applying. ATAS: allow at least 30 working days. TB certificate: valid 6 months. Lay the four windows on one calendar before you book anything.
• ADVICE — Keep names and numbers identical across documents. Your passport, CAS, bank evidence and certificates should tell one consistent story; inconsistencies are what "your supporting documents need to be verified" delays are made of — GOV.UK's own example of why an application takes longer.

SECTION 06What This Checklist Cannot Tell You

Three honest limits apply. First, GOV.UK's published list is a floor, not your personal list — it reserves "additional documents depending on your circumstances", and your online application states yours. Second, this checklist does not reproduce GOV.UK's detailed finance-evidence rules (account types, document formats); the official finance guidance it links governs those, and a document can fail on format with the right amount in it. Third, no checklist decides anything: UKVI assesses the application as a whole, and a complete set of documents is the beginning of that assessment, not a guarantee at the end of it.

FAQFrequently Asked Questions

Official references and verification status

These official references were accessed and checked on 30 October 2026, and this checklist's RULE and CONDITIONAL items were verified claim-by-claim against them (record in the accompanying sources file). Two honest limits: GOV.UK publishes no single exhaustive list — its own list ends by reserving additional documents for individual circumstances; and evidence formats for financial documents sit in the detailed finance guidance GOV.UK links, which this checklist does not reproduce.

• GOV.UK — Student visa (overview and full guide)
• GOV.UK — Student visa: Your partner and children
• GOV.UK — Tuberculosis tests for visa applicants
• GOV.UK — Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS)

General educational information, not individualized legal advice. Follow official instructions and consult a qualified UK immigration adviser regulated in the UK for case-specific questions.

General information only. This guide is based on official sources publicly available and checked on the date shown on this page. Visa rules change, and consular and USCIS officers decide every case on its own facts — nothing here is a confirmation or a guarantee for your individual case, and this is not legal advice. Always confirm the current requirement on the official page linked in this guide before you act, and consider a qualified immigration attorney for your specific situation.