When you apply for a Student visa you must include a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) number.  The University will assign your CAS number through the UK Visas and Immigration system. In advance of issuing your CAS, the Admissions and Access Service will require you to provide details of any previous study in the UK, including copies of previous visa stamps. This information must be provided through CAS Shield before a CAS can be issued.

The CAS number will be included in a letter called a ‘CAS statement’ which will be sent to you by the Admissions and Access Service.  This will have important information that you need for your visa application.

Important note:  A CAS statement (including a CAS number) will only be sent to those applicants who have firmly accepted an unconditional offer of a place.  It is important therefore that you inform the Admissions and Access Service as soon as possible whether you wish to accept or decline your offer. Please see the section below for details of the procedure for issuing your CAS.

Check your CAS statement carefully when you receive it. If you notice any errors with any element of your CAS statement, please inform the Admissions and Access Service as soon as possible. This includes errors with course start and end dates, course titles and level of the course.

Note - the earliest you may apply for a Student visa is 6 months before your course start date, and you must not travel to Belfast until you have been issued with your Student visa.

Please note if you require a UK study visa and there are any changes to your academic status or course plan during your studies, there may be visa implications, and you will be advised to urgently seek immigration advice from Queen’s Immigration Support Service.  This includes any change to a course that has an integral work placement (for example, not securing a placement or securing an overseas placement).

Tuberculosis screening - Nationals of some countries are required to obtain a certificate from an International Organisation for Migration (IOM) accredited clinic showing that they are free from infectious tuberculosis (TB), to submit with their visa application.

Please refer to the following UKVI website to check if nationals of your country are required to obtain a certificate and, where this screening is a requirement, to obtain details of the clinics and fee in your country: www.gov.uk/tb-test-visa

Find more information on Visas and the Points Based System on the Immigration Support Service website.

Information on the PBS is also available at UK Visas and Immigration website.

The immigration rules are subject to change and it is your responsibility to check the UK Visas and Immigration website.

If you are a non-UK/Irish national, the University is required to check your original passport and immigration documents to ensure that you have correct immigration permission to study at Queen's before you can enrol. All non-UK/Irish students must present their passport and visa or other immigration permission to the Immigration Support Office, who will take a photocopy and check your right to study. This process is normally carried out during International Welcome and Orientation.

Extension of Leave – Students who are currently studying elsewhere in the UK

If you are studying at another educational institution in the UK and you want to extend your visa to study at Queen’s University, you will need a CAS.  A CAS statement will be sent to those applicants who have firmly accepted an unconditional offer of a place.

Extension of Leave – Migrants already in the UK who wish to study at Queen’s

Depending on the type of visa you currently have, it might be possible for you to study without switching (changing) to a student visa.  If you are not sure about your visa and whether you can study please contact iss@qub.ac.uk.

This is a requirement for most immigration categories, even those who do not require a Student visa, but who may have been granted another form of time-limited leave to remain eg. as a dependant, spouse, refugee, BNO or Global Talent visa holder.  The only exception is for applicants holding Indefinite Leave to Enter/Remain or other form of unlimited leave with no restrictions on study.

In order to be issued with a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS), all applicants who are required to obtain ATAS clearance must provide evidence to the Admissions and Access Service that they have already submitted an application for ATAS clearance.  This should be in the form of a screenshot from your application record on the ATAS online application system.

An ATAS clearance certificate is valid for 6 months from the date of issue by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. You can apply for an ATAS certificate up to 6 months in advance of the beginning of your programme. For example, if your programme begins on 15 September 2025, you should not apply for your ATAS clearance certificate until after 15 March 2025.

If you require ATAS clearance, you should apply in good time, and provide a screenshot from the ATAS online application system to Admissions at the earliest opportunity.  Please do not wait until your offer becomes unconditional, as this will delay the issue of your CAS.

If you require an ATAS clearance certificate, an attachment will be provided with your offer letter. This will include confirmation of your personal and programme details, the CAH3 code for your area of study (used by the immigration authorities to determine if ATAS clearance is needed or not) and a brief description of your proposed research topic or in the case of taught programmes, a list of the modules you will be studying. It is important that you retain this attachment as it is required when you are completing your application for ATAS clearance and also later when applying for a visa/entry clearance. The University reference number which you will be asked for is your application number provided in the offer letter and on the attachment.

For applicants to areas where ATAS clearance is not required but where we feel there may be some doubt on the part of entry clearance officers, a short attachment will be provided and the CAH3 code for your programme of study will be included on this. This should help to simplify the entry clearance process for you.

Full details about the scheme, including the ATAS application, can be found at http://www.fco.gov.uk/atas.

• You will receive formal confirmation of your unconditional offer through your UCAS Track account. You must then visit www.qub.ac.uk/as12 in order to confirm that you wish to accept your offer and intend to take up your place.  
• The University uses the CAS Shield system to collect information from applicants for CAS preparation. Applicants holding both unconditional and conditional offers will be contacted by email and invited to use the CAS Shield system to start the process for the preparation of their CAS.  We recommend that you start this process as soon as possible, once you receive your welcome email from CAS Shield. 
• The CAS Shield system will ask you to provide full details of any previous study in the UK, along with scanned copies of any previous UK visa permission stamps/residence permit.  You must disclose full details of your UK immigration history, including any previous visa refusal or curtailment (for the UK or any other country).  
• All applicants who are required to obtain ATAS clearance must provide evidence to the Admissions and Access Service that they have already submitted an application for ATAS clearance.  This should be in the form of a screenshot from your application record on the ATAS online application system.
• And finally, please scan and upload a copy of the photographic page of your passport to CAS Shield.  If you have any queries, please email cas.info@qub.ac.uk.

Once in receipt of all the above, we will be able to proceed to issue your CAS.