Students coming to the UK for an English language course between 6 – 11 months long can apply for a Short Term Study visa. Applicants are required to apply for Entry Clearance from outside the UK and will need to meet the application requirements including:
Students must be able to demonstrate their genuineness as an applicant to apply for a Short Term Study visa to then travel to the UK. If The Home Office/UKVI feel that you do not sufficiently show this within your application for leave to enter the UK, you visa application may be refused.
You can find details of the requirements for the Short Term Study visa .
Applicants should not intend to settle in the UK, or use successive leave under Short Term Study to make the UK their home.
Successful applicants will receive a vignette transit visa, you must travel to the UK before the end date of the transit visa. You will also need to generate a share code when you receive your eVisa to provide the University with your immigration permission.
While in the UK on a Short Term study visa you cannot change course or institution, you must also leave the UK within 30 days of course end date. Failure to do so can impact your UK immigration record.
Applicants who will be studying a course of 6 months of less in length, at an accredited institution, may be able to apply for a visitor visa.
Only certain type of study can be undertaken while on a visitor visa, these include:
You will require a letter from Northumbria University which confirms the type of study you will be undertaking.
If you are studying a programme which requires you must apply for this before travelling to the UK, you should apply as soon as you are notified of your ATAS requirement.
Not all students are required to apply for entry clearance, some nationals can apply for this visa on entry to the UK. You should carefully read the information on to assess whether you are required to apply for entry clearance before travelling to the UK.
If you are not required to apply for entry clearance, and use e-Gates when entering the UK you should keep your boarding pass as evidence of your route and date of entry to the UK. You will be required to show this as part of your enrolment.
You can no longer apply for an electronic visa waiver (EVW) to enter the UK.
An Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) will soon be a requirement for people who do not need a visa to come to the UK. It will give you permission to travel to the UK, and it will be electronically linked to your passport.
You will need an ETA to come to the UK for up to 6 months as a visitor. An ETA provides an individual with permission to travel to the UK and must be obtained in advance of travel. As an ETA only provides permission to travel to the UK, eligible individuals with an ETA must also subsequently obtain permission to enter the UK on arrival.
In order to apply you can either use the UK ETA app or apply online on the website. Applications are automated, electronically linked to your passport, and cost £10 per applicant. From 9 April it will cost £16 to apply for an ETA.
The
following nationalities can apply for an ETA to travel to the UK
now:
|
Antigua and Barbuda |
Canada |
Kuwait |
Nicaragua |
Seychelles |
United Arab Emirates |
|
Argentina |
Chile |
Macao Special Administrative Region |
Oman |
Singapore |
United States |
|
Australia |
Costa Rica |
Malaysia |
Palau |
Solomon Islands |
Uruguay |
|
The Bahamas |
Grenada |
Maldives |
Panama |
South Korea |
|
|
Bahrain |
Guatemala |
Marshall Islands |
Papua New Guinea |
St Kitts and Nevis |
|
|
Barbados |
Guyana |
Mauritius |
Paraguay |
St Lucia |
|
|
Belize |
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (including British national overseas) |
Mexico |
Peru |
St Vincent and the Grenadines |
|
|
Botswana |
Israel |
Federated States of Micronesia |
Qatar |
Taiwan (if you have a passport issued by Taiwan that includes in it the number of the identification card issued by the competent authority in Taiwan) |
|
|
Brazil |
Japan |
Nauru |
Samoa |
Tonga |
|
|
Brunei |
Kiribati |
New Zealand |
Saudi Arabia |
Tuvalu |
The following nationalities can apply for an ETA from 5 March 2025 if travelling to the UK from 2 April 2025:
|
Andorra |
France |
Malta |
Spain |
|
Austria |
Germany |
Monaco |
Sweden |
|
Belgium |
Greece |
Netherlands |
Switzerland |
|
Bulgaria |
Hungary |
Norway |
Vatican City |
|
Croatia |
Iceland |
Poland |
|
|
Cyprus |
Italy |
Portugal |
|
|
Czechia |
Latvia |
Romania |
|
|
Denmark |
Liechtenstein |
San Marino |
|
|
Estonia |
Lithuania |
Slovakia |
|
|
Finland |
Luxembourg |
Slovenia |
Trinidad and Tobago
New provisions have been imposed for citizens and nationals of Trinidad and Tobago wishing to travel to the UK. Trinidad and Tobago has been added to the visa national list and consequently removed from Appendix Electronic Travel Authorisation.
Trinidad and Tobago citizens and nationals are now required to obtain entry clearance (a Visitor visa) before travelling to the UK, as opposed to being able to seek permission to enter the UK upon arrival. This change was implemented with immediate effect from 3pm GMT on 12 March 2025.
Transitional arrangements are in place for any citizens and nationals of Trinidad and Tobago who hold a confirmed travel booking to the UK made before 3pm GMT on 12 March 2025. If this booking leads to arrival in the UK no later than 3pm BST on 23 April 2025, they will not be subjected to this change.
Other nationalities cannot get an ETA.
You can come to the UK on ETA to study a short-term course of 6 months or less, repeat a module with attendance which is shorter than 6 months or resit an exam. If you would like to study on the course which is longer than 6 months, you will need to apply for a Short-term Study visa (if you are studying on English language course) or Student visa (if you are studying on a full-time academic course towards an RQF Level 3 or above qualification, for example, IFP, Bachelor Degree, Master’s Degree, PhD ) prior to your arrival to the UK.
You can find further information on ETA .
To find out more about an Electronic Travel Authorisation, please visit the website.
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