CAS Policy & Service Agreement

If you are required to complete a CAS + visa application process with International Student Support (ISS), please carefully read this information. This CAS Policy has been created and is regularly updated in accordance with UKVI’s Student Route guidance and Appendix Student. The Service Agreement explains the duties and responsibilities of ISS.

CAS Policy

1. As a UK institution listed on the Student Route Visa Register of Student Sponsors, the University of Sunderland is licensed to assign Certificate of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) to migrant students who wish to study in the UK under the Student Route of the Points Based Immigration System. A CAS is a unique reference number which connects a student to the University of Sunderland for a specific course and their duration of study in the UK.

2. New international applicants will require a CAS from the University of Sunderland if they intend to apply for a Student Route Visa so they can travel to the UK for study. This process will be administered by the university's Immigration Compliance service, and the CAS will be assigned by the Interational Admissions service. This process will include the assigning of CAS to students currently in the UK who can progress from previous completed studies in the UK to a new course at the same or higher level of the Regulated Qualification Framework (RQF) in the UK. Included in this category of international students will be University of Sunderland graduates who wish to continue their studies here with the University of Sunderland in the UK.

3. Continuing students may request additional time to complete their current programme of study which results in new/extended Student Route leave. Examples of this include a student:

Necessary repeat studies on campus beyond a visa expiry date,
Returning to campus from a leave of absence (LOAB),
Extending their leave in the UK to cover a new end date (i.e., after a sandwich year placement),
Continuing part of their course on a non-student visa, before transitioning to the Student Route Visa to complete their course of study,
Wishing to transfer course which extends the student’s duration of study beyond their granted Student Route Visa expiry date, or
Applying for a Student Union Sabbatical officer role.

In any of the instances listed above, this process is administered by International Student Support (ISS). Before ISS can apply for a new CAS, the student must provide evidence to enable the university to evaluate whether the student meets its (i) Student Route Visa sponsor duties and (ii) CAS eligibility criteria.

4. ISS must comply with UK Visa and Immigration’s (UKVI) Student and Child Student Route Visa Casework Policy Guidance, the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner’s (OISC) Code of Standards, and the UK Council for International Student Affair’s (UKCISA) Code of Ethics when supporting a student with a CAS and visa application.

5. If eligible to apply for a new Student Route visa, a CAS process will outline the requirements the student has successfully completed to be assigned a CAS. The student must agree to the terms and conditions of their CAS process before an ISS Adviser can proceed with a CAS process. Agreeing to the terms and conditions of the CAS process will grant ISS consent to contact UKVI and act on behalf of the student.

6. All communication regarding a CAS process will be administered via Compass, the University of Sunderland's enquiry management system. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure they check their emails and Compass portal for updated communications on a regular basis when working through their CAS process.

7. The student will be required to provide documents from the following list in order to be assigned a CAS:

Current valid passport or travel document,
Completed Immigration History Form (IHF) and evidence of any previous refused or rejected visa application paperwork,
Current and/or previous visa(s),
Entry qualification (i.e., the qualification used to gain entry onto current course),
English language proficiency qualification (if applicable),
Payment for £55 UKVI administration fee for CAS assignment,
Evidence of payment of tuition fees for current or upcoming academic year (unless fee is included in maintenance bank evidence in addition to maintenance funds) (if applicable),
Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) Certificate (if applicable),
Tuberculosis Test Certificate (if applicable),
Financial evidence demonstrating required funds being maintained for a minimum period of 28 consecutive days from a personal current bank account or a parent/guardian’s current account,
A financial sponsorship letter confirming all tuition and living costs are covered by the sponsor (unless they comply with UKVI's Immigration Rules Appendix Student paragraphs 12.1 and 22.1),
Documentation to prove the relationship between the student and parent/guardian or partner/spouse account holder (if the student plans to use their parent/guardian's or partner/spouse’s bank account evidence), and
A signed letter of parental/partner consent to confirm the student has permission to use their parent/guardian’s or partner/spouse's financial documentation as maintenance + tuition evidence.

8. An affidavit will not be accepted in place of a birth certificate or court document. This is because an affidavit, even one sworn before a court, is simply a claim to a relationship, but not evidence of that relationship. UKVI does not accept affidavit documents.

9. A CAS will only be assigned up to the approved expected course end date that is approved and provided to ISS by your faculty.

10. If a student’s CAS process factors the requirement of approved ATAS clearance, this CAS check will only be completed upon ISS seeing evidence of (i) the submitted ATAS clearance application or (ii) the issued ATAS clearance certificate.

11. The financial evidence must show the full required living costs + tuition funds to prove they can sustain living in the UK during their studies. If a student must include financial evidence in their visa application, they need £1,136 for each month of their course, up to £10,224 (plus any unpaid tuition fee if applicable) for a course lasting 9 months or more. The online visa application form must be submitted to UKVI within 31 days of the bank evidence’s date of print or within 6 months of the financial sponsorship letter’s date of print.

12. If a student is using statements from a personal or savings account, the student's financial evidence must show that the full required living costs + tuition funds have been in the account for a minimum of 28 consecutive days up to the date of the closing balance. In other words, the account's money must not drop below the amount that the student must show at any time during the 28-day period. If it does, the immigration application is likely to be refused. In addition, the final date of this 28-day period must not be more than 31 days old on the date that the application is submitted. Using funds from an overseas bank account is permitted. Please refer to FIN 2.1 of Appendix Finance for information on acceptable and unacceptable banks and financial institutions. Financial evidence must comply with this UKVI guidance or risk being rejected.

13. If the currency of the bank evidence used is not British Pound Sterling, a currency conversion assessment can only be made via the online currency converter on the OANDA website. To calculate the validity periods of Student Route Visa financial evidence, the date-to-date duration calculator on the timeanddate.com website must be used. These are online tools approved by the UKVI and used by the Student Route caseworkers.

14. Official financial sponsors include (i) His Majesty’s Government, (ii) a national government, (iii) the British Council, (iv) an international organisation, (v) international company, (vi) university or (vii) independent school, as defined in Appendix Finance. Your evidence of funds letter, if provided by a government or an international scholarship agency, must state that your financial sponsor consents to your student route application. If your official financial sponsor is not covering all your course fees and maintenance, you must show that you have the rest of the money required via other supporting evidence (i.e., a bank statement for a personal or savings account). You can use any combination of the forms of evidence listed in the financial requirements evidence section.

15. If you plan to use a personal bank account in your parent's/ guardian's name (or names) or partner's name (or names) to prove that you have enough money to study in the UK as part of your student route application, you must evidence of the relationship (i.e., birth certificate, adoption certificate, marriage certificate) and a letter of consent from the account holder.

16. Business accounts are not acceptable because the Immigration Rules (Appendix Finance) specify that accounts must be personal.

17. As per Appendix Student paragraphs 12.1 and 12.2, students will automatically meet the financial maintenance requirement if (i) they are applying for permission to stay in the UK having been in the UK for at least 12 months with valid permission on the date of application, and (ii) where they are applying for permission as a Student Union Sabbatical Officer

18. Students from countries listed on Appendix Student paragraph 22.1 can apply for a Student Route Visa via the differential evidence requirement. This means they are not required to supply UKVI with financial evidence; however, they must agree (i) they understand the Student Route Visa maintenance requirements and the risk of not supplying Student Route Visa maintenance evidence for ISS to assess, (ii) they are aware the Student Route caseworker can request financial evidence at their own discretion, (iii) they have maintained the required funds in their account and can supply the required financial evidence upon the Student Route caseworker’s request, and (iv) they are liable for a visa refusal decision based on failure to provide the correct maintenance evidence. Students wishing to apply via the differential evidence requirement must confirm this preference and their awareness of the associated risk on their Compass ticket. This declaration will be made by the student to ISS during the CAS process.

19. Any documents not printed in English Language must be accompanied by an official translated version from a qualified professional translator.

20. Students who have previously completed an academic qualification equivalent to a UK degree that was taught in a ‘majority English-speaking’ country listed in Appendix B: English Language - Table 2 paragraph 7.10 of UKVI's Immigration Rules can provide a copy of their qualification and/or transcript and a supporting letter confirming the qualification was taught in the medium of English in place of a SELT.

21. Students who are nationals from ‘majority English-speaking’ countries listed in Appendix B: English Language – Table 2 paragraph 6.10 of UKVI's Immigration Rules are not required to provide evidence of English Language proficiency.

22. ISS will only issue the CAS once all the process requirements have been satisfied. In addition to this, where applicable, the student must:

Make satisfactory academic progress on their course of study,
Have no outstanding financial debts to the University (including payments owed for tuition fees and University accommodation),
Not be in breach of their current/most recent leave to remain,
Not exceed the five-year cap permitted to study at RQF level 6 in the UK on a Student Route Visa,
Not overstay their most recent Student Route Visa leave, and,
(with the guidance of the ISS Adviser) identify and consider all possible risk which could result in a visa refusal decision.

Failing to complete any of these additional checks will result in a CAS not being assigned.

23. In addition to the above, the university will carefully consider a CAS request from a student who has previously had their sponsorship withdrawn by the university, and the reasons why the sponsorship was withdrawn.

24. As per pages 66-67 of the Student and Child Student Route Visa Casework Policy Guidance there is no maximum study requirement for applicants who are studying a course above degree level. The five-year cap does not apply to students studying at RQF 7 or above.

25. The University will assign a CAS within five working days from the date of receipt of all required documentary evidence which has satisfied the necessary checks.

26. It is the responsibility of the student to fulfil the conditions identified and set out by ISS staff before the CAS deadline. Failure to meet these requirements will result in ISS closing the CAS process, consequently resulting in a CAS not being assigned.

27. Issuing a CAS does not guarantee that an applicant will be successful in securing a visa. The university is not responsible for any decisions made by UKVI and cannot accept any liability in a student failing to obtain a valid visa, or the associated costs or consequences of any failure to secure leave to enter/remain in the UK.

28. Once a CAS has been assigned it will be valid for a period of six months. After this date the CAS will be marked as expired and UKVI will not accept the CAS as part of a Student Route Visa application. Furthermore, a CAS can only be used once.

29. ISS will begin planning a CAS process within 3 months of your visa expiry date (if applying from inside the UK) or within 6 months of your course return date (if applying from outside the UK).

30. Any students who are assigned a CAS to apply for a new student visa to return to the UK must make every effort to apply for their visa and arrive in the UK/on campus by their course start/return date. Arriving after this date may result in UKVI refusing entry to the UK. Any student who is going to arrive late should contact the University at the earliest opportunity and confirm their likely date of arrival. University staff will then confirm if this late arrival is approved.

31. A current student can request to complete their referral studies from overseas; however, this can only be approved by the faculty. If the student cannot complete their repeat studies from overseas, they must complete their studies on campus or risk their student record will be processed for closure, and they will be awarded the total credits accumulated.

32. The student must provide a share code to the university's Student Administration service so visa verification can be performed and record on your student record.

33. ISS must act in the best interests of the University of Sunderland and the student, balancing both the legal and ethical frameworks. Any conflict of interest must result in ISS signposting the student to an immigration solicitor, OISC or UKCISA.

Service Agreement

International Student Support (ISS) is a team that helps international students with UK visa + immigration queries and with providing guidance and expert information. We are trained by the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) and are regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC).
Services provided by the International Student Support team include:

Student route and Graduate route visa advice and guidance
Support through Student Route applications in and out of the UK
Guidance on UKVI account creation and eVisa linkage
Advice on working rights in the UK during studies
Guidance on Schengen visas
Immigration support for change in course circumstances and resulting visa effects (i.e., course transfers, leave of absences from studies, and course withdrawals).

The service that ISS provide is free of charge. Any additional costs will be paid by the student. Examples of these costs are:

CAS number cost
Visa application fee
Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS)
Biometric data collection
UKVCAS appointment booking fee.

Complaints Procedure

If at any stage you have any concerns regarding the conduct of your case, please raise them to International Student Support in writing via Compass ticket. If you are still not satisfied with the response and any proposed solution, you can take your complaint further through the formal Student Complaints Procedure.

Please contact our University Academic Services or the Students’ Union for advice on the process, advocacy, and support. You can find the formal Complaints Procedure here. If you wish, you can complain directly to OISC. You can find full details of their complaint procedure at www.oisc.gov.uk.

Contact Details

You are welcome to contact the International Student Support team via the university’s Compass enquiry management system.

University of Sunderland
International Student Support (ISS)
Gateway Building
City Campus, Chester Road, Sunderland, Tyne & Wear SR1 3SD, United Kingdom

Office Opening Times

Please visit our ISS website here.

Your File

OISC require ISS to keep a copy of your student file for up to 6 years. After these 6 years your file will be destroyed.

Policy Owners

Mark Colman, Student Experience Manager, The Gateway

Ross Downs, Immigration Adviser, The Gateway

Joe Soan, Immigration Adviser, The Gateway

Melissa Murphy, Welfare Adviser