Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)

A Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, better known as a CAS, is an electronic document which is provided to you by the University in order for you to make a Student visa application. The CAS contains both a CAS number and a CAS statement, and is generated on the Home Office's Sponsor Management System.

The CAS number is a unique combination of letters and numbers, for example E08X43SL987T37P2. A CAS statement consists of all the information required by the Home Office for assessing your Student visa application.

A CAS is valid for six months and can only be used once for a Student visa application.

A CAS is not a paper document and the University will deliver your CAS by email or through the KentVision in-tray (if you are an applicant). If you spot an error, please respond to the email or the message on KentVision. It is your responsibility to check and save your CAS statement and to ensure all the information it contains is accurate. You should keep the CAS safe and not share it as it contains your personal data.

As a Student visa sponsor we are only able to issue you a CAS if you and your course meet all of the Home Office requirements and we are satisfied that you will successfully obtain a visa.

Do I need a CAS?

You can use the government's webpage to check if you need a CAS.

If you are an applicant, our admissions team will make an assessment and inform you if you need a CAS.

Can I get a CAS as a study abroad student?

If you are studying with us for more than six months, you may be eligible for a Student visa and your CAS would be issued by our Admissions team.

If you are to spend less than six months studying with us, you may be eligible to apply for entry to the UK as a student holding a Standard Visitor visa.

I am an applicant

If you are an applicant in need of a CAS, please see our how to apply for a CAS (applicant) page.

If you are an applicant and have questions about your new CAS contact the Admissions team and include your application number.  

I am a current student

If you are a student in need of a CAS to complete your current course, please see our how to apply for a CAS (current student) page.

If you are a current student and have a CAS that needs amending, contact the Student Immigration Compliance Team.

I am an applicant

You should apply for your course early enough to take into account application and University deadlines. You must accept our offer officially and meet all outstanding conditions of your offer. The CAS team can only begin assessing you for a CAS once you have received and accepted an unconditional offer of study.

If you are applying from outside of the UK you can apply for a CAS up to six months before the start date of your course.

You need to provide us with any additional documents that we may request, including a copy of your passport and previous UK visas. If you are studying a course that requires an ATAS clearance certificate, we will also require this prior to issuing a CAS. We may also conduct additional checks, such as an immigration history check, to satisfy ourselves that you meet the requirements for a Student visa.

If you are eligible to apply from within the UK you can be issued a CAS up to three months before the start date of your course.

I am a current student

If you need further immigration permission to complete your course, you should contact the Student Immigration Compliance Team by email after reading information on how to apply for a CAS as a current student.

Once the University has issued your CAS, you will receive the CAS in:

• Applicants: a statement via KentVision
• Current students: an email from Student Immigration Compliance Team

You can submit your application as soon as you have your CAS.

We strongly advise you to submit your application as soon as possible (after receiving your CAS) to prevent any delays with UKVI.

Please see our Student route immigrations polices webpage to view the Student sponsorship and CAS issuing policy.