Before Your Studies
If you are not a UK or Irish citizen you must have valid immigration permission allowing study in the UK before we can enrol you on a course at HSU.
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From which Countries do Applicants Require a Visa
All non-British / non-Irish nationals are required to hold or obtain a visa to study a course in the UK. If you don’t already hold UK permission to study, you may be eligible for HSU sponsorship on the Student immigration route. You can check whether or not you need a visa to study in the UK using the UK Visas and Immigration service.
During your studies
If you require immigration permission to study in the UK you must have valid immigration permission throughout your course and abide by the immigration rules that are relevant to you.
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Making Your Application
Outlined by the UK Government, students who meet the following criteria will be eligible to apply for a Student visa
- You have applied to a course of study at Health Sciences University
- You have been given an unconditional offer (no further conditions to meet)
- You have accepted the offer
Find more information on the Gov.uk website.
Getting A Visa To Study
If you need a visa to study in the UK, you will have to apply through the Student Immigration Route. You can only do this once you have received a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) statement from us, which will be issued once you have met all the conditions of your offer.
A change to your personal details
You need to report any updates to Registry as well as updating your UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account if you’ve updated any of the following personal details:
- Name
- Your passport or visa
- Mobile phone number
- Email address
- Home address
- Postal address
How To Apply
Applications for Student visas are submitted online.
Check out this helpful ‘How to’ guide from the British Council website.
Apply via the GOV.uk website .
When And Where To Apply?
Applications can’t be made any earlier than six months before the scheduled start date of your course (from outside of the UK) or three months before the scheduled start date of your course (from inside the UK).
Applications will need to be submitted with sufficient time to ensure that you will be able to arrive in the UK for the scheduled start of the course. Naturally, each country has varying visa processing times although on average this process takes around 3 weeks. For further information about the average processing time for your country, please refer to you local visa application centre, who should be able to advise details of this.
Supporting Documents
Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) 
Once you have met the conditions of your offer and you accept that offer, Health Sciences University will issue you with a CAS statement which contains a 14-digit code. You’ll need this code when making your Student visa application. Please note that a CAS statement will only be produced at the earliest within 6 months of the start of the course. The CAS statement is valid for 6 months and must be used within this time or it will expire.
Original qualification documents
We do require you to provide the original documents of the qualifications that you have been offered a place based on, as listed on your CAS statement. Where these documents are not in English you will also need to give a verified translation. This could for example, be a degree certificate and transcript but will more likely be your A-level equivalent qualifications.
English language qualification
Your CAS statement will show whether you need to provide any evidence that you meet the UKVI English language requirements. If this is something that’s needed, we ask that you please present this using the original document, and not a copy, as part of your application.
Biometrics
You will need to supply your biometrics in the form of fingerprints and facial image. Servicing this process will also take place at your local Visa Centre.
Credibility Interviews
It is possible that you may need to undergo an interview as part of the application process. This interview would be as part of the same appointment at your Visa Centre that you would undertake your biometrics. Normally these interviews will last around 5-10 minutes and it’s likely you will be asked about your understanding of the course you have applied for, Health Sciences University and the local area, motivation to study and other topics.
TB Clearance Certificate
Depending on the country that you are applying from, you may be required to obtain a certificate that confirms you are free of Tuberculosis (TB).
UK Government provide a list of countries required to obtain the certificate so it is worthwhile taking a look to check if your country is one that a TB clearance certificate is needed.
Passport
You will be required to provide your current passport and if relevant to the application, any previous passports. You will also need to provide two suitable photographs.
You can find information regarding passport photo guidance from HM passport Office.
Planning Your Arrival
Travel To The UK
You must enter the UK on or after the start date of your Student visa. The start date of your visa can be found on your digital immigration status document. If you enter the UK before your Student leave starts you will not have activated your Student visa and may be considered to have entered the UK on the Visitor route which does not allow study on a course of more than six months. If we cannot confirm that you have activated your Student visa, we will not be able to enrol you.
When You Arrive
When you arrive in the UK, you will need to bring your passport and degree certificate that your offer was based on to your enrolment event. If your degree certificate had not been issued when you left your home country to come to the UK, you will need to show us your transcript. We will check the date you arrived in the UK when you enrol. We will check this from the entry stamp in your passport. If you don’t receive a stamp when you arrive at the border, we can check your boarding pass or flight ticket.
Please remember to update your local address and phone number when you arrive. This information will be collected when you enrol, but you must inform admissions@hsu.ac.uk of any changes.
Maintenance (money) Requirements
Immigration Health Surcharge
As part of the visa application process, you will need to pay an Immigration Health Surcharge to the UK government for each year of UK study you are planning to undertake. This entitles you to healthcare under the National Health Service (NHS). For more information see Immigration health surcharge.
Full-time students from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland studying in the UK, may be able to apply for a reimbursement of the immigration health surcharge (IHS). You can find full details and apply for reimbursement on the official GOV.UK guidance page
Maintenance
You must be able to demonstrate that you have the necessary funds to be able to support yourself whilst you study in the UK. You will also need to show UKVI that you have sufficient funds in your account to pay your tuition fees. Please note that these funds must be in your nominated bank account for at least 28 consecutive days before you submit your visa application.
Join our vibrant international student community
You’ll be welcomed in a safe and supportive environment, perfect for you to learn and succeed.
Latest News
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Health Sciences University (HSU) and the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine (CICM) are delighted to announce a significant milestone for both institutions, as the process for CICM to join the HSU community is completed.
Health Sciences University is seeking additional Lay Members to join its Institutional Research Ethics Committee (IREC). This is a voluntary, unpaid role, open to members of the public. You do not need any experience of research or of university committees to take part.
Health Sciences University has become one of 50 founding signatories to the UK Government’s new Women in Research Charter, launched by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 1 July 2026.
Health Sciences University (HSU) joins other universities across the South including the University of Portsmouth, Southampton Solent University, the University of Chichester, Arts University Bournemouth and the University of Winchester, to create a Shared Virtual Technology Transfer Office (SV-TTO) - a first-of-its-kind collaboration for the Wessex region.
Health Sciences University (HSU) and UK Management College (UKMC) and have announced a new academic partnership that will expand access to high-quality higher education and create new opportunities for students across the north of England.
HSU graduate Ben Samways studied BSc (Hons) Sport, Exercise and Health Science before progressing into strength and conditioning with an MSc at Bournemouth University.
