CAS stands for Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies and is required for any student applying for the Student Visa Route to study in the UK. In order for us to issue you with a CAS, we must apply to the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) for a CAS number which will be individual to you and your studies with us at Edinburgh Napier University. Once we have received the CAS number, we will send you it in the form of a "CAS Statement".
WHO NEEDS A CAS?
You can apply for the Student Visa Route to study in the UK if you're 16 or over and you have been offered a place on a course, can speak, read, write and understand English, have enough money to support yourself and pay for your course (this will vary depending on your circumstances), and you meet the other eligibility requirements. More information is available here.
WHEN WILL MY CAS BE ISSUED?
You must be holding an unconditional offer (which you have accepted) to study with us, have paid your £5500 deposit and have provided us with your ATAS certificate (if applicable) before we can issue your CAS.
We may also check that you have the maintenance in place to meet the Student Route visa requirements before you apply for your visa. This check will either take place by the Visa and International Support Team or by our colleagues overseas. In most cases, you will be contacted once you pay your deposit so please ensure you have your financial evidence ready or are in the process of preparing it. The evidence you are required to show is detailed on our website or you can contact our Visa and International Support Team.
Offer holders from Pakistan will also be required to take part in a short credibility interview before we can issue your CAS. This is nothing to worry about however you should be prepared to answer some questions about the course and the University you have chosen, the research you did and about your future career goals.
We will need a copy of the passport you are using to travel to the UK so if you've not already sent that you can send a copy now.
If you are sponsored financially we will need to see evidence of this and check your financial sponsor is accepted by the University and the UKVI.
We cannot issue any CAS more than six months prior to the start date of your programme. We will also stop issuing CAS approximately one month before the University semester start date to ensure you have sufficient time to make your visa application and arrive in the UK in good time to enrol on your course.
PAYING YOUR FEES
Further information on paying your fees can be found on myNapier:
https://www.napier.ac.uk/study-with-us/undergraduate/fees-and-finance/international-students/international-payment-options
PRE-PAYMENTS AND WAIVERS
The University requires a non-refundable fee pre-payment of £5500 prior to or at matriculation where annual fees are in excess of £6,500. If you are an international student who requires a Student Visa to study in the UK, your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) will not be released until your £5500 payment has been received by our Fees Team. If you are a government sponsored student please provide a copy of your sponsorship documents to pgadmissions@napier.ac.uk for Postgraduate applicants or ugadmissions@napier.ac.uk for Undergraduate applicants. They will confirm whether you are eligible to have the pre-payment waived.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FEDERAL AID
If you have applied for loans and have been assessed as eligible by the University to receive funds from the US Department of Education Federal Student Aid loan programme, you are not required to pay the £5500 fee pre-payment. You can contact usloans@napier.ac.uk for more information.
WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE IS A MISTAKE ON MY CAS?
If you notice any errors in your CAS statement, you should email the CAS team as soon as possible by emailing cas@napier.ac.uk. You should not submit your visa application until the errors have been resolved.
WILL I RECEIVE A PAPER COPY OF MY CAS?
You will only be sent an email of your CAS statement. It is not necessary to have a paper copy of your CAS as the UKVI use your CAS number to access your details on their database. If you wish to include a copy of your CAS statement with your visa application, you can print the statement we send to you.
MORE ABOUT THE STUDENT ROUTE VISA APPLICATION PROCESS
For detailed information on how and where to apply and the documents you will need to provide please visit the following website.
MY APPLICATION HAS BEEN REFUSED. DO I NEED A NEW CAS?
Yes. A CAS can only be used once. You should send the CAS Team at the University a copy of your visa refusal notice so we can advise you further. More information on this can be found on our Visa refusals page.
TRAVELLING TO THE U.K. AFTER YOUR VISA HAS BEEN ISSUED
To avoid any difficulties with immigration control, it's our advice that you arrive directly to / in the UK and not via Republic of Ireland. In order to meet immigration control your passport needs to be stamped to confirm your entry to the UK. If you do not meet UK immigration control on arrival, you will not be permitted to study in the UK.
USEFUL CONTACTS
CAS team email: cas@napier.ac.uk
Undergraduate Admissions Office email: ugadmissions@napier.ac.uk
Postgraduate Admissions Office email: pgadmissions@napier.ac.uk
Visa and International Support Team email: internationalsupport@napier.ac.uk
Finance Team email: fees@napier.ac.uk
UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) website: http://www.ukcisa.org.uk
UK Visas and Immigration website: https://www.gov.uk/student-visa