Student Visa Processing Times
What GOV.UK publishes about how long a Student visa takes, what the faster services cost, and the earliest you are allowed to apply. Where GOV.UK gives no figure, this guide says so rather than estimating one.
- Section
- Student & Graduate
- Reading time
- 6 min
- Last checked
- 3 September 2026
- Source
- The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
- Rowan does not
- Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.
In short
- 3 weeks for a decision if you apply from outside the UK, 8 weeks from inside it.
- The time runs from when you have applied, proved your identity and provided your documents.
- Priority is £500 for a decision usually within 5 working days; super priority is £1,000 for the next working day, subject to being offered it.
- Apply no more than 6 months before the course starts from outside the UK, or 3 months from inside.
- Nobody at the Home Office can tell you when your decision will come.
A Student visa decision usually takes 3 weeks from outside the UK and 8 weeks from inside it. Priority costs £500 and super priority £1,000, where they are offered. You can apply 6 months before the course starts from outside the UK, or 3 months before from inside.
The published times
GOV.UK gives two figures for a Student visa, and no others:
- 3 weeks if you are outside the UK
- 8 weeks if you are inside the UK, whether you are extending or switching
The clock starts once you have applied online, proved your identity and provided your documents — not from the day you paid. GOV.UK says you will be contacted if the application is complex and will take longer, giving as examples supporting documents that need to be verified, an interview, or personal circumstances such as a criminal conviction.
There is no published figure for a busy season. If you have seen one quoted, it is not a Home Office number.
Paying for a faster decision
GOV.UK says you may be able to pay for a faster decision, and that you are told whether you can when you apply. Two services are published:
- Priority service, £500 on top of the application fee. A decision usually within 5 working days.
- Super priority service, £1,000 on top of the application fee. A decision usually by the end of the next working day if you prove your identity on a weekday, or 2 working days after if you do so at a weekend or on a bank holiday.
The time starts from the day of your appointment if you prove your identity in person, or the working day after you finish uploading your documents if you use the "UK Immigration: ID Check" app. Each family member applying with you pays the same amount again. GOV.UK also says that if the decision takes longer than promised, you will not usually get your money back. The details are at GOV.UK, get a faster decision.
When you are allowed to apply
Appendix Student of the Immigration Rules sets two limits:
- from outside the UK, an application must be made no more than 6 months before the course start date on your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies
- from inside the UK, an application must be made no more than 3 months before that date
An in-country application must also be for a course starting no more than 28 days after your current permission expires. Before you apply, the things to have ready are your documents, your English language evidence and, if your subject needs one, an Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate.
Nationality restrictions on entry clearance
Appendix Student says a person must not be applying for entry clearance as a Student as a national or citizen of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar or Sudan. This was added by Statement of Changes HC 1691 and applies to applications for entry clearance, so no processing time applies to one. Our 2026 rule changes guide sets out where it came from.
While you wait
If you applied from inside the UK, GOV.UK is firm about travel: you must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision, and your application will be withdrawn if you do.
You cannot find out when the decision will come. GOV.UK says contact centre staff cannot give advice about your personal circumstances, and names three things they cannot tell you: which visas you can apply for, whether your application will be successful, and when you will get a decision. If you need to reach UK Visas and Immigration about something else, our Home Office contact guide covers the routes in.
Visa application centres run by TLScontact and VFS Global have their own tracking pages, which show where your documents are rather than where the decision is. Talk to your university about your start date if the wait runs close to it: what they can offer is their decision, not a published rule.
Next steps
Work back from the course start date using the published figure for where you are applying from — 3 weeks or 8 weeks — and treat anything faster as something you may be offered rather than something you can count on.
Related guides:
Questions and answers
How long does a UK Student visa take?
GOV.UK says you will usually get a decision within 3 weeks if you are outside the UK and 8 weeks if you are inside it. The clock starts once you have applied online, proved your identity and provided your documents. GOV.UK does not publish a different time for busy periods.
Is there a faster service for Student visas?
You may be able to pay for one, and GOV.UK says you are told whether you can when you apply. The priority service costs £500 on top of the application fee and usually gives a decision within 5 working days. The super priority service costs £1,000 and usually gives a decision by the end of the next working day, or 2 working days if you prove your identity at a weekend or on a bank holiday.
When can I apply for my Student visa?
The Immigration Rules set two limits. An application for entry clearance from outside the UK must be made no more than 6 months before the course start date on your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies. An application for permission to stay from inside the UK must be made no more than 3 months before it.
Can I find out when my decision will come?
No. GOV.UK says contact centre staff cannot give you advice about your personal circumstances, and lists among the things they cannot tell you when you will get a decision and whether your application will be successful. You are contacted if the application will take longer than the published time.
This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.