Visa requirements

Once you are accepted at London Business School, the School becomes your visa sponsor, and we provide you with a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) to support your visa application.

In addition to this, you must be able to prove that you have sufficient funding to cover tuition fees and living expenses. There are strict rules on how to show you have sufficient funding. Full guidance is provided after you have been accepted to LBS, but it is worth ensuring in advance that you will have access to sufficient funding to cover one year of tuition fees, as well as the maintenance requirement set by UKVI (currently £11,385 GBP).

Tier 4 students are required to pay an Immigration Healthcare Surcharge (IHS) as part of the Tier 4 visa application. This is currently set at £150 per year that you will be in the UK. This gives you full access to the National Health Service during your period of study.

UK immigration legislation caps the length of time a non-EU student can study in the UK with a Tier 4 visa. The cap is set as follows:

• 5 years and 11 months if you have completed a 3 year undergraduate degree in the UK
• 6 years and 11 months if you have completed a 4 year undergraduate degree in the UK

The length of study is based on the validity of previous visas, not the period of study itself which may mean future study in the UK is more restricted. LBS can only support visa sponsorship under Tier 4 for students who still have sufficient study time in the UK. For our full-time programmes, including visa coverage before and after the programme, the amount of time needed is:

• MBA – 2 years 4 months
• Masters in Finance full-time – 1 year 6 months
• Masters in Management, Global Masters in Management & Masters in Financial Analysis – 1 year 5 months
• Sloan – 1 year 5 months

After a student has applied to LBS, we provide support in checking whether or not the study limit poses any concerns and will work with students to advise if their application can proceed.

UK immigration legislation requires students to show academic progression in their studies in the UK. This essentially means that you are expected to move from a lower level degree to a higher level degree, i.e. bachelors to masters. If you are moving from a degree at the same level as your LBS degree (e.g. masters to masters) it may be possible for you to do so without leaving the UK, though in some instances we may advise you return home to make your visa application from outside the UK. Your Admissions Manager will be able to advise on this. If you are moving from a higher degree to a lower degree (e.g. PhD to masters), LBS can still sponsor your visa, but you will need to return home to make your visa application from outside the UK.

• You are not permitted to work.
• You are not permitted to bring dependents. Your dependents will need to apply to come to the UK in their own right as general visitors. They will not be able to work or study.
• You cannot apply for or extend your Tier 4 (General) part-time student visa in the UK.

If you already have a 2, 5 or 10 year visit visa for the UK (e.g. for business or tourist purposes), you can study on this visa for up to 30 days in a 6 month period and therefore do not need to apply for a Tier 4 (General) part-time visa. Your reason for holding the business or general visa must still be valid, and you may be asked for evidence of this when entering the UK. This may be evidence of required business trips to the UK, or a personal connection to the UK that requires you to visit on a regular basis.

If you do not already have a long-term visit visa, but make frequent business trips to the UK, it may be worthwhile enquiring if your company can support your application for a long-term visit visa. This would allow you to both study at LBS for up to 30 days in a 6 month period, as well as continuing to carry out your business activities, within the limits of activities permitted on a visitor visa.

You are not permitted to bring dependents. Your dependents will need to apply to come to the UK in their own right as general visitors. They will not be able to work or study.

It is not possible to concurrently hold more than one visa for the UK, so please be advised that applying for a Tier 4 (General) part-time visa when you already have a business or general visit visa may result in the latter being cancelled.

The process for obtaining a short-term study visa depends on your country of nationality. UKVI splits the process between non-visa nationals and visa nationals. You can check which applies to you on the UKVI website (Appendix 2).

As a non-visa national, you do not need to apply for a short-term study visa before you travel. You can instead travel to the UK and present your papers upon arrival (including your visa support letter from London Business School and recent formal evidence that you can support yourself financially while in the UK). The visa will be stamped into your passport.

As a visa national, you need to apply for a short-term study visa before you travel to the UK. Your application needs to include a formal visa support letter from London Business School. You will also require formal financial documents to show that you can support yourself financially while in the UK.

• A short-term study visa is valid for six months. Therefore, you may need to re-apply for the visa during the programme.
• You are not permitted to work while in the UK.
• Your dependents will need to apply to come to the UK in their own right as general visitors. They will not be able to work or study.

If you already have a 2, 5 or 10 year visit visa for the UK (e.g. for business or tourist purposes) you can study on this visa for up to 30 days in a 6 month period and therefore do not need to apply for a Tier 4 (General) part-time visa. Your reason for holding the business or general visa must still be valid, and you may be asked for evidence of this when entering the UK. This may be evidence of required business trips to the UK, or a personal connection to the UK that requires you to visit on a regular basis.

If you do not already have a long-term visit visa, but make frequent business trips to the UK, it may be worthwhile enquiring if your company can support your application for a long-term visit visa. This would allow you to both study at LBS for up to 30 days in a 6 month period, as well as continuing to carry out your business activities, within the limits of activities permitted on a visitor visa.

You are not permitted to bring dependents. Your dependents will need to apply to come to the UK in their own right as general visitors. They will not be able to work or study.

As a recent UK graduate from a full-time programme completed on a Tier 4 study visa, you qualify for an exemption from the Resident Labour Market Test. Employers are easily able to sponsor our alumni on a Tier 2 visa and offer them post-study job opportunities.

For students not on full-time programmes, or not on Tier 4 visas, it is still possible to find Tier 2 employment with recruiters looking for highly skilled employees. Our Career Centre team and visa team work to support all our students in finding employment opportunities following their studies.

London Business School is a Home Office approved endorsing body for the Start-up visa. This means we can endorse students to stay in the UK to set up and develop their own business. This is open to all students, including those receiving support through the Business Incubator programme. It’s a great opportunity for budding entrepreneurs from outside the UK.