The Short-term Study (English language) is an unsponsored route. Persons aged 16 and over can apply on this route to come to the UK for between 6 to 11 months to study with an English language course provider that is either an accredited institution, or has a student sponsor license. If you are coming to the UK to participate in an English language course that lasts for less than 6 months, apply for a Standard Visitor Visa instead. The bodies that can verify whether an institution is accredited in the UK are as follows:

• Accreditation Service for International Colleges
• Accreditation UK
• British Accreditation Council
• Education and Training Inspectorate (in Northern Ireland)
• Estyn (in Wales)
• Education Scotland
• Independent Schools Inspectorate
• Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted)
• Office for Students
• Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education

If you are aged between 16-17 years old, you must have consent from a parent or guardian.

You must also have enough funds to reasonably support and accommodate yourself in the UK, and you also need to take a tuberculosis test if you have lived in a listed country in the 6 months prior to the date of application.

The earliest that you can apply, is 3 months before your course starts, and standard processing time is 15-business days for this visa.