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Quick answer
The essentials at a glance
A CAS in the UK is a reference number your university gives you after you accept an unconditional offer. You need it to apply for a Student visa. There is no Home Office fee for a CAS, but most universities ask students from Nepal to pay a tuition deposit first. The CAS shows your course, fees, fees paid and how your English was checked. You must apply for the visa within 6 months of getting it.
Key takeaways
Main points from this page
- You must apply for your Student visa within 6 months of getting your CAS.
- There is no Home Office CAS fee, and a £4,000 deposit on a £16,000 fee leaves £12,000 to show as unpaid.
- Fees paid to the university come off the money you must show, along with £1,203 or £1,570 a month for living costs.
- One CAS covers one visa decision, so after a refusal you need a new CAS before paying the £558 fee again.
- A visa decision from outside the UK usually takes 3 weeks after you apply with your CAS.
What Is a CAS in the UK?
A CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) is a reference number your UK university gives you after you accept an unconditional offer.
It is not a paper certificate. The university creates a record in the Home Office system and emails you a CAS statement. You type that number into your visa form, and UKVI reads the record. As the GOV.UK Student visa guide says, you need a CAS before you can apply.
Only a licensed student sponsor can issue a CAS. This page is about the CAS stage, between your offer and your visa. For the whole journey, see study in UK from Nepal, and for the visa itself, read the UK student visa requirements. A CAS statement shows:
- Your name, date of birth, nationality and passport number
- The university’s name and sponsor licence number
- Your course title, level, start date and end date
- The course fee for the first year and how much you have already paid
- Any accommodation fee paid to the university
- How the university checked your English and which documents it used for your offer
- Whether the course is taught or research-based
Why Do You Need a CAS for a UK Student Visa?
UKVI uses the CAS to check your course, your sponsor, your fees and your English before it looks at the rest of your visa file.
The Home Office Student route caseworker guidance explains that the CAS also decides your work rights and whether you can bring family. For example, the Academic Course Level field shows “RQF_7” for a taught master’s and “RQF_7_Research” for a research master’s. Only research and government-sponsored courses allow dependants, as our UK dependent visa guide explains.
The caseworker checks that your CAS number is:
- In the Home Office system and names you as the student
- Issued by a university that is still on the register of licensed sponsors
- Not withdrawn or cancelled by the university
- Issued no more than 6 months before you apply
- Not used before in a visa that was granted or refused
Is There a CAS Fee for Nepali Students?
No, the Home Office does not charge students for a CAS, but most universities ask for a tuition deposit before they issue it.
The Home Office charges the university £55 for each CAS, as its immigration and nationality fees table shows, so you pay nothing for the CAS itself. When people search for “CAS fee”, they usually mean the deposit. Each university sets its own amount, so check your offer letter. The deposit is not lost money. It is part of your first-year fee, and the CAS shows it as “fees paid”. GOV.UK says the course fee and living costs you must show are based on your CAS. Money you have already paid to the university comes off that total, as set out on the GOV.UK money page.
Example: how a deposit lowers the money you show
Say your first-year fee is £16,000 and you pay a £4,000 deposit (about Rs 8 lakh). Your CAS shows £12,000 still to pay. Outside London you also show £1,203 a month for 9 months, which is £10,827. So you show £22,827, about Rs 46 lakh, instead of £26,827. Check today’s rate with our GBP to Rs forex converter.
To send the deposit from Nepal, your bank will ask for a No Objection Certificate. Our guide on how to apply for an NOC in Nepal lists the papers. Keep the university’s payment receipt. If the payment is missing from the CAS, UKVI accepts a receipt from the university instead.
How to Apply for a CAS from Nepal
You do not apply to UKVI for a CAS. You ask your university for it after you meet every offer condition and pay the deposit.
Most universities follow the same steps. Start right after you get your offer, because the CAS team gets busy in the last two months before courses start. Choose your course from our list of UK universities for Nepali students, then follow these steps.
1. Get and accept an unconditional offer
Send your final results so a conditional offer becomes unconditional. Use our NEB GPA calculator to check your +2 grade against the entry rules.
2. Fill in the CAS request form
The university asks for your passport details, past UK visas, home address and how you will pay. Use the Nepal postal code finder for your address.
3. Upload your documents
Send the transcripts, English test result and funds proof the university asks for. Some ask for your bank papers at this stage to check you can pay.
4. Attend the pre-CAS interview
Many universities hold a short online interview to check you are a genuine student. Practise with our pre-CAS interview questions.
5. Pay the tuition deposit
Get your NOC, send the deposit by bank transfer, and email the receipt to the admissions team.
6. Check the draft and receive your CAS
Some universities send a draft first. Check every detail, then wait for the final CAS statement by email.
7. Apply for your visa
Apply online within 6 months of getting the CAS. You can apply up to 6 months before your course starts.
Documents Required for a CAS Letter
Most universities ask for your marks, an English test, your passport and proof of funds.
The university uses these to decide whether to sponsor you. The CAS then lists the documents it used for your offer. The caseworker guidance says degree-level students at a university usually do not need to send their transcripts again with the visa. Still, keep them ready, because UKVI can ask. Any document not in English needs a certified translation. Nepali papers with Bikram Sambat dates should match your passport; check them with the Nepali date converter.
Documents Nepali students usually send:
- Passport, with your name spelled the same as on your certificates; see our passport for study abroad guide
- SEE, +2 and bachelor’s transcripts and certificates; see how to get transcripts in Nepal
- IELTS for UKVI, PTE Academic or another test the university accepts
- A personal statement or SOP; see our SOP for UK student visa tips
- A bank balance certificate and bank statement
- An education loan sanction letter, if you are using a loan
- The deposit receipt and your signed offer acceptance
Money to show with the visa: Nepal is not on the GOV.UK list of countries that can skip the funds evidence. So you must show the unpaid first-year fee from your CAS plus £1,570 a month in London or £1,203 outside London, for up to 9 months. These are the amounts for applications from 30 November 2026 under the Home Office rule change HC 584 (£1,529 and £1,171 before that). That is about Rs 28 lakh or Rs 22 lakh for living costs alone. The money must stay in the account for 28 days. Our UK living cost guide shows what students really spend.
How Long Does It Take to Get a CAS?
Most universities issue a CAS within a few days to a few weeks after you meet every condition and pay the deposit.
There is no fixed Home Office time for this step, because each university runs its own CAS team. Delays usually come from missing papers, a late deposit, or a busy period close to the course start. After that, the GOV.UK apply page says a visa decision from outside the UK usually takes 3 weeks. Plan backwards from your start date, and check the dates in our UK intakes guide. A typical timeline looks like this:
- Unconditional offer and CAS request form: week 1
- Documents checked and pre-CAS interview: weeks 1 to 3
- NOC and deposit transfer from Nepal: about 1 week
- CAS issued: a few days to 2 weeks after the deposit is confirmed
- Visa application, biometrics and decision: about 3 to 4 weeks
How Long Is a CAS Valid?
You must apply for your visa within 6 months of getting your CAS, and you can use each CAS for only one visa decision.
If your visa is granted or refused, that CAS is used up. After a refusal you need a new CAS from the university before you apply again. A CAS can be reused only if the earlier application was rejected as invalid, withdrawn or void. A CAS also stops working if the university withdraws it or loses its sponsor licence. You can check any university on the GOV.UK register of licensed student sponsors.
What If Your CAS Has an Error or Is Cancelled?
Ask the university to fix the error before you apply, because UKVI decides on what the CAS says.
A wrong passport number, a misspelled name or a missing fee payment can cause a refusal or a long delay. The university can update the CAS record for small mistakes. If your CAS is withdrawn, find out why, fix the problem, and ask for a new one. Never apply with a withdrawn CAS. If you are already in the UK and your university loses its licence, the caseworker guidance gives students 60 days to find a new sponsor or leave.
What Should You Do After You Get Your CAS?
Check every detail on the CAS, then book your visa application, TB test and biometrics in Nepal.
Pay the £558 visa fee and the health surcharge online (see the UK student visa fee page for totals). Book the TB test at an approved clinic and your appointment at a biometrics location in Nepal. If you took the English test for the visa, use the right one; see IELTS vs IELTS for UKVI. Then follow the steps in how to apply to UK universities from Nepal. Do not book flights too early. For a course longer than 6 months, you can enter the UK up to 1 month before it starts, and never before the date on your visa.
Common CAS Mistakes Nepali Students Make
Most CAS problems start with small mismatches between the CAS, the passport and the bank papers.
UKVI compares every document in your file. A name spelled one way on the CAS and another way on your bank certificate looks like a risk. Fixing it before you apply takes days; fixing it after a refusal takes months. Watch for these mistakes:
- Not reading the draft CAS before it is final
- Paying the deposit late, so the CAS misses the visa window
- A name or date of birth on the CAS that differs from the passport
- Bank money that falls below the total, or is not held for 28 days
- Thinking a CAS means the visa is approved
- Applying more than 6 months after the CAS was issued
Want Someone to Check Your CAS?
Send us your offer letter and draft CAS. A Goreto counselor will check the details, fees paid and funds before you apply. You can also talk to a counselor at our branches in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Chitwan, Itahari and Pokhara.
FAQs on the CAS Letter in the UK
You pay no Home Office fee for a CAS; the Home Office charges the university £55. The “CAS fee” students talk about is the tuition deposit, which counts towards your first-year fee.
It is an email statement from your university with your CAS number. It confirms your course, fees and sponsor. You enter the number in your Student visa application.
No. An offer letter gives you a place on the course. A CAS comes later, after you accept an unconditional offer, and shows the university is sponsoring your visa.
Ask your university’s admissions or CAS team, or check its applicant portal. Once issued, the CAS statement arrives by email. Check every detail against your passport straight away.
Usually a few days to a few weeks after you meet all conditions and pay the deposit. It takes longer close to the course start, so apply for it early.
No. A CAS only lets you apply. UKVI still checks your money, English and whether you are a genuine student before it decides.
No. A CAS used in a refused application cannot be used again. Ask your university for a new CAS before you reapply.
Many universities ask to see your funds before issuing the CAS. You must show the money again with the visa, held for 28 days.
Sources
Reference links
Disclaimer
Important guidance note
This page provides general guidance about studying abroad. Requirements, fees and policies can change. For advice about your situation, speak with a Goreto counselor before applying.
