Immigration advice and support
International students require a Student Route Visa in order to study in the UK. Our friendly International Admissions and Immigration & Compliance teams will assist you with this process, by issuing your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) and can provide advice and support to assist you in applying for your visa.
After you enrol for your course the Immigration and Compliance team will be on hand to answer your immigration-related enquiries and resolve any issues that may arise with your visa.
The Immigration & Compliance Team can assist with questions about the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) and Student Visa to prospective students and provide a comprehensive immigration and compliance advice service to prospective and current students, staff and graduates of BIMM Music Institute.
EEA, EU and Swiss nationals holding Pre-Settled Status or Settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme are permitted to study in the UK.
Prospective students holding either Pre-Settled Status or Settled Status will be required to provide BIMM Music Institute with evidence of their immigration status in line with right to study requirements.
For further information on the EU Settlement Scheme please see the weblinks below:
https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/Information–Advice/EU-EEA–Swiss-Students/Brexit—EU-Settlement-Scheme
We are excited to welcome you to BIMM Music Institute and look forward to you arriving in the UK to begin your studies with us in September 2025. As an international student, it is likely that you will require a visa to study in the UK. Most international students at BIMM Music Institute will require a Student Route Visa.
You can confirm whether you need a visa and the visa category you should apply to by clicking on the link here.
If you require a Student Route Visa, you can get detailed information about eligibility and requirements here. For information about how to apply for a Student Route Visa outside the UK please see the link here.
*Accurate at time of writing 20th of September 2024
Step 1: Submit an application to our International Admissions Team. You can apply to BIMM by clicking here.
If you are applying via one of our International Partners Schools, you can apply by clicking here.
If you’ve applied on UCAS, you do not need to complete one of the above application forms.
Step 2: Pay your tuition fees and deposit. Information about your tuition fee and deposit requirements will be available on your offer letter.
Please see detailed tuition fee information here.
You can make deposit and tuition fee payments here.
Step 3: Ensure that you meet Student Route Visa requirements. The key requirements are:
Academic: Please ensure that you meet BIMM Music Institute’s academic entry requirements. Please see here for detailed information on our academic entry requirements
English Language: You can evidence that you meet the English Language requirement for a Student Route Visa in several ways. BIMM Music Institute’s English language requirements can be viewed here.
Financial: You must have sufficient funds as specified by the UK Immigration Rules to finance your studies and living expenses in the UK while you are studying in the UK. These can include:
- Tuition Course fees – You must have enough money to pay for the fees for the first year of your course, or the entire course if it is less than one year long. You can choose to pay for your course fees up front, before you receive your CAS to avoid having to evidence these funds.
- Living Costs – The Home Office uses fixed amounts, which may or may not reflect your actual living costs in the city of your studies.
- For study in London, you will need £1,483 per month for applications on or after 2 January 2025.
- For study outside London, the monthly amounts are lower: you will need £1,136 per month for applications on or after 2 January 2025.
Information about these requirements can be viewed here in the ‘Financial Requirements’ section.
Step 4: Successfully complete BIMM Music Institute’s pre-CAS checks, which includes providing an in-date copy of your passport. For further information about these checks please contact the Immigration and Compliance Team at [email protected]
Step 5: The BIMM Team issue your CAS!
Step 6: Pay for your UK Healthcare Surcharge. More information can be found here on the GOV.uk website.
The exact amount you pay depends on the length of your visa.
Cost for a year –
You’ll have to pay: (accurate at time of writing 20th of September 2024)
- £776 per year for students, their dependants, and those on a Youth Mobility Scheme visa, for example £1,552 for a 2-year visa
- £776 per year for visa and immigration applicants who are under the age of 18 at time of application
If your visa is for more than a year, you’ll have to pay:
- the yearly cost plus half the yearly cost, if it’s for 18 months or less
- the cost of 2 full years, if it’s for more than 18 months but less than 2 years
Step 7: Apply for your Student Route Visa. More information can be found here on the GOV.uk website.
It costs:
- £490 to apply for a Student visa from outside the UK
- £490 to extend or switch to a Student visa from inside the UK
Step 8: Travel to the UK AFTER you have received your visa
BIMM Music Institute will permit you to enrol for your course if you hold a valid UK visa that permits you to study on a full-time basis in the UK. You must abide by the conditions of your visa throughout your stay in the UK.
During your entire period of study at BIMM Music Institute you must:
- Ensure that you comply with all Academic Regulations for current students.
- Attend all classes and you will need to inform the University of any absences in accordance with BIMM University’s Engagement Policy.
- Inform your local Student Wellbeing and the Immigration and Compliance Team if you wish to change course.
- Ensure that you do not work more than 20 hours per week in term time.
- Regularly check your BIMM Student email account.
- Ensure that you regularly update the Immigration and Compliance Team with your UK contact telephone number and personal email address.
- If your address in the UK changes you must immediately inform the Immigration and Compliance Team.
- Inform the Home Office of your new address.
- If you obtain a new passport, email a scanned copy of the title page of your passport to the Immigration and Compliance team.
- If you intend to change your visa or immigration category, please discuss this with the Immigration and Compliance team in advance of any change.
- Ensure that you do not overstay your visa.
In the summer of 2021, the UK government opened a new visa category called the Graduate Route Visa. The Graduate Route Visa enables graduates to remain in the UK for two years after they complete their course and work in the UK without the need for a sponsoring employer.
Graduate Route Visa holders are permitted to work in the UK. This includes self-employment and voluntary work. However, work as a professional sportsperson is prohibited.
All BIMM Students holding a valid Student Route Visa who successfully complete either an undergraduate or master’s degree at BIMM Music Institute are eligible to apply for a Graduate Route Visa.
You can get detailed information about detailed requirements for this visa route and guidance on how to apply here.
You can learn more about the Graduate Route Visa by viewing the UK Council for International Student Affairs webinar on this visa category here.
Please note that in Semester 2 all final year undergraduate students and master’s students will be invited to attend a Webinar on the Graduate Route Visa delivered by the Immigration and Compliance Team. At this Webinar we will provide detailed information about how to successfully apply for your Graduate Route Visa. Please make sure you attend!
We are here to help!
If you have any questions about UK immigration requirements, applying for your Student Route Visa or questions about your visa while you are studying at BIMM Music Institute, please do not hesitate to contact the Immigration and Compliance Team.
We are here to help and will provide you with accurate and timely immigration advice.
Please contact the Immigration and Compliance Team with your questions via email at [email protected]