UK student visa requirements for Bangladeshi students

The UK student visa requirements for Bangladeshi students are stricter on paper than the visitor rules, but also more predictable. Where a visitor's funds are judged case by case, a student's are set by formula. The difficulty is meeting each formula exactly: the right amount, in the right kind of account, for the right number of days.

This guide covers the Student visa as GOV.UK describes it in October 2026: the CAS, the money, the English test, the fee and health surcharge, the papers you upload, the TB test, dependants and timing. Universities set some requirements of their own, so read your offer letter alongside it.

What are the UK student visa requirements?

You need an offer from a licensed student sponsor and the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) reference it issues, English at the required level, enough money for your course fees and living costs, and, for some subjects, an ATAS certificate. Students aged 16 or 17 also need their parents' consent. The full list is on the GOV.UK Student visa page.

• A CAS from a licensed sponsor. Your university or college sends it after you accept an unconditional offer. You must apply within six months of receiving it.
• A course that qualifies. Full-time degree-level study, full-time courses below degree level with at least 15 hours of daytime study a week, and some part-time postgraduate courses.
• English at the right level. CEFR B2 for degree level and above, B1 below degree level.
• Money for fees and living costs, held for 28 consecutive days, unless you are exempt.
• An ATAS certificate for certain postgraduate subjects in science and technology, if your university says you need one.
• A TB test certificate, because Bangladesh is on the list of countries where the test applies.

Officers must also be satisfied that you are a genuine student who intends to follow the course. That is why some applicants are interviewed about their choice of course, their previous studies and their plans.

How much money do Bangladeshi students need to show?

You need the unpaid part of your first year's course fees, as shown on your CAS, plus living costs of £1,529 a month in London or £1,171 a month elsewhere, for up to nine months. The GOV.UK money page defines London as the City of London and the 32 London boroughs.

The timing rule matters as much as the amount. The money must be in the account for at least 28 days in a row, and the last day of that 28-day period must fall within 31 days of the date you apply. If the balance drops below the required amount on any day in that period, the money no longer counts as held for 28 days in a row.

Some applicants do not need to show the money, including those who have lived in the UK on a visa for twelve months and nationals of countries on the differential evidence list. Check the official page to see whether either applies to you; if not, plan to show the full amount. Funds can be yours or a parent's, with proof of the relationship and the parent's consent, or come from an official loan or sponsor with a letter confirming it.

Which English test do you need for a UK student visa?

For a degree or higher, you need English equivalent to CEFR B2, and your university can assess this itself, sometimes with its own choice of test. For courses below degree level, you need CEFR B1 through a Secure English Language Test (SELT) from an approved provider, according to the GOV.UK English requirement page.

The SELTs approved for tests taken outside the UK include IELTS for UKVI, PTE Academic UKVI, LanguageCert's Academic and General SELT and PSI's Skills for English UKVI, according to the Home Office SELT guidance. Check which test your university accepts before booking, and keep the reference number from your result.

How much does a UK student visa cost from Bangladesh?

The visa fee is £558, and you also pay the immigration health surcharge of £776 for each year of your visa, according to GOV.UK. The visa usually runs a few months longer than the course, and the surcharge counts part-years: more than six months of a year is charged as a full year, so a one-year master's course often means paying for more than one year.

Add the TB test, the English test, translations and any VFS optional services. Our breakdown of the UK visa fee for Bangladeshi applicants lists each cost, including the faster-decision options. Check the official page before paying, because fees can change.

Can an agency help with a UK student visa?

Many Bangladeshi students apply through an education or visa agency, and a careful one helps most with the details that fail files: a 28-day period that is one day short, a parent's account without the consent letter and birth certificate, or a CAS that lists a qualification the student did not upload.

Agencies that use Visolv have every paper in a client's file read and checked for names, dates and balances that do not match, with each finding pointing to the page it came from. Its verified visa pack today covers the UK Standard Visitor route, so for a student file the caseworker applies the Student rules from GOV.UK directly. The wider UK route is in our UK visa from Bangladesh guide.

What documents do you upload with a student application?

• Current passport, and old passports if you have them.
• Your CAS reference, and the qualifications your sponsor used to offer you a place, if the CAS lists them.
• Bank statements or a bank letter showing the money held for 28 days, plus a parent's consent letter and your birth certificate if the account is a parent's.
• Your English test result, if your CAS says a SELT was used.
• Your TB test certificate from an approved clinic.
• Your ATAS certificate, if your course needs one.
• Certified translations of anything not in English.

Your university's international office usually sends its own checklist, which can ask for more than the visa rules. Follow both.

Do you need a TB test for a UK student visa?

Yes, if your course and visa last more than six months, which covers almost every degree. The test must be done at a Home Office approved clinic in Bangladesh, and the certificate is valid for six months from the date of the chest X-ray. Our guide to the TB test for a UK visa in Bangladesh lists the approved clinics in Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet.

Can Bangladeshi students bring their family to the UK?

Only in limited cases. For courses starting on or after 1 January 2024, a partner and children can join only students on a PhD, another doctorate or a research-based higher degree, or government-sponsored students on courses longer than six months, according to the GOV.UK family members page. Students on taught master's courses cannot bring dependants.

Where dependants are allowed, each needs their own application, fee and health surcharge, and you must show the extra living money for each, held under the same 28-day rule.

When should you apply for a UK student visa?

You can apply up to six months before your course starts, and within six months of receiving your CAS. The usual decision time from outside the UK is about three weeks after biometrics, as our page on UK visa decision times explains. Successful students receive an eVisa linked to their passport rather than a sticker, so set up the UKVI account as soon as the decision arrives, following our UK eVisa guide.

Meeting the UK student visa requirements is a matter of exact numbers and complete papers. Get the CAS, plan the 28-day money window, book the English and TB tests early and keep every paper genuine. If you want your file checked before submission, go through a visa agency that uses Visolv.

If you are also weighing the United States, the F-1 student visa is decided at a short interview at the US Embassy in Dhaka, where your I-20 and first-year funds are checked. Our F-1 visa interview guide explains what to expect.

The Visolv team

Editorial team, Easital Technologies (Dhaka)

Visolv is software for visa agencies, made in Dhaka by Easital Technologies: an AI caseworker that reads and checks every paper in a client's file, writes the drafts and builds the upload pack under the agency's own brand. We write about what we see in real visa files from Bangladesh.