The Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) is a reference number issued by Imperial that an applicant needs to submit a Student visa application.
Once an applicant has met the conditions of their offer, the CAS will be issued by the relevant Admissions team.
Current students needing to extend their visa, or students returning from an interruption of studies, will need to request a new CAS number from the International Student Support team.
Please refer to the sections below that provide more detail.
Important information for applicants
The UK Government has introduced an emergency brake on nationals of certain countries applying to come and study in the UK. This means that new Student Visa applications from nationals of the following countries will be paused from 26 March 2026:
- Afghanistan
- Cameroon
- Myanmar
- Sudan
Imperial will not be able to provide a CAS to nationals of these countries needing to apply for a Student Visa outside the UK. If you have any questions about this, please email international@imperial.ac.uk
Current students who are nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan
The brake only affects visa applications that are for entry clearance (applying from outside the UK) . The brake does not affect current permission to stay, nor does it cancel existing visas. It also does not change the conditions of visas already granted. If you are already in the UK lawfully:
- You may continue to study in line with your existing visa conditions.
- Any future visa application will be considered under the Immigration Rules in force at the time you apply.
- You can still switch into another visa type from within the UK as long as you meet the eligibility requirements for that visa route.
CAS scenarios
Your CAS will be produced by the central Admissions Office once you have
- fulfilled all conditions of your offer of admission (unconditional offer)
- submitted a copy of your passport when requested
The earliest a CAS will be produced is 3 months prior to your course start date.
We are partnering with Enroly CAS Shield, a trusted partner platform, to assist us in collecting and verifying your personal details before we issue your CAS.
We will send you more information about this process to the email address you used when you applied. Please keep checking your email for information from Enroly.
For more information, visit the CAS Shield explained page.
Please be aware that if you need to make a new visa application during your course of study and you are on a course that requires ATAS clearance we cannot produce a CAS until the relevant clearance certificate is obtained. For more details please refer to our ATAS page.
PhD students needing additional time to complete
If you need additional time to complete your course because your course dates have changed, please email the International Student Support team to request a new CAS. Please include your CID in any correspondence.
If your course has changed (for example you are adding a Year in Industry or moving between undergraduate Bachelors/undergraduate Masters degrees), your course administrator should sign off the change and send a form through to the ISS team. We will then contact you directly about obtaining a new CAS if you need to make a new visa application.
If you need to make a new visa application because you are resuming your studies after a period of interruption, please ask your course administrator to email the International Student Support team to confirm your return date. We cannot provide a CAS more than 3 months prior to your expected date of return.
Please note: if you are undertaking a course that requires ATAS clearance we cannot produce a CAS until the relevant clearance certificate is obtained. For more details please refer to our ATAS page.
If you have been out of the UK for longer than 6 months in a country that requires you to have TB clearance, please be aware you will need a new clearance certificate before making your Student Route application.