How long you can stay depends on the length of your course and what study you’ve already completed in the UK.
If you’re 18 or over and your course is at degree level, you can usually stay in the UK for up to 5 years. If it’s below degree level, you can usually stay in the UK for up to 2 years.
A Bachelor’s degree is the most common of university degree levels – and can be studied straight after finishing higher education. It’s classed as a level 6 qualification.
In many educational systems, a Bachelor’s degree is indeed the most common university degree level and typically follows the completion of secondary education. It’s often considered a Level 6 qualification, according to frameworks like the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) in the United Kingdom or the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) in Europe. These frameworks provide a way of understanding and comparing different qualifications and levels of education across countries.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland
There are 9 qualification levels
Entry level
Each entry level qualification is available at three sub-levels – 1, 2 and 3. Entry level 3 is the most difficult.
Entry level qualifications are:
- entry level award
- entry level certificate (ELC)
- entry level diploma
- entry level English for speakers of other languages (ESOL)
- entry level essential skills
- entry level functional skills
- Skills for Life
Level 1
Level 1 qualifications are:
- first certificate
- GCSE – grades 3, 2, 1 or grades D, E, F, G
- level 1 award
- level 1 certificate
- level 1 diploma
- level 1 ESOL
- level 1 essential skills
- level 1 functional skills
- level 1 national vocational qualification (NVQ)
- music grades 1, 2 and 3
Level 2
Level 2 qualifications are:
- CSE – grade 1
- GCSE – grades 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 or grades A*, A, B, C
- intermediate apprenticeship
- level 2 award
- level 2 certificate
- level 2 diploma
- level 2 ESOL
- level 2 essential skills
- level 2 functional skills
- level 2 national certificate
- level 2 national diploma
- level 2 NVQ
- music grades 4 and 5
- O level – grade A, B or C
Level 3
Level 3 qualifications are:
- A level
- access to higher education diploma
- advanced apprenticeship
- applied general
- AS level
- international Baccalaureate diploma
- level 3 award
- level 3 certificate
- level 3 diploma
- level 3 ESOL
- level 3 national certificate
- level 3 national diploma
- level 3 NVQ
- music grades 6, 7 and 8
- T Level
- tech level
Level 4
Level 4 qualifications are:
- certificate of higher education (CertHE)
- higher apprenticeship
- higher national certificate (HNC)
- level 4 award
- level 4 certificate
- level 4 diploma
- level 4 NVQ
Level 5
Level 5 qualifications are:
- diploma of higher education (DipHE)
- foundation degree
- higher national diploma (HND)
- level 5 award
- level 5 certificate
- level 5 diploma
- level 5 NVQ
Level 6
Level 6 qualifications are:
- degree apprenticeship
- degree with honours – for example bachelor of the arts (BA) hons, bachelor of science (BSc) hons
- graduate certificate
- graduate diploma
- level 6 award
- level 6 certificate
- level 6 diploma
- level 6 NVQ
- ordinary degree without honours
Level 7
Level 7 qualifications are:
- integrated master’s degree, for example master of engineering (MEng)
- level 7 award
- level 7 certificate
- level 7 diploma
- level 7 NVQ
- master’s degree, for example master of arts (MA), master of science (MSc)
- postgraduate certificate
- postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE)
- postgraduate diploma
Level 8
Level 8 qualifications are:
- doctorate, for example doctor of philosophy (PhD or DPhil)
- level 8 award
- level 8 certificate
- level 8 diploma
By GEC
kenya
What is the maximum period a student studying a degree-level course in the UK can stay?
nayomi
Degree-level course (Level 6 and above): Maximum 5 years stay
vimuthi
This is really valuable as an educational counseling service.
bonny
Have you tried applying?
kushi
It says that the student visa duration varies according to the degree level. How does this apply to postgraduate research students?
subani
The visa period is granted according to the duration of the first course.
nimmi
Can I extend my stay after completing the degree-level course?
kolitha
The UK student visa for degree-level (Level 6 and above) courses is usually granted for up to 5 years. After that, to extend your stay, you need to apply for a new course or consider other visa options like the Graduate visa. That means, after completing the degree course, there is no option to directly extend the visa; you have to proceed through a new application.
yeha
It’s very useful to have the visa duration explained so clearly. It’s a good guide for students
yuhar
“The clear explanation you gave about visa duration is very useful. This will be a good guide for students. This cleared up a lot of my doubts too 👍
nishani hettimulla
Below degree level කියන එකට 2 years කියලා තියෙනවා. එහෙම qualifications වලට extend කරන්න option තියෙනවද?
samantha jayalath
ඔය article එකේ තියෙන විදියට below degree level qualifications (Foundation, Diploma, NVQ වගේ Level 3–5) වලට UK student visa usually දෙන්නේ maximum 2 years. ඒක direct extend කරන්න option එකක් නැහැ
oshada
Postgraduate research studentsටත් මේ 5 years rule එක apply වෙයිද?
dimuth jayasena
Postgraduate research students (PhD වගේ programmes) සඳහා 5 years rule එක apply වෙන්නේ නැහැ. ඒකට usually maximum 8 years දෙනවා. ඒකෙන් කියන්නේ taught Master’s සහ degree-level courses වලට 5 years limit තියෙනවා, research-based postgraduate courses වලට ඒක වැඩි වෙලා 8 years දක්වා extend වෙන්න පුළුවන්
eshad
How long is the visa duration for people doing a foundation course
hawuri
For those doing a foundation course, the UK student visa is usually given for a maximum of 2 years. That’s because it falls under the below degree level qualifications category, so there’s a 2-year limit.
nethumi
මේ article එකෙන් ගොඩක් useful information ගන්න ලැබුණා, thanks ❤️
ganga munisinha
ow matath 😍
pasindu
Student visa ගැන දැනගන්න අය සඳහා මේක ගොඩක් helpful
tharanga
Student visa duration ගැන මේ article එකේ තියෙන explanation එක ගොඩක් clear. දැනගන්න අය සඳහා මේක ගොඩක් helpful
achala
ඉතා වැදගත් තොරතුරු 🙌
chamil
yess 😍
ushidi
How long can the visa period be extended for postgraduate research students?
shedy
Postgraduate research students (for example, PhD programmes) can have their visa duration extended up to a maximum of 8 years. That’s more than the 5-year limit for taught degree-level courses.
madushi
Foundation degree කරන අය stay period කොච්චර ද?
pirosh
Foundation degree කරන අය සඳහා UK student visa usually maximum 2 years දක්වා දෙනවා. ඒක below degree level qualifications category එකට යන නිසා 2 years limit එක තියෙනවා
umaya
Healthcare surcharge payment eka visa duration ekata kohomada link wenne
nimsara
Healthcare surcharge payment එක visa duration එකට direct link වෙලා තියෙනවා. Visa එක issue කරන කාලය පුරා NHS service use කරන්න surcharge එක pay කරන්න වෙනවා
imasha
Part-time job karanna puluwan time limit monawada UK student visa ekedi 🙂
kanil
Degree level හෝ postgraduate level courses: සතියට 20 hours දක්වා term time තුළ job කරන්න පුළුවන්.
pihath
Is there a time limit on how many hours one can work at a part-time job on a UK student visa?
bishan
People doing degree level or postgraduate level courses: Can work up to 20 hours per week during term time.
Below degree level courses (foundation, diploma etc.): Can work up to 10 hours per week.
Vacation period: Full-time work allowed
himaru
මේක කියවලා ගොඩක් doubts clear una. Thanks for sharing
neharika
මේ article එක කියවලා ගොඩක් doubts clear උනා. Student visa ගැන දැනගන්න අය සඳහා මේක ගොඩක් helpful. Thanks for sharing
kenma
The degree-level course is said to take 5 years. How do postgraduate research students apply
mishli
As you saw in the article, the usual maximum stay period granted for UK student visas for degree-level courses (Level 6 and taught Master’s) is 5 years
dinitha dulmith
Visa duration ekata previously completed studies affect karanawada? 😊
vimu
ඔව්, visa duration එක previously completed studies වලට effect වෙනවා. Article එකේ කියලා තියෙන විදියට, ඔබ කලින් UK තුළ කරන ලද පාඨමාලා මොනවද කියලා බලලා, නව පාඨමාලාවට visa issue කරන කාලය තීරණය වෙනවා. උදාහරණයක් ලෙස, degree-level (Level 6 සහ taught Master’s) පාඨමාලා සඳහා visa usually දෙනවා maximum 5 years. ඒත් postgraduate research programmes (PhD වගේ) සඳහා ඒක 8 years දක්වා extend වෙන්න පුළුවන්. ඒ නිසා, කලින් කරන ලද පාඨමාලා සහ ඒවායේ level එක visa duration එකට directly බලපානවා
tehan
UK student visa ගැන මේකෙන් ගොඩක් පැහැදිලිව දැනගන්න ලැබුණා, ස්තුතියි.
chathu
Yes, that’s true
joh
“It would be good if I could learn how the visa duration is linked to the healthcare surcharge payment.
zassy
The UK student visa duration is directly linked to the healthcare surcharge payment. You have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) based on the visa issuance period. For example, if the visa duration is 2 years, the IHS payment is also calculated for 2 years. That means as the visa length increases, the total surcharge amount also increases.
joh
Postgraduate research studentsටත් මේ rule එක apply වෙයිද කියලා දැනගන්න ලැබුණොත් හොඳයි.
manoja
Postgraduate research students (උදාහරණයක් PhD programmes) සඳහාත් visa duration සහ healthcare surcharge rule එක apply වෙනවා. Visa issue කරන කාලය අනුව surcharge ගෙවන්න වෙනවා. මේ level එකේ studentsට visa usually 8 years දක්වා extend වෙන්න පුළුවන්, ඒ අනුව surcharge payment එකත් visa length එකට proportional වෙලා ගණනය වෙනවා
yuhim
Does the visa duration get affected by previously completed studies
dhananjali
Yes, the visa duration is affected by previously completed studies. According to UK Home Office rules, the maximum time limit for issuing a visa for a new course is determined based on the primary level and duration of the course you previously completed. For example, if you apply for another undergraduate level course after completing an undergraduate degree, the visa duration may be reduced.
nejas
How is the healthcare surcharge payment linked to the visa duration?
vishaliya
The healthcare surcharge payment is directly linked to the visa duration. You have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) based on the time when the visa is issued. For example, if the visa duration is 2 years, the surcharge payment is also calculated for 2 years. As the visa length increases, the total surcharge amount also increases.
yapa bandara
Degree level course වලට 5 years කියලා තියෙන එක ගොඩක් helpful, postgraduate studentsටත් මේක apply වෙයිද කියලා දැනගන්න ඕනේ
oshelyani
Degree level courses සඳහා usually 5 years කියලා තියෙන rule එක postgraduate research studentsටත් අදාළ වෙනවා. PhD වගේ research programmes සඳහා visa duration 8 years දක්වා extend වෙන්න පුළුවන්. ඒ අනුව healthcare surcharge payment එකත් visa length එකට proportional වෙලා ගණනය වෙනවා
tenis
Can you provide more details about the stay period for those doing the foundation course?
dimuthu
For those doing foundation courses, the UK student visa is usually given for a maximum of 2 years. The reason for this is that foundation qualifications (Level 3–5) fall into the below degree level category. Therefore, the 5 years rule applies only to degree-level (Level 6 and above) courses. There is no option to directly extend the foundation course visa duration; if you want to extend, you have to apply for a new course.
sathsarani
Part-time job hours ගැනත් මේ article එකේ add කරලා තියෙනවා නම් studentsට ගොඩක් useful වෙයි. 😃
bopathilaka
Part-time job hours ගැනත් article එකේ add කරලා තියෙනවා නම් studentsට ගොඩක් useful වෙයි. වැඩ කරන හැකියාව සහ weekly hour limits ගැන දැනගන්න එක practical information එකක්. මේක add කරලා තියෙනවා නම් අයගේ planning එකටත් සහ decision-making එකටත් help වෙයි.
hemantha
Can people doing a degree-level course extend it after the 5-year stay period?
dalitha
Yes, the UK student visa is generally granted for up to a maximum of 5 years for degree-level (Level 6 and above) courses. There’s no option to directly extend it beyond that. After 5 years, you need to extend your stay period.
gihantha
“Visa duration එක previously completed studies වලට effect වෙයිද
sankalpana
UK student visa duration එක previously completed studies වලට effect වෙනවා. ඒ කියන්නේ, ඔබ කලින් UK තුළ ඉගෙන ගත් පාඨමාලා වල visa time එකත් එකතු වෙලා overall limit එක ගණනය කරනවා.
hevil
The explanation they put saying it’s a 5-year degree level course is perfectly clear.
araliya
From their explanation itself, the 5-year degree-level course visa limit became perfectly clear. It can be said that it’s simple and clear.
kenneth
Educational consultants service එකක් විදිහට මේක ඉතාමත් valuable.
thiranga
Educational consultants service එකක් විදිහට මේ විස්තරය ඉතාමත් valuable. Studentsට visa duration limits ගැන clear idea එකක් දෙනවා, ඒක decision-making process එකටත් support වෙනවා
mayoni
Visa rules ගැන සරලව කියලා දාපු එකට thanks! 👌❤️
midumi sankalpani
👌❤️
vije
Does the 5-year rule also apply to postgraduate research students?
ejil
The 5-year rule does not apply to postgraduate research students (e.g., PhD programs). They have the option to extend their visa duration up to 8 years. Therefore, postgraduate research students have a different protection from the 5-year limit
keshi
Does the visa duration affect previously completed studies
keshan silva
When applying for visa duration, the years from previous UK studies are deducted. Therefore, previously completed studies affect both the visa time and the overall limit
chirantha
Degree level සහ below degree level stay period එක වෙනස් වෙන්නේ කියලා දැක්කාම හොඳට තේරෙනවා.
nadeeshani
Degree-level සහ below degree-level stay period එක වෙනස් වෙන්නේ කියලා දැක්කාම visa rules ගැන studentsට හොඳටම තේරෙනවා. Clear comparison එකක් දීලා තියෙන නිසා practical decision-making එකටත් easy වෙනවා
donsy
The breakdown you gave about RQF qualification levels is very helpful.
islanu
The RQF qualification levels breakdown you gave is very helpful to students. This detail becomes practical and valuable guidance to gain a clear understanding about visa rules and study limits.
chirantha
Foundation course කරන අය stay period කොච්චර ද
nonis
Foundation course කරන අයට visa stay period සාමාන්යයෙන් 2 years දක්වා දෙනවා. ඒක degree-level course වල 5 years limit එකට වඩා short period එකක්. Foundation studies visa duration එක overall calculation එකටත් effect වෙනවා
bimal
How does the breakdown given about RQF qualification levels benefit those applying for student visas?
janaka
The RQF (Regulated Qualifications Framework) breakdown is important for those applying for student visas because it allows them to understand visa eligibility, stay duration, and study pathways according to the qualification level.
gayathma
Graduate diploma කරන අයටත් 5 years stay option තියෙනවද
nimsarani
Graduate Diploma කියන එක UK qualification framework එකේ Level 6 category එකට යනවා. ඒක degree-level qualification එකක් (Bachelor’s degree, Graduate Diploma, Graduate Certificate වගේ).
ඒ නිසා, article එකේ තියෙන විදියට degree-level (Level 6 සහ taught Master’s) courses සඳහා student visa usually maximum 5 years දක්වා දෙනවා. Graduate Diploma කරන අයත් ඒ category එකට යන නිසා ඔවුන්ටත් 5 years stay option එක apply වෙනවා
jithmi
Can you provide more details about the stay period for those doing a foundation degree
kumar say
Foundation Degree කියන එක UK qualification framework එකේ Level 5 category එකට යනවා. ඒක Higher National Diploma (HND) වගේ intermediate qualification එකක්
thilina
Part-time job hours ගැනත් මේ article එකේ add කරලා තිබුණා නම් perfect
hishani
ඔයා කියන observation එක ගොඩක් වැදගත්. Article එකේ stay period ගැන විස්තර හොඳට දාලා තියෙනවා, ඒත් part-time job hours ගැනත් add කරලා තිබුණා නම් student community එකට තවත් complete guide එකක් වෙයි
gineth
Do below degree level qualifications have an extend option?
raju sharom
As stated in the article, for qualifications below degree level (Foundation, Diploma, NVQ-like Level 3–5), the UK student visa is usually granted for a maximum of 2 years. There is no direct extension option for that. If you need to extend, you have to apply for a new course.
dimuth
How long is the stay period for those doing a postgraduate diploma??????
gayashmika
A Postgraduate Diploma falls under Level 7 in the UK qualification framework. It is equivalent to taught Master’s level.
According to visa rules:
For Postgraduate Diploma / Master’s level courses (Level 7), a student visa is usually granted for a maximum of 5 years.
The 8-year stay option is available for Doctoral level (PhD – Level 8).
sanuja
Does the rule that says the visa duration for postgraduate research students is 5 years apply?
thalikshika
Postgraduate research students are those doing PhD level (Level 8) qualifications. According to the visa rules in the article:
For PhD/Doctoral level (Level 8), the student visa is usually up to a maximum of 8 years.
The 5-year stay option applies to Level 7 qualifications like taught Master’s and Postgraduate Diploma.
hasith
It would be perfect if they also included details about the stay period for those doing a foundation degree.
chathuranga
The observation is very good. The article has stay period details regarding degree-level qualifications, but if they had also added about the visa stay period for those doing Foundation Degree (Level 5), the article would be even more complete.
achani
Healthcare surcharge payment visa duration එකට link වෙන්නේ කියලා දැනගත්තේ ගොඩක් useful🙂🙂
iroz
Healthcare surcharge payment visa duration එකට link වෙන්නේ කියලා දැනගත්තේ ගොඩක් useful කියන observation එක article එකට දාන්න පුළුවන් practical feedback එකක්
jayalath ge hashi
Seeing the RQF qualification levels breakdown will make it easy to understand for those applying for student visas.
lakshmi
Your observation is very important. If the RQF qualification levels breakdown was added to the article for those applying for student visas, it would be easy to compare the stay period rules well and get a clear idea.
dushini
Part-time job hours limit එක visa type එක අනුව වෙනස් වෙයිද?
shan
yes
heshi
Below degree level qualifications extend කරන්න option තියෙනවද 🙄
kadhal
ඔව්, below degree level qualifications (foundation, diploma වගේ) extend කරන්න option තියෙනවා. ඒත් ඒක depend වෙනවා ඔබේ course type එක, institution එක, සහ visa rules මත
bimashi
“Visa duration ගැන මෙතරම් පැහැදිලිව කියලා තියෙන්නේ ගොඩක් useful, specially newcomersට
vithwan
මෙය site එකේ newcomersට ගොඩක් helpful කියලා highlight කරන්න පුළුවන්👌
lamil
When you see the RQF qualification breakdown, the stay period becomes clear.
narada
When you look at the RQF qualification breakdown, the stay period becomes very clear. It’s very useful for newcomers to properly plan their study plans.
nimal karunathilake
Healthcare surcharge payment එක visa duration එකට link වෙන්නේ කියලා දැනගත්තේ මේකෙන්.
nuwangi
Healthcare surcharge payment එක visa duration එකට link වෙන්නේ කියලා මේකෙන් දැනගත්තේ ගොඩක් useful. මේක newcomersට තමන්ගේ visa plans හොඳට manage කරන්න clear idea එකක්
ovi
Does this 5-year rule also apply to postgraduate research students???????????
jodha
The 5-year rule does not apply to postgraduate research students. They have the option to extend their visa according to the study duration. This means research students are allowed a longer stay period.
sankalpa
Below degree level qualifications වලට extend option තියෙනවද?
mahi
article එකේ තියෙන විදියට below degree level qualifications (Foundation, Diploma, NVQ වගේ Level 3–5) සඳහා UK student visa usually දෙන්නේ maximum 2 years. ඒක direct extend option එකක් නැහැ. Extend කරන්න ඕනේ නම්, නව පාඨමාලාවකට apply කරන්න හෝ වෙන visa category එකක් consider කරන්න වෙනවා
nandiri
Visa duration ගැන මේකෙන් ගොඩක් clear idea ගන්න ලැබුණා, newcomersට ගොඩක් helpful🫡😌
bopagoda
With the RQF qualification breakdown you provided, the study pathways have become easier to understand.
hansamali
I found out how the healthcare surcharge payment links to the visa duration – it’s really useful.
hasarel saranga
Previously completed studies visa duration එකට කොහොමද effect වෙන්නේ?
keyal
“Graduate Diploma කරන අයටත් 5 years stay option apply වෙයිද?
lolitha
How long is the stay period for those doing Foundation Degree (Level 5)?
mayanthi
Course එක 1 year නම් visa එකත් 1 year විතරයි නේද? Extra months කියන එක ඇත්තටම give කරනවද? 🤨
gemunu jayathilaka
Heard that the rules are very strict 😤, gotta leave quickly as soon as the course finishes
chathuri hasangika
Visa eka thiynakm UK inna pluwan ne……
vindi
Extra months දෙන එක sure ද? visa එක expire උනම immediately leave වෙන්න ඕන කියලා අහල තිබ්බා
jahara
Does the 5-year limit apply to every student? Is it the same for master’s programs too? 🤔