Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) Information  

If you need a Student visa to study in the UK, you’ll need a CAS before you apply for it.  

A CAS is a unique reference number that you’ll need to enter in your Student visa application. It provides UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) with details of your offer (including course details and fees) and confirms that the University will be your visa ‘sponsor’ for the duration of your study. 

A new CAS is required every time you apply for a student visa and you can’t use a CAS more than once. A CAS issued by Durham only allows you to study at Durham on the course you applied for. 

You’ll be issued with a CAS if your nationality normally requires you to apply for a Student visa. If you already have another type of immigration permission that allows you to study, you can let us know when you apply and we won’t issue a CAS.  

The Admissions Team will automatically process your pre-CAS and CAS when you are eligible (but not before 5 months before the start of your programme).  To be eligible you will need to be unconditional (so no outstanding offer conditions), to have accepted your offer, paid your tuition fee deposit (if applicable), and have a valid passport covering the duration of your studies.  It can take up to about 4 weeks to receive a pre-CAS, but we do prioritise CAS when the start of the academic year is nearing.

Durham University makes every effort to ensure that the information published on this page is accurate. However, the University cannot guarantee the information may not be altered owing to circumstances beyond the University’s reasonable control. Such circumstances include (but are not limited to) change in Government policy, or change of law. Any changes will be incorporated into the University’s website as early as possible.