Accepting or Deferring - International Applicants Requiring a Visa

Understanding your Offer

Carefully read your Offer Letter in conjunction with our Terms and Conditions- Postgraduate and the information on Student Visa requirements which is available on the University’s International webpages and on the UK Visas & Immigration website.

Your Offer will be either Unconditional or Conditional. If the offer is conditional you can still accept it, however we will need evidence that you have met the conditions of the offer no less than six weeks before the programme start date.

Making your decision

If your Offer is Unconditional or if you are confident you will be able to satisfy the conditions of the Offer if it is Conditional, and you are also able to satisfy the Student Visa application requirements, you can go ahead and accept your offer of admission by clicking on the link in your Offer Letter and accessing your online Acceptance Form.

However, if you have submitted more than one application and are awaiting further decisions please wait until you have received all your decisions before proceeding.

If you are not confident you will be able to satisfy the Student Visa requirements for the start date you have applied for, we can defer your Offer of admission to allow you time to do this, please submit your defer request through this online Form.

Accepting your offer through the Online Acceptance Form Link in your Cover Letter

1. Please complete the first section of the form. You will need the Applicant ID and Application Number detailed in your Offer Letter and also the full name of the Degree for which you have received an Offer.

2. Please advise us if you need a Student Visa to study in the UK.

If you do you will be asked to upload a CLEAR AND LEGIBLE copy of the passport you will use to apply for your visa.

If applicable you will also be asked to upload evidence of previous visa refusals and evidence of previous or current UK study.

NOTE: If you are unable to provide us with the required documents during the acceptance process you can upload these at a later date to the Applicant Portal. We will need copies of these documents before we can clear you for entry so please ensure these are uploaded no later than six weeks before the programme start date.

3. Please complete the second section of the form, this section of the form is where you need to advise us how you are going to fund your studies.

You have five options to choose from:

• Funding source has not been confirmed yet

NOTE: If you select this box you must update us when your funding source has been confirmed through our online Financial Guarantee Form

• I accept full personal responsibility for meeting Tuition Fees and maintenance expenses for the duration of my studies.

NOTE: You will be required to demonstrate to the UK Visas & Immigration that you have held the full amount for tuition fees and £9207 for maintenance funds in your bank account for a minimum of 28 consecutive days before you apply for a visa Student Visa Policy Guidance.

• My Tuition Fees will be paid by an Official Sponsoring body.

NOTE: You are required to upload the letter of confirmation from your sponsor however if you are unable to provide us this document during the acceptance process you can upload these at a later date to the Applicant Portal. We will need copies of these documents before we can clear you for entry so please ensure these are uploaded as soon as possible. Please also note that if your sponsor fails to meet the cost of your Tuition Fees, you will become personally responsible for this. Further information is available here Student Visa Policy Guidance for a description of an Official Sponsor.

• I am a member of staff of the University of Aberdeen, I have completed the staff application process and I have obtained the permission of my Head of School or nominee for full or part payment of tuition fees by the School.

NOTE: We will need your STAFF ID number

• I am a student and have been awarded funding by my prospective School at the University of Aberdeen.

NOTE: We will need the School name and contact details

NOTE: If you need to update your financial information following acceptance of your offer you can do so at any time through our online Financial Guarantee Form and upload supporting documents to the Applicant Portal. However we will need up to date copies of these documents before we can clear you for entry so please ensure these are uploaded no later than six weeks before the programme start date.

Submit the Form

Submit the form to the Admissions Team, you will receive an acknowledgement to the email address you used to submit the form, please retain this.

Satisfying conditions of your Offer

If the offer of admission is conditional we will need you to upload the documents required to meet the conditions as soon as these are available to the Applicant Portal.

If you need to improve your English language, the University’s Language Centre offers a range of Pre-sessional and Academic English Preparation courses to help applicants achieved the required standard in English language. Please visit the Language Centre website for more information. Alternatively, the University accepts several different English Language Tests all of which are listed Here.

If your offer letter indicates that you need to apply for ATAS clearance, please submit your ATAS application within the 6 months prior to the degree start date. You can submit the ATAS application while your offer is still conditional, before you have accepted the offer of admission and whilst you are still waiting to hear the outcome of scholarship applications if necessary. However, do not apply too early as the ATAS certificate must be valid when you submit it with the visa application. If you defer or change degree, you will have to submit a new ATAS application.

You will need to provide some information in relation to your chosen programme of study as part of your application.

• CAH3 code – this is detailed on page 2 of your offer letter.
• Full details of the course you have applied for – this can be found in the ‘What you’ll study’ section of the prospectus entry for your degree.
• If you have applied for a research degree the ATAS statement text can be found on page 3 of your offer letter.

Once you have received ATAS approval please upload evidence of this to the Applicant Portal.

To enable us to review your file and clear you for entry you must have:

• Fulfilled all the conditions on your offer
• Fully completed your online acceptance and financial guarantee form - for the correct programme and entry date.
• Provided a copy of your passport - valid for travel.
• All of your funding (fees and maintenance) in place with the evidence required to support it (eg bank statement or sponsorship letter). The Admissions Officer may ask to see this. For further information on funding evidence required see Financial Evidence required
• Any BRPs if you have previously studied in the UK.  
• A valid ATAS certificate – if you need ATAS, it will have been detailed in your offer letter. For further information see:  ATAS Scheme.
• A valid TB certificate – check here to see if you need a TB certificate TB Test.

Clearing takes place over a number of months prior to commencement date. Your Joining Papers, which contain your Certificate of Acceptance (CAS) will be sent to the email address which was used to make your application. 

The University uses the online self-service system CAS Shield to enable us to review your documents for CAS issue. Once you have fulfilled all conditions and firmly accepted your offer, you will receive an email invitation from CAS Shield to create an account. 

CAS Shield will be auto-populated with information about you and your programme and you will be asked to check this for accuracy. It is very important that all the information is accurate, otherwise there is a risk that your visa may be refused. 

Note: We cannot send the Joining Papers and Certificate of Acceptance out any earlier than 6 months before the degree start date. Your CAS will be valid for 6 months.
 

Taught Degrees

For most Taught programmes, the start date detailed in the offer of admission letter is the start of registration week.  It is important to try to arrive during registration week so that you can attend orientation and induction events.

In most cases, teaching will usually begin on the Monday of the following week but please check the New Students website in the weeks before your programme is due to start for programme-specific information.  

If you arrive later than the start of teaching week you will miss classes and it will be your responsibility to catch up on everything that you have missed. 

In all cases, all students must arrive by the latest state date noted on the Certificate of Acceptance. You will not be admitted after the latest start date.

Research Degrees

For Research degrees, the start date given in the offer of admission letter (or the first working day thereafter) is normally both registration and the start of your studies.

All Students

You must register before you can commence studies and, if appropriate, re-register at the start of each new academic year (in September). 

Yes, you can request a defer using our Postgraduate Taught Deferral Form or Postgraduate Research Deferral Form. The final date for deferring is the “application deadline date” for the cycle you are deferring to Deadline Dates. It is important if you decide to request a defer that you check your record in the Applicant Portal and ensure all your information is up to date, including your email address.

Please note that academic entry requirements and English requirements for our programmes are subject to change. Some English Language Tests are only valid for a limited time so your application will need to be reassessed and a new offer issued.  Your new offer may have new conditions attached so please check this over thoroughly before completing the acceptance form.

Your Offer will expire after two years or if following your initial entry date the programme is withdrawn or the conditions for entry change.

To decline your Offer, please select “I wish to DECLINE the offer of admission” on the online Acceptance Form or email Postgraduate Admissions making sure you include your Applicant ID and Application Number, which are detailed in your Offer Letter. We will acknowledge receipt of your request and withdraw the Offer.