The Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) number is generated when LSE provides the UK Border Agency with information about you and your programme of study. The admissions teams will e-mail you the CAS. You don't need a paper document.

LSE can only issue a CAS if:

you are studying on a full time programme
your offer is unconditional and LSE has received your acceptance
by the end of the programme, you will not have spent more than 5 years studying in the UK (this rule was introduced on 6 April 2012)

The CAS links you to LSE and means you can only study at LSE. If you use a CAS from another university in your application you will not be able to study at LSE until you apply for a Tier 4 visa for LSE.

If you are still overseas and you have obtained a visa for another institution and you now want to study at LSE, you are advised to obtain a CAS from LSE and apply in your own country before travelling to the UK. Students with non-LSE Tier 4 visas cannot register at LSE. If you are in this situation and you don't have enough time to apply again, please contact us for advice using the ISIS web query form.|

Your CAS is valid for six months from the date of issue, and you can apply up to three months before the start date of your programme. For the majority of LSE offer holders (for degree programmes) this is early July. For applicants with offers for graduate programmes which have introductory courses in September, the earliest date to apply is early June.

How does it work?

You are offered a place at LSE
you submit your acceptance of the offer using LSE for You
you send us your original qualifications
your offer is made unconditional
you complete a 'Financial undertaking Form'
we request a CAS from the UK Border Agency
we e-mail you the CAS and a CAS Statement. The CAS is a number and the CAS Statement lists all the information that we have already sent to the UK Border Agency.
you use the CAS number and the details to complete your application form(s) (you do not need to submit the CAS Statement)

Please note that the CAS is the key 'document' that you need from LSE. Please do not start the Tier 4 application process until you have received it.

What is a CAS Statement?

A CAS Statement is the email that we send you that lists the information we have already provided to the UK Border Agency. The CAS Statement has no legal function, it is simply a statement of the information that you need to apply for your student visa and you don't need to submit a paper copy to the UK Border Agency.

What information does LSE send to the UK Border Agency to obtain a CAS?

We tell the UK Border Agency your personal details including your passport number*, your date of birth, your nationality** and the details about your programme including the start and end date and the tuition fees that you have paid.

Important note for one year MSc students starting in 2012. The start date for MSc students in 2012 is October 1. If your CAS has a later start date, you should have received a message from the admissions team explaining the error and confirming that the start date is incorrect and a note has been added to your CAS for UKBA to read. It is important that you write the correct start and end date on your application to ensure that you are granted the correct length of visa. If you have not received a message from admissions or you are in any way confused about the start date of your programme, do contact the admissions team - you can reply to the message you received when you were sent a CAS.

For this reason you must send us accurate information because if the details do not match up, your Tier 4 application may be refused.

ATAS Certificate. If you need an ATAS certificate, this is confirmed on your CAS and you must include the ATAS clearance certificate with your application. If you are studying an undergraduate or postgraduate taught programme at LSE, you do not need an ATAS certificate. If you are studying Maths or Management Science at research level (MRes/MPhil/PhD) you may need to apply for a certificate before you can obtain a CAS from LSE. For more information go to:

Other important information|

*If you are applying for a new passport, please wait until you obtain a new one before you send us your details. This is because your CAS must state the passport number of the passport that you use when you apply for your Tier 4 visa.

**If you have dual nationality, please inform LSE. If you are using one nationality to apply to come to the UK, check that this is correctly listed on your CAS.

Academic Progress. If you have already studied in the UK, LSE also has to confirm that your programme here represents 'academic progression'. Please check your CAS has a statement confirming this if you have already studied in the UK. If this is missing, contact the admissions team to amend your CAS. See the link at the bottom of this page to contact the team.

What education documents do I send to the UK Border Agency?

Documents used to assess entry to LSE
LSE will tell the UK Border Agency the qualifications that we used to assess you for the programme. This will be your A-level results or your degree qualification. You will need to submit these original documents when you apply for your visa.

You will also have submitted academic references to LSE and written a personal statement about why you are applying but you do not need to include these with your application. You only need to submit what is listed on your CAS.

IMPORTANT! LSE is a Higher Education Institution (HEI) in the UK. Your CAS may also state that you have been assessed at level B2 in English language and that no further evidence is required. This means that you are not required to show English language documents but you do still need to submit your other academic qualifications. If you are required to submit documents and you don't your application will be refused.

The only exception to this are low risk nationals who must have the documents in place but do not need to submit them when they apply.

Note for A Level Students: There will be a note on your CAS statement confirming that LSE has verified your results through the online UCAS system. You still need to submit the results paper that you are sent when you receive your results. If you do not submit this evidence then the UK Border Agency may refuse your visa application.

Note for International Baccalaureate students: In 2011, the UK Border Agency put special arrangements in place for Tier 4 Students who were applying for their Tier 4 visas before students received paper IB certificates. LSE was able to confirm your IB results on the CAS. We hope that similar arrangements will be put in place this year and will update our pages with any guidance from UKBA.

If you have received your award certificate when you make your application, then you should include it with your application.

Notes for all students:

You only need to submit the documents listed on your CAS - you do not need to include an academic reference if this is not listed.

You can submit the actual certificate of your qualification or the official transcripts (for example, if your entry to the MSc Economics is based on a BSc in Economics from LSE, you need to enclose the transcripts or the original degree certificate showing the BSc qualification). Remember - all documents must be original.

English Language Test

If you are from a majority English speaking country (according to the UK Border Agency list), you will not have to show English language documents.
You can check the list at:

UK Border Agency website|

Your CAS may also state that you have been assessed at level B2 in English language and that no further evidence is required. This means that you are not required to show English language documents but you do still need to submit your other academic qualifications. If you are required to submit documents and you don't your application will be refused.

If you were assessed based on previous study in English, LSE will state on the CAS that we have assessed you based on LSE's own criteria and you won't have to submit further documentation.

Nationals who don't need to submit education documents

Some nationalities will not have to actually submit financial documentation with the Tier 4 application when applying in their home country or in the UK. (Note that if you are able to apply in a third country where you are living, you do not currently benefit from these arrangements and have to submit all required documents when you apply.)

The UK Border Agency Tier 4 Policy Guidance and the immigration rules refer to 'differentiation arrangements' for 'low risk' nationalities (see below to link to the list).

However, you will have to sign a declaration on the application form that you do have the original documents that were used to assess you. You may be asked for these at any time during the application process. If you cannot provide documentation when requested, your application could be refused and you could be barred from entering the UK for ten years. For this reason we strongly advise you to read the details above and collect all supporting documents as if you had to submit them and you should have them in place on the date that you submit your Tier 4 application.

The list of nationalities who have 'differentiation arrangements' is published in Appendix H of the immigration rules:

UK Border Agency - Appendix H |

note that low risk nationals are also exempt from being interviewed as part of the application process.

Do I need to submit the 'CAS Statement'?

No. The CAS Statement is for your reference. You need the CAS number and many of the details when completing the Tier 4 application form.

Some Visa Application Centres (VAC) may request the paper CAS Statement to help check your application before you submit it. If you are asked for your CAS Statement, you can simply print out the e-mail that you are sent. You don't need an original letter.

What do I do if any details are incorrect on the CAS Statement?

You must check that the information in your CAS Statement is correct as soon as you receive it. If any of the details are not correct, please complete and submit the online form| to notify LSE of the corrections needed.