Overseas Students

All Overseas students are required to apply for a Student Route Visa unless they have a British Passport, Right to Remain (or another  immigration status which allows you to live, study and work in the UK without restriction) or EU Pre-Settled or Settled Status.

Overseas is classed as indiviudals from outside of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland or Channel Islands.

If you are unsure whether you need a visa or not you can check here.

You can apply for a Student Route Visa to study in the UK if you’re 16 or over and you:

• have been offered a place on a course by a licensed student sponsor
• have enough money to support yourself and pay for your course
• can speak, read, write and understand English

Please note: Though the required minimum age is 16 in order to apply for the Student Route Visa NSCD only accepts students who are 18 or over upon enrolment. 

EU, EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) or Swiss nationals living in the UK before 31 December 2020, can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK after 30 June 2021.

Holding this status will mean that you can continue to study in the UK without having to apply for additional immigration permission.

You’ll be given either:

• settled status
• pre-settled status

You will not be asked to choose which you’re applying for. Which status you get depends on how long you’ve been living in the UK when you apply. Your rights will be different depending on which status you get.

If you are offered a place on one of our courses at NSCD you will be asked to provide confirmation of your settled or pre-settled status as evidence that you are not required to apply for a Student Route Visa.

Current holders of a Student Route Visa will need to apply for a new Student Visa to start a new course in the UK. Your new course will need to lead to a higher level qualification than your last course to show the required progression.

How and when to apply from inside the UK

If you are offered a place on one of our courses at NSCD you will be provided with full details of the documents that you will need to submit to us. NSCD will then provide you with a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) reference number to apply for your Student visa.

The earliest you can apply is 3 months before your course starts. You must apply before your current visa expires. Your new course must begin within 28 days of your current visa expiring. You’ll usually get a decision within 3 weeks, though it can take up to 8 weeks.

View full Step-by Step details here: NSCD Student Route Visa Step-by-Step Guide

MA Contemporary Dance Performance: Professional Placement Scheme is only open to Home Students (British National, Right to Remain) and those with either EU Pre-Settled or Settled Status.

Overseas students who will require a Student Route Visa are unable to apply for PPS due to visa restrictions on work placements.

1. Attend in-person audition or submit a video audition
2. Receive outcome, if successful you will receive information on entry requirements
3. Submit Entry Requirements (listed in your offer, will include Academic qualification, English Language and Financial Evidence)
4. Receive CAS from Admissions Manager
5. Apply for a Student Route Visa
6. Read Student Visa Responsibilties and sign this form to show you have read and understood.
7. Await a decision from UVKI and begin to research accommodation, local GP, travel to the UK.
8. Once you have received your decision from UKVI and it is successful, you can then enter the UK on or after the start date as set by UKVI. You must not enter the UK until you have your decision and you must only enter on or after the start date. You must not enter as a tourist with the view to switch to your student visa internally as this will cause complications. Students who apply from within the UK must remain the UK until they have received a decision.
9. Once you have your visa you need to inform the Admissions Manager, providing them with any relevant documentation. You can then proceed to book travel and source your accommodation, preparing for life as a Student at NSCD. We also advise you research local GPs close to your chosen accommodation.

1. When travelling to the UK ensure you bring any documentation (paper or digital) with you in case you need to present this to Border Control.
2. Once you have arrived in the UK you must inform the Admissions Manager as soon as possible and send your flight ticket/boarding pass.
3. If you have been instructed to collect a BRP (Biometric Residence Permit) you must do so within 10 days of arriving from the designated address we provide when we send your CAS and send a copy to the Admissions Manager as soon as you have this. If you have been issued digital immigration status instead you need to provide the Admissions Manager with a Share Code in order for them to obtain a copy of your digital immigration status. View and prove your immigration status: get a share code – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
4. All students must send a copy of their flight ticket/boarding card (or rail/ferry ticket).
5. Once we have a copy of your flight ticket (or alternative) and your BRP or Digital immigration status we have what we need from you in order to enrol. You then need to attend induction to officially enrol as a student at NSCD.
6. Ensure you adhere to your Student Visa Responsibilities and Guidelines which are outlined in Student Visa Responsibilities and explained to you at enrolment.

Places on all our courses are offered after successful application and audition or interview.  All our offers are conditional upon receipt of the relevant Academic and English Language entry requirements for the specific course.

You will need the equivalent Academic qualifications from your country that we request from UK students.  This is likely to be

• a school leavers certificate if applying for one of our undergraduate courses or
• an undergraduate degree if applying for one of our postgraduate courses.

At the point of an offer the NSCD admissions team check your qualifications with ECCTIS to confirm equivalence.  You do not need to submit this qualification with your application or before your audition but if you are offered a place it will be conditional upon you submitting it by the end of the academic year; usually by June/mid-July at the latest.

If you have any questions regarding academic qualifications please get in touch via admissions@nscd.ac.uk 

Places on all our courses are offered after successful application and audition or interview.  All our offers are conditional upon receipt of the relevant Academic and English Language entry requirements for the specific course.

If your first language is not English you will need meet the minimum English language entry requirements in order to enrol on any of our courses. This is set at CEFR level B2 for undergraduate courses and high B2 or C1 for postgraduate courses.

This usually means passing a Secure English Language Test (SELT) from an approved provider; IELTS for UKVI, LanguageCert International ESOL SELT or PTE Academic UKVI.

As NSCD is a Higher Education Provider (HEP) we can assess your level of English through an alternative qualification providing it meets the required level. This is assessed on a case by case basis.

To enrol on an undergraduate course your English language qualification must be equivalent to the examples below:

IELTS for UKVI with an overall band of 5.5 with no less than 5.0 in each component skill.

LanguageCert International ESOL SELT with 33 – 38 score per skill.

To enrol on a postgraduate course your English language qualification must be equivalent to the examples below:

IELTS for UKVI with an overall band of 6.5 with no less than 6 in Reading and Writing and no less than 5.5 in Speaking and Listening.

LanguageCert International ESOL SELT with 33– 37 per skill for Reading and Writing, 25-32 per skill for Speaking and Listening. 38 – 50 per skill to achieve 6.5 across all skills.

You may find this webpage useful: IELTS | Compare IELTS

Who does not need to prove their knowledge of English?

• You do not need to prove your knowledge of English if you’ve completed a qualification equivalent to a UK degree in one of the following countries, or are from one of the following countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, UK, USA.
• You also do not need to prove your knowledge of English if you proved your level of English in a previous visa application.
• In certain countries English subjects studied at school are comparable to B2 standard, provided these subjects have been taken and successfully passed in the final examinations with the required grades where stated. If you are offered a conditional place, after your audition, qualifications that you have gained, including grades that you believe are comparable to the B2 level should be submitted to the admissions team for them to check with NARIC (The National Recognition Information Centre). You will then be notified whether you are exempt from taking additional English language tests for entry. Equally, if you studied/are studying recognised qualifications in English at an International School, or took a GCSE English as a first or second language, you may be exempt.

If you are offered a place on any of our courses at NSCD the Admissions Team will support your transition to enrolment by guiding you through the Student Visa process and helping you find local accommodation.

Throughout your course our dedicated Student Services Team provide a full range of support which includes Health and Well-being support, Injury support and English Language support.

Further information is available at: Student Life