The University of Birmingham is proud to invite esteemed visitors from all over the world, to engage with our staff in learning and teaching, research, collaboration, or business. To ensure that our visitors apply for and travel on the correct visas, we conduct visa assessments. These assessments consider duration of the visit and activities to be conducted.
Please contact the School staff member who would like to invite you and ensure they have arranged an internal visa assessment for your visit. You are not required to contact the IST directly as the visa assessment request must be arranged by the School.
Non-Visa Nationals
You are still required to have a visa assessment completed to visit the University of Birmingham. Please contact the School staff member who would like to invite you for this to be arranged internally.
If you are a citizen of a country which is not considered a "Visa National" Country you can visit the UK for up to 6 months without a visa provided that you are only carrying out activities permitted under “Standard Visitor” route as described by the UK Immigration Rules.
There is a number of activities which do not fall under this category and you will be advised to apply for a visa (entry clearance) from your home country. If you have been assessed as requiring a visa (entry clearance) you must not travel to the UK until have you have received a decision on your visa application.
Please see the Standard Visitor route webpage for information about this immigration route. You can also use the Government webpage for checking what type of visa you may need for your type of visit.
Visa nationals
Visa nationals need entry clearance (a visa) in advance of travel to the UK for any purpose.
Academic Staff:
Academic staff and researchers can normally apply for a visa or permission to entry as a:
- Academic Visitor,
- Standard Visitor (Business Visitor),
- Permitted Paid Engagement Visitor or,
- Temporary Worker – Government Authorised Exchange scheme (sponsored visa route).
The University of Birmingham will provide a letter to confirm the relevant visa route which can be used for the purpose of the visa application or at the UK Border upon arrival in the UK.
Students:
We invite international visiting students for any of the following activities:
- study,
- short piece of research for up to six months,
- research towards your PhD degree (Visiting Research Student for up to 12 months),
- short course of study for up to six months,
- electives (if you are studying medicine, veterinary medicine and science, nursing, midwifery, or dentistry as your principal course of study),
- seminars and conferences.
Students can normally apply for a:
- Student Visa (sponsored visa route)
- Standard Visitor Visa - Visit to Study (*permission to entry for non-visa nationals)
If you are successful, the University of Birmingham will provide you with a letter to confirm the relevant visa route which can be used for the purpose of the visa application or on arrival at the UK Border.
Additional information can be found at the UK Government website:
Entering the UK: Overview - GOV.UK
Visas and immigration - GOV.UK