The Standard Visitor Visa route is for international students who want to undertake a short course of study in the United Kingdom.

Student visitors are allowed to come to the UK for six months (or 11 months if they will be studying an English language course). Full details of the Standard Visitor Visa route can be found on the UK Government website

The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) provides guidance on the procedures a student should follow in order to enter the UK on a Standard Visitor Visa, including details of who must apply for entry clearance before travelling to the UK.

The British Accreditation Council is one of the approved accreditation bodies for Standard Visitor Visa purposes. This means that BAC accreditation will enable your institution to sponsor non-EEA students via this route.

Once your institution gains accreditation with us, we will provide you with the relevant certificate of accreditation. Your institution will be listed on our website in our directory of accredited providers. You will be asked to check that this listing is accurate when accreditation is advised.

We advise accredited institutions that should authorities require proof of their BAC accreditation that they should only send copies (you should always keep the original).

When the Home Office or visa agency receive notification of a student visitor they would normally then check the directory of accredited providers on our website to verify that your institution is listed.