Original document : https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/student-sponsor-guidance

Change description : 2025-03-19 09:00:00: Updated all documents to include information about remote delivery. Further details of updates can be found within each document. [Guidance and regulation]

Showing diff : 2024-11-08 16:02:35.684880140 +00:00..2025-03-19 09:01:34.199458696 +00:00

Guidance

Student sponsor guidance

How to apply for a Student sponsor licence and how to sponsor a student.

From:
UK Visas and Immigration
Published
1 October 2013
Last updated
819 NovemberMarch 20242025 — See all updates

Documents

Applying for a Student sponsor licence (accessible)

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Applying for a Student sponsor licence

PDF, 772809 KB, 7885 pages

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Sponsorship duties (accessible)

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Sponsorship duties

PDF, 7971.09 KBMB, 104109 pages

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Student sponsor compliance (accessible)

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Student sponsor compliance

PDF, 386511 KB, 2423 pages

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Higher education regulatory reform (accessible)

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Higher education regulatory reform

PDF, 287280 KB, 1514 pages

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Details

This is the full policy guidance on sponsoring a student. Use this guide to find out how to:

  • apply for (or renew) a university or college sponsor licence
  • enrol international students who will be studying under the Student or Child Student routes

Updates to this page

Published 1 October 2013
Last updated 819 NovemberMarch 2024 2025 + show all updates

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Update history

2025-04-09 09:00
Guidance on applying for a student sponsor licence and sponsorship duties has been updated. A full list of the changes made since last publication is included in the guidance documents.

2025-03-19 09:00
Updated all documents to include information about remote delivery. Further details of updates can be found within each document.

2024-11-08 16:02
Updated applying for a student sponsor licence guidance.

2023-10-16 08:00
Updated ‘Applying for a Student sponsor licence’ and ‘Student sponsor compliance’ to remove information about premium customer service.

2023-07-25 16:21
Student Sponsor Guidance document 1 updated to reflect change of oversight provider from School Inspection Service to Mainland Education Ltd.

2023-07-17 15:19
Sponsorship duties document updated, changes to paragraphs 3.12, 3.27 and 5.82. Sponsorship compliance document updated, changes to paragraph 3.13.

2023-07-17 15:00
Sponsorship duties document updated, changes to paragraphs 3.12, 3.27 and 5.82. Sponsorship compliance document updated, changes to paragraph 3.13.

2022-12-30 10:06
Added accessible HTML versions of documents.