What is a valid application and what happens if your application is not valid
If you apply for a Student Visa from outside the UK, you seek entry clearance in the UK as a student.
If you apply for a Student Visa from within the UK, you seek permission to stay in the UK as a student.
Your application for entry clearance or permission to stay as a student must meet all the following requirements in order to be considered valid.
The first requirement is that you must have applied on the correct, specified application form.
The second requirement is that you must have been paid any application fee and the Immigration Health Charge.
The third requirement is that your must have provided the required biometrics.
The fourth requirement is that you must have provided a valid passport or other travel document which satisfactorily establishes your identity and nationality.
The fifth requirement is that you must have provided a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies reference number that was issued to you no more than 6 months before the date of application.
The sixth requirement is that you must be at least 16 years old on the date of application.
There are two more requirements for those applying from within the UK. If you have, in the last 12 months before the date of application, completed a course of studies in the UK for which you have been awarded a scholarship or sponsorship by a Government or international scholarship agency covering both fees and living costs for study in the UK, you must provide written consent in relation to the application from that Government or agency.
If you apply from within the UK, you must not be in the UK as a Visitor, or as a Short-Term Student, or as a Parent of a Child Student, or as a Seasonal Worker, or as a Domestic Worker in a Private Household, or as a holder of leave granted outside the Immigration Rules. Read more here about switching to a Student Visa from within the UK.
If your application does not meet all the above validity requirements, it will be invalid, rejected and not considered.
If you want to apply for a Student Visa and need specialist advice, feel free to contact me. Please note that I am an accredited immigration adviser, not an employee of the UK Visas and Immigration. I charge fees for the advice provided.