International students
Why study at Norland
World-famous training and outstanding international career opportunities await you
Norland offers a welcoming, nurturing and inclusive community in the heart of historic Bath in south west England. Each year, we’re delighted to welcome a small number of international students who benefit from our world-famous high-quality early years training and the outstanding career opportunities and lifelong career support we offer.
As an international student, you’ll receive tailored support through the application process and throughout your studies. You’ll also have access to your own dedicated Visa Manager to guide you through the visa application and immigration process and to provide specific support during your time at Norland. Once you graduate as a fully-qualified Norlander, you’ll receive lifelong career support and your pick of jobs around the world through your very own dedicated employment agency. Established in parallel with Norland almost 130 years ago, the Norland Agency continues to offer many more jobs than there are Norlanders seeking them in locations all around the world. With your Norland qualifications behind you, the world really will be your oyster.
As an international student, you will need to provide additional information once you have received an offer to study at Norland. This page provides information on our admissions process and aspects of student life that are relevant to international students.
Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)
Before you can begin the visa application process, you must have a valid Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) reference number. Your CAS is a unique reference number that Norland will send you by email. It is not a paper document. You’ll need to enter your CAS number on your visa application form.
To issue you with a CAS, Norland must create a CAS statement. This will include information about your course and personal information we will request from you during the application process. To help us do this, you’ll need to complete the CAS questionnaire which Norland will give you. Your CAS will be issued when you meet the conditions attached to your offer of study. You must apply for your visa within six months of receiving your CAS from Norland.
After you’re issued your CAS, please carefully check the document to make sure all the details are correct. If there are any problems with your CAS please inform the Visa Manager.
Visas and immigration
Once you have your CAS, you must apply for your visa online via the government website at the button below. The cost to apply for a student visa from outside the UK is currently £363. If you are coming to the UK to study on a student visa for the first time, then you must apply for your visa from your home country before you travel. You may be able to switch to a student visa if you already have permission to be in the UK.
You cannot switch to this visa if you have one of the following visas:
- a visit visa
- a short-term student visa
- a Parent of a Child Student visa
- a seasonal worker visa
- a domestic worker in a private household visa
- leave outside the immigration rules
If you do not meet the conditions of switching your visa from within the UK, you’ll need to return to your home country to make the application.
Documents you will need to apply
Before starting the visa application process, it is important you understand and prepare the required documents.
You must have:
- a passport that will be valid for the duration of your course
- a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from Norland. This includes your SELT (Secure English Language Test) if applicable, please check with the Visa Manager to check you have the correct SELT
- proof you have enough money to support yourself and pay for your course – this will vary depending on your circumstances
- original qualifications and English language documents as listed in the ‘evidence provided’ section of your CAS
- certified translations of any of the required documents used that are not in English
- if you’re a resident of any of the countries listed here you will need a copy of your tuberculosis test results
Biometric Residence Permit
EU and EEA nationals who have used the UK Immigration: ID check app receive their visa in the form of an online digital status. Along with the online digital status, you will also receive an accompanying letter from the Home Office to confirm the grant of your immigration permission. This letter also contains instructions on what you should do if you notice any errors with your digital status. The Visa Manager will ask to see your digital status and can help you if you do notice any errors.
EU and EEA Nationals will not receive a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP).
For other international students, you will receive a BRP. A BRP is an identification card that you will be issued with upon successful completion of your visa application. It can be used to confirm your identity, right to study in the UK, and right to any public services or benefits you are entitled to. Your BRP will include the following information:
- your name, date and place of birth
- your fingerprints and a photo of your face (this is your biometric information)
- your immigration status and any conditions of your stay
- whether you can access public funds, for example benefits and health services
You will be asked to provide your fingerprints and photo for your BRP as part of your visa application. If you apply for your visa from outside the UK, you will need to collect your BRP once you arrive in the UK. You will be issued with a vignette sticker in your travel passport to allow you to travel into the UK to collect your BRP, and you must collect you BRP before the vignette expires (which is usually after 30 days of issue) or within 10 days of arriving in the UK, whichever is later. Your visa decision letter will tell you where to collect your BRP from, either:
- a named Post Office branch
- your sponsor (Norland) if you chose this option when you applied
We would advise you choose to collect your BRP from Bath Post Office at 6-7 Union Street, Bath, BA1 1RT. The Post Office will keep you BRP for 90 days. When you go to collect your BRP, be sure to bring your passport or travel documents with your vignette sticker in. Please be sure to carefully check your BRP when you collect it for any mistakes or damage, as you must report any problems within 10 days.
If you notice any issues, please contact Norland’s Visa Manager who will help you report this. If your BRP is lost or stolen during your time at Norland, please inform the Visa Manager immediately who will then be able to guide you through the process of replacing your BRP.
You can be fined up to £100 and made to leave the UK if you do not apply for a replacement within three months of losing your BRP. You will also need to bring your BRP to Norland for us to take and store a copy as part of our sponsor record keeping duties for UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). The Visa Manager will contact you to request this.
Policies for international students
Student Visa Essential Information
Download documentVisa Students Record Keeping Policy and Procedure
Download documentMeet Maggie from Germany
Preparing for university in Bath
For the latest information about quarantining and the self-isolation period when arriving in the UK, please visit the government website
Bath is a small city in south west England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. Located in the valley of the River Avon, Bath is approximately 11 miles (18 km) southeast of Bristol and 97 miles (156 km) west of London.
By air
The nearest airport to Bath is Bristol International Airport, which is approximately 20 miles away. You can travel between Bristol Airport and Bath via the Air Decker bus, the Bristol Airport Flyer via rail to Bristol Temple Meads or via taxi.
If you’re flying into the UK via an airport in London, the most practical transport between Bath and London is by train or coach.
By train
The main train station in Bath is Bath Spa, which is located in the heart of the city and is serviced by trains from London Paddington (80 minutes), Cardiff Central (70 minutes) and Bristol Temple Meads (10 minutes) as well as other towns and cities.
By coach
Bath bus station is located next to Bath Spa train station and coaches from cities with airports such as Bristol and London regularly arrive and depart here. National Express provides coach services between major towns and cities as well as London Victoria coach station, London Heathrow and London Gatwick airports.
Other transport
A taxi rank is located outside the railway and bus stations. A number of taxi companies as well as Uber operate in the city.
More information can be found on the Visit Bath website
Governmental expectations are that students will have £1,023 per month (for up to nine months) to cover living costs for a course based in Bath. For more information, visit the government website
When you’re offered a place at Norland, we’ll ask you if you’d like us to help you find your first-year accommodation and, if so, we will then place you into a house with other Norland students, which has been visited and vetted by a member of staff. The approximate cost of accommodation is £500-£550 per calendar month and doesn’t include bills.
For advice on how to budget in the UK as an international student, visit the UKCISA website
For information about tuition fees and other costs to study at Norland, please visit our fees and study costs page
Setting up a student bank account will make it easier to pay bills, keep money safe and avoid unnecessary currency exchange charges if you were to use your card from your home country.
You may be able to start this process from your home country and your current bank may have links to banks in the UK.
View this guide to good international bank accounts for international students for more information.
International students can apply to the Emily Ward Bursary scheme, named after Norland’s founder, which provides a limited number of means-tested bursaries each year.
Applicants whose main place of residence is an overseas Commonwealth country may be eligible to apply for a Royal Commonwealth Society, Bath and District Branch Scholarship.
The Department of Veterans Affairs provide grants to US students from military families.
Finder and Studee also provide useful funding information for international students.
Visit the finance and bursary page for further information on the Emily Ward Bursary and Commonwealth scholarship schemes.
Online apps and platforms such as Skype, FaceTime, Zoom, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, tend to be the best way to communicate with family and friends in another country.
Your current mobile phone will more than likely work in the UK, which operates on the same cellular frequency as most of the world. However, if you’re coming from Japan or North/South America, it’s worth checking whether your phone will work when living in Bath.
Applicants coming to the UK for six months or longer are required to pay a mandatory immigration health surcharge to access the National Health Service (NHS). As a Norland student this will apply to you. When you make your visa application online, you pay the surcharge as part of your application or when you book an appointment. For students, the current rate is £470 per year.
You will pay half the yearly amount if your application includes part of a year that is less than six months. You will pay for a whole year if your application includes part of a year that is more than six months. You will automatically get a partial refund if you paid the healthcare surcharge for more years than you were granted leave. You can start using the NHS when you have paid the healthcare surcharge and your visa is granted. You will still need to pay for certain types of services, such as prescriptions, dental treatment and eye tests. When you access healthcare in the UK, you may need to provide your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) or prove your status online using a share code, if you have a digital immigration status.
We were granted a licence from UKVI to become a student sponsor in April 2021. Until we’ve proven a track record of compliance (which is granted after four years of consistent and successful student sponsorship) there are some limitations on permitted student activity. This means visa students can’t work while studying at Norland. This includes all formal working arrangements including all ‘non-paid’ formal volunteering arrangements.
Until we achieve our four-year track record of compliance, work placements at Norland must not make up more than 33% of a student’s overall course in the UK. As work placements currently make up just over 40% of the course at Norland, you’ll be required to complete part of your placements in your home country before your course begins. This requirement must be met by you completing four weeks of a work placement in a formal setting (such as a nursery/pre-school environment) that we must pre-approve. More information about this can be found in the student visa essential information document
We understand that moving to study in a new country can provide challenges. Our student support team are on-hand to help you in the transition to moving to the UK and adjusting to the new culture, and throughout your time at Norland.
Upon arrival, all international students will be invited to attend a one-to-one meeting with a member of the student support team for them to introduce themselves to you and explain the different ways they can support you pastorally and academically. When you start at Norland, you’ll also have a meeting with the Visa Manager who will introduce themselves and explain how they can help you during your time at Norland. All students are eligible for counselling sessions should they want it. Every student is assigned a personal tutor who will also be there to support them throughout their time at Norland.
As well as this, during your time at Norland you will also benefit from access to Togetherall which is an online platform that offers 24/7 support from trained professionals. So whether you’re feeling stressed about deadlines or missing home, you’ll always be supported at Norland.
We also have a student-led Here to Hear team who are a group of volunteers who’ve created a mentee/mentor scheme to talk through any worries, queries or concerns that students have in a safe space for those who may not feel comfortable speaking to a member of staff or would like to speak to someone who knows what they’re going through as a Norland student.
For more information about support as an international student, from advice on adjusting to a new culture to support with immigration matters, visit the UK Council for International Student Affairs’s (UKCISA) website
