The UK Genuine Student requirement, explained from the Home Office's own guidance
Aman Batth · 10 min read ·
Every UK Student visa application has to meet one short rule, that the applicant is a genuine student. Here is what the Home Office's own caseworker guidance says that means, what it is judged on, how some universities check it before your CAS, and which of your own papers answer each part.
Most students hear about the Genuine Student requirement second-hand, as a list of "questions they will ask". The Home Office's own guidance to its caseworkers is public and a better place to start. Here it is in plain words, with a link to the official page behind every rule.
What is the UK Genuine Student requirement?
The Genuine Student requirement is rule ST 5.1 of Appendix Student in the UK Immigration Rules, and it is one sentence long: "The applicant must be a genuine student." It sits beside the points test in ST 6.1 (70 points for your CAS and course, money and English), so scoring all 70 points does not settle it on its own. A Home Office caseworker decides it on the balance of probability, using everything in your application and, if you are called for one, a credibility interview. The caseworker guidance says you must not be refused on genuineness grounds without an interview, apart from two exceptions: a repeat application with nothing new after an earlier genuineness refusal, and a batch of near-identical applications where a sample has already been interviewed. A refusal on these grounds must set out its reasons clearly in writing. In short, it is a judgement about whether your plan to study is real, and your papers and your answers are the evidence.
What does the Home Office judge it on?
The caseworker guidance groups the factors under seven headings. In our own words:
- Your immigration history. Past visa applications to the UK and other countries, the reasons for any refusal, time spent abroad and why, and whether you kept to earlier visa conditions. This covers any dependant too.
- Your education and your plans. How long it is since you last studied, and whether you have sound reasons to return to study, especially after a significant gap. Your commitment to the course and whether it is a step up from your past study. Your reasons for choosing the course, the university and your living arrangements, and the research behind each. How the course links to your plans afterwards, in the UK or elsewhere. Whether you intend to keep to your visa conditions, including leaving when your permission ends unless you lawfully extend or switch.
- Your personal and financial circumstances. Whether your money has a credible source and how it was built up, your expected monthly spending, the distance from your accommodation to your place of study, and anything that could make the course hard to finish. Caseworkers are also told to remember that a UK qualification is a large investment.
- The course provider and any agent. Whether the institution is under investigation or of concern to the Home Office, and whether your application is handled by an agent the Home Office has concerns about.
- Your English. Whether your English may fall short of the required level.
- Dependants. Whether a main reason for the application is jobs, schooling or healthcare for family members coming with you.
- Pull factors. Why the UK. The two examples given are choosing the UK for the reputation of its institutions compared with other countries, and whether the ease of working during or after the course was a deciding factor.
The guidance says this is "not an exhaustive checklist": not every factor applies to everyone, and caseworkers also weigh other issues a case raises. Treat the seven headings as the main areas, not as a full list of questions.
What the Genuine Student requirement is not
It is not a geography test. The same guidance says a caseworker must not refuse you over what you know about the place you will study, such as bus routes or the town's geography. You do not need to memorise a map, but do know where you will live and how you will reach campus, since that distance is one of the financial factors.
It is not a recital. The University of Plymouth's page on UKVI credibility interviews tells applicants to use their own words, not pre-prepared answers or scripts. The University of Kent's credibility interview guidance warns that generic answers that could fit any UK university or course can lead to refusal. Our article on why students fail the pre-CAS interview covers both problems.
How do universities apply it before your CAS?
Universities have their own reason to care. Under the Home Office's sponsorship duties (Student sponsor guidance, Document 2), a licensed sponsor must do all it can to make sure the students it recruits are genuine and can comply with the Immigration Rules.
Every sponsor must also apply for a Basic Compliance Assessment every 12 months. Under the Student sponsor compliance guidance, for assessments applied for on or after 1 June 2026, a sponsor needs a visa refusal rate below 5 per cent (below 10 per cent before then), enrolment of at least 95 per cent and course completion of at least 85 per cent, rising to 90 per cent for assessments from 1 June 2027. Missing any one of these means a red rating and possible loss of the licence.
That is the official background to the pre-CAS interviews some universities hold. Kent, for example, explains that its pre-CAS interview also checks that you are a genuine applicant, happens before a CAS is issued, and is separate from UKVI's credibility interview. The university decides whether to issue your CAS; the Home Office decides your visa, and Plymouth notes that passing its own interview does not guarantee that UKVI will accept you. Our guide to the pre-CAS interview and the UKVI credibility interview sets out who runs each one and when.
If you are a counsellor or agent, the fourth factor group concerns you too. Our workflow for agents and counsellors covers preparing a whole intake.
Which of your own papers answer each factor?
Almost every factor points back to something you already hold. The table is ours, not the Home Office's, and it is a starting point, not a list of required documents.
| Factor group | Papers that speak to it | What to be ready to explain |
|---|---|---|
| Immigration history | Old passports, earlier visas, any refusal letter | Where you have been and why; if refused before, what has changed |
| Education and plans | Transcripts, degree certificate, work or experience letters, your offer or CAS, the course page | Why this course follows from your past study or work, the modules that matter to you, your plan after it |
| Money and personal circumstances | The bank or loan evidence in your application, fee receipts, accommodation booking | Who is paying, where the money came from, your monthly spending, how you will reach campus |
| Provider and agent | Your offer letter, your agent's details if you used one | How you found the course and why you chose this university |
| English | Your English test result, or your university's own assessment | Nothing to recite: the interview itself shows your English |
| Dependants | Marriage or birth certificates, if family is involved | Who is coming with you or staying at home, and how that affects your study |
| Pull factors | The course page, your own comparison of options | Why the UK, in terms of your course and your plans |
A made-up example: a student finished a commerce degree in 2022, has worked since then as an accounts assistant at a freight company, and now holds an offer for a one-year master's in supply chain management. The guidance asks whether there are sound reasons for returning to study, particularly after a significant gap. Her work letter shows what she did, two modules on the course page build on it, and she can name the role she wants afterwards. The gap becomes part of her reason, and each point matches a paper she has already submitted.
The same habit protects you on money. If your CAS shows one tuition figure and you say another in the interview, the interviewer has a contradiction to weigh. Read your papers again before any interview and keep one set of numbers. Our guide to UK credibility interview questions shows which questions test each area.
Can your family come with you as dependants?
According to GOV.UK's family members page, your partner or child may be able to apply as your dependant only if you are a government-sponsored student starting a course longer than 6 months, or a full-time student on a postgraduate course (RQF level 7 or above) of 9 months or longer. If that postgraduate course starts on or after 1 January 2024, it must be a PhD or other doctorate, or a research-based higher degree. So unless you are government-sponsored, a taught master's does not let you bring family as dependants.
The Genuine Student guidance adds that caseworkers consider how a dependant's circumstances could affect your ability or motivation to study, and look carefully at any application where a main reason is jobs, schooling or healthcare for the family. If you have a partner or children, be ready to explain your arrangements honestly, whether they are coming with you or staying at home.
Practise explaining your own plan
Hilingo's UK CAS Interview prep starts from the same idea: your answers should come from your own papers. You fill in one profile from your offer, CAS and money documents. Learn then builds key points and an example answer for each interview question from that profile, so your figures agree from one answer to the next. Then you practise on camera, with feedback on every answer. It helps you explain your plan clearly. Your university decides whether to issue your CAS, and the Home Office decides your visa.
Frequently asked questions
Who decides whether I am a genuine student?
For the visa, a Home Office caseworker, using your application and any credibility interview (caseworker guidance). Your university separately decides whether to issue your CAS. Your agent decides neither, and, as Plymouth points out, passing the university's interview does not guarantee the visa.
Is a gap in my studies a problem?
A gap is one of the factors weighed, not a refusal rule on its own. The caseworker guidance asks how much time has passed since you last studied and whether you have sound reasons for returning to study, particularly after a significant gap. Explain what you did in that time and back it with papers you already hold, such as work letters.
Can I appeal if I fail my university's pre-CAS interview?
It depends on the university, so read your own university's policy. Aston University, for example, says that if you do not pass its pre-CAS interview you are invited to a face-to-face interview, and if that is also unsuccessful you can appeal but you will not get a third attempt. A Home Office visa refusal is different: UKCISA says you may be able to ask for an administrative review within 28 days of receiving the refusal notice, and advises asking your institution whether a review is likely to finish in time for your course.
Does my English level matter for the Genuine Student requirement?
Yes, in two ways. Your English must meet the language requirement: GOV.UK lists CEFR B2 for degree level and above and B1 below it. Separately, the caseworker guidance says English ability can be a relevant factor in assessing credibility, provided any refusal letter explains why. The Student sponsor guidance (paragraph 5.9) adds that if the Home Office interviews you and you cannot show English at the required standard without an interpreter, it will refuse the application or refuse entry.
I was refused a UK visa before. Will that count against me?
Your immigration history, including the reasons for any refusal, is one of the factor groups, so be open about it. The guidance also says that if you were refused before on genuine student grounds and nothing material has changed, or you have no new evidence, the caseworker may refuse without an interview. Show what has changed since.
Sources (accessed 6 October 2026)
- Home Office: Appendix Student, ST 5.1 and ST 6.1.
- Home Office: Student and Child Student caseworker guidance, version 14.0, "Genuine student rule", "Credibility: factors to be considered" and "Interviews".
- Home Office: Sponsorship duties (Student sponsor guidance, Document 2), paragraphs 2.3 and 5.9.
- Home Office: Student sponsor compliance, paragraphs 2.1, 2.12 and 2.14.
- GOV.UK: Student visa, family members and knowledge of English.
- UKCISA: Student route, applying outside the UK.
- Universities: Kent, Plymouth, Aston.