Inviting family to the UK

You can invite your family member(s) to the UK if they want to visit you for a short period of time, or be here to attend your graduation.

The family member(s) you wish to invite to the UK must apply for the Standard Visitor Visa. These are usually issued for 6 months, however, your family should only stay in the UK for the duration of time that they outlined in their application. Holders of this type of visa cannot work or study in the UK.

Applications should be submitted via the UK Government website and the application fee is £93.

Your family member will be required to provide a number of original documents to support their application, details of these can be found on the UKVI website.

The following documents can also be forwarded by you to your family member(s) for them to use in support of their application.

Letter inviting your family member to come to the UK

You write this letter including the information below:

  • address the letter ‘To Whom it May Concern'
  • your name
  • details of your course of study
  • the name of the person you are inviting to the UK, and their relationship to you, for example, mother, brother, wife, husband, father etc
  • your family members passport numbers
  • your family member's start and end dates of travel
  • the address they will be staying at while in the UK
  • What you plan to do whilst they are here

Student Confirmation Letter

You can download this yourself from the Student Portal under the student record tile and it will be sent to you by email.  You can also print off your online graduation registration confirmation plus a list of the graduation ceremonies and dates from our website. 

Photocopy of your passport and visa

A copy of your passport identity page and a copy of your current UK visa.

Bank statements

Must be original bank statements and not copies but online statements can also be used as long as they provide relevant details of the account holder.

You are only required to provide these if you are paying for the trip. Your bank statement should show that you have sufficient funds to support your family member(s). There is no set amount you must have available so you must calculate how much they will need when they are in the UK.

Accommodation arrangements

1. If you have booked accommodation for your family you should provide confirmation of this, for example hotel or guest house reservations.

or,

2. A letter from your landlord or accommodation agency confirming permission for your family member(s) to stay with you.

or,

3. If you would like your family member(s) to stay with you in your Halls of Residence, you will need to check with your Warden. Please note that your family member(s) is only allowed to stay in your room for a maximum of 3 days. After this they will need to find alternative accommodation.

Student information desk

Our administration staff are available to answer your enquires through the Student information desk. You can also view frequently asked questions (FAQs) for many topics related to the student lifecycle.