Visa sponsorship enables you to manage CAS requests and obtain CAS numbers from UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration). Admissions staff request CAS (confirmation of acceptance for studies) for applications from overseas applicants. You can search the CAS requests to find a CAS request for a specific applicant. You can also create CAS requests manually.
CAS requests
Admissions staff request CAS (confirmation of acceptance for studies) from Identity and immigration tab on the application overview in Applications. Requesting a CAS adds a CAS request in Visa sponsorship. Admissions staff can create a joint visa sponsorship for two applications. For joint visa sponsorship, CAS requests combine the programme titles and set the course date to the earliest start date from the applications.
CAS requests are organised in stages, such as Preparation and Ready for UKVI and each stage has folders that represent the status of the CAS requests. For example, the stage Preparation has the folders Preparing and Awaiting approval. You can view the CAS requests in each folder and drill down to view the details of each CAS request. Staff can abandon CAS requests, which moves them to the archive folder Abandoned. You can add notes for CAS requests. Each note details the person and time a note was created or edited.
For applications that have a CAS that has been Abandoned or has one of the completed states at UKVI, such as Expired or Used, admissions staff can create a new CAS for the application.
The table CAS requests details the stages, folders, and tasks to process the CAS requests.
|
Stage |
Folder |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Preparation |
Preparing |
A CAS has been requested by admissions staff. CAS requests are created with minimal mandatory information from the person profile and application of applicants. However, UKVI may require additional information, which is indicated by a warning icon ( On adding all the required information, CAS requests move automatically to the Awaiting approval folder. |
|
Awaiting approval |
The CAS requests need to be approved by staff. Staff can approve several CAS requests simultaneously using bulk actions or individually. On approval, CAS requests move to the Awaiting student approval folder. |
|
|
Awaiting student approval |
The CAS requests need to be approved by students. That is, students need to check that the information on their CAS request is correct. After getting approval from the student, staff set the CAS request to Approved by student. Staff can also use bulk actions to set several CAS requests to Approved by student simultaneously. Attention.
To get student approval, staff need to contact the students and go over the information on their CAS request. However, Power Automate could be used to automate the process. For example, to send emails to students with information from their CAS requests. On being set to Approved by student, CAS requests move to the Ready to send to UKVI folder. |
|
|
Ready for UKVI |
Ready to send to UKVI |
The CAS requests are ready to be sent to UKVI and can no longer be edited. The CAS requests can now be exported to a CAS export file. The CAS export file is a zipped XML file with one or more CAS requests. A CAS export file can include up to 500 CAS requests. On creating a CAS export file, the CAS requests included in the CAS export file move to the Sending to UKVI folder. |
|
Sending to UKVI |
The CAS requests have been added to a CAS export file. The CAS export files with status Ready to download can be downloaded from CAS export files and uploaded on the UKVI portal to obtain CAS numbers for the CAS requests. Staff can then use a CAS import file created on the UKVI portal to update the status of the CAS requests and, where applicable, add CAS numbers. The CAS import file is a zipped XML file and can be used to import up to 500 CAS requests. After assigning CAS numbers to CAS requests, the CAS requests move to the Assigned folder. |
|
|
UKVI status |
Assigned |
The CAS requests have been assigned a CAS number from UKVI. Once the CAS request is updated to Assigned, applicants receive an email alerting them that their CAS number is available to download in the applicant portal. Emails use the communication template CAS number available email. The document with the CAS number uses the communication template CAS number, which requires the reference data document type CAS number with the file type PDF. |
|
Cancelled, Expired, Obsolete, Used, Withdrawn |
The status of CAS requests in UKVI other than Assigned. CAS requests are moved to these folders after importing CAS requests from UKVI. |
|
|
Archive |
Abandoned |
The CAS requests have been abandoned. Staff can abandon CAS requests with the status Preparing, Awaiting approval, and Read to send to UKVI. |
) on the tabbed pages and fields of the CAS request. For details on the information require by CAS requests, go to The image CAS request process shows the statues and steps performed by admissions staff when processing CAS requests.
You can create CAS requests manually. However, you must add all the information to the CAS request from the application. Before manually creating a CAS request, check that a CAS request has not already been created.
Visa sponsorship staff are assigned to roles in the Immigration authorisation area UK Visa Sponsorship. The permissions define the staff that can view CAS requests, create CAS requests, create export files, and so on. For example, by default only staff assigned to the role Visa Sponsorship Manager can create CAS export files.
Third-party systems can integrate with Visa sponsorship using the integration APIs . For more information, go to the API catalogue.
Demonstration
The video CAS requests shows a CAS request being created in Applications and then the CAS request being processed in Visa sponsorship.