Student visa for studying abroad
When you study abroad you usually need a visa. Without the right visa your study dream will be cut short already at the airport. Read more about student visas here.
The information below is based on the latest information we have. However visa regulations can be changed at any time so always double check the visa rules of the country where you want to study with your school or the country's embassy. We can not be held responsible for you not having the right visa.
Do I need a visa in the EU?
If you are a citizen of a EU or Schengen country no visa is needed. However if you are not a citizen of one of those European countries you will need to apply for a Student Visa to the European Union.
Do I need a visa if I am studying outside the EU?
Yes outside the EU you are almost always obliged to apply for a visa to study. The only exception is if you are going to take a short language course, then you can study on a tourist visa or visa vaiwer in some countries, double check this with your school. Courses that are longer than three months require a student visa almost everywhere.
Can you help me to get a visa?
We help you with free information on this page and in our visa guides for popular countries (see below). However we cannot do the visa application for you or answer detailed questions about your personal application.
How to apply for a student visa?
We have written extensive guides on how to apply for a:
- Student visa to the US
- Student visa to the United Kingdom
- Student visa to the European Union
- Student visa to Australia
- Student visa to Japan
- Student visa to Korea
For other countries the procedure usually looks like this:
- The first step is to apply to and get accepted by a foreign school. After you are admitted to the school and have paid the necessary fees the school will send you the visa documentation you need.
- Then you can apply for a student visa which often can be done online these days. When you apply you will need your passport and visa documents from your school. In many cases you also need other documents like insurance, birth certificate, certified grade reports, bank account statements, photos etc. Each country has different rules. Check the visa information on the embassy’s website.
- Almost all countries demand that you pay a visa fee before your application can be processed.
- Visit the embassy to hand in your documents and in some cases make a visa interview. Some countries allows you to do the entire application online but many countries still demand that you visit their embassy. You might also be requested to make a health checkup.
- In our experience you can often get your visa decision within a couple of weeks of completing the application but the time will differ depending on where you apply, how big their workload is etc. The entire process from school application to a finished visa will take some time so don’t apply too late.
If you think that it sounds complicated there are visa agencies that can help you with your application to many countries in exchange for a fee.
