Travelling to the UK

Joining our global Essex family?

Before you arrange to travel, please check the UK Government website for the latest information on entering the UK. Your move-in date will be allocated in your accommodation offer letter.

Don't worry - we're here to help. The immigration and travel information below will help in ensuring your transition to the UK, and to your campus, goes smoothly. 

 

Immigration

Before you travel, make sure you are prepared for your arrival and know what to expect. You must have valid UK immigration permission in place and carry all required documents in your hand luggage. The Home Office recommend that travel is only booked once you have been granted your visa.

Obtaining a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)

CAS is an electronic document required to make a student visa application if you are applying from outside the UK and require sponsorship. 

In order to be eligible for a CAS you must have: 

CAS issue is not an automatic process.

We will aim to send you a CAS questionnaire to complete within 7 days from your offer becoming unconditional, or receiving a deposit payment (if this is required). We will also request any other documents/information required. 

Once this is received, we will review your responses to ensure that you meet Student Visa requirements. We will get in touch if we have further questions and will only proceed to issue CAS once we are confident that your visa application will be successful. 

If you have not heard from us after 4 weeks of submitting your CAS questionnaire, or after providing requested information, and you require an urgent response please email adintadv@essex.ac.uk

Find out more about Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS).

Your deposit

Depending on method of payment it may take a few days for your payment to reach our account. You can help us by making it as clear as possible where the payment is to be assigned.

If you receive a CAS questionnaire from us you can assume that your deposit payment has been received as we require payment of the deposit in order to send this.

If you do not receive receipt of payment or a CAS questionnaire within 7 days please send us proof of payment as we will ask our Income team to confirm the payment has been received. 

If you are asked to pay a deposit to secure your place and scholarship, you should do so by the relevant deadline.

Further information on how to pay a deposit can be found on our tuition fee deposits webpage.

Please note that the East 15 Acting School course deposit terms and conditions are different.

Visas

You’ll need a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from the University in order to apply for a student visa if you require sponsorship to study. The Admissions teams are issuing CAS as usual to applicants that they are confident meet all of the requirements, and they might ask you some additional questions as part of the process.

Once you have your CAS it is valid for 6 months, giving you plenty of time to make your student visa application, but you should let Admissions know if you do not think you will be arriving by the latest accept date on your CAS.

The type of visa you should apply for will depend on your circumstances including, what passport or travel document you hold, the length of your proposed study and where you are applying from.

The Admissions teams complete rigorous checks to ensure that CAS is only issued if we believe that your visa application will be successful. Our visa refusal rate is extremely low. However, in the rare instance that a visa is refused you should contact us to determine if other options such as online only teaching are possible. 

Visa requirements after 1 January 2021

European and Swiss students who travel to the UK on or after 1 January 2021 will need to apply for immigration permission to study, unless you already hold settled status. Irish students will continue to have the right to live and study in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

Read our immigration pages for further information about applying for your visa.

Police registration

From 4 August 2022, students and any dependants who are 16 and over, from certain countries or territories, who are studying in the UK for more than six months are not required to register with the police. Visit the government website to find out more about the change of requirement in relation to police registration.

Right to study checks

As a new student, we are required to check your identity and that you have the right to study with us inside the UK. Read our Registration page to find out what identity documents you will need to bring with you.

Collecting your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP)

When you arrive in the UK, you’ll be able to arrange collection of your BRP (Biometric Residence Permit) from the place you’ve chosen, you must collect your BRP by the ‘valid to’ date on the entry clearance sticker or, within 10 days of your arrival in the UK, whichever is the latest date. Find out more about collecting your BRP from the University.

Travel to our campuses

During welcome week, at the start of the new academic year, we offer airport transfers from Heathrow and Gatwick Airports to our Colchester and Southend campuses.

For anyone arriving or visiting at other times, you will find all the information you need to find your way to our University of Essex campuses below.

Travel to Colchester Campus

From Heathrow Airport 

  1. Take the Heathrow Express (overground) from Heathrow Airport to Paddington station, then take an underground train via the Circle line (yellow) or Hammersmith & City line (pink) to Liverpool Street station, then take an overground train, operated by Greater Anglia, to Colchester (North Station)
  2. OR take an underground train via the Elizabeth line (purple) from Heathrow Airport to Paddington station, then take an underground train via the Circle line (yellow) or Hammersmith & City line (pink) to Liverpool Street station, then take an overground train, operated by Greater Anglia, to Colchester (North Station)
  3. OR take an underground train via the Piccadilly line (dark blue) from Heathrow Airport  to King’s Cross St Pancras station, then take an underground train via the Circle line (yellow) or Hammersmith & City line (pink) to Liverpool Street station, then take an overground train, operated by Greater Anglia, to Colchester (North Station)
  4. OR take the Elizabeth line (purple) from Heathrow Airport to Shenfield station, then a Greater Anglia overground train to Colchester (North Station)
  5. Once at Colchester North station, take a taxi or bus (no. S1 or 87) to the University of Essex Colchester campus at Wivenhoe Park. There is a bus stop and a taxi rank at the train station.

You can find more information and view maps on the Transport for London website

You can view train times and book tickets via Trainline.com

From Gatwick Airport

  1. Take the Gatwick Express (overground) directly from Gatwick Airport to Victoria station OR take an overground (Southern Rail or Thameslink) train from Gatwick Airport to Victoria station
  2. Take an underground train via the Circle line (yellow) or District line (green) from Victoria station to Liverpool Street station, then take an overground train, operated by Greater Anglia, from Liverpool Street station to Colchester (North Station)
  3. OR take the Elizabeth line (purple) from Victoria station to Shenfield station, then take an overground train, operated by Greater Anglia to Colchester (North Station)
  4. Once at Colchester North station, take a taxi or bus (no. S1 or 87) from Colchester (North Station) to the University of Essex Colchester campus at Wivenhoe Park. There is a bus stop and a taxi rank at the train station.

You can find more information and view maps on the Transport for London website

You can view train times and book tickets via Trainline.com

From Luton Airport

  1. Take an overground train from Luton Airport to London St Pancras station
  2. Take an underground train via the Circle line (yellow) or Hammersmith & City line (pink) from King’s Cross St Pancras to Liverpool Street station
  3. Take an overground train, operated by Greater Anglia, from Liverpool Street to Colchester (North Station)
  4. Take a taxi or bus (no. S1 or 87) from Colchester (North Station) to the University of Essex Colchester campus at Wivenhoe Park. There is a bus stop and a taxi rank at the train station.

You can find more information and view maps on the Transport for London website

You can view train times and book tickets via Trainline.com

From Stansted Airport 

Our Colchester Campus is not far from Stansted Airport.

The quickest way to travel is by National Express using the 250 service which runs directly from Stansted Airport to the centre of Colchester, from where you can catch a bus or taxi to the university campus.

Alternatively, The First Essex Bus Airlink service X20 runs From Colchester to Stansted Airport. This is an hourly service, operating Monday to Sunday. A single trip costs £2 and a return ticket costs £4 (this offer runs until the end of October 2023).

Colchester campus address

University of Essex
Wivenhoe Park
Colchester
Essex
CO4 3SQ 

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If you need assistance while on campus, or as you travel to the university, please contact the Security team: 01206 872125 (24 hrs a day)

If you have an emergency while you are travelling or outside the university please call the public emergency phone number 999 and ask for the Police, Ambulance or Fire Service. You do not need credit on your phone in order to make this phone call.

We wish you a smooth journey!

Travel to Southend campus

From Heathrow Airport

  1. Take the Heathrow Express (overground) from Heathrow Airport to Paddington station OR take an underground train via the Elizabeth line (purple) to Paddington station, or via the Piccadilly line (dark blue) to King’s Cross St Pancras station
  2. Take an underground train via the Circle line (yellow) or Hammersmith & City line (pink) from Paddington / King’s Cross St Pancras to Liverpool Street station OR take the Circle line (yellow) to Fenchurch Street station
  3. Take an overground train to Southend Victoria from Liverpool Street (operated by Greater Anglia), OR to Southend Central from Fenchurch Street (operated by c2c

You can find more information and view maps on the Transport for London website

You can view train times and book tickets via Trainline.com

From Gatwick Airport

  1. Take the Gatwick Express (overground) directly from Gatwick Airport to Victoria station OR take an overground (Southern Rail or Thameslink) train from Gatwick Airport to Victoria station
  2. Take an underground train via the Circle line (yellow) or District line (green) from Victoria station to Liverpool Street station or Fenchurch Street station
  3. Take an overground train to Southend Victoria from Liverpool Street (operated by Greater Anglia), OR to Southend Central from Fenchurch Street (operated by c2c

You can find more information and view maps on the Transport for London website

You can view train times and book tickets via Trainline.com

From Southend Airport

Our Southend Campus is just 1.7 miles (2.8km) from London Southend Airport. You can travel from the airport by bus or train

From Luton Airport

  1. Take an overground train from Luton Airport to London St Pancras
  2. Take an underground train via the Circle line (yellow) or Hammersmith & City line (pink) from King’s Cross St Pancras to Liverpool Street station OR take the Circle line (yellow) to Fenchurch Street station
  3. Take an overground train to Southend Victoria from Liverpool Street (operated by Greater Anglia), OR to Southend Central from Fenchurch Street (operated by c2c

You can find more information and view maps on the Transport for London website

You can view train times and book tickets via Trainline.com

From Stansted Airport

You can take an overground train all the way from Stansted Airport to Southend Victoria, changing trains at two stations on the way:

  1. Take the Stansted Express overground train from Stansted Airport to Tottenham Hale station
  2. From Tottenham Hale station, take an overground train, operated by Greater Anglia, to Stratford station
  3. OR take a National Express coach from Stansted Airport to Stratford station
  4. From Stratford station, take an overground train to Southend Victoria

You can find more information and view maps on the Transport for London website

You can view train times and book tickets via Trainline.com

Southend campus address

University of Essex
Elmer Approach
Southend-on-Sea, SS1 1LW
United Kingdom

MAP


If you need assistance while on campus (or as you travel to the university) please contact University Square reception on 01702 328408 or 07920821678

If you have an emergency while you are travelling or outside the University please call the public emergency phone number 999 and ask for the Police, Ambulance or Fire Service. You do not need credit on your phone in order to make this phone call.

We wish you a smooth journey!

Travel to Loughton campus

From Heathrow Airport

Our Loughton (East 15 Acting School) campus is located within easy reach of London transport links through nearby Debden underground station, which is served by the Central line.

  1. Take the Heathrow Express (overground) from Heathrow Airport to Paddington station, then take an underground train via the Circle line (yellow) or Hammersmith and City line (pink) from Paddington Station to Liverpool Street Station, then take the Central line (red) to Debden station
  2. OR take an underground train via the Elizabeth line (purple) from Heathrow Airport to Liverpool Street station, then take the Central line (red) to Debden station
  3. OR take the Piccadilly line (dark blue) from Heathrow Airport to Holborn station, then take the Central line (red) to Debden station

You can find more information and view maps on the Transport for London website

From Gatwick Airport

  1. Take the Gatwick Express (overground) directly from Gatwick Airport to Victoria station OR take an overground (Southern Rail or Thameslink) train from Gatwick Airport to Victoria station
  2. Take an underground train via the Circle line (yellow) or District line (green) from Victoria to Liverpool Street station
  3. Take an underground train via the Central line (red) from Liverpool Street station to Debden station

You can find more information and view maps on the Transport for London website

 

From Luton Airport

  1. Take an overground train from Luton Airport to London St Pancras
  2. Take an underground train via the Circle line (yellow) or Hammersmith & City line (pink) from King’s Cross St Pancras to Liverpool Street station
  3. Take an underground train via the Central (red) line to Debden station

You can find more information and view maps on the Transport for London website

You can view train times and book tickets via Trainline.com

From Stansted Airport

  1. Take the Stansted Express overground train from Stansted Airport to Tottenham Hale station
  2. From Tottenham Hale station, take an overground train, operated by Greater Anglia, to Stratford station
  3. OR take a National Express coach from Stansted Airport to Stratford station
  4. From Stratford station, take an underground train via the Central line (red)  to Debden

You can find more information and view maps on the Transport for London website

You can view train times and book tickets via Trainline.com

Loughton Campus (East 15 Acting School) address

East 15 Acting School
Hatfields, Rectory Lane
Loughton, IG10 3RY
United Kingdom

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If you need assistance while on campus (or as you travel to the university) please contact Security on 01702 328208

If you have an emergency while you are travelling or outside the University please call the public emergency phone number 999 and ask for the Police, Ambulance or Fire Service. You do not need credit on your phone in order to make this phone call.

We wish you a smooth journey!