University of the Arts London CAS delays

Original post by University of the Arts London Student Reps

Hello,

We are issuing CAS statements to all eligible students. We are currently dealing with a very high volume to process and we’re working through these as fast as we can. If you haven’t already received your CAS but have completed the necessary steps, we’re very sorry for the delay. We understand that this can be stressful whilst you wait to hear from us. Please be reassured that we are working through these in a chronological way, and you should receive your CAS within 14 working days after we've cleared your qualifications, and any other documents needed to make your offer unconditional – please be patient with us.

Best,
Weronika

Hi Weronika,

Can you provide further insight please. We have a friends daughter who has applied and been accepted to study at UAL in September 2023. She is a US student. She has supplied graduation on 21st June and had offer made unconditional on 19th or 20th July on the Portal Passport was provided on 23rd July as requested. Portal stated offer was unconditional. What does Chronological order mean? Is that the day that offer was made unconditional or when passport was provided? Course start date is September 25th and she is supposed to move in to Uinversity accommodation on the 9th September. At the moment the family is concerned about getting visa in time, as CAS is required and the lead time for a Visa is 3 weeks. Student is due to to fly in a month. They can't get any response to emails or information as to ETA on CSA number. What does 14 days chronological processing mean? And is it 14 working days? Thanks for any help or insight you can offer. Kind regards

Reply 6

Original post by NickyLJ

Hi Weronika,

Can you provide further insight please. We have a friends daughter who has applied and been accepted to study at UAL in September 2023. She is a US student. She has supplied graduation on 21st June and had offer made unconditional on 19th or 20th July on the Portal Passport was provided on 23rd July as requested. Portal stated offer was unconditional. What does Chronological order mean? Is that the day that offer was made unconditional or when passport was provided? Course start date is September 25th and she is supposed to move in to Uinversity accommodation on the 9th September. At the moment the family is concerned about getting visa in time, as CAS is required and the lead time for a Visa is 3 weeks. Student is due to to fly in a month. They can't get any response to emails or information as to ETA on CSA number. What does 14 days chronological processing mean? And is it 14 working days? Thanks for any help or insight you can offer. Kind regards

Sorry, not helpful, but I can sympathize. I’m a student whose documents have been uploaded since April 14th, deposit paid since early May, and my status just become unconditional on Monday, a week after your friend’s daughter despite meeting conditions two months sooner. It feels more random than chronological, unless they’re going program by program or something. I also begin September 25th. No CAS yet, though the Canadian country rep emailed two days ago saying they will all be issued within the next two weeks, which sets a deadline and has been a slight comfort, but at this point I’m very worried I won’t have my visa in time for my flight on September 4th. I know we were advised not to book fights until visas were secured, but a last minute flight would have been 2 or likely 3 times the price—I never imagined showing up in a new country only 3 weeks before my course begins, 2 weeks before the big welcome, still needing to find private accommodation, would be too early. We can only hope the visas get processed quicker than 3 weeks!

Reply 7

NickyLJ

Original post by Anonymous

Sorry, not helpful, but I can sympathize. I’m a student whose documents have been uploaded since April 14th, deposit paid since early May, and my status just become unconditional on Monday, a week after your friend’s daughter despite meeting conditions two months sooner. It feels more random than chronological, unless they’re going program by program or something. I also begin September 25th. No CAS yet, though the Canadian country rep emailed two days ago saying they will all be issued within the next two weeks, which sets a deadline and has been a slight comfort, but at this point I’m very worried I won’t have my visa in time for my flight on September 4th. I know we were advised not to book fights until visas were secured, but a last minute flight would have been 2 or likely 3 times the price—I never imagined showing up in a new country only 3 weeks before my course begins, 2 weeks before the big welcome, still needing to find private accommodation, would be too early. We can only hope the visas get processed quicker than 3 weeks!

Original post by Anonymous

Sorry, not helpful, but I can sympathize. I’m a student whose documents have been uploaded since April 14th, deposit paid since early May, and my status just become unconditional on Monday, a week after your friend’s daughter despite meeting conditions two months sooner. It feels more random than chronological, unless they’re going program by program or something. I also begin September 25th. No CAS yet, though the Canadian country rep emailed two days ago saying they will all be issued within the next two weeks, which sets a deadline and has been a slight comfort, but at this point I’m very worried I won’t have my visa in time for my flight on September 4th. I know we were advised not to book fights until visas were secured, but a last minute flight would have been 2 or likely 3 times the price—I never imagined showing up in a new country only 3 weeks before my course begins, 2 weeks before the big welcome, still needing to find private accommodation, would be too early. We can only hope the visas get processed quicker than 3 weeks!

Hi, thanks for your kind response. It was really helpful to hear your story. It is pretty streessful trying to come to another country to study. I hope you all get your CAS numbers asap so you can start your visa process. I agree about flights - no way you want to incur costs that will be going up for fares the close you get. I hope you get sorted soon as well and can apply in time. I hope you also get some acommodation sorted. Wishing you a happy and safe arrival in the UK. 😊

Reply 8

Hey all! I’m a US student and got my CAS today- I’m in BA Textile Design for what it’s worth. It came in at around 8pm UK time. I’m certain they’re working long hours to get everyone their CAS asap.

Thank you,

Hi Weronika,

Is there any further information that the team can provide please?

Students are currently receiving boilerplate "form" letter advising that the CAS numbers are being worked through in Chronological order and "hope" that they will all be issued by mid next week. This student is still waiting on a CAS number. What is the chronological date being calculated from - is it date of uploading passport? What date are the team currently working on? Can more information or updates be provided to students in a blast email on a regular basis that advises "today we are working on xxx date and we aim to process at xxx speed".

How many CAS numbers have been processed and how many are left to be issued by the middle of next week?

Unfortunately communications are very open ended and not providing enough specificity at this late juncture. Please can you kindly indicate at what Chronological date the team the processing is as of tomorrow (9th August) and what the criteria is for defining the chronological date.

Visa application is a 3 week lead-time in the middle of UK summer period. Even on that basis most students will be unlikely to get their visa's in good time and will potentially incur last minute and more expensive flights or expense to try and fast track their application. Students have met the requirements asked of them and paid a considerable deposit some time ago. This impacts their ability to find accommodation if they don't have it. So they face arriving later, paying for accommodation that they cannot use (in halls) and missing out on part of their onboarding activities.

Understood that the team is busy and working hard and it is much appreciated. From UAL perspective, the admissions planning team must have had some idea of the number of applicants earlier in the process. Ideally they would hopefully have some contingency planning in place? So that these don't all go to the wire for these students traveling so far from home. It's not the best of welcomes or introduction and it adds to the expense and stress considerably.

Finally, what is the drop dead date that the CAS numbers will all be issued by? Is it midnight 16th August?

More clarity would greatly reduce the anxiety and probably the queries you are no doubt receiving.

Thank you,

Reply 11

NickyLJ

Hi, any chance you can provide further insight on CAS statements. Is the chronological date from when the graduation is uploaded onto the UAL Portal? What date of processing are you at the moment? I have a friend whose daughter is attending in September. They don't have a CAS number and are concerned about getting a Visa before course start date. Passport was submitted 23rd July. Offer has been unconditional since 19th or 20th July. They have tried contacting by email and aren't really getting any response. We are UK based and will be here to support when their daughter arrives. It seems strange that CAS numbers are still pending when students are expected to attend beginning of September. It takes 3 weeks lead-time to get a visa. Time is running close to the wire. Thanks

Reply 12

Meraluna

5

Original post by NickyLJ

Hi Weronika,

Is there any further information that the team can provide please?

Students are currently receiving boilerplate "form" letter advising that the CAS numbers are being worked through in Chronological order and "hope" that they will all be issued by mid next week. This student is still waiting on a CAS number. What is the chronological date being calculated from - is it date of uploading passport? What date are the team currently working on? Can more information or updates be provided to students in a blast email on a regular basis that advises "today we are working on xxx date and we aim to process at xxx speed".

How many CAS numbers have been processed and how many are left to be issued by the middle of next week?

Unfortunately communications are very open ended and not providing enough specificity at this late juncture. Please can you kindly indicate at what Chronological date the team the processing is as of tomorrow (9th August) and what the criteria is for defining the chronological date.

Visa application is a 3 week lead-time in the middle of UK summer period. Even on that basis most students will be unlikely to get their visa's in good time and will potentially incur last minute and more expensive flights or expense to try and fast track their application. Students have met the requirements asked of them and paid a considerable deposit some time ago. This impacts their ability to find accommodation if they don't have it. So they face arriving later, paying for accommodation that they cannot use (in halls) and missing out on part of their onboarding activities.

Understood that the team is busy and working hard and it is much appreciated. From UAL perspective, the admissions planning team must have had some idea of the number of applicants earlier in the process. Ideally they would hopefully have some contingency planning in place? So that these don't all go to the wire for these students traveling so far from home. It's not the best of welcomes or introduction and it adds to the expense and stress considerably.

Finally, what is the drop dead date that the CAS numbers will all be issued by? Is it midnight 16th August?

More clarity would greatly reduce the anxiety and probably the queries you are no doubt receiving.

Thank you,

Please, if you get any kind of information regarding this matter, share it in this forum.
I am an international student from South America. My offer was unconditional from the beginning (June), but I was only asked for my passport 4 days ago.
At this rate there is no chance that I will make it to the start date (11 Sept) with an approved visa.

I haven't been able to look at tickets or accommodation because there is no clarity with the dates of anything. The emails are automatic and the calls don't connect :frown:

I'm kind of losing my mind over here, haha

Reply 13

Hi, I was wondering if people who's courses are due in 25th September on CSM got their CAS? To get a spot for an interview at visa processing company is quite hard (it involves wait) and plus 3 weeks wait time for Visa. And no one is answering my emails, I mean admissions office or casnumbers emails. The information from 8th of August that CAS numbers are going to be processed by the middle of August are plain lie. Also, there was no email notification to tell me that they were asking me for my passport, I simply didn't notice the box that opened in the portal, who knows for how long. How much of algorithmic mastery is to send an email notification when one is asked to upload a passport??? The UAL emails about the taxi discount from airport, and how enrolment is possible from August 21st seem like an insult, at this point.

Reply 14

Meraluna

5

Original post by MARI_KA

Hi, I was wondering if people who's courses are due in 25th September on CSM got their CAS? To get a spot for an interview at visa processing company is quite hard (it involves wait) and plus 3 weeks wait time for Visa. And no one is answering my emails, I mean admissions office or casnumbers emails. The information from 8th of August that CAS numbers are going to be processed by the middle of August are plain lie. Also, there was no email notification to tell me that they were asking me for my passport, I simply didn't notice the box that opened in the portal, who knows for how long. How much of algorithmic mastery is to send an email notification when one is asked to upload a passport??? The UAL emails about the taxi discount from airport, and how enrolment is possible from August 21st seem like an insult, at this point.

Hi, I was feeling the exact same way. I got sooo mad when the airport email arrived! Luckily I got my CAS today so I could start my visa paperwork, but I can't enroll until I have everything settled. Also, I haven't been able to secure a place to stay because I didn't have an exact arrival time because of the CAS-VISA delay, so now I can't finish my official enrollment neither.
It makes me question a lot of thing's about the uni ti be honest.
I hope your CAS arrives soon and you'll be able to move forward with the process. Wish you the best of luck!

Reply 15

Original post by Meraluna

Hi, I was feeling the exact same way. I got sooo mad when the airport email arrived! Luckily I got my CAS today so I could start my visa paperwork, but I can't enroll until I have everything settled. Also, I haven't been able to secure a place to stay because I didn't have an exact arrival time because of the CAS-VISA delay, so now I can't finish my official enrollment neither.
It makes me question a lot of thing's about the uni ti be honest.
I hope your CAS arrives soon and you'll be able to move forward with the process. Wish you the best of luck!

Thank you so much! I'm glad to hear you've got it today. I began to think that the CAS number was some kind of mythical being :-)

Reply 16

“How much of algorithmic mastery is to send an email notification when one is asked to upload a passport??? The UAL emails about the taxi discount from airport, and how enrolment is possible from August 21st seem like an insult, at this point.”

Agreed. I start 25 September and got my CAS early this month, but had everything uploaded since May. I couldn’t get a visa appointment til last week and paid $400+ for rush service, but no sign of FedEx yet with my passport (was supposed to take 2 days, it’s been 4) so will probably have to pay hundreds more to reschedule my flight. It’s so disheartening. UAL was a dream because of its reputation and I ignored all the reviews saying they just think of int’l students as £££ but it really, really feels that way. Some of us (hi) are taking massive loans to be there. It feels insulting to hear worries dismissed with “you can enrol up to 3 weeks after your start date” because I don’t want to pay £25k + just to miss the big welcome, 3 weeks of classes, introductions, settling in, etc—that’s all part of the experience. I also don’t have accommodation sorted because of the delay. Ugh.

Reply 17

Original post by Anonymous

“How much of algorithmic mastery is to send an email notification when one is asked to upload a passport??? The UAL emails about the taxi discount from airport, and how enrolment is possible from August 21st seem like an insult, at this point.”

Agreed. I start 25 September and got my CAS early this month, but had everything uploaded since May. I couldn’t get a visa appointment til last week and paid $400+ for rush service, but no sign of FedEx yet with my passport (was supposed to take 2 days, it’s been 4) so will probably have to pay hundreds more to reschedule my flight. It’s so disheartening. UAL was a dream because of its reputation and I ignored all the reviews saying they just think of int’l students as £££ but it really, really feels that way. Some of us (hi) are taking massive loans to be there. It feels insulting to hear worries dismissed with “you can enrol up to 3 weeks after your start date” because I don’t want to pay £25k + just to miss the big welcome, 3 weeks of classes, introductions, settling in, etc—that’s all part of the experience. I also don’t have accommodation sorted because of the delay. Ugh.

"It feels insulting to hear worries dismissed with “you can enrol up to 3 weeks after your start date” because I don’t want to pay £25k + just to miss the big welcome, 3 weeks of classes, introductions, settling in, etc—that’s all part of the experience." Precisely, a deduction of the costs would be in order! Fortunately, you'll get there on time for the start :-)

Reply 18

Any info about CAS number timing is appreciated.

(edited 7 months ago)

Reply 19