Differentiation arrangement (low-risk nationals)
Last updated: 31/07/2026 08:53
Some students do not have to provide evidence of their academic qualifications or their maintenance money at the point of application.
This evidence can be requested by a UKVI caseworker during application processing. We advise that all requirements are still met before proceeding with your Student Route application.
The Home Office refers to this as the ‘differentiation arrangement’, although you will sometimes hear the term ’low-risk national’.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants can apply from either the country or territory in which they are living, or from the UK.
You must either
- be a national of an approved country or territory
- be registered as a British National (Overseas) on your passport
- have a passport issued by the competent authorities of
- Hong Kong SAR
- Macau SAR
- Taiwan.
If you have a Taiwanese passport, you must include the identification card number issued by the competent authority in Taiwan.
Approved countries and territories
The list of countries and territories eligible for the differentiation arrangements changes every year. Confirm the list on the Home Office website.
As of June 2026, the list is:
- Australia
- Austria
- Bahrain
- Barbados
- Belgium
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Cambodia
- Canada
- Chile
- China
- Croatia
- Republic of Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- The Dominican Republic
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Kazakhstan
- Kuwait
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Oman
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Romania
- Serbia
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Thailand
- Tunisia
- United Arab Emirates
- United States of America
Applying
You will be able to apply under the Home Office differentiation arrangements if
- you are a national of one of the countries or territories listed
- you are applying
- in that country or territory
- in another country or territory where you are living, or
- from the UK
This means that you don’t have to provide documents about funds and qualifications with your application.
However, students must always have the required funds for the necessary period and provide the right documentation. The Home Office can ask for financial and qualification documents at any time during the application. If you don't provide these documents when requested or submit the wrong ones, your visa application will be refused.
Make sure you follow our advice on money requirements for guidance on how much money you need to show and the documents used to evidence this.
Contact us
Our offices are open from 09:00 to 17:00, Monday to Friday.