International students

The RNC has a worldwide reputation as a centre of excellence for people with a visual impairment. HRH The Prince of Wales has been our Patron since 1997.

Each year we are pleased to welcome students drawn by our international standing as outstanding providers of specialist education and in recent years we have been joined by students from countries as varied as Norway, Qatar, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.

In order to study at RNC, international students must have their own funding in place. This can mean paying privately or securing sponsorship from your government or an employer. We are unable to subsidise your place by providing any funding ourselves and do not offer a scholarship programme.

Where relevant, you will also need to secure the appropriate visa for your course. This is likely to be one of the following:

• Student Visitor Visa (SVV), for those over 18 who plan to study for a period of up to six months, or up to 11 months for English Language courses

• General Student Visa (GSV), for those over 18 who either plan to study in the UK for over six months or who plan to study for up to six months and wish to extend their visa while in the UK

• Tier 4 (General) Visa, for those who will be studying full time on an English Language course (restrictions apply), studying at or above Level 3 or undertaking a pre-sessional course to prepare for a full course of HE study in the UK

You will need to investigate these options before applying to RNC to ensure that you are eligible.

If you are able to secure funding and qualify for a visa, the next step is to complete our application form. Once we have received this we will be able to undertake a detailed Pre-Entry Assessment with a view to offering you a place on your chosen course. If you are unable to travel to RNC for this assessment we can provide it by telephone or via Skype.

You can download our two part application form below and email back to info@rnc.ac.uk

RNC learner application form Part 1 (PDF)

RNC learner application form Part 2 (PDF)

Once the assessment is complete, if we are able to offer you a place we will confirm the full cost and proposed start date and provide this information in writing for the benefit of the authorities in your home country and any sponsors. Because your programme will be tailored to meet your personal needs we cannot confirm the cost before this stage, although we can provide a general indication of likely fees on request.