Visas

You will only need a Standard Visitor visa if you are a non-EU student. 

LEAP students from the EU, EEA and Swiss citizens will not be required to apply for a standard visitor visa.

If you are a non-EU student and believe you may not be required to apply for a visa, please use this website to check whether you need a UK visa: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa  

Key Information 

As a LEAP student from outside the European Union (EU), you will need a standard visitor visa. You can apply for this here.  

When making your application, please refer to the UK visa advice document here.


Once you have applied online, you will have a visa appointment, requiring:

- Letter of Invitation (LOI) from the University of Manchester

- MSF LOI: you should have received this from your Operational Centre. 

- Passport details  

- MSF employment contract, including details of employment length and salary. 

- At least three bank statements showing MSF depositing your monthly salary, and which give an idea of your usual expenditure. 

- If you are applying from a different country than that of your passport, your residency permit for that country. 

- A copy of any previous UK, Schengen (EU), or US visas you have had.

- Insurance certificate (please contact your OC L&D adviser for this)

- Provisional flight schedule/return plane tickets (please ask your HRCo/ L&D adviser      to assist you with this)

You should only book your flights once you have successfully received a visa. You can find the dates and duration of your visit to the UK in the invitation letter sent to you by the University of Manchester.


Timeline for applications for November 2023

28th July 2023 - you will receive your letter of invitation from the University of Manchester. 

31st July 2023 - MSF UK hosting visa advice webinar (email LEAP@london.msf.org if you do not have the invitation for this) 

6th August 2023 - your OC will send your letter of support. 

6th August 2023 - the earliest you can apply for your visa. 

6th September 2023 - the latest you should apply for your visa ideally (let LEAP@london.msf.org if you intend to apply later than this).


Questions?

Please contact the MSF UK LEAP team (at LEAP@london.msf.org) with any queries you may have. 


Alternatively, you can contact the HCRI visa team for any queries you might have: visa@manchester.ac.uk, +44 161 275 5000. Follow instructions for 'Student Services'.

You can also find out more information on the HCRI visa website.


If you need any details regarding proof of employment or insurance, please contact your OC directly from the OC email address list below:

OCB enquiries: LEAP-OCB@brussels.msf.org 

OCP enquiries: leap@paris.msf.org

GO TO IN THE UK