Is my offer letter, CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) or CoE (Confirmation of Enrolment) real?

Why a document can look perfect and still be fake

Software and printers can copy any letter. A fake can have the right logo, the right words and a real-looking number. That is why you check the source, not the paper.

Fake documents have been sold at scale. In one UK case, over 1,300 fake CAS were sold. In Canada, fake letters of acceptance came from unauthorised consultants. If you are worried, you have not done anything wrong. You are doing the right thing by checking.

Deposits before a CAS or CoE are normal

Many universities ask for a deposit first. For example, one UK university states a standard overseas tuition deposit of 4,000 pounds, and another states 100 percent of tuition for postgraduate applicants from Pakistan before the CAS can be issued. Study Australia says the CoE is sent after you accept the Letter of Offer and pay your deposit.

A deposit is not the warning sign. The warning sign is paying a person, an agent or a different account. Pay only through the payment page linked from the university's own website. See 'How to pay university fees and rent safely'.

Each country has its own safeguards

United Kingdom: a CAS is a record in the university's own system. Check it with the university. The GOV.UK site says the Home Office will never contact you to ask for money. Its official email addresses are in the form name.surname@homeoffice.gov.uk. An email can show an address like this and still be fake, so contact the Home Office through GOV.UK yourself.

Australia: ask the provider to confirm your CoE, and check the provider and course on the official CRICOS (the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students) register.

United States: only the school's Designated School Official issues an I-20. Recruiters have no role in issuing or handling it.

Canada: from 1 December 2023 the school must confirm every post-secondary letter of acceptance directly with the immigration department, so ask the school to confirm yours.

If the university has withdrawn your CAS

The PIE News reported in May 2026 that UK Visas and Immigration does not require universities to tell students before they withdraw a CAS. That can be a shock. The way to solve it is to write to the university, not to pay an agent or someone who rings you.

A fake letter claiming to be from UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) circulated in Pakistan in 2024. The British High Commission told people: delete it and do not share it. Check any such claim on GOV.UK.