The purchase of a VISA is not a qualified education expense so cannot be reported on your federal tax return as an education expense.
IRS website for qualified education expenses - https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/qualified-ed-expenses
It seems like any required payment in order to attend school counts as deductible. If I cannot attend school in England without a student visa, why wouldn't that be deductible?
That is a personal expense that you incurred for selecting the foreign institution. Personal expenses are not a qualified education expense.
The only qualified education expenses are tuition, books, and lab fees. There are no exceptions. Passport/VISA costs are not an education expense, any way you look at it. Nobody forced you to attend school abroad. It was your choice, which makes all the transportation, passport and Visa costs a personal expense.