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Education Providers

  1. Can I take international students?
  2. What about short term students?
  3. Is there more than one category for which I should apply?
  4. How do I apply for a licence as an education provider?
  5. What does it cost?
  6. What will they ask me?
  7. What else do I need?
  8. Can I apply under other categories at the same time?
  9. I have a number of colleges within the same group. Should I apply for a licence for individual colleges or as a group?
  10. Will the UK Border Agency visit me?
  11. What happens during a visit by the UK Border Agency?
  12. What happens if I am “B” rated?
  13. Will the UKBA visit me again in the future?
  14. What responsibilities do I have as a licensed sponsor?
  15. I am a licensed education provider. What is the process for taking international students?
  16. How do I work out how many Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)  to apply for?
  17. Can I apply for an additional allocation of Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) if I run out?
  18. Do I have to pay for the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) I issue?
  19. Can a colleague issue a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)  if I am not available?
  20. How should I allocate Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) between general and child students?
  21. What is the validity of a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)?
  22. What if a student holds more than one Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)?
  23. Are there any restrictions on the courses I can offer?

 

1. Can I take international students?

You need to be licensed by the UK Border Agency if you wish to take full time non-EEA students. You do not need to be licensed by the UKBA to take UK, EEA or Swiss students.

2. What about short term students?

There is a category for “student visitors” which allows a student to come to the UK for up to 6 months to attend a course provided that the school or college is:

  • the holder of a sponsor licence for Tier 4 of the points- based system; or
  • accredited by an accreditation body approved by the UK Border Agency; or
  • an overseas higher education institution which offers only part of its programmes in the United Kingdom, holds its own national accreditation and offers programmes that are of an equivalent level to a United Kingdom degree.

The UK Border Agency also apply a number of other requirements to student visitors including that they cannot take employment; cannot extend their stay; must not be under the age of 18. Click here for full details of the requirements that must be met by a student visitor. If the student is under the age of 18, they may be able to apply as a child visitor. Full details of eligibility under this category are on the UKBA website.

3. Is there more than one category for which I should apply?

You can register to take students under one or both of the following categories:

  • Child student – for children between the ages of 4 and 17 to be educated in independent fee-paying schools
  • General student – for those wishing to come for their post 16 education.

4. How do I apply for a licence as an education provider?

You must go onto the UK Border Agency website and apply online. Only online applications are accepted. 

5. What does it cost?

The current fee for a Tier 4 only application is £400. A Full table of fees is available on the UKBA website.

6. What will they ask me?

You can check the information required by the on-line form before you apply. You can do this by downloading a dummy application that you can print out in hard copy via. Note that you cannot use this form to submit your application – it must be done online.

7. What else do I need?

Once you have completed your application you will be asked to submit supporting documents as evidence that you are genuine organisation operating or trading lawfully in the UK. These must be submitted within 14 calandar days. You will also need to show that you are inspected, audited, reviewed or accredited in accordance with UK Border Agency requirements.

8. Can I apply under other categories at the same time?

Yes. For example, if you employ non-EEA nationals as teachers (or in any other capacity) you can apply for a Tier 2 licence at the same time as you apply for your Tier 4 licence. Unlike Tier 4, the cost of a Tier 2 licence depends on the size of your business but you could still save money on the fees if you apply under both Tiers at the same time.

9. I have a number of colleges within the same group. Should I apply for a licence for individual colleges or as a group?

You can do either but if you are applying as a group you may be asked to provide evidence that the colleges within the group are under common ownership or control. Your decision might be influenced by the way one college might affect another. If colleges are part of a group but licensed individually and the UK Border Agency decides to downgrade a college or remove its licence, other colleges within the group will not be affected. If the same happened to a college under a group licence, all of the other colleges would be affected.

10. Will the UK Border Agency visit me?

Yes. Normally this is before a licence is granted but if they do not have the resources available, it might be later.

11. What happens during a visit by the UK Border Agency?

The visit will normally be made by appointment and last around an hour. They will discuss your processes for meeting your responsibilities as a sponsor which may include how you ensure that a student is capable of following a course; and how you will meet the UKBA requirements for record keeping, monitoring and reporting. They will normally test these by requesting sight of some student files and may also wish to look around the premises to confirm that you have sufficient classroom space for the number of students. Following the visit they will prepare a report with recommendations as to whether you should be granted a licence and if so whether it should be “A” or “B” rated.  They may or may not tell you at the time of the visit what their recommendation is likely to be and whether they have identified areas for improvement. However, the final decision rests with the sponsorship management team rather than with the visiting officers.

12. What happens if I am “B” rated?

The UK Border Agency will issue you with an “action plan” highlighting the areas for improvement and a timescale. They will re-visit to ensure the improvements have been made.  If you do not comply with the action plan you could have your licence revoked. You can still take international students even if you are “B” rated but a sponsor that is still “B” rated after 12 months will automatically lose its licence.

13. Will the UKBA visit me again in the future?

Possibly. The UK Border Agency reserves the right to visit you at any time, whether prearranged or not, to check your compliance. Note that the UK Border Agency might also use the visit to check that you are compliant in your employment of any non-EEA nationals.

14. What responsibilities do I have as a licensed sponsor?

The two major areas are:

  • Record keeping – retaining copies of all doucments submitted by students as part of their application showing how you assessed their intention and ability to follow the course; copies of students passports and if they have one, their UK identity card for foreign nationals; details of their attendance; and up to date contact details
  • Informing UK Border Agency if the student does not turn up for the course as expected or misses 10 expected contacts without the sponsor's reasonably granted permission. 

15. I am a licensed education provider. What is the process for taking international students?

You must issue a student with a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS). A student must provide the CAS with their application to confirm their sponsorship. Note that a CAS is not a real document but a unique number generated by the online system which you as the sponsor are responsible for passing to the student. You must also provide the student with some of the information used when assigning the CAS for example course details, fees and the documents used to assess the application so that students know which documents to submit with their applications.

16. How do I work out how many Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)  to apply for?

This should be based on previous and projected student numbers and should also include an allowance for students who may need to renew their permission to stay whilst they are studying with you. The allocation is for 12 months from the date the licence is issued. Unused CAS cannot be carried forward into the next period.

17. Can I apply for an additional allocation of Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) if I run out?

Yes, you can do this via the sponsorship management system but bear in mind that there could be some delay while the UK Border Agency considers your request. You will be asked to provide a reason for increasing your number of CAS and the UK Border Agency might request additional information or wish to undertake a further inspection of your premises before deciding. You should also ensure that your accreditation body is content with any proposed increase in the number of students

18. Do I have to pay for the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) I issue?

Yes. The UK Border Agency will charge you £10 for each CAS you issue even if the student does not use it. The fee is non-refundable. A number of colleges are passing on this charge to their students.

19. Can a colleague issue a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)  if I am not available?

Only if they have been appointed as a Level 1 or Level 2 user. The UK Border Agency has warned that it will penalise any organisation where it is found that usernames and passwords are being used by another person.

20. How should I allocate Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) between general and child students?

Prior to 5 October 2010, there was no facility for separating general students from child students. If you obtained your licence prior to that date, when you first log onto the sponsorship management system, you will be asked whether you want to be registered to issue CAS to general and/or child students and how many of your existing CAS you wish to allocate to each category within the overall number that was agreed when your application was first approved. Note that if you register for the child student category you may be asked to provide additional evidence that you are eligible to do so.

21. What is the validity of a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)?

A CAS is valid for 6 months from the date it is assigned. If it is not used within this period it will automatically become invalid.

22. What if a student holds more than one Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)?

A student can hold more than one CAS if he/she has applied to different colleges. Once the student uses one of the CAS, any others in his/her possession automatically become obsolete. No refund will be made for CAS that are made obsolete.

23. Are there any restrictions on the courses I can offer?

A course must meet minimum requirements: it must be at or above specified levels; be full time; and lead to an approved qualification. Details of the requirements are set out by the UK Border Agency in their Policy Guidance for sponsors.