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Students

1. Do I need a visa?
2. Are there any restrictions on the courses I can follow?
3. How do I check whether my college is licensed?
4. Where do I apply for a visa?
5. What do I need to be able to apply as a general/adult student?
6. What documents do I require to apply outside the UK for a visa?
7. What about qualifications?
8. What money will I need to show?
9. What is the difference between a general student and an adult student?
10. Do I need to apply as an adult or child student?
11. Do I need to make an application to study in the UK if I am an EEA or Swiss national?
12. How long can I stay in the UK as a student?
13. Can I do a work placement?
14. Am I allowed to work while I am a student in the UK?
15. Can I change my course once I am in the UK?
16. How much does a student visa cost?
17. What application form should I use?
18. Can I apply to stay permanently after studying in the UK?
19. Can I apply to stay in the UK to work after having been here as a student?

1. Do I need a visa?

Yes, you will require a visa if you are a non-EEA national and you wish to come to the UK as a sponsored student for longer than 6 months. Further information on how to apply for a visa is available on the UK Visas website here.

2. Are there any restrictions on the courses I can follow?

The course must be one provided by what the UK Border Agency call a licensed education provider, that is a school, college or university that has a licence from the UKBA to sponsor students under Tier 4 of the Points Based System.

3. How do I check whether my college is licensed?

The UK Border Agency publishes a list of licensed education providers on their website. This will show you the name of the school, college or university, its location and whether it is licensed with an “A” or “B” rating. The UK Border Agency may give a college a “B” rating if some of the systems it requires for a sponsor to meet its duties are not in place or if there is previous evidence of abuse.  

4. Where do I apply for a visa?

Visas are always issued outside the UK. You should normally apply for a visa in your country of residence. The UK Visas website tells you how to apply.

5. What do I need to be able to apply as a general/adult student?

You need 40 points under the Points Based System. You earn 30 points by having a place on a course with a licensed college, school or university and 10 points for having the required amount of maintenance.

6. What documents do I require to apply outside the UK for a visa?

You will require a Confirmation of acceptance of Studies (CAS) from your college. The college will input your and the course details online. This will generate a unique number which the college will pass to you for inclusion on your application form. The college will also provide you with information it used when assigning the CAS, for example course details, fees and any documents it used to assess your application. You will need this information to complete your application form and to know what documents to submit

7. What about qualifications?

When applying for your visa, you will need to submit originals of any qualifications referred to in the CAS with certified translations by a professional translator if they are in a language other than English.

8. What money will I need to show?

You will have to provide financial evidence that you can meet the cost of the course and the cost of your stay in the UK. The money you need depends on the length of the course and where it is held. The UK Border Agency has produced a table showing the money you need to show. The UK Border Agency also specifies the type of documents you can use to provide evidence of the money available to you.

9. What is the difference between a general student and an adult student?

There is no difference. The UKBA use the terms interchangeably.

10. Do I need to apply as an adult or child student?

The adult student category is for people coming to the UK for post-16 education. You and your approved education provider can agree whether you apply as an adult or child student if you are 16 or 17 years old and studying a course at National Qualification Framework level 3 or the same as or above.  There are additional requirements for child students and if you have a choice it is probably easier to apply as a general student.
Note that your age is determined by the date of your application. If you are aged 15 at the time of your application, you will have to apply as a child student even though you may be 16 by the time your course starts.

11. Do I need to make an application to study in the UK if I am an EEA or Swiss national?

No.

12. How long can I stay in the UK as a student?
This depends on the level at which you are studying and the length of your course.  The UKBA has produced a table which shows how long you can stay.

13. Can I do a work placement?

Yes, but it must be an assessed part of the course and must be no more than 50% of the length of the course unless there is a legal (statutory) requirement for the course to contain a specific period of work placement.

14. Am I allowed to work while I am a student in the UK?

You can work part-time during term time and full-time during vacations. The amount of time you are allowed to work during term time depends on the course you are following but will be either 10 or 20 hours per week. You should consult your college on how long you are allowed to work during term time. You are not allowed to work full time until the official start of your vacation periods, even if it is towards the end of a term and you have no more lessons.

15. Can I change my course once I am in the UK?

This depends on whether you are staying with the same school, college or university and when you are applying.

You do not need to apply to the UKBA if you wish to do a different course with the same school, college or university and you still have time left in your permission to stay in the UK. However, if your new course is shorter than the course you got your permission to stay for, you must tell the UKBA by email to migrantreporting@ukba.gsi.gov.uk.

If you wish to do the same or a different course with a new school, college or university, the action you have to take depends on when you obtained your last permission to stay.

If you obtained your last permission to stay before 5 October 2009 and still have time left in your permission to stay and want to do the same or a different course of study with a new school, college or university, you must email the UK Border Agency at migrantreporting@ukba.gsi.gov.uk providing the new course and your start and finish dates; and your new approved education provider's name, address and contact details. The new education provider must be licensed as a sponsor. You can start the new course before you receive permission from the UK Border Agency but you do so at your own risk.

If you want to study with a new Tier 4 sponsor and you made your last application for a Tier 4 visa on or after 5 October 2009, you must apply for a new Tier 4 visa.
If you have entered the United Kingdom using your Tier 4 Visa, and you want to study with a new Tier 4 sponsor before that visa has expired, you must always make your new application from inside of the United Kingdom. If you make your new application from outside of the United Kingdom it will be refused.

You cannot start your new course until a new Tier 4 visa has been approved. You can leave your current Tier 4 sponsor before your new Tier 4 visa application has been decided. However, you do this at your own risk, as if your new Tier 4 visa is refused, you may not be able to go back to your old course. More info here.

16. How much does a student visa cost?

The student visa application fee depends on where you apply from (fees as at May 2010):
Inside the United Kingdom by post - £357
Inside the United Kingdom at a Public Enquiry Office (PEO) - £628
Outside the United Kingdom - £199

17. What application form should I use?

If you are applying from inside the United Kingdom, you should use the Tier 4 (general) application form. Applications are made on a paper form and cannot be submitted on-line. Forms change periodically and it is always safest to download the form from the UK Border Agency website rather than use a form from a stock kept by your college. You can download the current form here.

Applications from outside the UK are normally made online via http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/

18. Can I apply to stay permanently after studying in the UK?

Any time spent in the student category will not count towards the time required to be able to settle in the UK.

19. Can I apply to stay in the UK to work after having been here as a student?

Yes, you can make an application to work following your studies.