Applying for a Visa

Preparation

The United Kingdom is a popular destination for International Students.

By studying in the United Kingdom you will gain recognised and respected qualifications and also have the opportunity to improve your English language skills while gaining the skills and qualities that employers want. Studying at K College will give you the chance to include different perspectives in your study which will add to your experience and will teach you more about the international community you will soon be looking to make your career in.

Please be aware that under new Home Office rules if you do not come to enrolment, or you subsequently withdraw from your program of study, K College may be obliged to inform the Home Office that you are not attending as a student

Guide Studying and Living in the UK (downloadable)

Applying for a Visa

Applying for a student visa can be a confusing and challenging process. The International Office recommends getting as much information as possible before you make your visa application. Being prepared is the best way to avoid problems. Our International Admissions Team can help answer any of your questions before you arrive and will continue to support you while you are a student at K College. For more information please see the useful links below. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact the International Admissions Team at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Do I Need A UK Visa?

Please check whether you will need a Visa before you come to study in the United Kingdom. If you are not a national of an EEA country or Switzerland, you are subject to UK immigration controls.

Making a student immigration application in your home country

If you are accepted for a course lasting more than six months you must obtain ‘entry clearance' (commonly known as a ‘visa') before travelling to UK. You apply for entry clearance at your nearest British diplomatic post (Embassy or High Commission). Contact details for diplomatic posts can be found on the UK Border Agency Visa Services website (www.ukvisas.gov.uk). The cost of obtaining entry clearance is £145 (although fees are normally payable in your local currency). Dependants are charged the same fee.

The UK operates a ‘Points Based System' (PBS) of immigration, which is divided into several ‘tiers' for different types of visas. Applicants for a student visa apply under ‘Tier 4'.

There are two types of Tier 4 visa: a ‘General' student visa and a ‘Child' student visa. If you are offered a place at K College and accept the place, you must apply for a Generalstudent visa and not a ‘Child' student visa.

You will only be granted a Tier 4 (General) student visa if you satisfy the following conditions:

• You must be accepted by a college or university that is registered with the UK Border Agency as a licensed Tier 4 sponsor. K College is a licensed sponsor and has an ‘A' rated Tier 4 (General) Student licence.
• You must be accepted for a course at level 3 or above on the English National Qualifications Framework. This course must either lead to a UK recognised bachelor degree, or involve a minimum of 15 hours organised daytime study each week.

You must be able to show that you have enough money to cover the fees for the first year of your course, plus £600 for each calendar month of the course (courses lasting nine months or less) or £5,400 (courses lasting more than nine months).

How do I apply?

To apply for a Tier 4 (General) visa, you must first download the UK Border Agency ‘INF29' leaflet (www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/infs/inf29pbsstudent). This leaflet contains links to a number of documents that you also need to print off:

• Tier 4 policy guidance (please read the guide carefully as it has been amended on 5th October)
• Application form VAF9 - PBS Migrant
• PBS Migrant guidance notes
• Self Assessment Points Scoring Appendix 8

If you do not have access to the internet, ask the British diplomatic post in your country for printed copies of the documents you need to apply. For information and updates about the visa application process in your country, see the British Embassy/ High Commission/ Consulate website for your country.

Take time to read through the whole of the Policy Guidance, and all the other documents you have printed off, very carefully. They contain a lot of very detailed instructions about the documents you must provide (such as the Visa Letter from your college or university, evidence of why they offered you a place, and your financial evidence). There is no flexibility about the documents - if your documents do not exactly match the requirements set out in the Tier 4 policy guidance, your application will be refused and you will have wasted your application fee and a lot of time. You will not be warned if you have forgotten to include documents, or your documents are inadequate.

The visa application process is slightly different for each country, with some diplomatic posts requiring you to make an appointment and others requiring you to complete an online form. In a few countries, you will also need to have a tuberculosis test first. To find out the process for your country, visit the website for your nearest diplomatic post.

Please apply in good time for your visa, to avoid being delayed in entering the UK. It can get very busy in visa sections, especially over the summer when lots of students are applying. The UK Border Agency produces a guide to visa processing times for each diplomatic post, which is updated every month. It can be found on the UK Border Agency Visa Services website (www.ukvisas.gov.uk)

What will I need to apply?

You will need to provide evidence that you will be a student. These support documents may include:

• any relevant diplomas or educational certificates that you have

• a letter from the university, college or school confirming that you have been accepted on a course of study and/or a period of research in the UK, and a statement of charges for the course and/or period of research (if appropriate)
• evidence of government sponsorship (if appropriate)

• bank statements, payslips or other evidence to show that you can pay for your stay and your course of studies in the UK (IMPORTANT, please check with in the Tier 4 - Policy Guide for details), and

• if you are being privately sponsored (for example, by a college in the UK) a letter from your sponsor giving details of how they will support you during your studies, and evidence that they can do so.

• The immigration fees payable by the student are £199 + £20 for Migration Impact Fund (MIF) TOTAL = £219 for entry clearance applications made from outside the UK

• Extension of leave applications made by post from inside the UK are £357

You will also need the following.

• Your passport or travel document.
• A recent passport-sized (45mm x 35mm), colour photograph of yourself.
  This should be:
  • taken against a light-coloured background
  • clear and of good quality, and not framed or backed
  • printed on normal photographic paper, and
  • full face and without sunglasses, hat or other head covering unless you wear this for cultural or religious reasons (but the face must not be covered)
• The visa fee. This cannot be refunded and you must normally pay it in the local currency of the country where you are applying.
• Supporting documents relevant to your application.

Coming to the UK before you are accepted for a place on a course

In some instances, the College may ask you to come to the UK for an interview before accepting you for a course. If this happens, you should apply for a ‘prospective student' visa. This type of visa allows you to enter the UK and stay for up to six months while you complete arrangements to enrol on a course at an educational institution.

If you are unconditionally accepted for an eligible course whilst in the UK, you can apply for a Tier 4 student visa to extend your stay in the UK under the status of ‘student' for the duration of the course. If you have not come to the UK with entry clearance as a 'prospective student', you will not be able to do this in the UK and will have to return to your country to make this application.

To qualify for a ‘prospective student' visa, you will need to provide evidence with your visa application showing that you have made contact with institutions in the UK, for example letters inviting you for interviews in the UK. You will also need to show that you intend to enrol on a course within six months of arrival in the UK. To satisfy these requirements, the College will send you a letter giving the date of your interview and the planned start date of the course.

To Apply for a 'prospective student' visa, you will need to complete the UK Border Agency form VAF3A. At the time of writing the fee for applying is £67. The fee for applying for a Tier 4 student visa whilst in the UK (i.e. after you have been unconditionally acceepted for a course) is currently £357. The fee for students applying for a Tier 4 students in person at a Home Office Public Enquiry Office whilst in the UK (i.e. after you have been unconditionally acceepted for a course) is currently £628.

Student Visitor Visa

If you are coming to study for a maximum of 6 months, you may think that you can come to the UK as a 'student visitor', instead of as a 'student'. If you choose to come as a 'student visitor', you will be much more restricted than if you come as a 'student':

· You will not be allowed to have any employment (even if it is part of a course).
· You will not be allowed to apply for more time in the UK, even if your studies are extended.

It is therefore not usually appropriate to come to the UK as a 'student visitor'

Extending your student visa

If your leave to remain as a student (student visa) will expire before you finish your studies in the UK, you will need to renew it. You should submit your application to renew your visa before it expires. As you need to provide a number of documents to support your application please allow sufficient time for the application. There are also periods when Home Office is very busy because many students' visas expire on the same date (at the end of October and January). You can avoid delays to your application by applying to renew as early as possible.

If you need to extend your student visa please visit our Admissions Office for help on doing so. The Home Office currently charges a fee of £295 to process your application.

Urgent information if your student visa (leave to remain) has expired

'Overstayers' are people who have come to the end of their immigration permission to be in the UK and who have remained here without applying to renew it.

If you make an application to renew your visa after it has expired you will not have the right to appeal if the Home Office refuses to extend it. The Home Office have recently refused a number of applications solely because they were made after the student's leave to remain had expired.

The Home Office views overstays of 6 months or more as especially serious: if you have already overstayed for 6 months or more, you should contact the Student Advice Centre immediately and they will refer you on for urgent advice from an immigration specialist. Do not contact the Home Office without getting advice first.

Notifying the Home office to a change in your studies

Immigration rules do allow you to switch to a different course and/or university after you arrive in the UK, as long as you continue to meet the student rules:

• You must study on a full-time degree course or a weekday daytime course of 15 hours or more per week; and

• You must have sufficient funds to pay for your tuition fees and living costs in the UNITED KINGDOM without needing to work.

You do not need permission from the Home Office if you have enough time left in your permission to stay and want to go a different course with your current provider. The education provider will notify the Home Office on your behalf.

However, from 31st March 2009 you have to notify the Home Office yourself if the new course is shorter than the course you have permission to stay for. Please send the following details: Full name, Date of birth, United Kingdom address, Nationality, Name and address of the college you are currently studying at and include a copy of the enrolment/confirmation letter to their email address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Registering with the Police

Nationals of certain countries are required to register with the police if they are entering the UK for more than six months. Your visa will state if this is necessary.The responsibility for police registration lies with the student, not the College. If the words The holder is required to register at once with the police are stamped in your passport when you arrive in the United Kingdom then you should register with the police within seven days of arrival. Failure to register is a criminal offence and could result in your removal from the United Kingdom.

Please register directly with the Kent Police Nationality Department, Longport Police Station, Ashford Road, Newington, Near Folkestone, Kent, CT18 8AP

Registration is strictly by appointment only; please first contact the Nationality Department for an appointment.>

T: +44 1303 297 337/8
F: +44 1303 297 319
E: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

You will need:

• letter of acceptance from college
• your passport
• two passport-sized photographs

The charge levied by the police for this service is £34.

Inviting family and friends to visit you in the UK

If you want to invite a relative or friend to come and visit you in the UK, and they need a visa, they will need to apply for visitor's visa at a British Embassy or High Commission. They should do this in the country where they are living

Your visitor might has to show the Embassy some documents, such as:

• Evidence to show they can support themselves and pay for the trip without working or getting help from public funds (for example, bank statements or payslips)

• Evidence that they intend to leave the UK at the end of their visit (for example, a letter from their employer)

• A letter of invitation from you (see below)

The only formal document you normally need from K College is proof of your enrolment. To obtain this proof of enrolment students should contact the Admissions Office and ask for a 'status letter'.

If your visitor is coming to the UK to attend your graduation please also ask in the Admissions office to produce a letter for you.

Your letter of invitation

Your letter should be addressed to the Entry Clearance Officer at the Embassy where your visitor is applying for their visa.

You should include:

• The full name and date of birth of the proposed visitor(s)

• Their relationship to you (parent/friend)

• Why they want to come and visit you (a holiday/graduation)

• How long want to stay in the UK

• If possible, their proposed arrival and departure dates

• Where they intend to stay and if they plan to stay with you your full address

• Your own immigration status in the UK (for example, student until 2011)

What to do next

Send your invitation letter and proof of enrolment to your friend or relative so they can include them with their visa application. Do not send it directly to the Embassy. Normally only proof of enrolment is needed though.

Further information

• Advice on immigration guidelines for families
• Advice on immigration guidelines for EEA students United Kingdom visas website
• Student Advice Centre
• Home Office UK Border Agency