FAQ’s

Do I need to get a visa (entry clearance) before I travel to the UK?
If you come to the UK as a student on or after 1 September 2007, you must obtain entry clearance before traveling. You apply for entry clearance from your nearest British diplomatic post (Embassy or High Commission). You can find contact details of your nearest diplomatic post on the www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/wheretoapply website.

Tier 4 Plans for Students?
The UK Border Agency has published its plans for the student Immigration Rules under Tier 4 of the Points Based System. They are expected to come into effect by April 2009. For complete detail kindly look at this Student Getting Ready Under New UKBA Point Based System.

I am not a visa national. From 1st September 2007 must I always get entry clearance before coming to UK?
No. You can still apply when you arrive in the UK, but only for permission to enter as a student visitor. Student visitor is a new immigration category that was introduced on 1 September 2007. You can apply for student visitor permission only if you intend to leave the UK within six months of your arrival, and you have a place on a course that is on the Register of Education and Training Provider of Department of Innovations, Universities and Skills you will not be allowed to work and you must be able to support yourself financially without needing to work or claim welfare benefits. If you have immigration permission as a student visitor, you cannot apply in the UK to extend your stay as a student or for more time as a student visitor.

I want to travel to the UK via Ireland? Is this possible?
Yes, but if you are coming to study in the UK and you want to travel to Ireland first, you should obtain UK entry clearance as a student in your home country before going to Ireland. The reasons for this are:

• You will probably not see any immigration officers when you enter the UK from Ireland, so you will not be able to apply for immigration permission to enter the UK
• If you do not get immigration permission when you enter the UK, and you are not a visa national, you will in most cases automatically have permission to be in the UK for three months, but you will not be allowed to work and you will not be able to extend your stay in the UK as a student or student visitor.

What conditions must I meet to be a student in the UK?
If you want to study in the UK, you must meet the requirements of the UKBIA immigration rules. These requirements apply to; the place where you want to study, your course, your ability to follow the course, your finances, and your intentions during and after your studies.
The college or university where you want to study must be on the Register of Education and Training Provider of Department of Innovations, Universities and Skills.
  
New Student Immigration Application Form.
If you are applying on or after 18 August 2008 to extend your immigration permission to be in the UK as a student, student nurse, re-sit student, writing up student or as a sabbatical officer, you must use version 08/08 of the FLR(S) form. If you are applying before 18 August, you should use version 04/08 of the form.

Tier 1(General) and MBA Students.
Tier 1(General) come into force fully on 30 June 2008. It replaces the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, which had a special provision for some MBA graduates. Tier 1 (General) does not have this special provision. However, the UK Border Agency has announced transitional arrangements for you if you enrolled on your MBA or Executive MBA at one of the 50 specified institutions before 30 June 2008 and make an initial application as a Tier 1 (General) Migrant within 12 months of obtaining your qualification.

Can I bring my family with me to the UK?
Yes, but only your spouse or civil partner and your children. Your children must be under the age of 18 when they first enter the UK.
A civil partner is a same sex partner with whom you have a legally recognised relationship, including relationships registered in countries other than the UK.

Can I come to the UK before I get a place on a course?
Yes, but it is very important that you apply to enter the UK as a prospective student, and not as a visitor. You will be expected to provide evidence that you have made contact with institutions in the UK, for example letters inviting you for interviews in the UK. Prospective students can stay in the UK for up to six months to make arrangements for their studies. When you have enrolled at a college or university, you will need to extend your stay in the UK as a student. If you have not come to the UK with entry clearance in the immigration category of '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.

Will I pay the ‘home’ or ‘overseas’ fee?
The education departments of the UK Government, the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Assembly decide which categories of student must be charged the lower, 'home' fee. There are many different categories of 'home' fee payer, and the regulations can be quite complicated. We have produced a summary of these regulations for you. home or overseas fee

Can I become a ‘home’ fee payer?
It is possible to become a 'home' fee payer, even if you started your course as an 'overseas' fee payer. In all cases (see list below), you must meet any residence conditions at the start of your course. You might be able to change fee status if, for example, you become:

• An EU national or the family member of an EU national
• An EEA or Swiss migrant worker or the family member of such a person
• A refugee or person with Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave
• The child of a Swiss national
• The child of a Turkish worker in the UK

Living in the UK for three years does not, on its own, mean that you will become eligible for 'home' fees

How much will the ‘overseas’ fee for my course be?
Overseas fees can range from £4,000 to £18,000 per year, depending on the institution, the level of course and the type of course. Some institutions give details of the fees they charge on their websites.

Can I work while I study in the UK?
Check what your passport sticker (entry clearance or residence permit) says. If you are in the UK with student immigration permission and your passport sticker says "Work (and any changes) must be authorised" or "Able to work as authorised by the Secretary of State", you are allowed to work during your studies.
If your passport sticker says "No work", you must not work in the UK. This would be a breach of your immigration conditions, which is a criminal offence. If you are in the UK and you have entry clearance (a visa) that makes it clear you are here as a student but you have a "no work" condition, you can make an immigration application to change your condition to allow you to work. You should talk to your international student adviser about how to make such an application and how much it will cost. It is much cheaper and easier to ask for permission to work when you make your entry clearance application and to check your passport sticker before you travel to the UK.
If you are in the UK as a student visitor, you cannot change your immigration conditions in the UK to allow you to work. You would have to return to the country where you usually live and make an entry clearance application as a student, and you would have to meet all the requirements of the student Immigration Rules.

What kind of work can I do during my studies?
If you have student immigration permission that allows you to take employment, you can work up to 20 hours a week during term-time and full-time during your holidays, a work placement which is part of a sandwich course, or an internship.
You can do most kinds of work, but you must not engage in business, be self-employed, provide services as a professional sportsperson or entertainer, or pursue a career by filling a permanent full-time vacancy.

Can I work an average of 20 hours a week?
No. If you work more than 20 hours in any week in term-time (and you are not doing a work placement for your course or an internship), you are in breach of your immigration conditions even if you work under 20 hours in other weeks.

Can I pay for my studies through work?
Usually, you must be able to pay your tuition fees and living costs without having to work in the UK. If you are making an immigration application to extend your stay in the UK, you can refer to your work and you will have to provide evidence of your wages, usually through wage slips, but it must be clear that you could afford to pay for your fees and living costs even if you did not work.
However, in two specific situations only, you can rely on your earnings in the UK to show that you have, or will have, enough money to support yourself.
• You are doing a sandwich course and your institution provides you with a letter that guarantees a work placement is available for you and states how much you will earn.
• You are studying at a publicly-funded institution of further or higher education (not a private college or university) and the institution can confirm in writing that it will offer you work and specify your hours and wages.

Can I take a gap year and work full-time?
No. If you want to defer your studies for a year, you should leave the UK and come back when your studies start again. You can work full-time only in your holidays, when you have finished your studies, and if you are doing a sandwich course or an internship.

Can my family members work while I study in the UK?
This depends on the amount of time you are given to study in the UK. If you are given permission to be in the UK for 12 months or more, then your spouse or civil partner or children who are in the UK with you should be given permission to work.

Can I stay in the UK to work after I have finished studying?
This depends on whether you meet the requirements for any of the schemes that the UK Government operates. At the moment the schemes that are most significant for students who have finished their studies are: