International Students House aims to provide basic Immigration information on this site and prospective students should see the UK Borders Agency Guidance for Tier 4 Applicantsor visit the UKCISA website at www.ukcisa.org.uk for more information.
VISA Nationals: In order to study in the UK you must meet certain criteria and gain clearance to enter the country. If you are not sure if you fall into this category, please click HERE to see the UKBA list of Visa nationals.
On 31 March 2009, the immigration rules for students changed and became Tier 4 of the Points Based Immigration System.If you want to study in the UK, you will have to make an immigration application from your home country prior to arrival. In other to do this, you must:
Make sure you have the required money in your bank account for 28 days (this should be both for the course fees and maintenance) and that you can show up to date documents which are not more than one month old.
Money and the 28 day rule: You will need to show proof that you have the money needed for 28 days (maintenance plus your fees). You must provide the correct documents in the correct format or your visa will be refused. You must show your personal bank or building society statements covering a 28 day period ending no more than 1 month before the date of your application (Details of what should be in yours or your or your parent/legal guardian’s bank statements are listed in the UK Border Agency Guidance for Tier 4 Applicants). If you are sending your parents bank statements please remember that you will also need your original birth certificate and a letter confirming certain information).
The Level of maintenance you will need to show depends on the duration of your course and whether you live in Central London or outside London.
|
Length of course
|
Where will you study
|
Money needed
|
|
Nine months or less
|
London
|
Full course fees
and
£800 for each calendar month of the course
|
|
Nine months or less
|
Outside London
|
Full course fees
and
£600 for each calendar month of the course
|
|
More than nine months
|
London
|
First year of course fees
and
£7,200 to cover living costs for nine months
|
|
More than nine months
|
Outside London
|
First year of course fees
and
£5,400 to cover living costs for nine months
|
Students who have previously studied in the UK
If you have already been studying on a course in the UK and have gone home to apply for your Tier 4 (General) Student Visa then you may only have to show a reduced amount of maintenance. You will need to show less money because you have an established presence in the UK, but the rules are complicated (see the Tier 4 Policy Guidance paragraph 126-130). If you meet the rules to show an established presence in the UK then the reduced maintenance is £1200 for students studying outside London and £1600 for students studying in Central London. Please note that you can only show the reduced maintenance if you are extending a student visa and not if you are moving from another type of visa to a Tier 4 Student visa.
You will also need a Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS) number and statement from your place of Study.
Please enquire from your place of study what you need to do in order to be issued with a CAS number.Some institutions require you to pay the whole course fees, while others might just require a deposit.