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Tier4(General)studentvisaGOV.UK

GOV.UK
Tier4(General)studentvisa

NOTES

1.Overview
YoucanapplyforaTier4(General)studentvisatostudyintheUKifyoure16oroverandyou:
havebeenofferedaplaceonacourse
canspeak,read,writeandunderstandEnglish
haveenoughmoneytosupportyourselfandandpayforyourcoursethiswillvarydepending
onyourcircumstances
arefromacountrythatsnotintheEuropeanEconomicArea(EEA)orSwitzerland
meettheothereligibilityrequirements

Howlongitwilltake
Youcanapplyforavisaupto3monthsbeforethestartofyourcourse.
Youshouldgetadecisiononyourvisawithin3weeks.
Checktheguideprocessingtimestofindouthowlonggettingavisamighttakeinyourcountry.

Fees
Itcosts322toapplyforthisvisafromoutsidetheUK.
Youmustpay322perpersonforanydependants.
Youllalsohavetopaythehealthcaresurchargeaspartofyourapplication.Checkhowmuch
youllhavetopaybeforeyouapply.

Howlongyoucanstay
YoucanarriveintheUKbeforeyourcoursestarts:
upto1weekbefore,ifyourcourselasts6monthsorless
upto1monthbefore,ifyourcourselastsmorethan6months
Howlongyoucanstaydependsonthekindofcourseyouredoingandwhatstudyyouve
alreadycompleted.

Whatyoucanandcantdo
Youcan:
study
workasastudentunionsabbaticalofficer
applyfrominsideoroutsidetheUK
applytoextendyourstay
workdependingonwhatlevelyourcourseisandwhatkindofsponsoryouhave
Youcant:
getpublicfunds
workasaprofessionalsportsperson,includingasportscoach
Youmaybeabletobringinfamilymembers(dependants).
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Readthefullguidancetofindouthowlongyoumightbeabletostayandwhatyoucan
andcantdo.

2.Eligibility
Youmusthave:
anunconditionalofferofaplaceonacoursewithalicensedTier4sponsor
enoughmoneytosupportyourselfandpayforyourcoursethiswillvarydependingonyour
circumstances

Readtheguideandappendixforthefulllistofdocumentsandhowmuchmoneyyoull
need.

Yourcourse
Youcandoacoursethatsoneofthefollowing:
fulltimeleadingtoaqualificationthatsatleastlevel6ontherevisedNationalQualifications
Framework(NQF)
anoverseascourseofdegreelevelstudythatsequaltoaUKhighereducationcourseandis
beingrunbyanoverseashighereducationinstitution
afulltimecoursewithatleast15hoursperweekoforganiseddaytimestudyleadingtoa
qualificationbelowdegreelevelbutatleastNQFlevel3
arecognisedfoundationprogrammeasapostgraduatedoctorordentist

Postgraduatedoctorsanddentists
Youcanapplyforthisvisaifyouresponsoredtodoarecognisedfoundationprogrammeand
youve:
finishedarecognisedUKdegreeinmedicineordentistry
receivedthatdegreefromaregisteredTier4sponsor
spentyourfinalyearandatleast1otheryearofstudiesleadingtothatdegreeintheUK

Confirmationofacceptanceforstudies
Youreducationproviderwillsendyouareferencenumbercalledaconfirmationofacceptance
forstudies(CAS)oncetheyveofferedyouaplaceonacourse.Youllneedtoenterthisonyour
visaapplication.
Youmustapplyforyourvisanomorethan6monthsafteryoureceivetheCAS.

FurtherstudyintheUK
YoucanonlygetaCASforanewcourseifyouvestudiedintheUKbeforeandyoure:
studyingforanewqualificationatahigheracademiclevel
studyingforanewqualificationthatsatthesamelevelofstudybutrelatestoandaddstoyour
previousqualification
resittingexamsorrepeatingmodules
applyingforthefirsttimetoanewinstitutiontocompleteacourseyoustartedsomewhereelse

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3.KnowledgeofEnglish
YoumayneedtoproveyourknowledgeoftheEnglishlanguagewhenyouapply.
ThisusuallymeanspassingasecureEnglishlanguagetest(SELT).
Whereyoure
studying

Whatyoure
studying

KnowledgeofEnglish
needed

Level

Highereducation
institution(HEI)

Degreelevel
orabove

Reading,writing,listeningand
speaking

EquivalenttoCEFR(CommonEuropean
Frameworkforlanguages)levelB2

Institutionthatsnot
HEI

Degreelevel
orabove

SELTinreading,writing,
listeningandspeaking

CEFRlevelB2

Belowdegree

SELTinreading,writing,
listeningandspeaking

CEFRlevelB1

Anyinstitution

HEIscanchoosehowtoassessastudentsknowledgeofEnglish.TheymuststillbeatCEFR
levelB2.

Yourtestneedstobefromanapprovedprovider.

Checkthefullvisaguidancefordetailedinformation.

Exceptions
YoudontneedtoproveyourknowledgeofEnglishifyouverecentlycompletedaqualification
equivalenttoaUKdegreein:
AntiguaandBarbuda
Australia
theBahamas
Barbados
Belize
Canada
Guyana
Jamaica
NewZealand
StKittsandNevis
StLucia
StVincentandtheGrenadines
TrinidadandTobago
USA
YoualsodontneedtoproveyourknowledgeofEnglishif:
youreanationaloftheUK,Irelandoranyofthecountriesinthelistabove
youvestudiedintheUKbeforeasaTier4(General)studentorTier4(Child)student

4.Documentsyoumustprovide
Whenyouapplyforthevisayoumustprovide:
acurrentpassportorothervalidtraveldocumentation
1passportsizedcolourphotographwithyournamewrittenonthereverseside
proofthatyoucansupportyourselfandpayforyourcoursethiswillvarydependingonyour
circumstances
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proofofparentalorotherlegalguardianconsentifyoureunder18
yourtuberculosistestresultsifyourefromacountrywhereyouhavetotakethetest
Youllneedtohaveablankpageinyourpassportonwhichtoputthevisa.
Youmayalsoneedtoprovideadditionaldocumentsdependingonyourcircumstances.
Yourdocumentswillusuallybesentbackwithin14days.

Readtheguidanceandappendixforthefulllistofdocumentsandhowmuchmoneyyoull
needaccordingtoyoursituation.

5.Apply

Youshouldreadthefullguidancebeforeyouapply.

Youllalsohavetopaythehealthcaresurchargeaspartofyourapplication.Checkhowmuch
youllhavetopaybeforeyouapply.

ApplyoutsidetheUK
YoumustapplyonlineforaTier4(General)studentvisa.
Youllneedtohaveyourfingerprintsandphotographtakenatavisaapplicationcentre(togeta
biometricresidencepermit)aspartofyourapplication.
Youllhavetocollectyourbiometricresidencepermitwithin10daysofwhenyousaidyoud
arriveintheUK(evenifyouactuallyarriveatalaterdate).
Youmaybeabletogetyourvisafasterorotherservicesdependingonwhatcountryyourein
checkwithyourvisaapplicationcentre.

NorthKorea
YoucantapplyonlineifyourelivinginNorthKorea.
ToapplyfromNorthKoreayoumust:
downloadtheformandappendix
readtheinstructionsonhowtoapply

ApplyintheUK
YoucanonlyextendyourexistingvisaorswitchtothisvisaifyourealreadyintheUK.

6.Extendyourvisa
Youshouldincludeanydependantswhoareonyourcurrentvisaonyourapplicationtoextend
includingchildrenwhohaveturned18duringyourstay.

Youshouldapplybeforeyourcurrentvisaexpires.

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Youmaybeabletoapplytoextendyourstaytocontinueyourcourse.
Youmust:
meettheeligibilityrequirementsofthisvisa
beintheUK

YoushouldreadthefullTier4guidancebeforeyouapply.

Fees
Itcosts439toextendyourvisa.
Youmustpay439foreachdependant.
Youllalsohavetopaythehealthcaresurchargeforeachpersonaspartofyourapplication.
Checkhowmuchyoullhavetopaybeforeyouapply.

Howtoextendyourstay
Checkhowtoapplytoextendyourstay.

Howlongittakes
Adecisionwillbemade:
within8weeksforonlineapplications
usuallyonthesamedayifyouusethepremiumservice
Youllbecontactedifyourapplicationiscomplexandwilltakelonger,forexamplebecause:
yoursupportingdocumentsneedtobeverified
youneedtoattendaninterview
ofyourpersonalcircumstances(egifyouhaveacriminalconviction)

OnceyouveappliedyoucanstayintheUKuntilyouvebeengivenadecision,aslongas
youappliedbeforeyourlastvisaexpired.

Biometricinformation
Youmustalsoprovideyourbiometricinformation(fingerprintsandaphoto).Thiscosts19.20.
Youcangiveyourbiometricinformationat:
atcertainPostOfficebranchesifyouappliedonline
atapremiumservicecentreifyouappliedinperson
Youllgetabiometricresidencepermitifyourapplicationtoextendyourvisaissuccessful.

7.Switchtothisvisa
Youmaybeabletochange(switch)fromanothervisatoaTier4(General)studentvisa.

Youshouldapplybeforeyourcurrentvisaexpires.
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!
Youllalsohavetopaythehealthcaresurchargeaspartofyourapplication.Checkhowmuch
youllhavetopaybeforeyouapply.

Eligibility
YoucanapplytoswitchintothiscategoryifyoureintheUKunderanyofthefollowingvisasor
schemes:
Tier1(Poststudywork)
Tier2(General)
Tier2(Intracompanytransfer)
Tier2(Ministerofreligion)
Tier4(Child)
prospectivestudent
student(undertherulesinplacebefore31March2009)
studentresittinganexamination
studentnurse
studentswritingupathesis
studentunionsabbaticalofficer
workpermitholder
postgraduatedoctorordentist
ScienceandEngineeringGraduatesScheme
InternationalGraduatesScheme
FreshTalent:WorkinginScotlandScheme

Howtoapply
Checkhowtoapplytoswitchtothisvisa.
Youmustalsoprovideyourbiometricinformation(fingerprintsandaphoto).Thiscosts19.20.
Youcangiveyourbiometricinformationat:
atcertainPostOfficebranchesifyouappliedonline
atapremiumservicecentreifyouappliedinperson
Youllgetabiometricresidencepermitifyourapplicationtoextendyourvisaissuccessful.

Howlongittakes
Adecisionwillbemade:
within8weeksforonlineapplications
usuallyonthesamedayifyouusethepremiumservice
Youllbecontactedifyourapplicationiscomplexandwilltakelonger,forexamplebecause:
yoursupportingdocumentsneedtobeverified
youneedtoattendaninterview
ofyourpersonalcircumstances(egifyouhaveacriminalconviction)

OnceyouveappliedyoucanstayintheUKuntilyouvebeengivenadecision,aslongas
youappliedbeforeyourlastvisaexpired.

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8.Familymembers
Yourfamilymembers(dependants)mightbeabletoapplytojoinorremainwithyouintheUKif
theyrefromoutsidetheEuropeanEconomicArea(EEA)orSwitzerland.
Adependantiseither:
yourhusband,wifeorcivilpartner
yourunmarriedorsamesexpartner
yourchildunder18yearsoldincludingiftheywerebornintheUKduringyourstay
YoucanapplytobringadependanttotheUKifyoure:
sponsoredbyahighereducationinstitutiononacourseatNQFlevel7orabovethatlasts1
yearormore
anewgovernmentsponsoredstudentonacoursethatlastslongerthan6months
aDoctorateExtensionSchemestudent
Theyllalsohavetopaythehealthcaresurchargeaspartoftheirapplication.Checkhowmuch
theyllhavetopaybeforetheyapply.

Savings
YoumustshowthatyourdependantscanbesupportedwhiletheyreintheUK.
Eachdependantmusthaveacertainamountofmoneyavailabletothemthisisinadditionto
themoneyyoumusthavetosupportyourself.
Theamountofmoneyyouneeddependson:
thelengthofyourcourse
whereyourestudyingintheUK
whetheryouvefinishedaUKcourseorarecurrentlystudying
Youmusthaveproofyouhavethemoney,andthatitsbeeninyourbankaccountoryour
dependantsbankaccountforatleast28daysbeforeyouortheyapply.

Readthedetailedguidancefordependantsforhowmuchmoneyyoullneedandthefull
listofdocumentsyouneedtoprovide.

DependantsapplyingoutsidetheUK
Yourfamilymembersmustapplyonline.
Theyllneedtohavetheirfingerprintsandphotographtakenatavisaapplicationcentre(togeta
biometricresidencepermit)aspartoftheirapplication.
Theyllhavetocollectyourbiometricresidencepermitwithin10daysofwhentheysaidtheyd
arriveintheUK.
Theymaybeabletogettheirvisafasterorotherservicesdependingonwhatcountrytheyrein
checkwiththevisaapplicationcentre.

NorthKorea
YourfamilymemberscantapplyonlineiftheyreapplyingfromNorthKorea.
ToapplyfromNorthKoreatheymust:
printoffandfillintheapplicationform
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readtheinstructionsonhowtoapply

DependantsapplyingintheUK
IfyourdependantsarealreadyintheUK,theyshouldapplyonlineiftheywanttoextendor
switchtheirvisastostaywithyou.
Yourdependantscanapplyeither:
atthesametimeasyou
laterbypostorinpersonatapremiumservicecentre

FamilymemberscantapplyintheUKasdependantsiftheyalreadyhaveavisitorvisa.

Biometricinformation
Eachpersonapplyingmustalsoprovidetheirbiometricinformation(fingerprintsandaphoto).
Thiscosts19.20.
Theycangivetheirbiometricinformationat:
atcertainPostOfficebranchesifyouappliedonline
atapremiumservicecentreiftheyappliedinperson
Theyllgetabiometricresidencepermitiftheirapplicationissuccessful.

ChildrenbornintheUK
IfyouhavechildrenwhileyoureintheUK,youcanapplyonlineforpermissionforthemtostay
asdependants.
YoumustdothisifyouwanttotravelinandoutoftheUKwithyourchild.

Lastupdated:7April2015

https://www.gov.uk/tier4generalvisa/print

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