Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Personal
Immigration
UK
EU
International
Undergraduate
Postgraduate
www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk
cutting costs
hardship funds
dealing with debt
immigration law
international student issues
financial support for student parents
(childcare costs, etc)
postgraduate funding
welfare benefits, including disability benefits
housing rights and council tax
The Welfare Advisers role is to offer you advice
about your individual situation, explaining your
rights, and any options and solutions available
to you. You can then choose what you want to
do. If your situation is complex, a Welfare Adviser
can advocate on your behalf where appropriate,
for example, appealing against an incorrect
assessment of Student Finance or a welfare
benefit.
You can get advice at any time during your course,
as well as before you start at QMUL.
Disclaimer
Law, regulations and policies can change quickly so
make sure that you are using the most up-to-date
version of this guidance. Check the Advice and
Counselling Service website for regular updates.
The information in this guide is given in good
faith and has been carefully checked. QMUL,
however, accepts no legal responsibility for its
accuracy.
welfare.qmul.ac.uk
Contents
Introduction
Technical terms
Applications made to British visa centres and sections (outside the UK)
10
Obtaining a CAS
12
New students
12
Existing students
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13
14
14
Applications made to British visa centres and sections (outside the UK)
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17
22
Maintenance
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Tuition fees
25
I still need to show some money for my tuition fees and/or maintenance
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30
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What can I do if my documents (such as my ATAS certificate or CAS) are not ready before my
immigration permission expires?
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Low risk nationals
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Application checklist
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All applicants
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Further information
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If you submitted your application to a British visa section or section outside the UK
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Introduction
Making a successful immigration application
The UK immigration system for students has been and is going through a period of considerable
change. Between March 2009 and July 2013, there have been more than 25 changes to the
immigration rules for adult students. Thats an average of one change every 55 days. This
demonstrates how important it is to make sure that you are using the latest guidance when you
make an immigration application. You may find that a document, which you used in a previous
application, is no longer acceptable. Dont get caught out make sure you use the most up
to date guidance when making an immigration application.
Warning: When making an immigration application, do not take advice from your
friends or other people who are not regulated to offer immigration advice. They
could give you bad advice, which could result in your immigration application being
refused. Every immigration application is different as everyones circumstances are
different. Do not assume that your application will be the same as your friends because you think
your situation is similar to theirs.
This Advice Guide
The Welfare Advisers at the Advice and Counselling Service have written this advice guide to help
you make a successful immigration application: if you read it carefully, you should be able to prepare
your application so that it meets the immigration rules. The first half of this advice guide will help
you prepare your application, and the second half explains what happens after you submit your
application, and what to do if anything goes wrong.
Video guidance
We have also created a number of video guides that explain the requirements, show you how to
prepare your supporting documents and how to complete your application form. The videos provide
an overview, but you will still need to refer to this guide for the details.
To access the videos, visit our website:
http://www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/international/immigration/permission/index.html
If your situation is unusually complicated or if something has gone wrong, you may need to seek
immigration advice. See the section in this guide Where can I get further information and
assistance?
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To obtain immigration permission to come to or stay in the UK as a Tier 4 (General) student, you
must score a total of 40 points:
You can get 30 points for a valid Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from a
Licensed Sponsor
You can get 10 points for having a specified amount of money available to you
The points based system is very rigid which has the advantage that, if you follow the rules carefully
and provide all the correct documents, you can be quite sure that your application will be successful.
The disadvantage is that if you make a mistake, the Entry Clearance Officer or Caseworker who
decides your application is normally required to refuse your application, even if it is a very small
mistake.
It is unlikely that you will be able to challenge a decision to refuse your immigration application if you
have made a mistake. Even if you are able to challenge a decision, this can cost money and take many
months.
For these reasons, it is very important that you make sure that you complete your application form
correctly and submit all the required documents in the specified format within the relevant
timeframe.
If you follow this guide carefully, you should be able to make a successful application.
Technical terms
There are some technical terms associated with the Points Based System of immigration:
What is a CAS?
To apply for immigration permission under Tier 4 of the Points Based System, you will need a special
reference number called a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS). This reference number is
linked to a record on a secure Home Office database, which contains the details QMUL has
provided about you and your programme of studies. When you make your immigration application,
the Entry Clearance Officer or Caseworker will use this reference number to retrieve the
information QMUL has provided about you and your programme of studies.
If you take up an unconditional offer on an eligible programme, QMUL will provide you with a CAS
reference number. QMUL will also provide you with a statement of all the information the university
has provided to the Home Office, but this is only to help you complete your application form and
you do not need to submit this statement with your immigration application.
Who will be my Licensed Sponsor?
Under Tier 4 of the Points Based System your immigration permission must be sponsored by an
education institution, which is licensed by the Home Office. In this context, sponsorship does not
mean financial sponsorship.
QMUL is licensed by the Home Office as a Highly Trusted Sponsor. This is the highest possible
rating.
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If you accept an unconditional offer on an eligible programme, QMUL will normally agree to be your
sponsor.
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Applications made to British visa centres and sections (outside the UK)
To be able to apply for Tier 4 immigration permission at a British visa centre or section, you must
satisfy the following criteria:
If you are starting a new programme or resuming existing studies, you cannot apply for your
immigration permission more than three months before the start date or resumption date
of your studies.
If you are starting a new programme or resuming existing studies (e.g. after a period out of
attendance), these must start within 28 days of the date that your current immigration
permission is curtailed or expires.
If you are starting a new programme, you cannot apply for your immigration permission
more than three months before the start date of your new programme.
If you are applying for an extension so that you can finish your current programme, QMUL
will not normally be able to issue you with a CAS more than six months before your current
immigration permission expires.
You must have last been granted immigration permission as one of the following:
o
Current categories:
Tier 2 Migrant,
Withdrawn categories (if you applied for your current immigration permission
before the category was withdrawn):
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Prospective student
Student,
Student Nurse,
Exceptions
If your last grant of leave was not one of the categories listed above then you must return to your
home country and apply for a Tier 4 visa from there. There are currently three exceptions to this:
1. 1. Some Syrian nationals
You must be a Syrian national who is normally resident in Syria, but who is currently resident in the
UK. You must have had immigration permission to be in the UK, or you must apply within 28 days
of your current visa expiring. If you are in this situation then you can apply for Tier 4 (General)
Student immigration permission from within the UK even if your last grant of leave was not in one of
the immigration categories listed above. You can also apply for Tier 4 (General) Student immigration
permission, even if this would cause you to go over the allowed number of years studying. See the
section Previous studies in the UK for more information. However, you still need to meet the
other Tier 4 requirements. This concession will end on 28 February 2016.
2. Some Libyan nationals
You must be a Libyan national who switched from Tier 4 to Discretionary Leave under a special
Home Office concession brought in on 20 July 2011, and who now wishes to switch back to Tier 4.
3. Some dependants of overseas diplomats
This is only possible in certain compelling circumstances: please see the guidance written by UKCISA
for further information.
http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/International-Students/Immigration-/Making-a-Tier-4-General-applicationin-the-UK/Can-I-apply-in-the-UK/
You may also wish to contact a Welfare Adviser if you think this applies to you.
Has your previous immigration permission already expired?
Anyone who has overstayed their immigration permission by more than 28 days will usually have an
extension application refused, although there are a small number of exceptions to this rule. See the
section in this guide I have overstayed, what are my options?
Applying for Tier 4 (General) Student immigration permission
Last revised 10 April 2015
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UKCISA have created a webpage and flowchart to help you calculate if an application for a further
period of study will be possible under the cap:
http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/International-Students/Preparing--planning/Visas-and-immigration/Applyingfor-a-Tier-4-General-visa/Time-limit-cap-on-study/
For more detailed information on the five year limit, follow this link to refer to paragraphs 100-112
of the Home Office Tier 4 Policy Guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidanceon-application-for-uk-visa-as-tier-4-student
Progression of studies
Higher education institutions are required to check that new students studies are at a higher level
or complementary to any studies they have previously undertaken while in the UK with Student or
Tier 4 (General) Student immigration permission.
If you have studied a programme while you were in the UK with Student or Tier 4 (General)
Student immigration permission which is at the same or higher level than your proposed studies at
QMUL, it may not be possible to issue you with a CAS.
You will be asked to provide information about any previous studies in the UK as part of the CAS
request process. If you do not inform QMUL of your previous studies, your immigration application
could be refused.
If you have any questions about the level of your programme at QMUL or any previous programmes
you have taken, contact the admissions team responsible for your application.
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Obtaining a CAS
New students
Once you have firmly accepted an unconditional offer, the Admissions and Recruitment Office will
send you an e-mail, which explains how you can apply for your CAS reference number. There is no
fee for this.
The Home Office has rules about the required level of English language for a particular course. If you
have any questions about what level of English is required to get a CAS, contact the admissions team
dealing with your application.
During the CAS request process, you will be sent an email asking you to verify your CAS by logging
into the web portal. You should check the CAS statement carefully to make sure that all the
information the university has provided is correct, and none of the required information is missing. If
anything is incorrect or missing, you will be able to correct this, before your final CAS is issued.
Existing students
If you are part way through a programme at QMUL and you need to extend your immigration
permission, you can request a CAS by logging in to your MySIS profile: http://mysis.qmul.ac.uk/
You will find the form to request a new CAS under My Details.
In order to complete the form, you will need to provide a copy of the personal details page of your
current passport and a copy of your most recent visa sticker or biometric ID card (both sides).
There are photocopiers in the main library, which you can use to scan your documents onto a USB
memory stick.
A new CAS for existing students costs 20*.
If you have recently started your programme, you should be able to use the CAS which the
Admissions and Recruitment Office sent to you as long as it is still valid (a CAS expires after six
months and cannot be used more than once).
If anything has changed since you started your programme, you need to email casinfo@qmul.ac.uk to
ask for your CAS to be updated.
If you are applying for an extension of your immigration permission so that you can finish your
current programme, the university will not normally be able to issue you with a CAS until 6 months
before your current immigration permission expires.
*
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you have already used it to make an immigration application (even if your application was
unsuccessful); or
Check that your personal details (name, date of birth, nationality and passport number)
exactly match those in the passport you are planning to submit with your immigration
application.
Make sure you actually have any documents listed in the Evidence Used section, and that
the documents you have are original. This section must also detail how the university has
assessed your English language ability in all four areas, and that your course of study shows
academic progression.
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0*
225
525
4 year PhD
675
If you are applying outside of the UK, the website will quote the fee in a foreign currency. Please
note that we have observed that the exchange rates, which UKV&I are using appear to have 2-7% of
additional loading fees.
Some nationals (e.g. nationals of Australia and New Zeeland) are exempt from the health charge due
to reciprocal healthcare agreements. Even if you are exempt, you will still need to register on the
website and enter your details.
To register, visit: https://www.immigration-health-surcharge.service.gov.uk/payment/start
When you have completed the process, you will be issued with an Immigration Health Surcharge
(IHS) reference number. You should write this reference number on your online application
coversheet. If you are applying in North Korea, you should write this reference number on your
application form.
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Applications made to British visa centres and sections (outside the UK)
The form:
Unless you are applying in North Korea, you will
apply and pay for your immigration application
online. You will be offered three options under
the heading "Type of application". You should
choose:
Tier 4 (General) (Sponsored) Student if you are going to be fully funded by an "official
financial sponsor", which includes scholarships or bursaries provided by a university, the UK
government, your home government (though this does not include student loans), the
British Council or any international organisation or international company. This also includes
any scholarships or bursaries that are paid by or via QMUL University of London. If you are
only partially funded by an official financial sponsor you should not complete this type of
application: complete the Tier 4 (General) Student application instead;
Tier 4 (Scholarship) Student ONLY IF you are the holder of a Chevening Scholarship
or Fellowship, a British Marshall Scholarship, a Fulbright Scholarship or a Commonwealth
Scholarship and Fellowship Plan.
If you are applying in North Korea, you will need to complete a paper version of the VAF9 form and
Appendix 8.
You can access the forms (online and paper) by visiting the GOV.UK website:
https://www.gov.uk/tier-4-general-visa/apply
Some of the wording used in the questions on the Visa4UK online application form can be confusing.
You can find detailed explanations of some of these questions in this guide to the online form:
http://www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/documents/leaflets/immigration/135544.pdf
The fee:
322 in the currency local to the visa centre or section
Additional charges:
There are a number of countries where there is an additional fee of 59. To check the exact
application fee for the country where you will be applying, please see the following link:
https://visa-fees.homeoffice.gov.uk/y
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If the Entry Clearance Officer is not convinced that you are genuine, you may be refused entry
clearance. See the section of this Advice Guide called What to do if things go wrong.
Tuberculosis (TB) Screening
If you are travelling to the UK and a UK Visa Application Centre or Section in one of the countries
listed on this web page will process your application, you will need to show that you have been
tested for Tuberculosis:
https://www.gov.uk/tb-test-visa/countries-where-you-need-a-tb-test-to-enter-the-uk
For more information about Tuberculosis testing, visit the GOV.UK website:
https://www.gov.uk/tb-test-visa
How long will my application take?
The UK Government aims to decide 90% of standard applications within 15 working days.
Depending on the post you apply to, there may also be the option of making a priority application
(within 5 working days) or a super priority application (within one working day).
You can find out how long it is currently taking the UK visa application centre or section you are
applying to, to decide applications on the following UK Visas & Immigration website:
https://visa-processingtimes.homeoffice.gov.uk/
The information on this website indicates the situation one month ago and may not represent the
current processing times. For example, from July onwards Visa Application Centres become
increasingly busy as students make their applications to start programmes in September.
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UKCISA have written guidance on applying using the Online application form, which you can read
by going to this link: http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/International-Students/Immigration-/Making-a-Tier-4General-application-in-the-UK/Submitting-your-application
The fee:
439 for a postal application (The Home Office states that it usually takes 4 to 14 weeks to
decide an application plus additional time for postage and to register your biometric details.)
839 for an in person application (You will normally receive a decision on the same day, but
you will need to make an appointment in advance. You will normally receive your plastic
Biometric Immigration Document card with your new immigration permission in 3-5 days.)
Belfast
Cardiff
Croydon (this is the closest to QMUL and is about an hour from the Mile End campus by
public transport) [Directions]
Glasgow
Liverpool
Sheffield
Solihull
You can try to book your appointment when you pay for your online application. Be aware that
during busy periods, appointments may not be available.
Deadline for posting your documents or attending your appointment
If you use the Tier 4 Student online application form, you must submit your online application form at
the very latest before midnight on the day your immigration permission expires. If you have
selected the standard service, you then have a further 15 working days to post your documents to
the Home Office. If you have selected the premium service, you must attend an appointment within
45 working days.
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Warning: if you use the Tier 4 Student online application form and you need to show
funds, you must have held your funds (see next section) for the 28 days before you
submit and pay for your application online.
If you are posting your supporting documents via Royal Mail, you must post them on or before the
15th working day after you submitted your online immigration application. If you are using a private
courier company, they must deliver your supporting documents to the Home Office on or before
the 15th working day after you submitted your online immigration application.
Photographs
You must submit two UK passport sized photograph taken within the last month. You can read a
summary of the requirements here: https://www.gov.uk/photos-for-passports
Warning: in the
UK, one of the most
common reasons
why applications are retuned as
invalid is because an applicants
photographs do not meet the
requirements.
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Translations
If a document is not in either English or Welsh, you will also need to provide an English translation
of the document. Paragraph 16 of the Tier 4 policy guidance explains the requirements for
translations for students who are applying in the UK:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-application-for-uk-visa-as-tier-4-student
If you are making an immigration application in the UK, please note that a translated document you
have previously successfully used may not meet the Home Office requirements for applications made
in the UK. The translation requirements for applications made in the UK are not the same for
applications made overseas.
Submitting your application before you have enrolled
If you are moving between courses at QMUL you need to have submitted your online immigration
application before you can enrol for the new course. You then have 15 working days to post your
documents to the Home Office from the date of submitting your online application. You are advised
to take your required documents to enrolment, including a copy of the printed cover sheet from
your online application, before you post the required documents to the Home Office.
If for any reason you need to post your documents to the Home Office before you enrol, you must
take your passport and qualifications to the Student Enquiry Centre (Ground Floor, Queens
Building) so that they can take copies of your documents. If the Student Enquiry Centre have not
taken a copy of your documents and you are unable to provide them because they are at the Home
Office, you will not be able to fully enrol.
Biometrics
Before your immigration application is processed, you will need to register your biometric details (A
scan of your finger prints and digital photograph of your face).
If you post your immigration application, the Home Office will write to you to invite you to book an
appointment to register your biometric details. There are a number of places where you can choose
to go to register your biometrics details. You can register your biometric details at selected Post
Offices (currently Post Offices charge 19.20 for the service. You will need to pay by cash or debit
card: credit cards are not accepted). The letter inviting you to register your biometric details will
explain how to book your appointment and will give you details of the places where you can go. You
should normally receive this letter within 15 days from the date you submitted your application to
the Home Office. For more information about providing your biometric details at a Post Office, see:
http://www.postoffice.co.uk/counter-services/passport-identity/biometric-enrolment-foreignnationals
If you are submitting your application in person at a Premium Service Centre, your biometric details
will be recorded when you submit your application.
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This is a national rate number and you can use any call allowance included in your phone contract.
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Maintenance
Maintenance is the money you will need for your accommodation and other living expenses while
you are studying in the UK.
Reduced maintenance requirement
In some circumstances, you may be able to show a reduced amount of money for your maintenance
if you have an established presence in the UK.
Paragraph 14 of Appendix C of the Immigration Rules explains when a student will be considered to
have an established presence and can benefit from the reduced maintenance requirement:
14. An applicant will have an established presence studying in the UK if the applicant has
current entry clearance, leave to enter or leave to remain as a Tier 4 migrant, Student or as a
Postgraduate Doctor or Dentist and at the date of application:
(i) has finished a single course that was at least six months long within the applicant's last
period of entry clearance, leave to enter or leave to remain, or
(ii) is applying for continued study on a single course where the applicant has completed at
least six months of that course.
(iii) is applying for leave to remain as a Tier 4 (General) Student on the Doctorate Extension
Scheme
You will not have an established presence if:
Your current immigration permission is in another immigration category (E.g. Tier 1 Post
Study Work, or as a dependant); or
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Your immigration permission has run out (E.g. because it has been cut-short or it has
expired); or
You did not complete your previous programme and you have not studied at least six
months of your new/current programme; or
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You are re-sitting out of attendance and your previous immigration permission has run out
(E.g. because your immigration permission expired or you had Tier 4 Student immigration
and this was cut-short). If you are not sure if your Tier 4 Student immigration permission
has been cut-short, you should show the full amount of money for maintenance.
Length of programme
You will need to show that you have 1,020 for each remaining month of your programme up to a
maximum of nine months (or two months if you meet the reduced maintenance requirement).
You need to check your CAS statement for the start and end dates of your programme, to calculate
the remaining length. If your CAS states that your programme starts or finishes part way through a
month, you need to include the whole of that month when you calculate how long the remainder of
your programme is.
Depending on the remaining length of your programme on the day that you apply, you will need to
show:
Remaining length
of programme in
months
Full maintenance
requirement
Reduced maintenance
requirement
1,020
1,020
2,040
2,040
3,060
2,040*
4,080
2,040*
5,100
2,040*
6,120
2,040*
7,140
2,040*
8,160
2,040*
9,180
2,040*
10
9,180
2,040*
If you qualify for the reduced maintenance requirement and your programme is longer than two months, the
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Things you can deduct from the amount you need to show for your maintenance
Money you have already paid to QMUL for your accommodation
If you will be living in QMUL halls of residences you can deduct up to a maximum of 1,020 of the
money paid to QMUL for accommodation for the year from the amount you need to show
towards your maintenance.
If you have paid more than 1,020 you can still only deduct 1,020 from the amount you need to
show for maintenance.
The amount you have paid should be shown in your CAS statement.
You can only use evidence that you have paid money for accommodation, if you have paid the
money to QMUL or the University of London. You cannot use money paid to other accommodation
providers.
Official financial sponsorship
If you will be receiving money for living expenses from any of the following:
An international organisation
An international company the Home Office has previously stated that they regard this as
meaning a company with presence in more than one country. The Home Office will try and
verify this themselves e.g. by checking company stationery or websites
An independent school
Then you can deduct the amount you will receive for the year from the amount you need to show
for maintenance.
If you will be receiving money for your living expenses from QMUL, this should be detailed in your
CAS statement.
If your living expenses will be paid directly to you, you will need to provide a letter from the
organisation as proof. Paragraph 199 of the Tier 4 policy guidance explains the requirements for the
letter:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-application-for-uk-visa-as-tier-4-student
Warning: If you are receiving or have received sponsorship in the last 12 months
from a government or an international scholarship agency which covers/covered
both your tuition fees and your living expenses, you must provide a letter from your
sponsor confirming that they give their consent for your immigration application. If you do not
provide this letter, your application will be refused.
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Tuition fees
You must be able to show that you have the money to pay for your tuition fees for the year. Your
CAS statement should show how much you must pay for the year.
Definition of the year
If your programme is one year or longer, the Home Office will assess your finances based on an
academic year. The academic year that the Home Office will use to assess your finances will depend
on your situation, when your CAS is issued:
If you are applying part way through an academic year then it is the current academic year
If you are applying between academic years (E.g. during summer holidays) then it is the next
academic year.
An international organisation
An international company the Home Office has previously stated that they regard this as
meaning a company with presence in more than one country. The Home Office will try and
verify this themselves e.g. by checking company stationery or websites
An independent school
You can deduct the amount you will receive for the year from the amount you need to show for
your tuition fees. Depending on how your sponsorship is arranged, your sponsorship may be
detailed in your CAS statement or you may need a letter from the organisation providing your
Applying for Tier 4 (General) Student immigration permission
Last revised 10 April 2015
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sponsorship. Paragraph 199 of the Tier 4 policy guidance explains the requirements for the letter:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-application-for-uk-visa-as-tier-4-student
Study abroad (associate) students
If you are a study abroad student and your home institution is paying your tuition fees, your CAS
should state that the tuition fee payable by you is 0.00, in which case, you will not need to show
that you have any money for your tuition fees. If your home institution will also be paying for your
accommodation at QMUL, this should also be detailed in your CAS statement.
PhD students writing up
If you are a PhD student and you are applying for time to write up, there is no fee. On your
application form you will need to enter 0.00 as your course fees. If you are making your application
in the UK, you should select no to the question Have you or your parent(s)/legal guardian(s)
already paid any of your course fees? as you have no fees to pay.
I still need to show some money for my tuition fees and/or maintenance
Warning: one of the most common reasons for immigration applications
being refused is because an applicants financial evidence does not meet the
requirements of the Home Office policy guidance. Please read this section
very carefully to ensure you meet the financial requirements.
If you have not been able to deduct all of your tuition fees and maintenance (see above), then you
will need to show that you have enough money to cover the remaining amount.
Whose money can I show?
You can only show money held:
Your parent(s) (you will need to include your birth certificate with your application)
Your adopted parent(s) (you will need to provide your adoption certificate with your
application)
Your legal guardian (you will need to provide a court document that confirms the
appointment of your legal guardian)
If you are from a country where birth certificates are not issued, the Home Office will accept
another type of official document such as a government-issued household register. They will not,
however, accept an affidavit, even one sworn before a court.
If you are using money held by your parent(s) or legal guardian, you will also need to provide a letter
from them confirming that they will allow you to use this money. Full details of the requirements for
this evidence can be found in paragraphs 208-210 of the Tier 4 policy guidance:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-application-for-uk-visa-as-tier-4-student
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A bank or building society statement (see sample statement on the next page)
A letter from your bank confirming your funds have been held for 28 days
A letter from a regulated financial institution confirming that you have a loan that is provided
by the national government, the state or regional government or a government sponsored
student loan company, or that is part of an academic or educational loans scheme. (If you
have obtained a loan from a different source (such as from a bank) in order to finance your
studies then you must transfer the funds into your own bank account (or that of your
parents or legal guardian) and wait 28 days before using one of the other forms of evidence
listed above.)
Certificates of deposits
These are not listed in the Immigration Rules or policy guidance as acceptable, but the guidance the
Home Office issues to its staff states that a certificate can be accepted if it meets the following
requirements:
the certificate of deposit must have been issued within 31 days of the date of application
at least 28 days must have elapsed between the date of the deposit and the date of issue of
the certificate; and
there must be no wording on the document which indicates the funds are frozen or
otherwise inaccessible.
Banks outside the UKYou can use a statement from an account in a bank which is not in the UK.
The Home Office uses the currency converter on the Oanda website (http://www.oanda.com) to
look up the exchange rate on the date you submit your immigration application. If your account is
not in pounds sterling then you will need to check that, according to that conversion rate, your
account(s) show that you have held enough money for the 28 day period.
The Home Office has very strict requirements regarding the documents they will accept as evidence
of the money available to you. There are some financial institutions which do not cooperate with the
Home Office and the Home Office will not consider evidence from these financial institutions. A list
of these financial institutions can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-rules-appendix-p
This list is frequently updated, so you may find that a document from a financial institution
that was previously accepted, may not be accepted when you make a new immigration
application.
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If you are using a bank statement or statements, make sure that it has the following
features:
statement
Mr J Smith
banks
name and
30/06/2014
Your
A BANK
00-00-00 12345678
logo
Date
Type
Value
Balance
01/06
Opening Balance
05/06
09/06
Cash
DD Phone
-200.00
-48.20
2800.00
2751.80
13/06
26/06
500.00
-120.00
3251.80
-12.00
-57.00
3119.80
29/06
Cinema
Travel tickets
-42.00
30/06
B shop
Closing Balance
3020.80
3020.80
3000.00
It is a good idea to use a highlighter pen to indicate each of the above features on your bank
statement, so the Caseworker or Entry Clearance Officer can easily see that your statement meets
the requirements.
Warning: one of the most common reasons why Tier 4 (General)
applications are refused is because an applicants financial evidence does
not meet the requirements of the policy guidance. Carefully check your
documents against the Home Office policy guidance to make sure this does not
happen to you.
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your course end date is postponed for a period of more than three calendar months
there are any substantive changes to the contents of your course or to your research
proposal
This is a QMUL requirement for all students, and it is also an immigration condition for those who applied
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statements). Your Tier 4 application should be fully complete with all supporting documents
submitted within the 15 or 45 working days.
If you will not be able to obtain documents within the 15 or 45 working days deadline, that
demonstrate that you met the Tier 4 requirements on the date of your online application, you
should return to your home country before your current immigration permission expires. Once you
can meet the requirements for a Tier 4 application, you can apply at home, without overstaying your
immigration permission in the UK. You will need to consider:
The time this process will take and how that may affect your studies. You will need to
discuss this with your academic school and check that they agree to you leaving the UK for
the required amount of time. If they dont, you will need to consider interrupting your
studies.
If you can meet the Tier 4 requirements on the date of application, but you cannot obtain all of the
required documents within the 15 or 45 working days deadline, you can either return home and
apply from there (see above), or submit your online application before your current immigration
permission expires. If your late document is an ATAS certificate, in the online application you will
need to write something in the box What is your Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS)
reference number?. You can write something like Awaiting decision - see covering letter.
If you apply in the UK and dont have all of the required documents, you have two options:
1. In your online application, choose to apply in person (note this is a lot more expensive). This
gives you the longest amount of time (up to 45 working days) to attend an appointment at
the Home Office at which you will need to produce all of the required documents, or
2. Choose a postal application. This only gives you 15 working days to post all of the required
documents to the Home Office. If some of your documents are missing, this means
that your application will be incomplete, and could be refused on this basis.
However you can try writing a covering letter to send with your application, explaining
which document is missing, why it is missing (for example, you are still waiting for the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office to process your ATAS application), that you still have
not received it and that you will forward it to the Home Office as soon as you do. When
you get the late document, send it to the correspondence address on your application cover
sheet (the address is slightly different to the address where you sent your passport and
other supporting documents).
When you send your documents, make sure you use Royal Mail Recorded or Special delivery post
so you can prove when the Home Office received your documents.
Applying for Tier 4 (General) Student immigration permission
Last revised 10 April 2015
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A caseworker will not normally make a decision on your application until you have registered your
biometric details.
Please note that a caseworker may not wait for you to send your late documents. They can make a
decision based on the documents that are available to them. If this means that your application does
not meet the requirements, your application will be refused. If your application is refused you could:
Challenge the decision if you can show that the Home Office had all the documents on the
day of the decision or the caseworker didnt follow the Home Office policy guidance (see
below).
Attempt to make a new and complete application in the UK. If you stay in the UK after your
immigration permission has expired you would be in the UK illegally. Your new immigration
application will normally be refused if you have stayed in the UK for more than 28 days
before making your application. Please see the next section, What will happen if I make a late
application.
Return home to make a new application. If this would take a long time you may need to
interrupt your studies. If you stay in the UK for more than 90 days after your immigration
permission expires, you could be banned from making an immigration application to return
to the UK for at least one year from the date you leave the UK.
See the section of this Advice Guide called What to do if things go wrong for more information
about refused and invalid applications.
Home Office policy guidance on missing documents
The Home Office states in paragraph 19 of their Tier 4 Policy Guidance that:
If you have submitted specified documents in which:
Some of the documents in a sequence have been omitted (for example, if one bank statement
from a series is missing);
- A document is in the wrong format (for example, if a letter is not on letterhead paper as
specified); or
- A document is a copy and not an original document; or
- A document does not contain all of the specified information;
we may contact you or your representative in writing, and request the correct documents.
We must receive the requested documents at the address specified in the request within 7
working days of the date of the request. We will not ask for further information where we do
not anticipate that a correction of minor errors or omissions will lead to an approval or where a
specified document has been completely omitted.
You will still need to have met the requirements under Tier 4 on the date you submit your
application. If you are unable to provide the required documents in the required format by the
Home Offices deadline, your application may be refused. You can access the Home Office Policy
Guidance on this webpage:
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https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-application-for-uk-visa-as-tier-4-student
Note: even though the Policy Guidance explains that a Caseworker may contact you, this might not
happen and your application could still be refused on the basis of missing or incorrect documents. If
you are aware that a document is missing, or is in the wrong format, or is not an original, we do not
recommend that you wait for Home Office to contact you. Instead, you should try and send it to the
Home Office at the earliest opportunity (see above).
What will happen if I make a late application?
If you cannot meet the Tier requirements by the expiry date of your current immigration
permission, you may be considering overstaying your permission and making a late application to the
Home Office. You need to consider the following:
You would be in the UK illegally if you stay in the UK after your immigration permission
expires and you have not made a valid immigration application (submitted the online
application) before it expired.
If the authorities become aware that you are overstaying (e.g. if you were in a car that was
stopped by the police) you could be detained and possibly removed from the UK. Your new
immigration application will normally be refused if you have stayed in the UK for more than
28 days before making your application. If your late application is refused or invalid, you may
be required to leave the UK. If you stayed in the UK for more than 90 days after your
immigration permission expired, you could be banned from making an entry clearance
application to return to the UK for up to one year from the date you left the UK. Note: even
if the reason why you stayed for more than 90 days was because the Home Office took this time to
make a decision, you could still be banned.
You would have to declare that you have overstayed in any UK immigration application. The
online Tier 4 application form asks if you have overstayed, and asks you to explain why.
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Evidence that you have the required funds for your studies
2.
Evidence of your previous qualifications (as listed in the Evidence used section of your
CAS statement)
Instead, you will need to declare that you have access to this evidence.
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Applying in the UK
If you are one of the above nationals and you are applying in the UK, the online application form will
automatically work out which documents you are required to submit with your immigration
application. The form will recognise that due to your nationality you qualify for differentiation
arrangements, and it will not prompt you to provide evidence of your finances or your academic
certificates or transcripts.
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Application checklist
Use the following checklist to make sure that you are ready to submit your immigration application:
You have evidence of a tuberculosis test (if you are required to provide this)
You have your UK Biometric Immigration Document card (if you have been issued with
one)
You have your police registration certificate (if your immigration permission requires
you to register with the police). If you are required to register with the police, you
must register any new immigration permission and any changes of address within 7
days. You should take extra care to make sure your registration certificate is up-to-date
before submitting your immigration application.
If you have not yet enrolled, ensure that you have shown your passport and
qualifications to the Student Enquiry Centre (Ground Floor, Queens Building) and
copies have been taken of these documents. If the Student Enquiry Centre have not
taken a copy of your documents and you are unable to provide them because they are
at the Home Office, you will not normally be able to fully enrol.
All applicants
All the information in your CAS is correct (check your CAS statement)
Your CAS is less than six months old (your CAS statement should state when it was
issued)
Your CAS statement explains how QMUL has assessed your English language ability,
and how QMUL has assessed your academic progression
You have evidence of your qualifications (if listed in your CAS) and these are in English
or you have official English translations*
You should not provide this if you qualify as a low risk national (see previous section)
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You have permission from your parents (if you are 16 or 17)
You have evidence of your finances which you have checked meets the requirements of
the Home Office policy guidance*
You should not provide this if you qualify as a low risk national (see previous section)
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you are a government-sponsored student and you are studying a programme at any level,
which is more than 6 months long.
There are transitional measures for partners and children who already have immigration permission
to join you in the UK.
In this context, partner includes:
Husband or wife
A partner who you have been living with for at least two years in a relationship similar to
marriage or civil partnership
The UK immigration rules state that you and your husband, wife or partner must be 18 or older on
the date when they arrive in the UK.
Your children must either be:
under 18; or
if they already have immigration permission as your dependant, they must not have formed
an independent life.
For children to be granted immigration permission as a dependant, in most cases, both parents must
also be in the UK or plan to travel to the UK with them, unless there are serious and compelling
reasons for only one parent being here. If you think this applies to you and your family, you may like
to get specialist immigration advice to see if you would have a strong case before you apply.
You will need to show that you have additional money to support your dependants.
There is more information on the GOV.UK website:
https://www.gov.uk/tier-4-general-visa/family-members
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Further information
You can find more information about the requirements and how to apply for immigration permission
for your family on the UKCISA website:
http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/International-Students/Immigration-/Dependants/
Warning: The immigration rules changed several times. Even if you have
applied with your dependents before, you may find that you are unable to
apply under the new rules or that the requirements have changed.
If you have questions after reading this information, see the section in this guide Where can I get
further information and assistance?
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Check all the details are correct. See the section Error on an Entry Clearance issued outside of the
UK below. When you travel to the UK, the immigration officer at the airport/seaport/Eurostar
terminal will stamp your sticker (see example above).
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Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4
You will be issued a temporary Entry Clearance Sticker, which will be valid for 31 days. You will
then need to collect your Biometric Identity Document from a Post Office within 10 days of arriving
in the UK.
You can read more about the new scheme here: http://ukcisa.org.uk/studentnews/409/Immigrationprocedures-after-arrival-will-change-in-future
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Postal applications
If you submitted your application online, the Home Office will post your documents to you with a
letter telling you if your application has been successful. The Home Office aim to decide most postal
applications within eight weeks of the date they received your application.
Your immigration permission will be issued as a separate plastic card called a Biometric Immigration
Document (see below). This will be sent to you separately and may arrive before or after you
receive your passport and other documents.
Biometric Immigration Documents
If you apply for immigration permission in the UK, you will be issued with a Biometric Immigration
Document. Your permit will look like this:
Length of immigration
permission to be granted
after studies
studies
Any programme which is at
least 12 months long
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1 month
4 months
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Length and type of
programme of studies
Length of immigration
permission to be granted
after studies
1 month
2 months
1 month
1 month
7 days
7 days
A pre-sessional programme
which is less than six
months long
A programme which is not a
pre-sessional programme
and is less than six months
long
If you are re-sitting or interrupting your programme, it is our understanding that the Caseworker or
Entry Clearance Officer should work out the total length of your programme when deciding how
much additional time to grant. For the caseworker or Entry Clearance Officer to be able to work
this out, the original start date of your programme must be detailed in your CAS (under the
Evidence provided field).
Correcting an error
Check your CAS statement
Check the dates on your CAS statement. If you have been granted the wrong length of immigration
permission because of an error on your CAS statement the Home Office will not normally correct
the error. Instead, you will need to apply for a new CAS statement and make a new immigration
application for the correct length of immigration permission.
Error on an Entry Clearance issued outside of the UK
If you checked your CAS statement and can see that an error has been made on your Entry
Clearance sticker, contact the visa section or centre that issued your immigration permission. If you
are unable to do this before you need to travel to the UK, bring a copy of your Entry Clearance
sticker and your CAS statement to the Advice and Counselling Service at QMUL. One of our
Welfare Advisers will contact you with further advice on correcting the error.
Error on a Biometric Immigration Document issued in the UK
If you have not been granted enough immigration permission from within the UK, or if the
conditions of your permission are not correct (e.g. your working hours are wrong, or you have been
incorrectly required to register with the police), you can ask for this to be corrected. How you do
this depends on when you applied for your immigration permission:
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You must submit an Administrative Review to the Home Office ask for this to be
corrected. You must do this within 14 days of the date you received the decision
letter that came with your passport. Contact the Advice and Counselling Service for
further advice. The Administrative Review procedure is also explained on the GOV.UK
website:
https://www.gov.uk/ask-for-a-visa-administrative-review/if-youre-in-the-uk
Afghanistan
Iraq
Russia
Algeria
Israel
Saudi Arabia
Argentina
Jordan
Sudan
Armenia
Kazakhstan
Syria
Azerbaijan
Kuwait
Tajikistan
Bahrain
Kyrgyzstan
Tunisia
Belarus
Lebanon
Turkey
Bolivia
Libya
Turkmenistan
Brazil
Moldova
United Arab
China
Morocco
Colombia
North Korea
Ukraine
Cuba
Oman
Uzbekistan
Egypt
Palestine
Yemen
Georgia
Peru
Emirates
Iran
Qatar
You may also be required to register with the Police if you hold a Hong Kong SAR passport, a
Macao SAR passport, or a Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus passport or travel document.
Your immigration sticker or Biometric Immigration Document card should state Register with
Police within seven days or similar. However, if your immigration sticker or card doesnt include
this requirement, then it is our understanding that you dont need to register with the police, even if
you are a national of one of the countries listed above.
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If you are not a national of one of the countries listed above, but your sticker or card says you must
register with the Police, this is probably a mistake. Take a copy of your sticker or card to the Advice
and Counselling Service at QMUL. One of our Welfare Advisers will contact you with further advice
on correcting the error.
How do I register with the police?
If you are living in the London Metropolitan Police Area
If you are living in the London Metropolitan Police Area you will need to register with the Overseas
Visitors Records Office when you arrive in the UK.
You will also need to register with the Overseas Visitors Records Office if you are issued with new
immigration permission while in the UK.
If you change your address you will need to update your Police Registration Certificate, but you can
do this at your local police station.
There is information on the Advice and Counselling Service website, including special arrangements
for police registration at the start of the academic year:
http://www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/international/immigration/police/index.html
More details, including the location and opening times of the Overseas Visitors Records
Office, can be found on the Metropolitan Police website:
http://www.met.police.uk/overseas_visitors_records_office/ If you are living outside the
London Metropolitan Police Area
If you are living outside the London Metropolitan Police Area, contact your local Police Station for
information on how to register.
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Your completed application forms (a copy of your online application form, or paper form
VAF9 and Appendix 8)
Any other documents you were required to submit with your application
You can either scan your documents and e-mail them to welfare@qmul.ac.uk or fax them to us on
+44 (0) 20 7882 7013. If you are scanning your documents make sure your scans are high enough
resolution so that we can read your documents, but not so large that they will be returned by our email servers. We recommend that your scanned pages should not be more than 300KB per page.
Once we have a received your documents and details one of the Welfare Advisers in the Advice and
Counselling Service will review your documents and will then email you a Client Care Letter which
will explain if your refusal is correct or not and what your options are now.
If you are clear about the reasons for your refusal, you can use this guide to help you submit a new
application. If you are unclear why your application was refused, you may prefer to wait for a
Welfare Adviser to reply to you before deciding what to do next.
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If your immigration application has not yet been decided, it will be refused, as your CAS will
no longer be valid.
If your immigration application has been granted, but you have not yet travelled to the UK,
your immigration permission is likely to be cancelled. If you try to travel to the UK, you are
likely to be refused entry at the airport, seaport or rail station.
If your immigration application has been granted and you are already in the UK, the Home
Office should curtail (cut short) your immigration permission to 60 days. During these 60
days you can travel home or try to find a new programme and make a new Tier 4 (General)
Student application to start that programme.
If you are a new student and you will not be able to arrive in time for your programme, please
contact the admissions team at QMUL dealing with your application to QMUL to see if it is possible
to defer your offer of a place until next year. The contact details for the appropriate admissions
team will be listed in correspondence related to your admission at QMUL.
If you are a continuing student you may need to interrupt your studies. See our guide Resitting,
interrupting or leaving your course - a guide for international students
http://www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/international/leaving/index.html for more information.
If you are returning to the UK for re-sit examinations you may need to submit extenuating
circumstances if you are going to miss your exams. See the Advice and Counselling Service guide
Extenuating Circumstances http://www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/publications/studentadvice/index.html
for more information.
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What do I do if the Immigration Officer refuses to let me into the UK when I arrive?
If you are refused entry to the UK when you arrive, you should seek immigration advice
immediately.
If you are arriving at Heathrow airport during QMULs arrivals weekend in September, the
International Office will have provided you with a contact number for our staff at the airport.
You can contact the Advice and Counselling Service on +44 (0) 20 7882 8717 during office hours
(our opening times are listed on our website)
Outside of our office hours, please leave a message on our answer phone with the following
information:
Your name
We will review your message and try to help you when our office opens on the next working day.
Alternatively, you can use the search facility on the Immigration Law Practitioners Association
website to find an immigration solicitor: www.ilpa.org.uk
welfare.qmul.ac.uk
busy periods it make take the Home Office some time to scan your documents, so you may receive
this letter even if you can see from your postal tracking information that the Home Office have
received your documents many days before the letter was sent. If your postal tracking information
shows that the Home Office received your documents, you can ignore this letter.
Once your documents have been scanned, the Home Office will send you a letter inviting you to
register your biometric information.
My application has been returned to me as invalid. What should I do?
If your application is returned to you as invalid, the Home Office will return your documents to you,
with a letter telling you why your application was invalid, for example you failed to provide a
mandatory document, or your passport photographs do not meet the Home Office requirements. If
you were not contacted by a caseworker to give you an opportunity to submit a missing mandatory
document before your application was returned as invalid (see previous section) please contact a
Welfare Adviser in the Advice and Counselling Service.
If your current immigration permission has not yet expired you can make a new immigration
application. If it has taken the Home Office some time to return your application, you may need to
provide updated documents. For example, you may need to provide new bank statements if the ones
you originally submitted are now more than 31 days old, or new photos if yours are now more than
1 month old. You should also check to make sure that you are using the current version of the Tier
4 guidance. Normally, your CAS should not have been used by the Home Office if your application
was returned to you as invalid. As long as it has not been used and is now not more than six months
old, you can use the same CAS for a new immigration application, and you do not need to apply for
a new one from QMUL. You should also confirm with the Academic Registry (e-mail
casinfo@qmul.ac.uk or telephone +44 (0) 20 7882 5005) that the Home Office caseworker did not
use your CAS, just to be sure. If it has been used, you will need to request a new one from QMUL
as a CAS can only be used once.
If the Home Office has taken the application fee, they will usually post you a cheque as a refund.
If your immigration permission has now expired, see the section, Have you overstayed in the UK?
below.
If your application has been incorrectly returned as invalid
If your application is returned as invalid, but the reason given is not correct or not clear, you can
contact a Welfare Adviser in the Advice and Counselling Service who may be able to seek
clarification from the Home Office.
Refusals: if you have made an in time application, which has been refused, see the section My
application has been refused, what can I do? below.
Have you overstayed in the UK?
Overstaying in the UK means being in the UK without immigration permission. Overstaying may
have implications for all future immigration applications, both within the UK and overseas. You may
have overstayed if:
Applying for Tier 4 (General) Student immigration permission
Last revised 10 April 2015
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You did not make a new immigration application on or before the date your current
immigration permission expired or was curtailed (cut short by the Home Office), or
You made a new immigration application on or before the date your current immigration
permission expired, but it was returned as invalid, and your permission has now expired, or
You made a new immigration application on or before the date your current immigration
permission expired, but it was refused and you did not submit an appeal or request an
administrative review by the relevant deadline.
Please note: if you received the letter from the Home Office more than two business days* after
the date on the letter, keep your postmarked envelope as evidence and contact The Advice and
Counselling Service for advice.
When did I start overstaying?
If you did not make an immigration application on or before the date your immigration
permission expired you are considered to be overstaying from the date your immigration
permission expired
If you made an immigration application on or before the date your immigration permission
expired, but your application was returned as invalid, you are considered to be overstaying
from two business days* after the date on the letter from the Home Office informing you
that your application was invalid
If you made an immigration application on or before the date your immigration permission
expired, but your application was refused and you choose not to appeal or submit an
administrative review, you are considered to be overstaying from the day after your appeal
or administrative review deadline.
Return home before you have stayed in the UK for more than 90 days, and make an
application for entry clearance to return to the UK. As your immigration permission has
already expired, you will not meet the Home Offices definition of having an established
presence in the UK, so you will need to meet the higher maintenance requirements. Also,
you will need to check your academic school will approve this absence from your studies, to
go home and make a new immigration application. If not, you might need to consider an
Interruption of Studies (http://www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/international/leaving/index.html)
2.
Make a further immigration application to stay in the UK The Home Office will consider
applications from people who have overstayed in the UK for less than 28 days, however this
is a potentially risky option as it could take the Home Office a long time to consider your
new application. If your new application is refused and you had, by then, overstayed for
* Business days are any days which are not a Saturday, Sunday or a UK bank holiday.
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more than 28 days, and you try to make a further application in the UK, it will normally be
automatically refused. If your new application is refused and you have overstayed for more
than 90 days, and you try to make an entry clearance application overseas, this will normally
be automatically refused for 12 months following the date that you leave the UK.
Therefore if you are applying in the UK within 28 days of becoming an overstayer, it may be
advisable to apply in person at a Premium Service Centre. At some times of the year, you
may find that you are unable to get an appointment at a Premium Service Centre as there
are more people who want appointments than there are available appointment slots.
As your immigration permission has already expired, you will not meet the Home Offices
definition of having an established presence in the UK, so you will need to meet the higher
maintenance requirements.
I have overstayed in the UK for more than 28 days, but less than 90 days
Any immigration application you make in the UK will normally be automatically refused if the
applicant has overstayed for more than 28 days on the date of application. There are certain
exceptions to this rule please contact a Welfare Adviser in the Advice and Counselling Service for
advice. However, you can return home before you have overstayed for more than 90 days and make
a new application there to return to the UK. Also, you will need to check your academic school will
approve this absence from your studies, to go home and make a new immigration application. If not,
you might need to consider an Interruption of Studies
(http://www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/international/leaving/index.html)
Please note that if you are in the UK and you have overstayed for more than 28 days, our
understanding is that the Academic Registry will not normally issue you with a CAS as you will not
be able to make a successful immigration application in the UK (unless you have extenuating
circumstances see above). You will normally have to leave the UK before the Academic Registry
will issue you with a CAS.
If you are overstaying because your application was returned as invalid, you should also confirm with
the Academic Registry (e-mail casrequest@qmul.ac.uk or telephone +44 (0) 20 7882 5005) at
QMUL that the caseworker did not use your CAS. If your CAS has been used, or is now more than
six months old, you will need to request a new one as a CAS can only be used once.
I have overstayed in the UK for more than 90 days
You are not able to make a new application within the UK, as you have overstayed for more than 28
days. If you stay in the UK for more than 90 days after your immigration permission has expired and
then return home, any immigration application you make to return to the UK may automatically be
refused for at least 12 months from the date you leave the UK.
Making a new application
If you are making a new application, you should check that all the documents you are providing are
still valid. Make sure that in your new application:
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Your bank statements are not more than 31 days old, and your photos are not more than
one month old
Your bank statements show you have held the specified amount of money in your account
for the 28 days leading up to the closing balance.
A copy of your Tier 4 (General) application form (you should be able to print this from your
account on the UK Visas & Immigration website)
A copy of all the documents that you sent with your application (but do not include any
documents that you did not submit with your application, as this may confuse the advice you
receive)
A copy of the pages in your passport that contain your personal details and the stamps or
stickers relating to your studies in the UK
A copy of the refusal letter that the Home Office sent you
One of the Welfare Advisers in the Advice and Counselling Service will look at these papers and we
will email you or call you within five working days to advise you whether you have grounds to
challenge the decision to refuse your application. It is unlikely that you will be able to successfully
challenge a decision if you:
54
have not provided all of the specified documents or they do not include all of the specified
information
Applying for Tier 4 (General) Student immigration permission
Last revised 10 April 2015
welfare.qmul.ac.uk
do not meet the specified requirements in order to score the required points e.g. you have
not had the specified maintenance funds for the specified period
If you do not have valid grounds to challenge the refusal, you will normally have to make a new
immigration application (see above) but a Welfare Adviser will send you a Client Care Letter by
email detailing all of your available options.
Option 3:
You can telephone UKCISA, the UK Council for International Students, for advice about your
situation. UKCISA staff are experienced in advising students about the UKs immigration regulations
and can give you advice by telephone. The service is free.
We advise you to have the documents listed above with you when you telephone, so that you can
refer to them.
The UKCISA advice line is open Monday to Friday, 1-4pm: +44 (0) 20 7788 9214.
For more information, see their website: www.ukcisa.org.uk
My application has been refused and the Home Office have kept some/all of my documents.
What can I do?
If your application is refused, and your immigration permission has expired, the Home Office will
normally keep your passport. They will normally return any other documents you sent.
If they have retained any other documents, call the UK Visas and Immigration contact centre on
0300 123 2241*
If you submit an appeal against the refusal of your Tier 4 application, the Home Office will send you
a copy of your application and all the supporting documents (including a copy of your passport),
once your appeal has been registered by the Tribunal.
If you decide to try and make a new immigration application, the application form allows you to
indicate that your passport is already at the Home Office. Select Already with UK V and I on the
online application form.
If, instead, you decide you want to leave the UK, call the Immigration Compliance and Enforcement
Team with your travel plans. You can find contact details for the team where you live here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/contact-details-for-immigration-compliance-andenforcement-teams/contact-details-for-immigration-compliance-and-enforcement-teams
This is a national rate number and you can use any call allowance included in your phone contract.
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The Immigration Compliance and Enforcement Team will then arrange for your passport and
documents to be returned to you. Your documents will usually be returned to you at the airport,
seaport or Eurostar terminal, when you leave the UK.
You should call the Immigration Compliance and Enforcement Team before you book your flights, to
make sure that they would have enough time to arrange for your passport and documents to be
returned to you.
I have posted an immigration application, but I need to travel soon. What can I do?
At certain times of the year, it can take the Home Office many months to process postal
immigration applications.
If you need to travel urgently, you can call the UK Visas and Immigration contact centre on 0300 123
2241* and explain the reasons why your situation is particularly urgent (e.g. to attend the funeral of a
relative). They may ask you to fax or e-mail your request and you should include your details and
any reference numbers connected with your immigration application.
The Home Office do not make any guarantees that they will be able to process urgent applications
more quickly.
If you cannot wait for the Home Office to process your application, you can ask to withdraw your
application. This means that the Home Office will return your application to you unprocessed. If
your immigration permission has already expired, you will be considered an overstayer (see above)
from when your application is returned to you. You will not receive a refund of your application fee.
To withdraw your immigration application, see the following page on the GOV.UK website:
https://www.gov.uk/cancel-visa. At certain times of the year (e.g. before Christmas), it can take the
Royal Mail longer than usual to deliver post. If you are going to withdraw your application, it is
important that you withdraw it in time for the Home Office to post your application back to you. It
can also take the Home Office a number of days to locate your documents and post them out to
you. You cannot, normally, collect your passport and documents from the Home Offices offices.
If you decide to withdraw your application so you can travel home, you will need to apply for entry
clearance from your home country before returning to the UK. Normally, your CAS should not
have been used by the Home Office if you withdraw your application. As long as it has not been
used and is now not more than six months old, you can use the same CAS for a new immigration
application, and you do not need to apply for a new one from QMUL. You should also confirm with
the Academic Registry (e-mail casinfo@qmul.ac.uk or telephone +44 (0) 20 7882 5005) that the
Home Office Caseworker did not use your CAS, just to be sure. If it has been used, you will need to
request a new one from QMUL as a CAS can only be used once.
This is a national rate number and you can use any call allowance included in your phone contract.
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No
9 months or longer
Tuition fees
No
No
Based on the above, they will need to show that they and/or their parents have held 9,180 for a 28
period ending not more than 31 days before they submit their immigration application
Student A has three different bank accounts, which are either in his name or his parents names. He
has obtained a bank statement for each account:
The statement for account 1 shows balances from 05/07/2014 to 19/07/2014. The opening
balance starts at 9,200, but on the 14/07/13 the balance falls to 8,200, where it remains
until the closing balance on 19/07/2014.
The statement for account 2 shows balances from 13/07/2014 to 08/08/2014. The opening
balance starts at 5,000. On the 20/07/2014 the balance rises to 8,000. On the 25/07/2014
the balance falls back down to 5,000, where it remains until the closing balance on
08/08/2014.
60
The statement for account 3 shows balances from 19/07/2014 to 05/08/2014. The balance of
this account is 4,200 for the whole period.
welfare.qmul.ac.uk
If you are using multiple bank accounts to show you have the required funds, you may find it helpful
to use spread sheet software, so you can see whats going on. Here is a spread sheet that explains
student As situation:
Date
Account 1
Account 2
Account 3
Total available
Day
05/07/2014
9,200
9,200
06/07/2014
9,200
9,200
07/07/2014
9,200
9,200
08/07/2014
9,200
9,200
09/07/2014
9,200
9,200
10/07/2014
9,200
9,200
11/07/2014
9,200
9,200
12/07/2014
9,200
9,200
13/07/2014
9,200
5,000
14,200
14/07/2014
8,200
5,000
13,200
15/07/2014
8,200
5,000
13,200
16/07/2014
8,200
5,000
13,200
17/07/2014
8,200
5,000
13,200
10
18/07/2014
8,200
5,000
13,200
11
19/07/2014
8,200
5,000
4,200
17,400
12
20/07/2014
8,000
4,200
12,200
13
21/07/2014
8,000
4,200
12,200
14
22/07/2014
8,000
4,200
12,200
15
23/07/2014
8,000
4,200
12,200
16
24/07/2014
8,000
4,200
12,200
17
25/07/2014
5,000
4,200
9,200
18
26/07/2014
5,000
4,200
9,200
19
27/07/2014
5,000
4,200
9,200
20
28/07/2014
5,000
4,200
9,200
21
29/07/2014
5,000
4,200
9,200
22
30/07/2014
5,000
4,200
9,200
23
01/08/2014
5,000
4,200
9,200
24
02/08/2014
5,000
4,200
9,200
25
03/08/2014
5,000
4,200
9,200
26
04/08/2014
5,000
4,200
9,200
27
05/08/2014
5,000
4,200
9,200
28
06/08/2014
5,000
5,000
07/08/2014
5,000
5,000
08/08/2014
5,000
5,000
Column 1 shows the date. Columns 2, 3 and 4 show the daily balances covered by each account
statement. Column 5 shows the total available balance on any day.
The box indicates the balances that the caseworker or entry clearance officer will actually consider
when making a decision on the application. Notice that the caseworker will choose to count the 28
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days back from the closing balance from account 3. The case worker will try to choose whichever
closing balance will allow student A to meet the requirements of the rules.
The end of the 28 day period must be within 31 days of the date student A makes their application.
As the end of the 28 period is 05/08/2014, student A must submit their application on or before
04/09/2014.
If student A is not a low risk national they will have to submit the bank statements for each of their
accounts with their immigration application. Because the situation is complicated, it would be helpful
to submit a copy of the spread sheet so that the caseworker or entry clearance officer can easily see
what is happening and make the correct decision.
If student A is submitting a statement from one of their parents accounts, student A will also have
to submit their birth certificate and a letter from their parents.
Remember that it is a good idea to highlight the relevant parts of your bank statements, so that the
caseworker or entry clearance officer can easily see that your documents meet the requirements.
62
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West Square
Bancroft Road
Bancroft Road
Bancroft Road
Moody Street
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Advice and
Counselling Service
Longnor Road
Bradwell Street
Harford Place
Library
Square
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Curve
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Residences
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6
7
Library 8
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The Advice and Counselling Service publishes a range of advice guides, including:
What immigration permission do I need to study at QMUL?
Applying for Tier 4 (General) Student immigration permission
Resitting, interrupting or leaving your course a guide for international students
Student Finance: loans, grants and bursaries for home and EU undergraduates
Additional sources of funding for home and EU undergraduates
Postgraduate Funding A guide for home and EU students
Resitting, interrupting or leaving your course a guide for home and EU students
Extra Money: Disability and ill health
Managing your budget and cutting costs
Money for Lone Parents
Council Tax
Part time and vacation work
Childcare
Extenuating Circumstances
Queen Mary support services
Funding for medical and dental students
You can download all our advice guides from our website:
www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/publications/studentadvice/index.html