Advice for international students
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Important changes from 6 April 2012
The UKBA is increasing both the cost of applying for a Tier 4 visa and the amount of money students applying for Tier 4 visas must have available.
From 6 April 2012 the application fee for a Tier 4 visa will be £394 for the main applicant and £197 per dependant.
The amount of money that Kent students and their dependants must show in order to get a visa will increase to £800 per month for the student and £450 per dependant.
If you pay accommodation fees to the university, you will be able to deduct a maximum of £1,000 from the maintenance money you have to show when you make your application, even if you have paid more than this.
Read more about this
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We are qualified to give immigration advice to students of the University of Kent and those studying franchised courses at colleges associated with Kent . If you are not a university of Kent student, the advice on our web pages does not apply to you - please seek advice from your own college or university.
We can advise you on the following areas:
*information on applying for a Schengen (EU) visa
*working in the UK while studying
* working in the UK after your studies
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Money needed to extend your visa
Visa processing times (in UK)
Visa processing times (applications made outside UK)
Students studying sciences and technical/engineering subjects
Urgent information if your student visa has expired
Useful links
Money needed to extend your visa
All Tier 4 Student applicants must show that they have enough money to pay their course fees plus living costs in the UK.
The required amounts for living costs depend on your circumstances and whether you have what the UKBA calls an "established presence" in the UK as a student.
If you have an established presence in the UK as a student, you must show that you have enough money for your course fees for each month of your course plus £800 per month, up to a maximum of 2 months (£1,600).
You are deemed to have an established presence if:
You have current permission to stay in the UK under Tier4, as a student or as a post-grad Dr. or dentist and
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You have completed a course that was at least six months long within your last period of leave; or
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You are applying for continued study on a course and you have studied at least six months of that course.
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If you do not have an established presence in the UK as a student you must show that you have enough money for your course fees plus £800 for living costs for each month of your course, up to a maximum of 9 months (£7,200). In all cases, part months are rounded up to the end of that month.
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If you have dependants with you in the UK (husband, wife, civil partner, unmarried or same-sex partner, or child) you must submit additional application forms for each dependant. If your dependant is applying at the same time as you, the application fee for their visa is £197 for a postal application or £358 for an in person application. They will also need to show that they have sufficient funds in their bank account (a total of £900 each if you have an established presence as a student in the UK or £4050 if you do not have an established presence) when they apply, or that you have sufficient funds to support them.
If you are sponsored by an official body such as a government department or educational institution you must provide proof that your official financial sponsor has paid your fees or that your sponsorship covers fees and living costs. If you are using your own money, you must provide proof that you have paid your fees or that you have enough money to pay the fees and that you have enough money for living costs. Please refer to theUKBA Tier 4 Policy Guidance and our list of documents for more details on what documents you must provide as proof of your finances/financial sponsorship.
Not all bank statements or letters are acceptable. If your money is with a bank or other financial institution which is on the UKBA list of organisations that do not verify financial statements to the satisfaction of the UKBA, you will not be able to use that money to apply for a Tier 4 visa. Check UKBA list of acceptable and unacceptable financial institutions.
If you apply using a bank account in your parents' or guardian's name or, you must also provide documents to prove that this person is in fact your parent or guardian and a letter confirming that they consent to their funds being used by you during your studies.
You must be able to show that you have held the required maintenance funds for at least 28 days before you make your application. The closing date (this means the last transaction on your bank statement) must not be more than 31 days before the date you submit your application to the UKBA.
Due to the introduction of Tier 4 of the Points Based System and Biometric Residence Permits for all students applying to extend their visas, there can be long delays in processing visa applications. Most applications should be processed within 20 working days of the applicant's biometric appointment, but during busy periods it may take up to 6 months for your application to be processed if you apply by post via the student batch scheme. In view of this, we would encourage all students whose visas expire before the end of their current course of study to do so as soon as possible. If you are planning to travel outside the UK you will need to think carefully about when and how to apply and consider either:
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making an application in person at the UK Border Agency (the fee is higher than a postal application), or;
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leaving the UK before your current visa expires and applying for Entry Clearance from your home country (you will need to take all of the necessary documents with you and make sure that they are up to date at the time of your application).
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If you wish to apply in person, you will need to book an appointment online. If you need an appointment urgently, try on a Thursday, as that is when cancelled appointments become available.
We advise you to pay the application fee by Postal Order or Banker's Draft to avoid payment problems.
Please contact the student advice centre so that we can advise you on the best option for you and let you know if you are able to make an application now.
Download a Tier 4 application form from the UK Border Agency and read the Policy Guidance notes.
Read/download photo guidance
Download an application form(s) for your dependant(s) from the UK Border Agency and read the Policy Guidance notes.
Read information from UKCISA on making a student visa application in the UK
UK Border Agency Guide to visa application processing times
Information and guidance on applying for a Tier 4 visa in your home country.
If you are a Masters or PhD student and you are studying a subject which is on one of the lists under the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) , you must get a clearance certificate before submitting your visa application.
Undergraduate students on courses leading to a Masters degree also need an ATAS certificate if their course is on one of the FCO lists. It currently takes up to 20 working days to obtain the certificate, so we recommend that you apply at least 6 weeks before you submit your visa application.
You can find out if your course is on one of the lists by visiting the ATAS pages at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website - you will need the JACS code for the course to do this. Please note that the Admissions Office will tell you if you need an ATAS certificate for your course and will send you relevant details, including the JACS code.
If you are making an appliction to extend your visa to finish a course you have already started, you will need to get a new ATAS certificate, even if you submitted one at the start of your course.
If you are making an immigration application solely in order to write up your thesis, take your viva or resit exams and your previous visa was issued on or before 30 November 2007 , you do not need an ATAS certificate to extend your visa. If your visa was issued after 30 November 2007 you will need an ATAS certificate. (Please refer to the FCO information and paragraphs 127-132 of the UKBA Policy Guidance for details.)
If you are undertaking a period of study or research in the UK for 6 months or more, and that study or research in the UK forms part of your postgraduate qualification in another country, you must apply for an ATAS clearance certificate if you are studying any of the subjects listed on the FCO website under the heading Visiting research student.
'Overstayers' are people who have come to the end of their immigration permission to be in the UK and who have remained here without applying to renew it. It is a criminal offence to remain in the UK without valid immigration leave.
If you make an application to renew your visa after it has expired you will not have the right to appeal if the UK Border Agency refuses to extend it.
If you overstay for more than 28 days, any UK immigration application you make is likely to be refused automatically and you may be barred from coming back to the UK for at least 12 months (and in some cases five or ten years). Contact us for advice before making an immigration application if you are an overstayer.
Overstays of 6 months or more are considered to be especially serious: if you have already overstayed for 6 months or more, you should contact us immediately and we will refer you on for urgent advice from an immigration specialist. Do not contact the UK Border Agency without getting advice first.
University of Kent International Office
UK Border Agency/Home Office