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DO I NEED A VISA TO STUDY IN THE UK?

As a non-UK passport holder or citizen, you will most likely require a student visa unless you are a citizen of a certain country coming to attend a course for less than six months. You can check your eligibility for a student visa here.

IF I HAVE A UK VISITOR (TOURIST) VISA OR CAN ENTER THE UK BASED ON THE PASSPORT I HAVE, CAN I APPLY FOR A STUDENT VISA WITHIN THE UK?

Passport holders of certain courses, undergoing certain courses, are allowed visa- free enrolment (see here). If you do not qualify, you would most certainly be required to apply for a student visa outside the UK. Which means if you are already in the UK on a tourist or any other type of visa, you would be required to leave the UK to apply for a student visa before re-entering as a student. Entering the UK with any other visa would render you ineligible for enrolment at your university.

WHAT IS THE PROCESS OF APPLYING TO STUDY IN THE UK?

  1. Apply to a University: Having decided what subject you would like to study, whittle down your choices of university to, say, half a dozen. Remember to ensure you have the requisite grades/qualification required by your universities of choice. Applying with subpar grades would only result in your application being rejected.
  2. Apply to more than one University: To boost your chances of getting accepted, it is recommended you apply to more than one University as entry into UK universities can be extremely competitive given their stellar reputation worldwide.
  3. CAS Statement: First of all, what is CAS? CAS stands for Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies. It is the electronic record that all universities must produce for the Home Office to validate a student visa application. In other words, you will not be issued a student visa unless you are issued a CAS. So you have applied to a university and, hopefully, one of your preferred institutions has sent you an offer letter. Congratulations! The next step is preparing your CAS statement. It includes all the details relevant to your studies and is sent by your sponsor (University) to UKVI (United Kingdom Visas and Immigration). Once processed, UKVI will generate a unique reference number which is unique to your application and can only be used once. If, for whatever reason, your visa is rejected, you will not be able to use your CAS number a second time. You will have to inform your University if you seek to reapply so that a new CAS number can be issue. It is very important that the information on your CAS statement is accurate and matches that on your passport and official documents. Simply put, getting a student visa is virtually impossible without your CAS statement and, in turn, CAS number. You must therefore treat it with utmost importance and attention.
  4. Visa granted. What next? You have applied and your visa has been granted (congrats, again). In applying for your visa, you would have submitted your biometrics which would constitute part of your BRP (Biometric Residence Permit). Think of a BRP as your ID card. It will contain all the information stated on your visa and, in most cases, is meant to be collected from your Post Office of choice on arrival in the UK.
  5. Collecting your BRP: Your BRP card can be collected from most Post Office branches. The UKVI website will offer a selection of branches for you to choose from. We recommend conducting a Google search to find the Post Office closest to your accommodation. If at the time of entry you have yet to secure accommodation, choose the Post Office branch closest to your University. Once in the UK, go to the chosen Post Office with your ID and you will be handed your BRP which you must keep carefully. Losing it may cost you dear.

GRADUATE VISAS

A Graduate Visa gives you permission to stay in the UK for 2 years having successfully completed a degree and 3 years having successfully completed a PHD or other doctoral qualification. Below are the qualifying criteria:

  • You must be in the UK;
  • Your current visa is a Student Visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa;
  • You studied an eligible course at undergrad or postgrad for a minimum period of time with your student visa;
  • Your education provider (University) has informed the Home Office you have successfully completed your course.

As the last point states, your University is the one to confirm with UKVI that you have successfully completed your course. Which means you are better off applying through the University. It is also imperative that you stay atop of deadlines and dates of your immigration status. Once your visa expires, even by a single day, you are deemed an overstayer and therefore ineligible for extension.

EXTENDING BEYOND A GRADUATE VISA

If you wish to stay longer in the UK, you will not be able to extend your Graduate Visa. However, you may be able to switch to a different visa such as the Skilled Worker visa. You can find more details here:

If the Skilled Worker visa does not work for you and you would like to explore other visas, you can do so here:

WORKING IN THE UK

Your visa would normally state how many hours you are allowed to work whilst a student. It has traditionally been limited to 20hrs a week which means during the academic year, you are allowed to work only 20hrs a week of gainful employment (work for which you are paid). On holidays, you may work longer hours but check that the dates for holidays are officially recognised by your course programme. Do not assume you are on holidays simply because it may be holiday season for the general public and/or because you may have completed all the work you were assigned. Holiday dates will be clearly defined in your university curriculum.