Office Address

Global Immigration Solutions
Hiltongrove Business Centre
Hatherley Mews
London
E17 4QP
Telephone: 08707 602 641

FACT SHEETS

 

Students

The UK immigration rules allow people from overseas to come to the UK to study, as long as they meet certain requirements. All visa nationals must obtain entry clearance before travelling. Non-visa nationals do not need entry clearance if they intend to spend six months or less in the UK, but will need to apply for entry clearance before travelling if they wish to spend longer than six months in the UK.

Click here for a list of visa national countries.

The requirements to be met

Whether you are a visa or a non-visa national, to be granted entry clearance as a student you will have to show that:

  • you have been accepted for a course of study at a college or institution that is on the UK government’s approved list
  • you are able to, and intend to, follow a full-time course of study, which involves at least 15 hours of organised daytime study per week of one subject or directly related subjects
  • unless you have been accepted on a degree course, you must show that you intend to leave the UK at the end of your studies and do not intend to take employment or engage in business, apart from part-time or vacation
  • you are able to meet the costs of the course and your accommodation and living expenses without working and without recourse to public funds. It is not permitted to take your potential earnings from any part-time work in the UK into account.

Applying for entry clearance

Applications for entry clearance should be made to the British post in your country of residence. There is a prescribed form on which the application should be made. The UK authorities charge a non-refundable fee for processing applications, which is payable in local currency. The fee to process a student application is currently £200.

The time taken to process an application varies considerably between posts, and is dependent upon staffing levels and volume of work.

Applying to extend your stay in the UK as a student

If you are already in the UK it is possible, in some limited circumstances, to apply to remain here as a student. Such applications must be made on the prescribed form to the Border and Immigration Agency, and must be made before your current leave to remain in the UK expires. The Home Office currently charge £295 to process such applications.

You can apply for an extension of stay if you currently hold a student or prospective student visa, or if you are a non-visa national who wishes to study on a course at degree level or higher.

Our Services

Consultations and General Advice

If you want general advice about your immigration situation, you can make an appointment to meet with one of our lawyers. We will give you an assessment of the merits of your case and advise you on what we consider your best course of action to be. If our advice is that you can submit an application, you may decide to do this yourself, or to instruct us to take your case on and make the application on your behalf.

Making an initial application in the UK or abroad

The quality of an initial application can make the difference between the success and failure of that application. When you instruct us we will:

  • Give you an assessment of the merits of your case and advise you on the best course of action
  • Inform you of the legal requirements which you will have to meet for your application to be successful
  • Explain how the legal requirements will be interpreted by the UK authorities, based on the internal instructions given to their caseworkers
  • Complete the application form on your behalf based on the information you give us
  • Give you detailed advice about the supporting evidence that will need to be submitted along with your application
  • Submit your application form along with all evidence and with legal representations on your behalf. In the legal representations we will set out the particulars of your case and circumstances, details of the Immigration Rules under which you are asking for your application to be considered, and show how you meet the requirements of the law, or, if you do not meet the requirements, explain any compelling and compassionate circumstances and present your case in the best possible light to explain in legal terms why your application should be successful.
  • Liaise with the appropriate authorities until a decision on your application is received

Appealing against a refusal

If your application is refused by the UK authorities you will have a right to appeal against the refusal. An appeal must be lodged within very short time limits, and the appeal form must give detailed reasons for the appeal (called ‘grounds of appeal’) if the appeal is to be valid. All appeals, even those against the refusal of entry clearance abroad, are heard by an Immigration Judge sitting at the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal in the UK.

We offer two levels of service:

Grounds of Appeal
We will review your papers (initial application and supporting documents, refusal letter) and will draft detailed grounds of appeal giving legal reasons as to why your application should not have been refused, for you to submit with your appeal. We may need further information, either face-to-face or over the telephone/email, from you to enable us to do this. We have no responsibility towards you other than drafting the grounds of appeal within the strict time limits given by the UK authorities.

Representation
As well as drafting grounds of appeal we will submit your appeal to the Tribunal within the given time limit, liaise with you and any witnesses you may have who will speak for you at your hearing, liaise with the UK authorities on your behalf, and represent you before the Immigration Judge when your appeal is heard, using legal arguments, case law and the government’s own immigration rules and policies to present your case in the best possible light.