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20 January 2009
New UK student visa rules soon to come into effect
As of March 2009, the UK Home Office will expect applications for international students to study in the UK to abide by the new rules for immigration.
Last year, the UK Home Office introduced a new system for UK immigration that requires UK visa applications to be assessed against a points-based system. As of March 2009, all new applications for and applications for extensions to a UK student visa will need to pass a points-based assessment through the new student tier (tier 4). They will also need sponsorship from an approved licensed sponsor (educational institution), prove they have funds to support themselves and supply biometrics.
The Home Office hope this new system would discourage and prevent those fraudulent applicants who use the student visa system for purposes other than gaining an international education.
When the UK Border Agency introduces the new system, foreign students will be able to apply under two streams: general student and child student. General student applicants will be coming to the UK as adults while child students will be children arriving in the UK as to be educated at independent fee-paying schools, or studying at further education colleges.
The UK Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in UK visa and immigration services.
Article by Jessica Bird, UK Visa Bureau.
