Do you need a visa under the UK ’s new points-based system of immigration control?
If you are a national of a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland, you do not need Entry Clearance (a visa) to travel to the UK . You can travel freely through EEA states using your passport or national identity card.
If you are a national of any non-EEA country, it is likely you will need Entry Clearance (a visa) to come to the UK to study. You will fall into one of two categories:
1. Visa nationals. If you are a visa-national (check the list of visa-national countries on www.ukvisas.gov.uk ) you must obtain an Adult (General) Student Visa before you leave home.
2. Non-visa nationals. At the moment, students from non-visa-national countries can come to the UK for up to six months without an Adult (General) Student visa. You will receive entry clearance as a ‘Student Visitor’ which means you will have to leave within six months of arriving in the UK, you will not be able to work or extend your visa and as it is not a multiple entry visa, you cannot use it to visit another country and then re-enter the UK . If you do travel you would have to get a new Student Visitor visa every time you enter the UK .
Visa information for students coming to Strathclyde on exchange is available through the following link: visa info
Academic Progression
On the 4th July 2011 the UK Border Agency introduced a new condition which requires all Tier 4 sponsors to assess, when a student has completed a previous course in the UK, that the new course represents academic progression before a CAS can be issued.
To show academic progression the new course should normally be above the level of the previous course for which UKBA gave a student permission to stay in the UK under the Tier 4 General Student or Student visa categories. For example, if a student’s previous course was a Bachelor’s degree (undergraduate) we would expect their next course to be a Postgraduate such as a Diploma, Masters or PhD.
In some cases a student may wish to study a course at the University of Strathclyde which is at the same level as their previous course in the UK. In these cases the University must assess academic progression by confirming that the new course compliments the previous course or will develop a deeper specialisation in particular area of study.
If you intend to accept an offer of a place to study at the University of Strathclyde you must advise us if you have ever been granted a Student Visa to enable you to study in the UK please supply details of your previous course(s) of study and copies of your previous study visa, you can either upload the documents to your application (for PGI or PGR online applicants) or send to admissions@strath.ac.uk.
You must also advise us if you are granted a visa to study in the UK prior to commencing your main programme of study i.e. Pre-sessional English.
ATAS Certificates
An ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) certificate is required if you are studying a postgraduate course in certain areas of Sciences (including medicine, veterinary medicine, agriculture, mathematics, computer sciences), Engineering and Technology. If your course requires an ATAS certificate, you must obtain one before you apply for your Tier 4 Adult (General) Student visa. Full details and how to apply are on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website: www.fco.gov.uk
Tier 4 Adult (General) Student visa
In order to apply for an Adult (General) Student visa, you should contact the nearest British Embassy or High Commission with a visa section to find out what the procedure is in your country. You may be able to apply online or you may have to attend an interview at the Embassy.
You have to complete application form VAF9 personal details on-line and also submit a hard copy of form VAF9 Appendix 8 Tier 4 (General ) Student Self Assessment. Both forms and a guidance note are available on www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en under "How to Apply", and submit it to the Embassy along with evidence you can claim 40 points under the points-based system. To obtain these points you must have:
A Confirmation of Acceptance of Study (CAS) (worth 30 points) from the University of Strathclyde . This will be issued when you have firmly accepted our Offer of Study, paid the University’s advance deposit of £2,000 *(if applicable to you) and satisfied all conditions of study detailed in our Offer of Study letter.
*If you have an Official Financial Sponsor i.e. Her Majesty’s Government, your home government, the British Council, or any international organisation, company or university, you are not required to pay the University’s £2,000 deposit. However you have to send a copy of your sponsor’s letter to the University’s Finance Office before your Visa Letter will be issued.
*Exchange students who will not be paying tuition fees, and all European students, are also exempt.
When applying for your Tier 4 Adult (General) Student visa you must submit the originals of all the documents mentioned in your CAS Statement along with your application form. Failure to do this may result in your application being refused. As there is no longer any right of appeal you have to get it right first time.
IMPORTANT: The University also needs to see these original documents when you are registering for classes - so be sure to bring them with you.
1. Maintenance (funds) – worth 10 points. In order to obtain these points you must have:
a) enough money to cover your course fees for the first year of your study
b) living costs of £800 per month for the first nine months of your study, and an additional £450 per month, for nine months, for every dependant who will accompany you.
Note:
- Your money must be held in a bank account in your name, or a joint account which includes your name, which gives you instant access to your cash (shares, bonds, pension funds and similar savings accounts will not be accepted)
- A loan in your name will be accepted
- You must show you have held the money in your account for more than 28 days prior to the date of your application
- If you are using overseas currency, UKBA will expect you to show (in writing on the document) the closing balance in pounds sterling. Use the official exchange rate on the OANDA website www.OANDA.com/convert/classic to calculate this
- A scholarship/sponsorship letter from an Official Financial Sponsor will also be accepted (Please note that financial support from relatives and friends is no longer permitted.)
The application fee for a Tier 4 Adult (General) Student visa is £289.
Make sure you apply for your Tier 4 Adult (General) Student visa in plenty of time. Bear in mind that thousands of students apply for visas to begin studies in the UK in September / October each year, so allow plenty of time for your visa to be processed. You must start your course on the date stated on your CAS Statement. The University must now report any non arrivals to UKBA (UK Border Agency) Failure to arrive on time could result in your visa being cancelled.
If you have been successful in your application, your passport will be returned with an Entry Clearance sticker (visa) inside showing you have been given permission to study at the University of Strathclyde . (In some countries it is possible you may be issued with a biometric ID card instead of an Entry Clearance sticker). Check all the details on the sticker (visa) - or ID card - carefully and report any errors to the Embassy immediately. Pay particular attention to the start and end dates on your visa. You should be granted leave as follows:
- courses of 12 months duration or more will be granted leave for the duration of the course plus 4 months
- courses of 6 months or more, but less than 12 months will be granted leave for the duration of the course plus 2 months
- pre-sessional courses of less than 6 months (such as pre-sessional English) will be granted leave for the duration of the course plus 1 month
- courses of less than 6 months that are not pre-sessional (such as 1 semester exchange) will be granted leave for the duration of the course plus 7 days.