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Leo O'Callaghan and Sam Redhead- Specialist International Student Advisers
Visa & International Student Advice – August 2020
Applying for your Tier 4 visa from outside the UKProspective students 2020
Contents of today’s session
Introduction
Your CAS
Documents to prepare
Financial documents
Applying online
Refusals
What happens next
Questions!
The information in this presentation was correct at the time of writing. However, the Immigration
Rules do change frequently. Please do refer to www.gov.uk and www.ukcisa.org.uk for the most up-
to-date information.
Who are we?
Specialist professional advice for students of
King's College London.
We provide the following services to students:
• Immigration advice, including visa extensions and working
• We are the only staff at King’s regulated to provide immigration advice by the OISC (Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner)
• Advice on course changes or interruptions during your studies
• Cross cultural support for international students
Student visas for the UK
➢If you are coming to the UK from outside of Europe, you will need a visa to study,
mostly likely a Tier 4 (General) visa
➢The visa application form for students from outside the UK is completed online:
https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/apply-visa-type/tier4
➢You will need to prepare supporting documents, which need to be ready before you
submit your online application
What documents will you need?
You will need some, or possibly all, of the following:
• Your passport(s)
• Your CAS number from King’s (check application portal)
• Proof you meet the financial requirements (*see later slide on Low Risk Nationals)
• Proof you meet the academic requirements (*see later slide on Low Risk Nationals)
• Completed application form (online)
• Payment for visa application (online)
• Payment of Immigration Health Surcharge, or IHS
• You may need a TB certificate
• You may need an ATAS certificate
• You may need translations
You’ll need high-quality original versions of these documents, so that you can scan and
upload them online to the visa application portal.
Passports
➢ Your passport is one of the mandatory documents for your visa application.
➢ A valid passport:
• Passport number needs to match information stated on CAS
• If your passport has been changed or renewed after receiving CAS, please inform
King’s ASAP by emailing [email protected]
• Make sure that there is at least one page in your passport that is blank on both
sides. This is important so that the UKVI can place your visa sticker inside your
passport. If you don’t have a page in your passport that is blank on both sides, you
will need to renew your passport as soon as you can.
Your CAS
➢A CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) is a reference number that confirms
that we have unconditionally accepted you for a particular course.
➢It is an electronic document – you do not need to print it out. It contains a unique 14-
digit number that you need to type into the visa application.
➢It contains important information about you, the way that King’s has assessed you, and
the course you plan to study.
➢Before you can be issued a CAS, you will need to have met the conditions of your offer,
and have provided or confirmed the details on the "Your Visa" tab on King's Apply
➢When your CAS has been issued, you will be able to access it through King's Apply
King’s Apply – the CAS
This is what your CAS information looks like in King’s Apply:
Academic Qualifications
➢ You will need to provide the qualifications that you showed to Admissions in order to
meet your offer conditions. These qualifications should match the ones on your CAS.
• All qualifications must be original certificates or final transcripts.
Please don’t try to use provisional certificates, or scan anything other than the original
document. When you scan and upload your qualifications, please make sure the scans are
good quality so that everything on your certificate is easily readable.
➢ These certificates / final transcripts must show
• your name, and
• title of award, and
• date your qualification was awarded, and
• name of awarding institution.
Financial documents
➢The most common reason for student’s visa applications to be refused is because the
financial documents are not suitable.
Please pay close attention to this section.
➢You will need to show bank statements in your name, your parents’ / legal guardians’
names, AND / OR a scholarship letter from an Official Financial Sponsor confirming that
they will cover your tuition fees and living costs, AND/OR a loan letter.
➢OTHER RELATIVES, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters,
CANNOT give you bank statements for your visa application – their bank statements will
lead to your application being refused.
Financial documents
➢Bank statements need to show ALL of the following details:
• Your name or your parent’s / legal guardian’s name
• The account number
• The bank’s name and logo
• The date the bank statement was printed
• The amount of money available
If you use electronic bank statements that have been printed out by the bank, then you either need a
cover letter from the bank confirming that the statements are genuine, or the statement needs to be
stamped by the bank on every page.
How much money do I need?
➢In your bank statements, you need to show:
• Any unpaid tuition fees for the first year of your course
+
• Money for your living costs in London
The UKVI has decided that you need £1265 per month to live in London.
}For your living costs, you should therefore prepare:
£1265 x the number of months of your course,
up to a maximum of 9 months.
Due to currency fluctuations, it’s always best to prepare a little bit more.
How long do I need this money?
28 days.
The total amount needs to be held for at least 28 consecutive days leading up to the last
date on your bank statement.
(Longer than 28 days is ok!)
It cannot drop below the required amount at any time during this period.
The bank statement that you use must be less than 1 month old when you pay for your
visa application.
For example:
If you put the money in your bank account on 1st July, the amount needs to remain there without dropping for 28 days -which would take you to 29th July. You can get the bank statement printed on this date.
If you then wanted to use this bank statement as part of your Tier 4 application, the latest day you could submit your online application would be 29th August.
Example Bank Statement
Bank Statements need to include:
• Your name or your parent’s / legal guardian’s name
• The account number
• The bank’s name and logo
• The date the bank statement was printed
• The amount of money available
• The money has been held for 28 days
Certificate of Deposit
Bank Letter
You can also use a letter from the bank. The letter will
need to state that confirming funds have been held for
the 28-day period ending no more than 31 days before
the date of your application, and no later than the date of
application.
You need to make sure it also includes:
• your name or your parent’s/legal guardian’s name;
• the account number;
• the date of the letter;
• the financial institution’s name and logo;
• the money in your account;
• amount of money available (to confirm that there is
enough money in the account to cover your course fees
and living costs)
If your financial documents are in a currency other than GBP, you will need to convert the
closing balance on your bank statement into GBP.
You have to use the OANDA website:
https://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/
Convert the closing balance into GBP using the exchange rate on the date that you submit
and pay for your visa application.
Save a PDF of the currency conversion and add it to your documents.
But my bank statement isn’t in GBP…
If you’re not sure whether your bank statements are suitable, you can scan
and email them to us:
It may take us a few days to reply to you, so please be patient – we will get
back to you as soon as we can!
We would prefer to check your documents, than your visa application end up
being refused.
This is really confusing – HELP!
My parents are funding me…
If you want to use your parents’ / legal guardians’ bank statements for your
Tier 4 visa application, you’ll need to provide some additional documents:
• An original birth certificate / certificate of adoption / court document showing the
names of your parents / legal guardians. The spelling of these names should match
the bank statements.
• A letter from your parents / guardians confirming that:
• You are their child, and
• They give you their consent to use their money for your studies in the UK
I’m getting a scholarship…
➢ If you have been awarded a scholarship, you can provide a letter confirming the details
of your scholarship.
➢ You can be sponsored by an international company, government, scholarship provider or
university.
The letter must contain:
• your name
• the name and contact details of your official financial sponsor
• the date of the letter;
• the length of your sponsorship; and
• the amount of money the sponsor is giving to you or if they are covering all of your expenses, a
statement that your official financial sponsor will cover all of your fees and living costs.
• the official stamp of the organisation
Official Financial Sponsor Letter
If you have an official financial sponsorship, you need to provide a letter of confirmation from your Official Financial Sponsor on official letter-headed paper of the organisation.
This letter must also include:
• your name• the name and contact details of your financial sponsor• the date of the letter• the length of your sponsorship• the amount of money the sponsor is giving to the student or a statement that the student’s official financial sponsor will cover all ofyour fees and living costs• the official stamp of the organisation
• .
I will be using a loan
➢ A loan must be provided by your national government, state or regional government, or
by a government sponsored student loan company or be part of an academic, or
educational loans scheme.
➢ The letter must contain:
• your name
• the name of the financial institution
• the date of the letter;
• The money available as a loan
• that the loan is provided by your national government, their state or regional government, a
government sponsored student loan company or is part of an academic or educational loans scheme.
TB Certificate
➢A tuberculosis (TB) test is required if
• coming to the UK for more than 6 months, and
• citizen in one of countries listed in Appendix T of the Immigration Rules
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-t-tuberculosis-screening
➢ If TB screening is required, it has to be taken at a Home Office approved
clinic in your country.
https://www.gov.uk/tb-test-visa/countries-where-you-need-a-tb-test-to-enter-the-uk
➢Once you have your TB certificate, it is valid for 6 months. Make your
visa application within this time.
ATAS
ATAS: Academic Technology Approval Scheme
➢ Certain Science and Engineering courses above degree level will require an
ATAS certificate in order to study certain subjects in the UK.
➢ Your offer conditions and CAS will confirm if ATAS is required for your course.
➢ If you need to apply for ATAS, apply in good time. ATAS clearance is normally issued within 30 days,
but during busy summer periods it can take up to 2 months.
If you have not received your ATAS within 30 days of applying and are ready to apply for your visa,
contact us for advice as the service has been impacted by COVID-19.
➢ The ATAS application is an online form:
https://www.academic-technology-approval.service.gov.uk/
Guidance from UKVI to completing the form is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/academic-technology-approval-scheme
Translations
Any original documents that are not in English will need to be accompanied by a
professional translation. The requirements for translations are
- If you are applying from inside the UK, your translation needs to bear:
• The date of the translation
• The translator’s full name and signature
• The translator’s qualifications
(to be precise: what qualification do they have that allows them to translate English professionally?)
• The translator / translation company’s contact details.
• A sentence confirming that it is an accurate translation of the original document.
- If you are applying from out of the UK, your translation needs to bear:
• The date of the translation
• The translator’s full name and signature
• The translator / translation company’s contact details
• A sentence confirming that it is an accurate translation of the original document.
Example of Official Translation
Differentiation Arrangement and Low Risk Nationals
• Some nationalities are classed as 'Low Risk Nationals' and are subject to different documentary requirements. This is called the Differentiation Arrangement
• You do not need to apply for the Differentiation Arrangement – when inputting your nationality in the online application form, the UKVI will be able to work out automatically if you are eligible
Low Risk Nationals
Australia, Bahrain, Barbados, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Chile,
China, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Malaysia,
Mauritius, Mexico, New Zealand, Oman, Peru, Qatar, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea,
Thailand, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United States of America.
Hong Kong (SAR) passport holders, Macao (SAR) passport holders,
Taiwan passport holders (with residence card no. in passport)
British National Overseas passport holdershttps://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-h-tier-4-documentary-requirements
Documents Low Risk Nationals will need to provide
• As a Low Risk National taking part in the Differentiation Arrangement, you are not required to provide evidence of your qualifications or financial evidence with your Tier 4 application.
Documents all students will need to provide in support of their application:
• Your passport• TB certificate (if applicable)• ATAS (if applicable)• Police Registration Certificate (if applicable)• Evidence of academic progression (if applicable)• Translations (if applicable)• Additional evidence for Under –18 applicants (if applicable)
• UKVI can ask you at a later date to provide your qualifications and financial evidence so you should ensure that you still prepare these in advance of making your application. If you do not meet the requirements or have the correct documents when if asked by the UKVI your application will be refused.
Applying online for your visa
To apply for your Tier 4 visa from outside the UK, you will need to fill in the form at
https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/apply-visa-type/tier4
• Allow yourself an hour to complete the form.
You will create an account when you start the process, and this will allow you to save
your progress along the way, log out and come back into your form.
• Make sure that you have your CAS and all of your documents ready!
• Use our online screen-by-screen guidance to completing the form:
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/campuslife/services/student-advice-support/ags/pdfs/immigrationadvice/entry-clearance-advice-guide.pdf
Paying for your visa application
Once you have completed the visa application form, you will need to pay for it online using a credit
card.
The cost is £348 (the equivalent in your home currency)
As part of the visa application process, you will also need to pay the
Immigration Health Surcharge in order to access healthcare in the UK.
The Immigration Health Surcharge costs £150 for every 6 months of the length of your visa – this
includes the additional 4 months on your visa after your course has finished.
See https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/Information--Advice/Studying--living-in-the-UK/Health-and-healthcare#layer-3209 for more information on the healthcare system in England.
What happens next?
• Book an appointment online at the nearest open Visa Application Centre
• When you go to your appointment, bring your printed visa application form, your
passport + all of your supporting documents
• During your appointment at the Visa Application Centre, you may have a short video
interview with a UKVI officer. Don’t worry about this! The interviewer just wants to
confirm that you are a real student.
• After some days, you will go to collect your
passport and the decision letter / these will be
delivered to you.
• Check your visa sticker carefully! If you have any
questions about it, or something doesn’t look right –
let us know.
• Your visa sticker will be valid for 90 days
to allow you to travel to the UK.
Arriving in the UK
• Get ready to travel to the UK! When you travel, carry a copy of your CAS and recent bank statements in your
hand luggage – just in case an officer at the UK border asks you questions about your reason to travel to the
UK.
• You will need to pick up your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP), which is a pink card that shows the full
details of your visa for the whole of your time in the UK.
• Make sure check your BRP that the dates are correct –
If something doesn’t look right, contact us immediately,
you only have 10 days to fix any mistakes!
• Some of you may then need to register with the Police
as a condition of your Tier 4 leave -
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/campuslife/services/student-advice-support
/how/international-student-support/immigration-and-visas/
police-registrationYou can choose to collect the card at King’s by
entering ‘Alternative Location’ code: 2HE432
Tier 4 application and COVID-19
• It can take 3-4 weeks from when you submit your biometrics to receive a decision on your Tier 4 application
however due to COVID process may take longer…
• Visa application centres were closed due to COVID-19 but are now starting to re-open – however no priority
services are currently available.
• Recommend keeping an eye on the webpage for the VAC closest to you, so that you can see when they reopen. For
updates to the status of VACs in your country:
1. Europe, Africa and parts of the Middle East, visit: https://uk.tlscontact.com/
2. All other countries, visit: https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/en
• As visa application centres were closed, there may be more applications for UKVI to process – would advise once
you receive your CAS + have all your supporting documents ready you submit your online visa application
• Before travelling into the UK, please check the government website to understand whether you need self-isolation
at the time and plan before your journey: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-
covid-19-how-to-self-isolate-when-you-travel-to-the-uk/coronavirus-covid-19-how-to-self-isolate-
when-you-travel-to-the-uk
• Keep up to date with King's: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/coronavirus
For students under 18
➢ You can travel to the UK and live independently, but you need written consent from your parent(s)/legal guardian(s)
that they agree to this.
➢ If you are 16 or 17, your visa application must include a letter from your parent(s)/legal guardian(s), confirming:
• the relationship between you and them;
• they give their consent to your application;
• they give their consent to you living independently in the UK;
• and they give their consent to your independent travel to the UK.
➢ The letter must confirm if your parent(s)/legal guardian(s) have legal custody or sole responsibility for you, and it
must be signed by each parent or legal guardian.
➢ Please use the Alternative Location Code (given in the previous slide) to collect your BRP card from King’s College
London.
Otherwise, you will need to have a responsible adult to collect the card with you.
Refusals
• In the unlikely event of your visa application being refused,
DON’T PANIC
• As soon as you can, scan and email us every page of your visa refusal.
• If you think you have documents that would help you to avoid being refused if you apply again,
scan and email these documents too.
We will get back to you as quickly as we can.
Don’t just apply again, as you will need a new CAS for each new visa application.
You can email us at [email protected] .
Arriving in the UK
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
Police RegistrationRegister with the police within 7 days upon on your arrival, if ‘police registration’
appears on visa sticker
BRP card Should collect BRP card within 10 working days upon your arrival
Work during studies 20 hours per week during term time
National Health Service (NHS) Register with a GP. IHS payment means that you have acess to NHS.
Latest university advice for students regarding Coronavirus
Please keep checking the King’s
Coronavirus webpages for updates
and guidance for students on the
latest advice from the UK
government, current study
arrangements and support for
health & wellbeing:
www.kcl.ac.uk/coronavirus
Student Services Online
self-service.kcl.ac.uk will take you to
Student Services Online, which will allow
you to:
• Search and access knowledge articles
support for international students,
housing, funding, wellbeing and more!
• Request documents, such as
confirmation of your student status at
King’s.
• Log questions with Student Services
Find us online
KCL1829
@studentservices
Kingsinternationalstudentsupport
Website www.kcl.ac.uk/visa-advice
Enquiry form https://www.kcl.ac.uk/campuslife/services/student-advice-support/Contact/online.aspx
Do keep viewing the King’s webpages for the latest updates:www.kcl.ac.uk/coronavirus
Thank you