Applying for Entry Clearance

Transcription

1 Student Services International Student Advice Applying for Entry Clearance To apply for your Tier 4 visa from outside the UK, you will submit the visa form online, then submit your supporting documents by mail or in person unless you are from North Korea. It is important to answer honestly and accurately to ensure your application is considered by UKVI. You can access the visa application form here: This guide will take you through the application form when applying for Tier 4 from outside the UK and will provide further details on how to answer the more complicated questions. Before you start the form, it is useful to have your passport and CAS document with you as these will help you answer some questions. Starting the form The first question you see will ask you which visa you are applying for. This advice guide will not look at the Short-term student visa or the Tier 4 (Child) visa. If you are a Chevening, Marshall or Commonwealth scholar, you should select the 4th option. All other students applying for a Tier 4 visa should select Tier 4 (General) student visa - the 2nd option. You will then be asked which country you are applying from and whether you can attend an appointment at a list of visa application centres. You must be able to attend an appointment to complete your application. Creating an account Once you have completed these steps, you will create an account using your address and password - you will need these details to access your application in the future. UKVI will send you an automatic when you complete this step which will contain a link to the application. To access your application at a later date, you must click on the link in this - you will not be able to access your application by logging into the standard gov.uk website. Last updated: Page 1

2 Your Personal Details Remember to input your full name, exactly as it appears on your passport. If you have previously had a different name, you will need to include your previous name on the next page. For example if you are married and have changed your name, you will need to write your maiden name under 'Any other names'. Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies - CAS number You must have a CAS number to submit a valid Tier 4 application. If you do not have a CAS number, you can start the application, however before you submit, you must edit your answers and include your CAS number. King's Admissions department will produce your CAS number if you are starting a new course with us. If you are extending your current course, you should request your CAS number through Student Records. Address & Further Personal Details The form asks you for your home address and contact telephone number. Your 'home address' is your permanent address, for example this may be the house that you currently live in with your family. You must have access to the phone number you provide in case UKVI need to contact you. The form then asks how long you have lived at this property and whether you own or rent your home. If you live with family members who own or rent the property but you do not, you should select 'I live with my family'. Page 2

3 Personal Details Continued You will next be asked to provide your gender, as it appears on your passport and your relationship status. Remember that if you are bringing a dependant with you, they will need to submit a seperate application form. You should input your nationality, date of birth, country and place of birth. If any of these are listed on your passport, then your answers must match your passport. If you have dual nationality, make sure that you list both nationalities in this section. Your Passport & National Identity Card The next question asks for information about your passport. If you are planning to obtain a new passport before travelling to the UK, you should do this before you submit this visa application form. Make sure that all the information you provide matches your passport exactly. You also need to include details of any other passports you hold. For example if you have dual nationality, you may also have a second passport or travel document. You also need to include details of previous, expired passports covering the last 10 years. Some nationalities hold an identity card produced by their government. If you hold a national identity card you must include the details in this section. Travel Information Your planned date of arrival to the UK must be within 1 month of your course start date, as stated on your CAS, if you are studying a course for 6 months or more. If your course is under 6 months long, your planned date of arrival must be within 1 week of the course start date. How long do you intend to stay in the UK? Your answer should be the length of your course as stated on your CAS. For example if your course start date is 01/09/2018 and your course end date is 30/09/2019, you should write: 1 year and 1 month. You should use the course start and end dates stated on your CAS. Page 3

4 Spoken Language Preference For this question, you should select 'English'. You are expected to have a good level of the English language and UKVI will expect to be able to communicate with you in English at an interview or in / phone correspondence. Tier 4 (Child) Some people may have previously studied in the UK on a Tier 4 (Child) student visa. This visa is for children under the age of 18. For example, you may have studied GCSEs or A Levels at a school in the UK. This visa is different from a Tier 4 (General) visa - if you have not studied on a Tier 4 (Child) student visa, you should select 'No' to this question. English Language Assessment Are you coming to the UK to study at a higher education institute? King's College London is a higher education institute. If you are applying for a Tier 4 visa to study at King's, you should select 'Yes' to this question. Your CAS is likely to state that 'your English language ability was assessed by your institution', however your should check this section of your CAS before answering the second part of this question. Your Family The next set of questions ask about your family. Remember that if you do have any children travelling with you as your dependants to the UK, a seperate visa application form must be submitted for each person. If you select 'Yes' to this question, you will then be asked to provide more information about your dependant(s). Page 4

5 Parents This section asks about your parent(s), adoptive parents(s) or legal guardian(s). You should input all details. If you do not have your parent(s), adoptive parent(s) or legal guardian(s) details, you should select 'I do not have my parents' details'. When you have completed the details for one parent, you will be asked for details of a second parents. If you only have details for one parent, adoptive parent or legal guardian, you should select 'I only have details of one parent'. Family in the UK You will be asked about any family you have in the UK and what visa they are on. If your relative(s) is in the UK, but you cannot contact them and do not know what visa type they are on, you should select 'I cannot contact my relative'. You can then explain briefly in the text box why you cannot contact this relative to ask them for information on their visa. Travelling to the UK Will you be travelling to the UK as part of an organised group? As you are travelling to the UK to study at King's College London, it is extremely unlikely that you will be travelling as an organised group. Most people will select 'No' this this question. The next question asks you if you will be travelling to the UK with another person who is not your partner, spouse or dependant. If you are travelling to the UK alone, you should select 'No' to this question. If you are travelling with someone else, (e.g. your parents might be travelling with you to help you settle into the UK) you should input their details in this section. Page 5

6 Accommodation in the UK In the previous section about family in the UK, on this example form, we selected that we had a brother in the UK called 'Jack Smith'. The form now asks us about whether we will be staying with Jack Smith when we are in the UK. If you are not staying with family, you can just select 'Save and continue'. Some people may already have plans for accommodation in the UK. If you do, you should select 'Yes' and on the next page you should write the address of where you will be staying. If you will be staying in University Halls of Residence but do not have your exact address yet, you should select 'Yes'. On the next page you can write 'University Halls' under 'Where are you planning to stay in the UK'. For the address, you can include 'London' and leave the rest of the address spaces blank. Page 6

7 If you do not know where you will be staying in the UK and have not applied to stay in halls of residence through King's College London, you should select 'No' and on the next page there is a free text box where you should provide as much information as possible on where you will be staying. For example, you could say that you will be staying in a hotel when you arrive in London and you will then be looking for private rented accommodation. UK Travel History The next section of the form asks you about your travel history, starting with your travel to the UK. It asks how many time you have been to the UK within the last 10 years, what your reason was for coming to the UK and the dates you travelled. It is important to include accurate information. Top tip - If you are unsure of the exact date that you entered the UK, you may find it useful to check expired or previous passports! You should provide the information as accurately as possible. If you cannot remember exact dates, you should still try and list all trips you have taken and the dates as best you remember then. In the 'Additional Information' section at the end of this form, you can then explain that you could not remember all dates but have written them in to the best of your memory. Medical Treatment in the UK If you have ever received medical treatment in the UK, you need to include details of it in this section. UKVI ask about the medical treatment you have recieved to check that you do not have any outstanding, unpaid medical bills. You should include detail of the doctor's surgery or hospital that you received treatment - you do not need to remember the individual doctor's name. If you cannot remember the name of the surgery, you may find it helpful to check the NHS website as this will list all NHS doctor's practices and hospitals: Page 7

8 UK Leave to Remain Leave to remain is when an application is made by someone who is already in the UK. You may have applied for leave to remain if you extended a previous visa or switched into a different visa category from within the UK. If you made this application from outside the UK, then the application is called Entry Clearance instead. It is very important that you answer all questions honestly. If you made an application for leave to remain and it was refused, you must state this in this question. National Insurance Number In the UK, how much a person is taxed on their income is based on their National Insurance number. If you have been in the UK previously on a visa type that allowed you to undertake employment, you may have applied for a National Insurance number. You will not have been issued with this automatically with your visa - you have to make a seperate application for this unique number. You can find more information about the National Insurance number here: If you want to work in the UK on your Tier 4 visa, you will need to apply for this number after you arrive in the UK. If you have never been to the UK before, or have only visited the UK as a tourist, it is unlikely that you will have a National Insurance number. International Travel History This section asks about travel to have taken to countries outside of the UK. the first questions asks whether you have been to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, USA or the Schengen area within the last 10 years. If you are unsure whether you have travelled to the Schengen area - see details of countries included here: schengenvisainfo.com/schengen-visa-countries-list/ As with your travel to the UK, you will then be asked about the dates and length of your visit to these countries and what your reason for travel was, for example study or tourism. Page 8

9 You will then be asked about any travel you have undertaken within the last 10 years to countries other than the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or the Schengen area. If you are unsure about any travel, you should check previous passports for entry date stamps. You should provide the information as accurately as possible. If you cannot remember exact dates, you should still try and list all trips you have taken and the dates as best you remember then. In the 'Additional Information' section at the end of this form, you can then explain that you could not remember all dates but have written them in to the best of your memory. Problems with Immigration in the UK It is very important that you answer all questions in this form accurately and honestly. The following questions ask about about problems you have had with UK immigration and visas. If you answer 'Yes' to any of these questions, it may not mean that your Tier 4 visa application will be automatically refused or rejected. You will be given the opportunity to provide more details on what happened and why you have selected 'Yes' in the following question. If UKVI believe that you are deliberately withholding information, you can be refused on the grounds of deception. In some cases, this can result in your being banned from the UK for 10 years. If you are unsure how you should answer these questions or would like to discuss something in more detail, please get in touch with King's Visa and International Student Advice Team. Page 9

10 Problems with Immigration to Countries Other than the UK As with the previous question, if you select 'Yes', you will then need to explain why and provide more details and information. Remember that you must be honest when answering these questions. Criminal Convictions This question asks about your crimal record. It applies to convictions and penalties both inside the UK and in other countries - this includes your home country. Make sure that you also include details of any unspent convictions, including charges that you are currently awaiting trial or are currently on. Remember that if UKVI believe that you are deliberately withholding information, your application can be refused on the grounds of deception and you could face a 10 year ban from the UK. If you select that you have had any of these convictions, you will need to provide more details on the next page, including dates and details of you sentencing. Page 10

11 Further Criminal Convictions/ War Crimes The next few questions ask about war crimes and terrorist activties. If you do select 'Yes', you will be given the opportunity to provide more details. The list of war crimes provided is not exhaustive. The full definitions of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide can be found in Schedule 8 of the International Criminal Court Act 2001 at legislation.gov.uk. If UKVI suspect that you have deliberately withheld information from them, you can can have your visa refused on the ground of deception. This could lead to you being banned from the UK for up to 10 years. If you are in any doubt as to how you should answer these questions and wish to speak to someone confidentially, you can contact King's Visa and International Advice team. Previous Employment This is a follow on question from the previous section. UKVI are only interested in your previous employment within Armed Forces, Government, Media Organisations, Security Organistations and/ or Judiciary. This employment may have been in the UK, your home country or another country. Please include details of all work undertaken for these organisations. If you have worked for these organisations, you should provide further information on your employment at this company and the type of work that you did. Page 11

12 Sponsor Licence Number and Address You will find this information on your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS). This will be issued to you by Admissions if you are starting a new course at King's. King's Sponsor Licence Number is: NTMHWM0V3 King's Sponsor Address is: King's College London James Clerk Maxwell Building, 57 Waterloo Road, London. SE1 8WA Place of Study/ Primary Site of Study King's College London is a Higher Education Institute. It is very unlikely that your primary site of study address will be the same as the sponsor licence address. Your primary site of study address will be listed on your CAS. UCAS Details If you are coming to study an undergraduate course at King's you will probably have made your course application through a seperate website called 'UCAS'. If you are studying a postgraduate course, you will likely have made your course application directly to the King's College London website. Page 12

13 Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) Students studying certain postgraduate courses will be required to obtain ATAS clearance before you can submit your Tier 4 visa application. More information can be found here: gov.uk/guidance/academic-technology-approval-scheme To find out if you require ATAS, please check your CAS. If you do require ATAS, you can find advice and guidance on obtaining this in our advice guide: student-advice-support/ags/pdfs/immigrationadvice/atas-advice-guide.pdf Future Financial Sponsorship This question relates to how you will be paying for your accommodation, living costs and tutition fees for your course. An official financial sponsor is defined by UKVI in the Tier 4 policy guidance as: " Her Majesty s Government, your home government, the British Council or any international organisation, international company, university or a UK independent school." If you are receiving official financial sponsorship, this will only be confirmed on your CAS if King's is your financial sponsor. Otherwise, you will need to provide an official letter with your visa application. Please check your CAS for confirmation. If you are self-funded, including if your parents/ legal guardians are paying for you, you should select 'No' to this question. Maintenance Funds As part of your Tier 4 application, you must show that you have enough money to support yourself whilst you are in the UK. As King's College London is in London, UKVI have determined that you must show 1265 per month of your visa. They can only ask you for a maximum of 9 months maintenance which is For example, if your course if 3 years long, you will be required to show documents that evidence that you have: Tuition fees (1 year) + Maintenance funds (max 9 months) Tuition fees (shown on CAS) x 9 NB: Dependants are also required to show they have enough money. They are required to show 845 per month, up to 9 months. Each dependant will need to complete a seperate form. Page 13

14 You will need to provide bank statements to show you have maintained the required money for a minimum of 28 consecutive days before the date that you submit your Tier 4 application. The money can either be in your bank account or your parent(s)/ legal guardian(s) account. It cannot be held in anyone elses account, including friends and other family members. If a different family member is paying for your studies, they must transfer the money into your bank account at least 28 days before you submit your visa application. If you are using money in your parent(s)/ legal guardian(s) bank account, you must also submit your birth certificate/ adoption certificate/ court document proving your relationship as well as a letter of consent from your parent(s)/ legal guardian(s) confirming that they give you permission to use these funds for your education. The financial requirements are a complicated part of the Tier 4 process. Please see below points to help you. If you have already paid your tuition fees, this should be reflected on your CAS and you will not need to show this money in your bank account. However, you must still show the maintenance funds. If you are a Low Risk National, you may be exempt from providing some documents. However, UKVI may still ask you for these documents at a later date so you must ensure that you hold the appropriate funds.for more information on whether you qualify as a Low Risk National and the documents you will need to show, please see here: International-Student-Support/Immigration-and-Visas/Tier-4-Visas/Applying/Low-Risk-Nationals-Tier-4- FAQs.aspx You can use alternatives to bank statements e.g. offical financial loan letters. See paragraph 227 in the Tier 4 Policy Guidance for more information: King's Visa and International Advice team are happy to check documents if you are unsure whether they meet the requirements. Page 14

15 Course Information You will be able to find this information on your CAS. The qualification you will get will begin with'rqf...'. For example, a Masters degree would be RQF Level 7 and an Undergraduate degree is RQF Level 6. RQF and NQF are the same. SCQF is for courses in Scotland - make sure that you select the level number that starts with RQF. Pre-sessional English Students If you are applying for a Tier 4 visa to study a pre-sessional English course and you have a joint CAS that covers both your pre-sessional course and your main degree programme, you should only input the dates for your main degree programme here. If you are applying for a Tier 4 visa to study a pre-sessional English course and you have a CAS that only covers your pre-sessional course, you should input the dates of your pre-sesional course here. A student sabbatical officer if a full time elected member of the student's union. If you are applying for a visa to study at King's, you should select 'No' to this question. Accommodation Payments You may wish to pay for some of your accommodation before you arrive in the UK. This will only reduce the amount you need to show in your bank account if you are staying in King's accommodation. You can use a maximum of 1265 towards your maintenace requirements. You will either need a payment recipt or evidence of this payment on your CAS. For example: if you are studying a course lasting longer than 9 months, are staying in a King's College London halls of residence and you have paid 3000 towards your accommodation, you would be required to show: Tuition fees (as shown on CAS) + Maintenance funds ( 1265x9) (money paid for accommodation) Tuition fees (as shown on CAS) Tuition fees (as shown on CAS) If you are not staying in King's accommodation, even if you have paid some of your money towards your accommodation, you should select 'No' to this question. Page 15

16 Course Fees You will be able to find this information on your CAS. If you have paid part of your tuition fees, including a deposit, this will likely be confirmed on your CAS. Any money that you have already paid towards your tuition fees, that is confirmed on your CAS, will not need to be shown on your bank statements. Additional Information This section is optional. You should use this space to include further explanation on information you have provided in the form or to include extra information that you feel may be relevant. Maintenance Fund Documents You should provide information here about the documents you will be providing to evidence you have the required amount of funds available in your bank account. All documents you submit must be originals and not copies. In some countries only certain banks can be used. In other countries there are certain banks than cannot be used. Please refer to UKVI guidance on this, before submitting your application. If your country is not listed, you can use any official bank. Page 16

17 Document Checklist You must provide the following documents with your Tier 4 application: Financial documents evidencing tution fees & maintenance funds (for example, a bank statement or official financial loan letter) Your birth certificate and letter from your parent(s)/ legal guardian(s) if using their bank account Your passports (current & previous) TB certificate, if applicable - Your academic qualifications, as listed on your CAS ATAS certificate, if applicable If you are a Low Risk National, you will not need to provide your academic qualifications or financial documents, however you must still ensure that you meet the financial requirements as UKVI can ask you for your supporting financial and academic documents at a later date. NB: All documents must be originals, not copies or print outs. Declaration Once you have completed the Document Checklist and ticked the boxes to show that you will be providing all required documentation, you will move onto the Declaration. At this stage, it is a good idea to review all your answers and make sure that you have answered them all correctly and fully. If you did not have your CAS number when you started this form, make sure that you now go back and fill in your CAS number. If you submit your visa application without your CAS number, your application will be refused. When you are sure that all your answers are correct, you should select 'I accept the above' and proceed to the payment pages. STOP! The next page is the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) page. Once you continue to the IHS website, you cannot change any of the answers on your visa application form. Make sure that all your answers are correct before proceeding to the next page. Once you are sure that all of your answers on your Tier 4 visa application form are correct, you should continue to the IHS payment page. Page 17

18 Payment You will need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) in order to access healthcare in the UK; this costs 75 for every 6 months of the length of your visa. This is rounded up to the nearest 6 months. For example, if your course is 1 year and 4 months long, you will be required to pay 75 x 3 = 150. You will also need to pay the application fee of 348 (the equivalent in your home currency). Make sure that you have additional money in your bank account to pay the application fee and Immigration Health Surcharge. Your finances should still meet the criteria UKVI set out regarding holding tuition fees and maintenance money in your account for the full 28 days before you submit your visa application. Remember that if you are bringing any dependants with you, they will need to submit their own application form and pay a seperate application fee and IHS payment. At this stage, some nationalities will be asked to book an appointment at the Visa Application Centre (VAC) where you will take your documents and have your biometrics taken. In other countires, you will be asked to book a biometric appointment and afterwards will be required to post your documents and evidence of your biometrics to a specified address. The form will tell you which one applies to you. After a few days/ weeks you will collect your documents and passport. If your application is successful, your passport will be stamped with a vignette lasting 30 days. This allows you a single entry to the UK - you should ensure that you enter the UK within this time period. Selecting where to collect your BRP The form will ask you where you would like to collect your BRP from after you arrive in the UK. You will be given the option of collecting your BRP from either a local post office in the UK or from King's College London. On your Tier 4 application form, after your have paid, you should select one of the following options: 1. To collect it from a post office, input where you will be living in the UK and select 'Residential Address'. UKVI will then determine a post office close to you. 2. To collect your BRP from King's College London, select 'Alternative Location' and input our unique code: 2HE432. We strongly recommend that you choose the second option. It will be much easier for you to be able to collect your BRP from the university as the post office UKVI choose may be in a different area of London. If you choose to collect your BRP at King's College London, using the code 2HE432, time to collect your BRP is likely to be built into your induction timetable. You have now completed your Tier 4 visa application! Visa processing times vary depending on which country you are applying from. You can search for your city and country here: These times are just guidelines - if you are applying between June - October, this is the busiest time of year for UKVI and so they may take a little longer to process your application. Remember that if you are bringing any dependants with you to the UK, you should now complete a seperate application form for each person. Page 18

19 Travelling to the UK You will be able to travel to the UK up to 1 month before your cousre start date if your course is longer than 6 months and up to 1 week before your course start date if your course is less than 6 months. When travelling to the UK, we recommend that you carry in your hand luggage: your offer letter, a copy of your CAS, recent bank statements showing that you have money to support yourself in the UK. Try and avoid entering the UK via Ireland - there are no border controls between the two countries and this can cause problems for you later on if your passport is not stamped on entry. When you Arrive When you arrive in the UK you will need to collect your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). This is your visa and will cover the full length of your studies. It is very important that you keep your BRP safe, you do not need to carry around with you all the time. We recommend that you keep it in a safe place where you will be living and only carry it around if you need to for a particular reason. If you were thinking of using your BRP as ID to prove your age in shops and bars, we recommend using either: International Student Identity Card (1 year comes free with your NUS Extra card) - ValidateUK card - This is an example BRP. Once you have collected your BRP, make sure that you take it to Student Services to have it scanned and stored on our system. Certain nationalities will be required to register with the police. You can find out if this applies to you here: If you have further questions, you can contact King's Visa and Immigration Advice team here: The information in this guide is correct at the time of writing. Immigration law changes frequently, for the most up to date information please see or Last updated: Page 19