How to Get a UK Student Visa Extension & Continue Your Stay? 

Are you already living in the UK, pursuing a degree or work? Is your visa about to expire, and you want to have a longer stay in the country? 

Well, your wish for a UK Student Visa Extension is possible, but you need to comply with the rules and regulations properly. This includes your financial appetite, supporting documents, meeting CAS requirements, and many more. 
Here’s how you can have your UK Student Visa Extension and have a hassle-free stay in the UK to achieve your upcoming milestones. 

Probable Reasons to Consider UK Student Visa Extension

One of the reasons to look for a UK Student Visa Extension may be that you need more time to complete your studies. Take a look at the scenarios in which you can request an extension. 

Extend Visa to Get More Study Time 

Whether you have recently received a UK study visa or just joined the course, You can seek a visa extension in scenarios such as:- 

1. You Are Moving From One Course to Another

• If you have already finished a course or are about to start a new course, you can apply for more leave. This is subject to the requirements for academic progression under the 5-year cap offered on degree-level study.
• You already have a student visa and want to join a course starting within 28 days of the expiry of your current visa. 
• You can also apply for a student visa from overseas and get your CAS verified after assessing your eligibility for the same. But for that, you need to submit a request for your CAS form. 

2. Repeating Your Course In-Attendance 

• For scenarios, if you have failed in a few subjects due to lack of complete or required attendance, in that case, you can apply for a visa extension. It also depends on the credits that are left to complete and how much course is remaining. 
• You will be carefully assessed by the IAS team before issuing CAS. This may require connecting to your course teams and fees department for the same. 
• You will have to request a new CAS, and we will direct that to the immigration advisory service team. Also, you need to cooperate with us to assess your case better. 

3. PhD Student Want an Additional Time 

• For scenarios when you are unable to complete your PhD within the chosen time frame. You can connect with our experts 3–4 months before so that we can assist you in getting a CAS quickly. 
• A sequence of checks will be carried out about your academic progress, date of attendance, and engagement in the course. 
• In case it is not possible to extend your time, we advise you to leave the UK at the desired time as mentioned in your current passport. 

These are the scenarios when you can look for a UK Student Visa Extension and get more leave to stay longer in the UK. Also, keep in mind that you will not be considered living illegally in the UK if your visa expires during the process, no matter how long it takes. 

Prepare Your Financial Evidence

It might be possible you can be exempted from the financial evidence if you are living in the UK for 12 months. However, the students who are not exempted from this are bound to provide evidence of their financial status, which includes fees and accommodation. 

Besides this, there is a rule that students from different countries can also be exempted from providing financial evidence, as they are categorized as “low-risk nationals." However, it is advised to keep the financial evidence with you in case you are asked for that. 

It is important to prepare all of these documents early, especially when your parents are going to pay for your fees. You might be required to show the bank account details along with the sufficient balance as per the 28-day rule. 

Your evidence of funding must show:

• Tuition fees for the first year of the course or complete fees for the entire course. 
• Living expenses for the first nine months or of the complete course if the course is less than 9 months.

Start Preparing Your Supporting Documents 

It is advised that you keep all of your supporting documents handy so that you can quickly apply for the visa application as soon as you receive your CAS. Take a look at the documents required in general:-

• BRP card
• Current valid passport 
• ATAS certificate 
• Previous qualification certificates or transcripts
• Evidence of qualification in English language 

Besides this, there are some other documents required for many students, such as:

• Official translations of any evidence that is not in English.
• Documents of your dependents. 
• Evidence about any changes in your name.
• Your birth certificate, if you are relying on your parent’s bank account. 
• A legal consent of your parents or guardians, especially when you are not 18. 

You can get help from a professional who has prior knowledge and experience about immigration rules and regulations in the UK and can help you with your objective to extend your stay. 

Meet the Mandatory Requirements for Your CAS

If you want to apply for a student visa, you need to receive confirmation from the university. This will make the visa application process easy. Carefully fill in all the information and make sure that it is correct. 

The CAS has numerous details, such as personal information, course information, records of any tuition fees that have been paid in advance, deposits & payments at the university, or scholarships.

Depending on your length of stay in the UK, you might be asked to complete a questionnaire before the CAS is issued. After everything is verified and corrected, the CAS will be sent to your email. 

Apply for Student Visa Application Form 

After getting to know about the visa requirements and the guidelines, it’s time to apply online for your UK Student Visa Extension. Fill in all the necessary details as asked in the form, along with the correct information from the supporting documents. It’s time to pay the fees. The required payment is like:

• The visa application fees are Euro 490 standard for all the students. 
• You may be charged Euro 19.20 for the biometric enrollment. 
• The Immigration Health Surcharge is another additional amount that you will have to pay for the one personal. You need to pay an immigration health surcharge if you have any dependents with you. 

In addition to this, if you want to get the decision for your visa application quickly, you can pay for a faster service so that you can make a stress-free transition. 

Submit All Your Documents & Biometrics 

Once your payments are done, you can proceed with submitting your documents electronically. There is no need for you to attend any appointment to submit biometrics. Once your visa application is completely processed, you will be contacted for a decision via email or SMS. 

In case you haven’t received any positive response, then it means your visa application has been refused. There might be so many reasons, which must be stated in the decision letter. You can connect to the immigration team of Zealand Immigration India with a copy of the decision letter. 

Furthermore, our experts will advise you regarding whether you should appeal this decision or go and apply for a fresh application. We will also issue CAS to make your process smoother. 

Probable Reasons When You Cannot Go For UK Student Visa Extension

Just as we have discussed the scenarios when you can easily go to apply for the UK Student Visa Extension, similarly, there are cases when you cannot. Take a look at the situations when you can’t apply for extending your stay. 

• If you wish to attend your graduation. 
• You expect leaves to repeat some of your course or sit at exams for the sake of attendance, like “exam attendance only.”
• If you are intending to apply for a graduate route visa, we don’t support an extension just to facilitate that. 
• When you have already received your educational rewards. 
• If your planning involves exceeding the 5-year cap for the studies. 
• When you fail to meet the educational requirements of the course you are enrolled in. 
• If you are stuck with outstanding university debts. 

There is another criterion regarding the time limit. It states that you can go for the UK Student Visa Extension if your new course begins within 28 days of the expiry of your visa. However, if the start date of your new course is later than 28 days, then you will have to apply for a visa from your home country. 

Other Reasons for UK Student Visa Extension 

You can go for a UK student visa extension even if you wish to switch your visa type. But for that, you need to make sure that you are eligible for switching visas within the UK.

For instance, you are not eligible for it; you must leave the UK and apply for the desired visa from your home country. 

Financial Criteria to Fulfill for the UK Student Visa Extension 

You may be exempted from providing financial evidence to get an extension in scenarios;

When you have been living in the UK for the past 12 months without being more than 3 months away from the country at the time of applying for the new student visa. 

However, you will still have to demonstrate that you will be able to pay the fees of your course so that your request can be proceeded. You may also have to cooperate with the financial checks to ensure that they comply with the financial requirements as per the UKVI. 

Concluding Phrases 

You can go for the UK Student Visa Extension in various scenarios as discussed. When you want to join a new course, continue with completing a portion of your existing course. Similarly, there are scenarios when you can’t go for it. 

Besides this, you will have to follow an entire process to ensure that your application for the visa extension will be approved. You may find the process of the visa application requesting an extension tricky; in that case, you can consider getting help from the immigration experts at Zealand Immigration India.