UK Student Visa Rules: A Quick Guide for International Students

Do you wish to pursue a course in the UK? Your flight to your dream destination is ready to take off if you get an “Approved” stamp on your visa application. 

For that, you need to ensure that you abide by the UK Student Visa Rules.

But what are these rules and regulations? If you also want to know them, read on and make sure you will have a successful visa application to pursue your bright academic future in the UK. 

Let’s learn about the rules you need to comply with for a smooth transition to your favorite academic location in the world. 

Requirements For the UK Student Visa 

There is a pre-defined set of UK Student Visa Rules that determine whether you are eligible to apply or not. These include:

• Unconditional Offer:- You must have an unconditional offer from a place by a licensed student sponsor. It should be evidenced by a confirmation of acceptance of the study reference number. 
• Financial Support:- Demonstrate that you have enough funds to pay for your course and manage your accommodation along with the other expenses in the UK. 
• Proficiency in English:- Proof that you are proficient in the English language. This can be completed through your test results for the English language. However, different universities have different criteria for language proficiency, so make sure you go through them. 
• Parental Consent:- If you are under 17 years of age, you will have to submit parental or guardian consent along with your application for a student visa. 
• Medical Report:- You need to submit your medical report claiming that you have successfully passed the tuberculosis screening test. This test is mandatory for everyone, especially for South Asian countries. 
• ATAS Certificate:- If you are enrolled in a course in a field of technology, business, medicine, etc., you will have to provide your ATAS clearance certificate. 

Besides this, there is a strong possibility that you may have to provide additional documents. These instances might be as follows:

• You are not 17 yet; you will have to provide supporting documents. 
• If you don’t belong to the country from which you are applying. 
• If you have a family as your dependents, then you will have to provide documents as asked about each member of the family. 

The authorities may also demand some other documents to verify your identity, such as a valid passport, birth certificate, or documents to prove your qualifications or anything else. 

Step-By-Step Process to Apply for a Student Visa 

Ready to take your academic skills to the next level? Upgrade yourself by applying for a student visa. You need to follow UK Student Visa Rules in every step involved in the procedure to ensure that your visa application will be approved in one go.

Consider these steps to smoothly complete the process. 

1. Apply to a university of your choice. You can also apply to multiple universities so that you can increase your chances of receiving an unconditional offer. 
2. It’s time to get a certificate of acceptance of studies. For that, you need to show a confirmation that you accept the unconditional offer issued from the university stating that you are joining them for the next term. The university will give you a CAS, i.e., Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies, after which you can proceed to apply for the student visa. You may have to pay Euro 25 for the CAS. 
3. After receiving the CAS successfully, you can begin the process of applying for the student visa. This should be done at least 6 months before your course begins. Also, you will have to pay an application fee of Euro 490 and have a current passport. 

1. Calculate what would be your total fees and pay the IHS (Immigration Health Surcharge). The surcharge for a student visa fee would be Euro 776 for the duration of 6-12 months and Euro 388 for 1-6 months. 

The amount that you will have to pay greatly depends on the leave that you’ve been granted. Besides this, European students having a European health insurance card can apply for a refund for the cost of the IHS. 

1. Give proof of your knowledge of the English language. This is a part of the process of a visa application to ensure that you qualify for the language proficiency. However, different universities have different criteria for this. Therefore, you need to check what the accepted criteria are at your university. 
2. Finish your application and make sure it is accepted before you leave for the UK or arrive in the country. 

Planning Your Arrival in the UK 

Do you know you can arrive earlier in the UK? But you need to be aware of the UK Student Visa Rules that guide you in arriving in the country. You should plan your arrival in the UK depending on the duration of your course.

• You can arrive in the UK at least a week before if you are enrolled in a course that lasts less than six months. 
• On the other hand, you can arrive in the UK a month before if the duration of your course is more than six months. 

Tips to Immigrate in the UK 

There is an entire set of UK Student Visa Rules that determines the entire process of immigration. You need to comply with them to ensure that you are going to provide 

1. Make sure you won’t postpone any appointment until the last minute because it takes at least three weeks to receive a student visa. 
2. Begin with your entire process of the visa application at least months before. 
3. Get a CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies) from your university before you begin the process of visa application. 
4. Apply only at the institutes that are licensed by the UK government to sponsor international studies to pursue any educational course from their educational organization. 
5. Make sure you provide the right information about your stuff so that there will be no chances of rejection for your visa application. 

Latest Update About the UK Student Visa Rules 

It is very important for you to stay up to date with the latest UK Student Visa Rules if you are planning to pursue your academic aspirations in the UK. These are upgraded with time to enhance the experience of studying in the UK for international students. 

Take a look at the changes in the UK Student Visa Rules: 

• Graduate Visa Route Extension 

The new changes have been made to ensure that now international students pursuing any bachelor’s degree in the UK can stay up to 2 years after the completion of their course. As a result, graduates can contribute better to the economy by exploring opportunities and joining a skilled workforce. 

• Simplified Immigration Route 

The introduction of new rules simplifies the immigration of international students. These implement point-based systems (PBS), which means they assess the application, proficiency in the English language, financial appetite, confirmation of acceptance of studies from an organization, and much more. 

The PBS (Point Based System) requires students to gain at least 40 points in total. Take a look at the distribution of points as per different criteria:

You must keep in mind that it is necessary to acquire at least these points to make sure you will be eligible to apply for a student visa, immigrate to the UK, and begin your academic career. 

• Post-Study Work Rights 

These are rights given to the students who have completed their courses either at degree level or above. With this change, now graduates can work or look for opportunities in the UK to contribute to the workforce and utilize their 2 years of extended time granted in the UK. 

• Introduction of Visa Portability 

This is another notable and beneficial feature. It allows students to switch their visa to another category. Therefore, allowing smoother transitions to study and work without undergoing any complex processes. 

• Innovation in the Digital Services

The government is now focusing on investing in the upgrading of the immigration systems to make it easy for interested individuals to apply for the visa. They also try to enhance the quality of the digital services to optimize the application process via digital medium, enhancing the user experience and efficiency. 

Besides all these changes, there is also a surge in the increase of visa consultants to assist you in your journey. At Zealand Immigration India, our immigration experts will guide you to optimize your visa application and ease your journey to your dream destination. 

• UK Student Visa Part-time Work 

If you are enrolled in a degree course or something higher than that amongst the UKBA sponsor list and recognized bodies, you can work up to 20 hours a week. You can also work full-time during vacations or summer breaks. 

Besides this, it is to be noted that the students who are enrolled in a course that is counted under pre-sessional or foundational can only work for 10 hours a week. Furthermore, if you hold a short-term visa, you cannot work at all. 

• Dependents on the UK Student Visa 

Your wife or children can get a dependent visa, the same as the primary applicant in the UK. This rule is only applicable to students who are pursuing a master’s degree course; students who are enrolled in undergraduate programs are not allowed to bring their families as dependents. 

Also, if you already have a student visa and your family applies for a dependent visa with a points-based system, they will have to separately meet the criteria and pay individual fees. Besides this, you will have to show the maintenance funds that you have for every dependent for 9 months. Furthermore, you can rely on scholarships to show that you have enough financial appetite. Also, the scholarships must state that they also cover your dependents. 

• Engage in Work Opportunities 

If you are planning to work after the completion of your studies, you will have to apply for a graduate visa. After that, apply for a Tier-2 visa, which is especially meant to permit highly skilled workers. This means that you can’t get a work permit if you have a student visa; for that, you’ll have to apply for a work visa UK.  

However, your spouse can work in the UK if the leave granted is for 12 months. Moreover, your spouse will not be allowed to work if your granted leave is less than 12 months and you are enrolled in a foundational course. 

After you have applied for the visa, the embassy will evaluate your details that you have provided and will convey you about their decision. It may take 3–4 weeks to process an application and ensure that it complies with the UK Student Visa Rules. 

Do’s and Don’t to Keep in Mind While Staying in the UK 

Here are a few things that you should keep in mind when you are staying in the UK. 

These are the important things you must know to comply with the UK Student Visa Rules when you are in the UK to pursue your course. 

When Will You Be Considered That You Have Completed Your Studies?

There’s a set of criteria that should be fulfilled by the students to attain a status of “Completed” about their course. For postgraduate students for research, including the PhD students, completion of the degree means that your student’s record has been updated, and your examiner has mentioned “due for corrections," which shows “upheld” status. 

UK Student Visa Rules: Insights for Aspiring Students

Learning about the UK Student Visa Rules helps interested individuals land at their dream destination. With the introduction of the new rules, there is a pivotal shift that favors the immigration of international students. 

Make sure you comply with all the immigration rules to begin your academic journey in the UK. Also, you can look for assistance from esteemed immigration experts at Zealand Immigration India, to ensure you can have a successful visa application. Moreover, having a better understanding of the rules will help you to complete your academic journey without any issues.