Monday, April 25, 2011

New Student Visa Rules for the Future 2011

New Student Visa Rules for the Future

Published on April 25, 2011 in UK Immigration News 2011. 0 CommentsTags: changes in uk immigration rules, english uk, extended student visitor, student visitor, tier 4 changes, tier 4 student visa.

Following our summary of the new student visa rules in place from 21 April 2011, we’ve had requests for a similar simple approach to the future Tier 4 student visa rules changes. So here it is!

July 2011 Onwards

Your Family (Dependants)

There will be only two types of student who will be able to bring their dependants to the UK during their studies: postgraduates and government sponsored students. Students must be studying a course of 12 months or more in duration.

Students should be sure to check with their education provider what duration of course has been entered on their CAS. Some Masters courses in the UK can be as short as nine months, so be sure to check if you want to bring your dependants with you.

If you qualify to bring your dependants with you during your studies, they will be able to work full time during their stay.

If you do not meet the requirements to bring your dependants all is not lost. You could consider having them come to the UK as visitors. But, there stay would be limited to just six months and they would not be able to work. They could of course come using any other route of the Points Based System, should they qualify.

Low Risk Students

Students from the following countries should not need to submit any financial documents or previous qualification certificates in support of their student visa application:

Argentina
Australia
British National Overseas
Brunei
Canada
Chile
Croatia
Hong Kong
Japan
Mexico
New Zealand
Singapore
South Korea
Trinidad and Tobago
United States of America

Do remember though that it is a requirement to have access to the required maintenance money and that students from the above countries could still be asked to produce proof. Any documents that you could be asked to submit must meet the criteria laid out in the Tier 4 Policy Guidance documents.

Time Limit on Staying in the UK

Students will have new limits placed on the amount of time that can spent in the UK on back-to-back student visa.

The good news is that students of specialist courses that take longer to complete – Dphil, medicine, architecture etc – will be excluded from the limits.

Students studying at either postgraduate or undergraduate level will only be able to spend a maximum of five years in the UK.

Students following courses below undergraduate level will be able to stay for only three years.

There is concession made for students who will study a combined course of below and above undergraduate level study. These students will be able to remain in the UK for a maximum of eight years.

If students are following one of the exempt courses above, they are eligible to stay beyond the eight years if their course demands it, however, students will not be able to apply for a new Tier 4 visa if they have already been in the UK for more than eight years.

Academic Progression

Any student who is extending their student visa in the UK and will not be studying a new course at a higher level, their education provider will have to explain the situation in their CAS. A common example of this would be a student studying two consecutive Masters Programmes.

Students are advised to liaise with their education providers and/or agents to make sure the wording in the CAS properly explains the situation.

April 2012 Onwards

Closure of Post-Study Work Route

The current Tier 1 Post Study Work visa, allowing graduates to remain in the UK for two years following their studies to look for work, will be closed.

Post-Study Work will be replaced by a new class in Tier 2 of the UK’s Points Based System: the Work Permission Route. Graduates will now require a job offer from a UKBA registered sponsor with a minimum salary of £20,000 in order to remain in the UK following their studies.

Students must apply to switch to Tier 2 before their current Tier 4 General Student visa expires. Importantly, these Tier 2 applications will not come under the Coalition Government’s immigration cap, in any way.

Read more: 0094779568350-ZAJAATH@GMAIL.COM FREE UK,NZ,USA,CANADA COLLEGE UNI ADMISSIONS

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Cameron on Immigration – We’re Getting to Grips With It

ACHIEVERS INTERNATIONAL MEDIA UNITE

British Prime Minister David Cameron declared, “…we’re now getting to grips with it” in his immigration speech in Hampshire on 14 April. A crackdown on the widespread abuse was promised with a particular focus on bogus students and dodgy colleges.

The Prime Minister talked about abuse of the student route which he cited as the most popular of all non-EU immigration into the UK. “Immigration by students has almost trebled in the past decade. Last year, some 303,000 visas were issued overseas for study in the UK. But this isn’t the end of the story. Because a lot of those students bring people with them to this country: husbands, wives, children…we know that some of these student applications are bogus, and in turn their dependents are bogus. Consider this: a sample of 231 visa applications for the dependents of students found that only twenty-five percent of them were genuine dependents. The whole system [is] out of control and we’re now getting to grips with it. That badly needs to be done”, he said.

UK educational providers that sell places on fake courses in order to secure entry clearance – so called bogus colleges – are firmly in the Government’s sights. Cameron went on to say, “We’re making sure that anyone studying a degree-level course has a proper grasp of the English language. We’re saying that only postgraduate students can bring dependents. And we’re making sure that if people come over here to study, they should be studying rather than working, and that when they’ve finished their studies, they go home unless they are offered a graduate-level skilled job, with a minimum salary.”

The problem of bogus colleges and fraud in the immigration system has grown in recent years. Concerns are echoed by the slow uptake of the UK Border Agency’s Highly Trusted Sponsor licence. In January 2011, only 131 of 744 listed colleges had been awarded Highly Trusted Sponsor status. However, figures released by the British Government show that since January 2011, those non-Highly Trusted Sponsors have sponsored a total of 280,000 students. “The potential for abuse is clearly enormous,” Cameron said.

Cameron cited many examples in his speech of supposed students found to be doing everything but studying: students found working 280 miles from their sponsor, students working in 20 different locations and severe under-staffing in some institutions: 2 lecturers for 940 students, for example.

FOR MIDDLE EAST AGENTS

كاميرون على الهجرة -- ونحن في طريقنا الى السيطرة على و نشرت يوم 21 أبريل 2011 في أخبار الهجرة في المملكة المتحدة عام 2011. 0 تعليقات العلامات : كليات وهمية ، والطلاب وهمية ، ديفيد كاميرون ، عن ثقته في غاية مقدمي مشروع القرار ، بعد عمل دراسة ، الطبقة 1 ، المملكة المتحدة وكالة الحدود والهجرة في المملكة المتحدة غطاء ، المملكة المتحدة طالب الهجرة ، ukba. أعلن رئيس الوزراء البريطاني ديفيد كاميرون ، "... نحن نحصل الآن على السيطرة على انه" في خطاب له في الهجرة هامبشاير في 14 نيسان / أبريل. وعدت حملة على انتهاكات واسعة مع التركيز بشكل خاص على الطلاب وهمية والكليات المراوغة.وتحدث رئيس الوزراء عن طريق إساءة استخدام الطالب الذي استشهد وأكثر شعبية من جميع الهجرة من خارج الاتحاد الأوروبي في المملكة المتحدة. "لقد تضاعفت ثلاث مرات تقريبا الهجرة من قبل الطلاب في العقد الماضي. وفي العام الماضي ، صدرت بعض 303000 تأشيرة للدراسة في الخارج في المملكة المتحدة. ولكن ليست هذه هي نهاية القصة. لأن الكثير من هؤلاء الطلاب جمع الناس معهم إلى هذا البلد : الأزواج والزوجات والأطفال... ونحن نعلم أن بعض هذه التطبيقات الطالب وهمية ، وهذا بدوره معاليهم وهمية. نتأمل هذه الحقيقة : لالمعالين من الطلاب وجدت أن فقط 25 في المئة منهم من المعالين حقيقية عينة من طلبات الحصول على تأشيرات 231. [هو] النظام برمته خارج عن نطاق السيطرة ونحن نحصل الآن على السيطرة على ذلك. وقال ان هذا في حاجة ماسة إلى القيام به ".مزودي المملكة المتحدة التعليمية التي تبيع الأماكن على دورات وهمية من أجل الحصول على إذن بالدخول -- ما يسمى الكليات وهمية -- وبحزم في مشاهد الحكومة. كاميرون ذهب إلى القول "نحن مع التأكد من أن أي شخص يدرس دورة درجة المستوى لديه فهم السليم للغة الانجليزية. نحن نقول أن طلاب الدراسات العليا فقط يمكن أن يجلب المعالين. ونحن مع التأكد من أنه إذا كان الناس يأتون إلى هنا للدراسة ، ينبغي أن تكون دراسة بدلا من العمل ، وذلك عندما تنتهي من دراستهم ، يذهبون إلى منازلهم ما لم يتم تقديم دراسات عليا على مستوى العمل الماهرة ، مع حد أدنى الراتب ".وقد نما مشكلة الكليات وهمية والغش في نظام الهجرة في السنوات الأخيرة. وردد المخاوف من بطء امتصاص الموثوق بها وكالة الحدود البريطانية والراعي للغاية الرخصة. في يناير 2011 ، تم منح 131 فقط من 744 الكليات المذكورة لمكانة الراعي الموثوق بها. ومع ذلك ، فإن الأرقام الصادرة عن الحكومة البريطانية أن تظهر منذ يناير 2011 ، وتلك غير الموثوق بها درجة عالية من الرعاة تبنت ما مجموعه 280،000 طالبا. "إن من الممكن إساءة استخدامها من الواضح هائلة" ، وقال كاميرون.وأشار كاميرون أمثلة كثيرة في كلمته للطلاب من المفترض وجدت أن تفعل كل شيء ولكن دراسة : العثور على عمل الطلاب 280 كيلومتر من كفلائهم ، والطلاب الذين يعملون في 20 موقعا مختلفا والنقص الشديد في الموظفين في بعض المؤسسات : 2 المحاضرين ل940 طالب ، على سبيل المثال

ZAJAATH @ GMAIL.COM

T -F +94382231190/M +94779568350 /M +94714236563

CAS

The Sponsor guidance notes from the UKBA (on page 2 or 3) state that the rules in place when the CAS is assigned will be rules applied to the visa.

As you are on a course on NQF 6 this means you do not have to take a IELTS as long as your CAS is assigned by today… if you have a CAS assigned after today (from the 21st April) you will have to have a IELTS in order to get a CAS unless you go to a University or have a degree equivalent to a UK bachelors degree taught in a UKBA approved english speaking country.
Hope that helps!

Opening a student bank account in the UK

It can be difficult to open a bank account in the UK and it may take several weeks to open an account:

Speak to your bank - some have links with UK banks so you can open a UK bank account before you arrive in the country.

If you are unable to open an account before you leave, bring enough money with you to last the first couple of months.

If you enter the UK from a non-EU country and are carrying 10,000 Euros or more (or the equivalent in other currencies) you will be required to declare the cash to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). This applies to notes, coins, bankers' drafts, cheques and travellers' cheques. There is no declaration for if you are travelling from the EU.

Once in the UK, you may require the following documents to open a bank account:

Passport / EU ID card

Valid visa

UCAS letter / letter from your university providing evidence of your studies

A utility bill or tenancy agreement with your name and address

Registering with the police

Some nationalities need to register with the police when arriving in the UK. You should have a sticker in your passport or on your ID card which states this. If you have permission to stay in the UK for less than six months, you will not need to register. The website has a list of the nationalities required to register.

Paying Council Tax

Council Tax is set by local authorities in London to pay for services they provide such as recycling and the local police.

The amount of Council Tax you will need to pay will vary depending on the size of the house you live in and which Borough of London the house is located in.

You will not need to pay council tax if you live in accommodation provided by the university or if you share accommodation that is occupied only by students.

If you know your UK postcode, you can find out more about paying.

FREE ADVICE HELP LINE 0094779568350