A GUIDE TO OBTAINING YOUR TIER 4 (GENERAL) VISA

How to use this guide

✔ Read this whole guide carefully before you apply for your visa

✔ Go through the checklists provided, making sure you meet the criteria

✔ Focus on the ‘Common Reasons for Refusal’ section (section 6), making sure you avoid all of these

✔ Read this Guide along with the University of Bedfordshire’s document ‘Credibility Interviews: Information and Advice’

✔ Contact your regional Admission team (see page 8 for more information) if you have any queries

✔ Only apply for your visa if you are sure you understand and meet all the requirements!

Introduction: Applying for a Visa under Tier 4 of the Points-based System ........................ 3

Section 1: Applying for a Tier 4 Visa

1.1 Your CAS .............................................................. 4

1.2 How much it will cost to apply ............................ 4

1.3 Immigration Health Surcharge.......................... .....4

1.4 When you can apply ............................................ 4

1.5 A note for Low Risk Applicants .......................... 5

1.6 Useful Links ........................................................ 5

Section 2: Meeting the Maintenance (Financial) requirement

Calculating the amount of money you must prove you have access to

2.1 Tuition Fees ......................................................... 6

2.2 Living Expenses .................................................. 6

Proving you have access to the required amount

2.3 Submitting the correct document ....................... 7

2.3.1 Funding yourself or funding from parents ....................................................... 7

2.3.2 Using a Bank Loan ..................................... 9

2.3.3 Funding from your government and other forms of financial sponsorship .......... 9

2.4 Currency conversion .......................................... 9

2.5 Useful Links ....................................................... 10

Section 3: Other Documents Required to Obtain your Tier 4 Visa

3.1 Previous Qualifications and Proof of English Language Ability .................................... 11

3.2 Translations ........................................................ 11

3.3 ATAS Certificate ................................................. 11

3.4 Health Checks .................................................... 11

Section 4: Credibility Interviews .......................... 13

Section 5: Other rules that may affect you5.1 The 5-Year Study Rule ........................................ 14

5.2 Academic Progression ....................................... 14

Section 6: Common reasons for refusal/ avoiding refusals6.1 Maintenance ...................................................... 15

6.2 Documents ........................................................ 15

6.3 Credibility Interviews ......................................... 15

6.4 Date of Application ............................................ 16

Section 7: If your visa is refused .......................... 17

Section 8: Receiving your visa

8.1 When your visa is issued................................... .18

8.2 Check your visa .................................................. 18

8.3 Change of circumstances before travel ............. 18

Section 9: Dependants .......................................... 19

Section 10: Useful links ......................................... 20

Contents

2 A Guide to Obtaining your Tier 4 (General) Visa www.beds.ac.uk/international

This guide has been updated in August 2015.

3www.beds.ac.uk/international A Guide to Obtaining your Tier 4 (General) Visa

International students from non–EEA countries are required to apply for a Tier 4 visa if the main purpose of them coming to the UK is to study for more than 6 months. Your eligibility for a Tier 4 visa will be assessed using a points-based system from which you will need to gain the following points:

• 30 Points relating to obtaining a valid CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies)

• 10 Points for meeting the maintenance requirement

If you do not obtain 40 points, your visa application will be refused.

In addition to scoring the required points for your visa application, you will also be required to attend and pass a ‘credibility interview’, which UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) will use to assess whether you are a genuine student, or whether you are attempting to come to the UK for some other purpose.

Once you have fulfilled all conditions of your offer to study, we will contact you to help you prepare for your visa application.

Introduction: Applying for a Visa under Tier 4 of the Points-based System

4 A Guide to Obtaining your Tier 4 (General) Visa www.beds.ac.uk/international

1.1 Your CASA CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) is a virtual document sent to the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) that states your personal details, course details and evidence of how your sponsor, the University of Bedfordshire, has assessed your ability to obtain an offer to study your course. As your Tier 4 sponsor, once we submit this information to the UKVI they will allocate a CAS number to you. The British High Commission, or other application centre to which you submit your visa application, will then access this information on the UKVI system when assessing your visa application.

Once you have met all the conditions of your offer to study at Bedfordshire, you will receive a CAS letter from the University, which will tell you your CAS number and will outline the details we have provided to the UKVI in order to obtain this CAS number.

You must check your CAS letter carefully and ensure that all the information on the letter is correct. You will also need to ensure that all the details on your CAS letter are still up-to-date and correct before you apply for your visa. If any details need to be changed you must tell us before you apply for your visa so we can update the information we have provided to the UKVI. Your visa can be refused if your circumstances change and it is not reflected on your CAS letter.

1.2 How much it will cost to applyThe cost of applying for a Tier 4 visa outside the UK is currently £322.

Applying for a Tier 4 visa in the UK will cost £439, or £839 for a Premium Service appointment.

1.3 Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS)You will also have to pay an IHS to use the National Health Service. It is currently £150 per year for the duration of your visa. You will have to pay for the whole duration of your studies as a part of your visa application process. If you make an immigration application online or at a premium service centre, you must pay the surcharge as a part of the application process or when you book an appointment. If you make an application by post, you must pay the surcharge before you complete your application. See the following for further information: Pay for UK healthcare as part of your immigration application

1.4 When you can applyYou can apply for a Tier 4 visa up to a maximum of 3 months before your course is due to start. The start date of your course is written on your CAS letter.

For example, if the start date of your course stated on your CAS is 21 September 2015, you must not apply for your Tier 4 visa before 21 June 2015.

Please note: Applications made more than three months before the start date of the course will be automatically refused.

Section 1: Applying for a Tier 4 Visa

In Summary: Documents needed to apply for a Tier 4 visa outside the UK

• Application form (to be completed online: https://www.gov.uk/apply-uk-visa)

• CAS letter from University of Bedfordshire

• Documents to prove you meet the maintenance requirement (see Section 2)

• Qualifications used to assess your place on your course as stated on your CAS letter (see Section 3)

• Evidence of your English language ability as stated on your CAS letter (see Section 3)

• Current passport - you will need to have a blank page in your passport on which to put your visa

• 2 recent passport size photographs

• Your Fee for the application

• ATAS certificate (if applicable)

• Any previous UK visas (if you have previously travelled to the UK)

• Your Tuberculosis test results if you are from a country where you have to take the test

• Proof of parental or other legal guardian consent if you are under 18

Please note: All documents provided must be originals, no photocopies or scanned copies are permitted!

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1.6 Useful LinksGeneral information about Tier 4 visas: Go to page

Applying from outside the UK: Go to page

Applying from inside the UK: Go to page

Applying for a Tier 4 (General) visa

1.5 A note for Low Risk ApplicantsTo be considered a ‘low risk’ applicant you must be applying to study with an institution with a Tier 4 Sponsor status, such as the University of Bedfordshire, and be a national of one of the countries listed below. You must also either be in the UK at the time of your application or applying in your country of nationality. The current list of low risk nationalities is as follows:

Argentina New Zealand Australia Oman Barbados Qatar Botswana Singapore Brunei South Korea Canada Taiwan** Chile Trinidad and Tobago Hong Kong USA Japan United Arab Emirates Malaysia British nationals (overseas)

**(If you hold a passport issued by Taiwan that includes the number of the identification card issued by the competent authority in Taiwan)

If you are classified as a ‘low risk’ applicant you will not be required to submit documents proving your qualifications or financial status with your application. However, please be aware that you could still be required to submit them on request, so you must obtain them. If you fail to provide these documents upon request your visa will be refused.

6 A Guide to Obtaining your Tier 4 (General) Visa www.beds.ac.uk/international

To obtain your visa you must gain 10 points for meeting the maintenance requirement. To gain these 10 points you will need to show that you have access to sufficient funds to pay your tuition fees and your living expenses. To demonstrate this you will need to show that you have had access to the amount of money required to pay your tuition fees and your living expenses for at least 28 days before you make your application. The full amount for living expenses and tuition fees (if you have not already paid them) must remain in your account consecutively for 28 days. The amount must not drop below the required level during this 28 day period. This section helps you understand how much money you will need to show that you have maintained for 28 days. The amount will vary from person to person.

Calculating the Amount of Money you must prove you have Access to

2.1 Tuition FeesYour CAS letter will state your total course tuition fee and how much of this you have already paid to the University. It will also state whether you have received a scholarship towards your fees.

Any outstanding fee not covered by your CAS will automatically be added to the amount you have to show you have access to in order to meet the maintenance requirement.

Top tip: To calculate the amount you will have to show to cover your course fees you should subtract the amount of fees you have already paid, plus any scholarship awarded to you, from the ‘course fee per year’ as stated on your CAS letter.

E.g. Course fee per year = £9,900

Course fees paid to date = £7,000

Vice Chancellor scholarship = £1,400

Amount you have to show you have access to = £1,500.

You must therefore make sure that the total amount you have paid is correctly reflected on your CAS letter at the time of your visa application.

This is because, if the full amount you have paid is not stated on the CAS, you will have to show that amount in your account again when you apply for your visa. You must contact our International Admission team who have sent you the CAS if any update is required. 2.2 Living Expenses

You are required to have access to £820 per month if your course is less than nine months, or £7,380 if your course duration is nine months or longer. All University of Bedfordshire Bachelor and Master’s courses are longer than nine months and therefore require access to £7,380 to be proven.

Please note, the maintenance requirement is increasing from 12 November 2015. If you are applying for your visa on or after 12 November 2015, you will be required to have £1,015 per month if your course is less than nine months or £9,135 as available funds if your course duration is nine month or longer.

2.2.1 Applicants who have recently studied in the UK

If you have recently studied in the UK you may qualify to show a lower amount of £1,640. This is because you will be classed as having ‘established presence’ in the UK. You will qualify for this if you currently hold a valid Tier 4 visa and have finished a course of 6 months or longer within your current visa or you are applying to continue on a course having already completed at least 6 months of that course.

Please note that from 12 November 2015, the ‘established presence’ provision will be removed, so from that date all students applying in the UK will have to show funds for the full duration of their course, or up to nine months, whichever is shorter.

Section 2: Meeting the Maintenance (Financial) Requirement

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2.2.2 University Accommodation – If you have paid towards University accommodation the amount you have paid should be stated on your CAS letter. Any amount paid for University accommodation, up to a maximum of £1,020, can be deducted from the amount you are required to show for your living expenses. From 12 November 2015 the maximum amount that can be deducted will be £1,265. Example: If you apply for your visa in August 2015 and your course is longer than 9 months, you have to show £7,380 in your bank account for 28 days. But if you have paid £3,000 for University accommodation, and this is stated on your CAS, you will only need to show £6,360 in your bank account for living expenses as the maximum of £1,020 from your accommodation payment will be deducted from the amount you are required to show in your bank account for living expenses. Top tip: If you are concerned that you will not be able to maintain the required level of funds and pay for your accommodation in full before you come to the UK, only pay a £1,020 (£1,265 after 12 November 2015) deposit for accommodation, as this is the total that can be deducted from your maintenance requirement.

Proving you Have Access to the Required Amount

2.3 Submitting the correct document

2.3.1 Funding yourself or funding from parents

Funding yourself – If you are funding your own studies, you can submit an original bank statement, bank letter or passbook.

The document must state your name, your account number, the date the statement or letter was issued, and the financial institution’s name and logo.

You must show that you have held the funds in your account for at least 28 days consecutively (without a gap, e.g. 1 February – 28 February) prior to your application.

The 28 days will be measured as ending on the date the statement is printed.

The period covered by the statement must not

have ended more than 31 days before you apply for the visa. For example, if you apply for your visa on 31 July 2015, the last date covered by your statement must be between 1 July 2015 and 31 July 2015.

Please note: • If the balance falls even by £1 below the

required level of funds during the 28-day period, your application will fail and you will be refused.

• Company bank statements will not be accepted. • All bank statements that are not in English

will need to be submitted with a certified translation.

• Online bank statements must be authenticated and stamped on every page by the issuing bank.

• The document must prove that the funds are available to you. Therefore, fixed-term bonds and other fixed-term accounts will not be accepted.

Top tip: If your account is a long-term fixed-deposit account, which requires you to leave money in for a certain period of time in order to get a high interest rate, but you can withdraw money from the account instantly at any time, you must get a letter from your bank which confirms that the money is available to you at any time for study in the UK and submit that with your bank statement.

• Your financial documents will be checked by the University of Bedfordshire staff to ensure they meet the UKVI requirements.

• You must leave the money that you have maintained for the fees and living expenses in your bank account after you submit your visa application. Failure to do so will result in your Tier 4 visa application being refused.

8 A Guide to Obtaining your Tier 4 (General) Visa www.beds.ac.uk/international

APPROVED FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

There are lists of both approved and unapproved financial institutions for some countries. You must check that the bank in which the money you are using is held is not on the list of unapproved institutions. The list is available on the following document:

See approved financial institutions

If the bank you are using is on the list of unapproved financial institutions you must not apply for your visa. If you do apply, your visa will be refused. Instead, you must contact your regional Admissions team at the University of Bedfordshire: Admissions team contact

Funding from parent(s) – If your parents are funding your studies, you can submit an original bank statement, bank letter or passbook.

The document must state at least one of your parent’s name, their account number, the date the statement or letter was issued, and the financial institution’s name and logo.

The document must show that they have held the funds in their account for at least 28 days consecutively (without a gap, e.g. 1 February – 28 February) prior to your application.

The 28 days will be measured as ending on the date the statement is printed.

The period covered by the statement must not have ended more than 31 days before you apply for the visa. For example, if you apply for your visa on 31 July 2015, the last date covered by their statement must be between 1 July 2015 and 31 July 2015.

Please note:

• If the balance falls, even by £1 below the required level of funds during the 28 days period, your application will fail and you will be refused.

• Company bank statements will not be accepted.

• All bank statements that are not in English will need to be submitted with a certified translation.

• Online bank statements must be authenticated and stamped on every page by the issuing bank.

• The document must prove that the funds are available to you. Therefore, fixed term bonds and other fixed term accounts will not be accepted.

In addition, you must submit:

1 Your original birth certificate proving they are your parent and

2 A letter written by your parent(s) confirming your relationship and that they consent to the money being used by you for your studies in the UK.

Please note: A bank statement from any other family member such as grandparents, uncle, aunt, brother or sister is NOT acceptable!

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• Your financial documents will be checked by the University of Bedfordshire staff to ensure they meet the UKVI requirements.

• You must leave the money that you have maintained for the fees and living expenses in your bank account after you submit your visa application. Failure to do so will result in your Tier 4 visa application being refused.

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2.3.2 Using a Bank Loan

You may be using a bank loan to fund your studies in the UK. If this is the case, you must submit an original letter on headed paper from a regulated financial institution which is dated no more than 6 months before the date of your application and which states:

• your name; and

• the date of the letter; and

• the financial institution’s name and logo;

• 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.

The financial institution must be regulated by either the Financial Conduct Authority, the Prudential Regulatory Authority or, in the case of overseas accounts, by the home regulator (the official regulatory body for the country the financial institution is in and where the money is held) for the purpose of student loans.

You cannot use loans held in the name of your parent(s) or legal guardian(s) as evidence of money held by you.

There must be no conditions placed on the release of the loan funds to you, other than your Tier 4 application being successful.

2.3.3 Funding from your government and other forms of financial sponsorship

Financial sponsorship is where you are given money to cover some or all of your course fees and/or living costs. This financial sponsorship can be used as evidence of money you have.

You can receive official financial sponsor from the British Government, your home government, the British Council or any international organisation, international company, university or an Independent School.

You will need to submit an original officially-headed letter from your sponsor stating your name, the name and contact details of your sponsor, the date of the letter, and the duration of your sponsorship. The letter will need to state that your sponsor will cover your living expenses and your tuition fees.

If your financial sponsor is only covering some of your course fees or living costs, you must show that you have the rest of the money needed to meet the total tuition fee and living cost requirements (see sections 2.1. and 2.2 above). For more information about acceptable ways of showing that you have this money, please refer to sections 2.3.1 (Funding from yourself or parents) and 2.3.2 (Using a bank loan), above.

2.4 Currency Conversion If you are using an overseas currency you must convert the money shown into pounds sterling so you can state the amount in pounds sterling on your application form.

You should use the Oanda website to find out the rate of exchange between your country’s currency and British pounds sterling – Currency converter

Top tip: When assessing whether you meet the maintenance requirement, the Entry Clearance Officer will use the exchange rate on the date that you submit your visa application. You should therefore check your funds against the exchange rate as close as possible to the date you submit your application.

If the Oanda website shows that the lowest amount in your account during the 28 days before your bank statement was issued is less than the amount you need in order to get your visa (any outstanding tuition fees plus living expenses) you should not apply for your visa!

Top tip: As currency exchange rates can change, make sure you put at least £200 extra in your account for the 28 day period. This way, it will be very unlikely to fall below the required amount over that time period.

10 A Guide to Obtaining your Tier 4 (General) Visa www.beds.ac.uk/international

CHECKLIST – maintenance/living expenses Yes / No

I know whether I need to show £7,380 or £1,640 for living expenses if applying before 12 November 2015 or £9,135 if applying after or on this date.

Any tuition fee paid is correctly reflected on my CAS.

I know that any tuition fee amount not paid will be added to the amount I must show for living expenses when calculating my maintenance requirement.

Any payment I have made towards University accommodation is correctly reflected on my CAS. (Remember that only £1,020 of this is counted for visa purposes; £1,265 for applications made on or before 12 November 2015)

Any scholarship I have received towards my tuition fee is correctly stated on my CAS.

I have checked my financial sponsor is accepted by UKVI (see Section 2.3.1)

I have checked my bank document(s) meet UKVI requirements (see Section 2.3)

I have checked my documents state the required information (see Section 2.3)

I have checked the exchange rate of my currency against British Pounds Sterling using the Oanda website (see Section 2.4)

2.5 Useful Links

General guidance about financial requirements when applying for a Tier 4 visa:

Guidance on application for UK visa as Tier 4 student (see paragraphs 166 to 218).

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SECTION 3

3.1 Previous Qualifications and Proof of English Language AbilityYour CAS letter will state the qualifications the University has used to offer you a place on your course. You will need to submit your original official certificate or transcript of results for each previous qualification mentioned, as stated on your CAS letter.

You will also need to submit the original certificate confirming your English language qualification that is mentioned on your CAS. If your CAS letter does not mention an English qualification, and states that no evidence of your English language ability is required because the University has assessed your English to be at level B2, then you do not need to provide any further evidence of this.

Top tip: If your name has changed since your qualification documents were issued, you must provide proof of your name change so that the Entry Clearance Officer has proof that you are the person mentioned on the documents. This may be a marriage certificate or other legal document, along with your birth certificate.

3.2 TranslationsIf any of the documents you submit are not in English (or Welsh) you will need to submit an official translation as well as your original certificate. This must include confirmation from the translator/translation company that it is an accurate translation of the original document, the date of translation, the name and signature of the translator or official from the translation company, as well as the translator or translation company’s contact details. You must always use a translator who is officially authorised to translate documents according to the law of the country from which the documents are produced and where the documents are translated. The UKVI may independently verify the translations. 3.3 ATAS (Academic Technology Approved Scheme) Certificate

For some specialist courses an ATAS certificate may be necessary. Your CAS will state clearly if it is

a requirement. If you do require an ATAS certificate you will need to apply for, and obtain, it before you submit your visa application. To find out more, or to apply for an ATAS, please follow this link: Academic Technology Approval Scheme 3.4 Health Checks If you are from one of the countries listed at the following link you are required to have a health check before you apply for your visa: Tuberculosis tests for visa applicantsThe health check is to test for tuberculosis (TB). If your test shows you are clear from infectious TB a certificate will be issued, which you must submit with your visa application. Failure to submit this document will result in your visa being refused. Please note that a test certificate is valid for 6 months only.

If you are granted a visa, you must also carry the certificate in your hand luggage when you travel to the UK.

Section 3: Other Documents Required to Obtain your Tier 4

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CHECKLIST – other documents Yes / No

Are the details on my CAS correct?

Have I included my previous qualifications as stated on my CAS?

Have I included proof of my English language as stated on my CAS?

Have I included any necessary financial documents? (see Section 2, above)

Do any of my documents need translating? If yes, are they translated correctly and by an authorised translator?

Do I require an ATAS certificate? If yes, have I got the certificate that shows that I am cleared for travel?

Do I require a health check? If yes, have I got the certificate that shows that I am cleared for travel?

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If you are applying from any country that is not listed as a low-risk country you must also be prepared to attend an interview as part of your visa application process. The purpose of these interviews is to assess whether the main reason for you wishing to come to the UK is to study. The interview will be conducted via a video link at the visa application centre. The interview will be in English. If you are unable to attend the interview or the Entry Clearance Officer is not satisfied you are coming to the UK to study they are authorised to refuse you.

You must refer to our document ‘Credibility Interviews: Information and Guidance‘, and to the ‘Common Reasons for Refusal’ section of this document (Section 6) for more information about these interviews before you apply for your visa.

If, after reading these documents, you are at all unsure about any aspect of the credibility interview process, you should not apply for your visa. Instead, you should contact your regional Admissions team at the University of Bedfordshire: International contacts

Section 4: Credibility Interviews

14 A Guide to Obtaining your Tier 4 (General) Visa www.beds.ac.uk/international

5.1 The 5-Year Study RuleStudy on a Student or Tier 4 visa at Bachelor’s degree or Master’s degree level (NQF levels 6 or 7) is restricted to 5 years in the UK. This means that if you have studied at degree level or above in the UK previously, full length of the leave you have previously been granted will be added to the length of time you are granted for your new course. If this exceeds 5 years you will not be granted your visa.

If, however, you previously studied a Bachelor’s degree with a minimum expected length of 4 years stated on your original CAS and now you wish to apply for a Master’s degree, the total length of time you can study on a Tier 4 (or Student) visa in the UK is increased to 6 years.

Please note that any study undertaken under any other visa category (e.g. a Dependant visa or a Tier 2 work visa) does not count towards the time limit.

PhD Students

Students studying a PhD course have a longer time limit than those at Bachelor’s or Master’s level. If you have been in the UK more than 8 years at the point of completing your PhD you will not be granted another Tier 4 visa.

More details on the time limit for international students are available via this link: Time limit (cap) on study

5.2 Academic Progression

If you have previously studied in the UK, your new course must constitute academic progression from your previous course of study in order for you to be permitted to study the course on a Tier 4 visa. So, if you have previously studied a Master’s degree and are coming to study another Master’s degree you must be prepared to explain how the new course is related to your previous course (part of the same group of courses or a deeper specialisation in a specific subject area) or how the previous course and the new course in combination support your career aspirations. The University will ask you to explain this before you are issued a CAS letter and you will need to do so again when you are interviewed by the UKVI (see section 4, above).

Section 5: Other Rules that may affect you

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SECTION 6

Based on our experience, the most common reasons Tier 4 visa applications are refused are as follows.

6.1 Maintenance

1 The maintenance document did not meet all the requirements.

For example:

• Scanned/photocopied bank statement. NOT ACCEPTABLE

• Bank statement is not in English and not accompanied by a certified translation. NOT ACCEPTABLE

• Company bank statement. NOT ACCEPTABLE

• Online bank statement without the issuing bank’s authentication and stamps on every page of the bank statement. NOT ACCEPTABLE

• Parent’s bank statement without original birth certificate and permission letter from the parent. NOT ACCEPTABLE

• Bank statement for a bank account belonging to a person other than the applicant’s parent, such as their uncle, aunt, brother or sister. NOT ACCEPTABLE

2 The correct amount of money was not maintained for a full 28 days leading up to the visa application.

For example: The statement shows one day on which the balance fell below the equivalent of £7,380 according to the rate of currency exchange on oanda.com during the 28 days period. NOT ACCEPTABLE

6.2 Documents

The original documents were not submitted.

For example: A photocopy of your birth certificate, or a photocopy of the academic certificates that you used to gain your CAS. NOT ACCEPTABLE

6.3 Credibility Interviews

The visa applicant did not know:

• Why they are coming to the UK to study the course instead of staying in their home country

• Why they chose the University of Bedfordshire instead of others and what facilities the University offers

• Where in the UK the University is

• What is taught on the course they have applied for

• What their intention is when they finish the course

• Why the qualification will help the applicant fulfil their career dreams more effectively than if they did not have the qualification

• Why the course will be financially profitable – why it is worthwhile spending so much on the course and how it will allow the applicant to regain the money they have spent

• Why they are returning to study after a gap in studies.

• Where they are staying when they arrive in the UK

If you are not sure you could confidently answer any of these questions when you are asked, you should not apply for your visa. You must be sure of the answer to these questions before you apply.

You must refer to the University of Bedfordshire’s ‘Credibility Interviews: Information and Advice’ document for further guidance before you apply for your visa.

Section 6: Common reasons for refusal/avoiding refusals

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6.4 Date of Application

The application is submitted too late.

You must allow at least 6 weeks for your visa application to be processed. If the latest start date on your CAS has passed by the time the Entry Clearance Officer processes your application, you will be refused.

By following the guidance in this booklet and our accompanying guide to Credibility Interviews we are hopeful you will avoid a visa refusal on these grounds. You will be able to apply for your Tier 4 visa confident that your application will be accepted and you will be issued a visa to come to study at the University of Bedfordshire.

Please note that if you at any time use false representation/ false documentation on your visa application, the Entry Clearance Officer may refuse your application under paragraph 320 7 (a) or 320 7 (b) of the UK Immigration Rules, which may also result in you being banned from gaining entry clearance to the UK for up to 10 years. An example of this is failing to declare a previous visa application refusal (to the UK or any other country).

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If your visa application is refused you will receive a refusal notice from the British Embassy/ British High Commission explaining the reasons for the refusal.

You can then decide if you would like to challenge the decision by submitting a request for an Administrative Review. An Administrative Review involves a different Entry Clearance Officer reviewing your application with a view to either overturning the original decision and granting your visa or affirming the original decision. You will have to submit any request for Administrative Review within 28 days of the date of your refusal.

Top tip: Any new documents submitted with an Administrative Review will not be taken into consideration. An Administrative Review will be based solely on the documents you initially submitted when you applied for your Tier 4 visa.

The second option may be to submit a fresh Tier 4 application. This is only an option if the University of Bedfordshire is able and willing to issue you a new CAS.

If you are refused you must email the refusal notice to us. We can then provide specialist advice. If you do find yourself in this situation please email a copy of the refusal letter to the email address from which you received the CAS letter.

Section 7: If your visa is refused

18 A Guide to Obtaining your Tier 4 (General) Visa www.beds.ac.uk/international

8.2 Check your visa

When you receive your visa it is best to check it. If you have been issued a 30 day vignette then you should check that the information in the accompanying letter is correct. You should check it has been granted for the correct length of time. You are normally granted additional time on your visa. The table below will help you understand how long your Tier 4 visa should be granted for:

Course length Visa duration

12 months or more Course length + 4 months

6 – 12 months Course length + 2 months

Up to 6 months Course length + 7 days

Pre-sessional study only Course length + 1 month

Your visa should also state your personal details that you are a Tier 4 (General) Student and the Sponsor Licence number of the University of Bedfordshire, which is DA8AR2CH7. If this is not stated on your visa, please contact your regional Admission team at the University of Bedfordshire before you travel: International contacts

If you are required to register with the Police on your arrival to the UK it will be clearly written on your visa. Not everyone will have this written on their visa. If it states this you will need to register within 7 days of arrival. You can seek advice on this from the International Office once you are here.

8.3 Change of circumstances before travelWe are aware that students’ circumstances can change after receiving a visa. If you find that your situation has changed in a way that could result in you not being able to arrive in time for your course, or if you will not be in a position to start studying when you arrive in the UK, or you do not think you will be able to sustain study for the duration of your course without any problems you must let us know before you travel, by emailing the email address from which you received your CAS.

We can then advise you whether travel to the UK using your Tier 4 visa is still permitted. If travelling is considered to be risky, further advice will be offered. If you are not able to study you must not travel.

SECTION 8

8.1 When your visa is issued If you are granted leave to enter the UK for over six months, you will be given a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) as proof of your leave and conditions of stay. This will be given to you on your arrival in the UK. When your leave is granted, you will be given a vignette (a sticker) in your passport, which is valid for 30 days. You can use this to travel to the UK. If you do not travel within that 30 days, you will have to apply for another 30 day visa. On arrival at the University, you must present your passport or travel documents with this vignette at the International Office in order to collect your BRP. This must be collected within 10 days of your arrival in the UK. In order to have your BRP delivered to the University of Bedfordshire and not an assigned Post Office, you should enter our ACL (Alternative Collection Location) code into ‘Alternative Location’ field in the BRP Collection field on the Visa4UK website. The University’s code is 2HE442 – you can also find this on your CAS letter. Once the code has been entered and you have pressed find, our University’s name and address (in Luton) should be displayed.

Section 8: Receiving your Visa

19www.beds.ac.uk/international A Guide to Obtaining your Tier 4 (General) Visa

SECTION 9

Section 9: DependantsIf you have dependants and would like to know if they are eligible to join you during your studies and the documents they will need to apply for their visa, information is available via the following link: General visa - family members

20 A Guide to Obtaining your Tier 4 (General) Visa www.beds.ac.uk/international

Section 10: Useful Links

Tier 4 policy guidance

Guidance on application for UK visa as Tier 4 student

UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) website

Student visas

UKCISA (UK Council for International Student affairs)website

UK Council for International Student Affairs

University of Bedfordshire

Visas and immigration guidance

Oanda Currency Converter

Currency Converter

SECTION 10

International OfficeUniversity SquareLutonBedfordshireLU1 3JUUnited Kingdom

www.beds.ac.uk/international