How to get a
Student Visa

Despite the fact that student visas are being issued every day by British Embassies all over the world, refusal rates in poorer countries remain high.

Yet according to Government figures, overseas students are worth £4.7 billion to the UK economy, and the ‘Prime Minister's Initiative’ was set up to encourage more people to study in British Colleges and Universities.

In theory, British Embassies should be actively promoting British education and encouraging more students to choose the UK as their favoured place of study.

In practice, obtaining a student visa is not easy, as thousands of applicants discover to their cost every month. The process has just become more complex following the introduction of new extended VAF Visa application forms.

So what do you need to do to if you want to get a visa to study in the UK?

Your application for a student visa will need to comply with the immigration rules and meet the UK Visas criteria. In the book, “How 2 Come to the UK to Live Work Study or Visit” we devote an entire chapter on coming to the UK to study, but here are a few general tips:

• Firstly, you need to be enrolled in a bona fide University, College or training establishment offering courses for overseas students. Colleges are currently regulated by the DfES (Department for Children Schools and Families), but will soon come under the control of the Home Office when the Points Based System starts.

• Secondly, you must be able to prove that you have sufficient means to pay for the course and support yourself during your studies.

• Thirdly, you must have suitable accommodation in place before you apply for your visa in order to satisfy the rules. This does not mean sleeping on your friend’s sofa!

• Study the guidance notes on the UK Visas or local Embassy website and also check out the useful information published by the British Council.

• Lastly, if in doubt, take professional advise from an OISC registered Immigration Adviser or from your college if they have student advisers on hand.

Having a UK based sponsor could help with accommodation and financial support, although the Embassy are becoming stricter on the accommodation requirements. A London based company, Property Management Services, helps students find accommodation and carry out inspection reports for visa and visa appeals see: www.pmsmanagement.co.uk

If it’s that simple, why are so many people refused?

The simple answer is that student visas are refused because they do not meet the requirements or because the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) feels that “on the balance of probabilities” your application does not “satisfy the immigration rules”.

There are many specific reasons why people are refused a visa or Entry Clearance to the UK including:

• lack of funds or accommodation
• poor presentation
• incorrectly completed forms
• lack of evidence or information
• submitting false documents
• being untruthful 

The ECO will also question your motives for wanting to go to the UK and many refusals include unsubstantiated accusations and assumptions on the part of some over zealous ECOs. For instance a recent refusal notice on which we have appealed stated:

“This leads me to doubt, on the balance of probabilities, that you intend to leave the UK at the end of your studies and that your principle motivation in applying to study in the UK is the qualification to be gained”.

We see many such refusals where the ECO has decided, often without an interview, that the applicant has no intentions of studying or is using the student visa to enter the UK.

Another common reason for refusal is the old argument that similar courses are available in the candidate’s own country at a cheaper cost.

Our legal team recently won an appeal for a Filipina student, applying to take an ‘NVQ Health and Social Care’ course, refused because the ECO said it would be cheaper to take an NVQ in Manila.

Our appeal specialist refuted the claim pointing out that to complete the course you need a UK work placement, that the “NVQ” course in Manila was actually only offering courses based on NVQ modules and, more importantly, that this was not valid grounds for refusing entry clearance.

At the appeal tribunal in London, Immigration Judge, Majid, agreed and commented:

“Even if they are offering the same courses in the Philippines, so what?

“If that was the case nobody in India would go abroad to study since every course is available there”.

He quite rightly observed that if this logic was applied to every student visa application from a country like India or The Philippines, no student would ever get a visa to study abroad, which is clearly not in tune with the Prime Minister’s Initiative.

Judge Majid subsequently allowed the appeal noting the following in the written determination:

“I can not but find it anomalous that anyone can hold the impression that preference of British education over Philippine education by the Appellant will not bring substantial benefits to the appellant”.

The UK is a great place to study and British training and educational standards are among the highest in the world. There are also options for graduates to use their talents in the UK, so don’t be put off from trying.

If you would like to obtain a student visa, or have been refused, or just need immigration advice and would like a free consultation, please email me at:

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk

For the latest immigration news see

www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Useful Websites:

www.visas4students.com

www.visaappeals.com

www.britishcouncil.org

www.pmsmanagement.co.uk