New UK student visitor visa will be introduced as of 13 January 2011
New UK student visitor visa will be introduced as of 13 January 2011
Students who wish to exclusively study an English language course in the UK will be able to apply for extended student visitor visas for up to a period of 11 months to enable them to do so. This will be introduced as of 13th January 2011 and will only be available to migrants applying from outside of the UK. The requirements under this category are the same as the current student visitor visa requirements. Work is prohibited and students are not allowed to bring their dependants, take placements or switch into other courses or extend their stay beyond their permitted leave.The fee for an extended student visitor visa will be the same as for a student visitor visa.
Students who wish to study other courses in the UK for a period over 6 months, will need to apply under Tier 4 of the points based system. Non visa nationals however, who do not usually require a visa to study for longer than 6 months, will need to apply for an extended visa in order to study a longer English language course.
The students tier (tier 4) was launched in March 2009 and students wishing to come to the UK will be assessed under the new points based system. The new system provides for a points target that applicants need to meet which means that prospective students will be able to assess themselves and see if they have enough points before making an application.
A notable change is that education providers wishing to bring students from outside the European Economic area (EEA) will have to obtain a licence from the Home Office.