UK Tier 4 Student Visa – application procedures

Tier 4 Student visa for Adult Students – Application procedures

The application process step by step

1. Carefully read the Tier 4 General Student Policy Guidance and review if you meet the requirements http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/applicationforms/pbs/Tier4migrantguidance.pdf
2. Check if you meet the required 40 points and complete the paper copy “self assessment form” (please note that all applicants need to complete this paper self assessment form with their applications, irrespective of whether you need to submit the student application form proper on-line or in paper format!). An easy way to check your points is completing the on-line UKBA points calculator, which can be found here. Please remember that you will need to submit a paper copy “self-assessment form” with your application. You can transfer the results from the points calculator onto your paper form. The paper self-assessment form can be found here.
3. Check how and where you need to submit your application and how to pay the processing fees. The procedures for this vary from country to country. You can use UKBA’s country finder to find out where and how to submit your application in your country of residence here. Typically, you will need to complete the application form on-line, pay your fees on-line, have your Biometric data processed at a Visa Application Centre and submit your documents at the Visa Application Centre as well. But, as I say, procedures vary from country to country so please check UKBA’s country finder to find out which procedures apply in your country of residence.
4. Prepare the supporting documents that are specified in the Policy Guidance. Please remember to provide originals plus copies of any original documents that you wish UKBA to return to you. Also remember to provide verifiable translations of any documents that are not in English or Welsh.
5. Complete the on-line or paper Tier 4 general student application form (VAF9), as appropriate. If you need to submit an on-line form, the link is here. If you need to complete a paper Tier 4 student form (form VAF9), the link is here.
6. Submit your application. Please note that the date of your application must be no more than 6 months after the date when your Tier 4 sponsor assigned your confirmation of acceptance for studies to you! For these purposes, the date of your application is the date that you have paid the application fees.

Procedures for Tier 4 Student applications submitted in India

Since this website attracts many visitors from India, we will briefly set out the application procedures for Tier 4 student applications in India below.

How to prepare and apply in India

To apply for a Tier 4 General Student Visa (adult students), you must:

1. Carefully read the Tier 4 General Student Policy Guidance and review if you meet the requirements http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/applicationforms/pbs/Tier4migrantguidance.pdf
2. Check if you meet the required 40 points. An easy way to do this is by completing the self-assessment form, a paper copy of which you will need to submit with your application anyway. You will find the self-assessment form here
3. Prepare the supporting documents that are specified in the Policy Guidance. Please remember to provide originals plus copies of any original documents that you wish UKBA to return to you. Also remember to provide verifiable translations of any documents that are not in English or Welsh.
4. Complete a PAPER self-assessment form (see point 2 above) if not already done so
5. Complete and submit a Tier 4 general student visa application form online. You can find the on-line application form here You will need to print out and sign your completed form. If you do not have access to a printer when you apply, you will be able to log in and print out the form later. Once you have completed your application form online, only small manual alterations to this form will be accepted for submission at the visa application centre. When you have completed your online application, you will receive an email message containing your application number (also known as a ‘GWF reference’). Please make a note of this number.
6. Make an appointment to submit your application at one of the visa application centres (VACs). In India, UKBA works together with a commercial partner, VFS, which operates the Visa Application Centres. As part of the application process, you will need to attend one of the VACs. You will be prompted to make an appointment with the VAC that is nearest to your residence at the end of the on-line application form process (see point 5 above). For VAC locations see below. You will receive a confirmation e-mail of your appointment. You will need to print this confirmation e-mail and take this with you to the VAC as evidence of your appointment.
7.  Attend the Visa Application Centre. You will need to arrive no earlier than 15 minutes before your appointment (if you are late you will need to reschedule). Also note that the only people that will be admitted are: the visa applicant; a responsible adult, if the applicant is a child; a carer, if the applicant is disabled; and an interpreter, if the applicant is hearing-impaired. Please also note that bags, cameras, mobile phones and other equipment will not be admitted inside. At the application centre, you will need to:

submit a SIGNED print-out of your on-line application form

submit your SIGNED and DATED Tier 4 student self-assessment form

submit your passport and a copy of the page that has your personal details. Please note that you are not legally required to have 6 months validity on your passport at the time you apply for your visa. But your passport must be valid at the time you apply and at the time you arrive in the UK. Please also note that your passport must contain at least 1 page that is blank on both sides, so that your visa vignette (sticker) can be inserted.

submit one 1 recent passport-sized (45mm x 35mm) colour photograph of your face, which meets the requirements in our photograph guidance – you can download the photograph guidance here

submit your supporting documents as specified in the Tier 4 Student Policy Guidance (don’t forget to bring copies of any documents that you wish to be returned including a copy of the passport page showing your personal details, and verifiable translations of any documents that are not in English or Welsh);

pay your visa application fee (see below for payment methods in India); and

enrol your biometric information. Your fingers will be scanned and a digital photograph taken. Please note that if UKBA is unable to take your fingerprints, for example, because of henna, you will need to return at a later date

8. Wait until the VAC contact you.

VFS will inform you when your documents are ready for collection. You can then collect your documents and (if your application was successful) your visa from the visa application centre where you made your application. You will need to bring your receipt.

Note:

If you track your application on the VFS website/by SMS and see the message ‘Your application has been sent to the BHC’, this means that VFS have forwarded your documents to the appropriate British High Commission for processing  and consideration. It does not mean that your application was successful. A few of our blog visitors have asked us for the meaning of this VFS status update, hence we wanted to mention it here as well.

If you see the message ‘Application under process at British High Commission’, this means that your application is with the BHC that will consider your application. It means that the application is currently in the BHC’s work queue. For example, it is waiting to be assigned to a caseworker, or has been assigned to a caseworker that is assessing your application.

If your status shows as ‘Your Application is being sent to the application center. Please wait until it is ready for collection.’ this means that the British High Commission has returned your documents to the visa application centre. It does not mean that your visa has been issued or refused; it means that a decision was made and that your documents are now in transit, back to the centre where you submitted your application. You must wait for the next status update (please see below), which indicates that your documents have arrived at the centre and are now ready for collection.

If your status shows as “Your application is ready for collection; please visit the UK Visa Application Centre where you submitted your visa application to collect the same” or “Your application has been received at the uk visa application centre and is ready for collection” (which of the two versions depends on where you submitted your visa application), this means that a decision has been made and that you can collect your passport and documents from the Visa Application Centre. It does not mean that your visa has been issued. Nor does it mean that your visa has been refused. All it means is that a decision was made and that the High Commission has returned your passport and documents (either with a visa or with a refusal notice) to the VAC. You will only find out whether or not the visa was issued or refused when you collect your documents from the VAC. There is no way to check this on-line and, if you signed up for the SMS service, you will not receive a message with the result of your application either.

The VFS Global in India website lists the collection times at each visa application centre.

A nominated person can collect your documents on your behalf. They will need to provide an authorisation letter signed by you, your receipt and proof of their identity, which has their photograph. You can find the authorisation letter here: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/countries/vfs-authorisation.pdf

For all visa applications submitted from Wednesday 10 October 2012, it will no longer be possible for a third party to collect the documents on behalf of an applicant, except in the following cases: a parent collecting for a dependent child; one member of a family group collecting the passports for the whole family; Government Ministry representatives and a Business Express Programme company representative, approved by the company’s authorised signatories.

Applicants who do not wish to collect their documents in person, and whose documents cannot be collected by one of the above, should select return delivery by courier at the time they make their visa application. This procedural change is to ensure the safe and secure return of documents to applicants.

After you have collected your visa, you should check that it:

• contains your correct personal details;
• correctly states the purpose for which you want to come to the UK; and
• is valid for the date when you want to travel.

If you think there is anything wrong with your visa, you should contact the VFS call centre immediately. You can find their details on the VFS Global in India website.

Important notes:

Please note that VFS staff has no influence on the decision. VFS accepts the application, then forwards this to the relevant UKBA visa section at the appropriate British High Commission in India for decision.

Your passport will remain with the visa section until a decision has been made. If you need your passport back whilst your application is still being processed, UKBA will withdraw your application. This means that you will not (not) get a refund of the processing fees and that, should you wish to re-apply at a later stage, you will need to start the process all over again, including submission of Biometrics, payment of fees etc.

You can apply for a visa up to 3 months before your date of travel to the UK. UKBA strongly advises you not to confirm your travel arrangements until you have received your visa.

Tuberculosis test

The UK government recently announced that it will extend the requirement to undergo TB screening before arriving in the UK, to more countries, including India. This will apply to applicants that are seeking entry to the UK for more than 6 months. As a result, Tier 4 students in India will also be required to undergo TB screening. A date for this has not been set as yet. Students that apply before October 2012 will not be affected and will not need to undergo TB screening. There will be a further announcement about arrangements, including the start date of this policy, screening facilities and cost at a later date. Until that time, existing arrangements apply. UPDATE: Tuberculosis testing will be required for Tier 4 Student applications submitted on and after 1 November 2012. See our “News” category for UKBA’s announcement.

VAC locations in India

Payment methods in India

There are 3 ways to pay your visa application fee:

Payment at Standard Chartered Bank

You can pay your fee at some branches of the Standard Chartered Bank. You can find a list of these branches on the right side of this page. There is no charge for this payment service.

The bank will issue a demand draft in favour of the ‘The British High Commission’, payable in:

• New Delhi if you are submitting your application in Northern or Eastern India
• Mumbai if you are submitting your application in Western India
• Chennai if you are submitting your application in Southern India

The demand draft is valid for 6 months from the date of issue. You should submit your visa application during this 6-month period. You must attend the bank in person with your original passport. In the case of a family application, 1 applicant can visit a branch of the bank with the original passports of all the family members applying for the visa.

Please bring the demand draft with you to the visa application centre when you submit your visa application. Separate demand drafts are required for each visa application.

Demand draft from a nationalised or foreign bank

You can pay your fee by getting a demand draft issued by a nationalised or a foreign bank. Bank charges for this service will vary.

The demand draft must be in favour of the ‘The British High Commission’, payable in:

• New Delhi if you are submitting your application in Northern or Eastern India
• Mumbai if you are submitting your application in Western India
• Chennai if you are submitting your application in Southern India

Please bring the demand draft with you to the visa application centre when you submit your visa application. Separate demand drafts are required for each visa application.

We regret that we cannot accept bank drafts drawn from a co-operative bank.

Payment at the visa application centre

You can pay the visa application fee at the visa application centre when you submit your visa application. Standard Chartered Bank facilities are located in all visa application centres for this purpose. The Standard Chartered Bank will apply a service charge of Rs.260 (inclusive of taxes) for this facility.

How long does it take to process my Tier 4 Student visa?

You can find UKBA’s most recent turn around visa processing times in India here

The text above is an adaptation of the contents on the UKBA website (August 2012)

Remember, immigration law is complex and subject to continuous change. The information provided here may be out of date, or just based on personal experience/knowledge. The use of these pages is therefore entirely at your own risk. Before applying for any type of visas, you should always seek information from the authorities direct via their official websites. You will find some useful website details on our Links page.