Immigration Corner | Applying for a short-term study visa

Dear Mr Bassie,

I would like to attend a short course of study in the United Kingdom and I was told that I would now need to apply for a short-term study visa. Would you please explain the circumstances under which this visa is issued?

HB

Dear HB,

Persons can apply for a short-term study visa if they are attending a short course of study in the United Kingdom; they are from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland; and they meet other eligibility requirements. Persons will need a Standard Visitor visa if they are an academic visitor. Please note that persons cannot apply if they qualify for British citizenship – including if they can hold dual nationality. Those persons must apply for British citizenship instead.

If successful, persons can do a short course of study in the United Kingdom, such as an English language course or a training course, and do a short period of research as part of a degree course if they are studying abroad.

Persons cannot study at a state-funded school; work (including on a work placement or work experience) or carry out any business. They cannot extend this visa or take family members (‘dependents’) with them – they must apply separately. These persons are not eligible for public funds.

If successful, persons can stay in the United Kingdom for the length of their course or research. Persons may be allowed to stay an extra 30 days if their total stay in the United Kingdom would be no more than six months, or no more than 11 months if 16 years old or over and studying an English language course. The visa will say how long the individuals are allowed to stay over there.

apply for a short-term visa

If a person does not normally need a visa to visit the United Kingdom, he/she can study for up to six months without applying in advance. Persons must see a border officer on arrival in the United Kingdom – do not use the e-Passport gates. If persons want to study for longer than six months, they must apply for a short-term study visa in advance.

Persons can apply for a visa up to three months before the date of travel to the United Kingdom, and they should get a decision on the visa within three weeks when they apply from outside the United Kingdom. Please note that fees are £97 for a six-month visa and £186 for an 11-month visa.

With respect to eligibility, persons must prove that they:

- Have been offered a place on a course in the United Kingdom at an accepted place of study;

- Have enough money to support themselves without working or help from public funds, or that relatives and friends can support and house them;

- Can pay for their return or onward journey.

If persons are under 18 years of age, they must also have planned for their travel and stay in the United Kingdom and have had permission from their parent or guardian to study in the United Kingdom.

Persons applying must be accepted on a course with an education provider that holds a Tier 4 sponsor licence. Otherwise, the course will need to be held at an educational institution listed by one of the institutions listed online.

If persons are planning to learn English as a foreign language, they must be at least 16 years old and accepted on a course to learn English as a foreign language when applying for an 11-month, short-term study visa. Please note, a mixed course, some of which is spent studying English, does not count in this category.

With respect to visiting the United Kingdom as part of an overseas course, persons can apply for a short-term study visa if they are at least 16 years old and studying at an overseas higher education institution and part of their course is in the United Kingdom.

The institution must:

- Hold its own national accreditation;

- Offer only part of its educational programme in the United Kingdom;

- Offer programmes that are equivalent to a United Kingdom degree.

Also, persons can go to the United Kingdom for a short period of research if already enrolled on an overseas degree course.

To be eligible:

- Persons course must be equivalent to a UK degree;

- Persons must be carrying out the research at a UK-recognised body, or a body that receives public funding as a higher education institution;

- Persons must be at least 16 years old.

I hope this helps.

John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practises law in Jamaica. He is a justice of the peace, a Supreme Court-appointed mediator, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a chartered arbitrator and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com