UK student visa types
| Types of UK student visa | Who can apply? |
| Tier 4 (Child) | You can apply for the Tier 4 (Child) student visa if you’re aged between 4 and 17 and want to study in the UK. If you are between 4-15 years old you must be coming to the UK to be educated at an independent fee-paying school. |
| Standard Visitor | You can apply for a child visitor visa if you are 17 years old or under and want to study in the UK for up to 6 months. You cannot switch to a Tier 4 child visa. If you want to apply for a Tier 4 child visa you must apply from your home country. |
| Tier 4 (General) | You can apply for a Tier 4 (General) student visa to study in the UK if you’re 16 or over and have been offered a place on a course. |
| Short Term Study | You can apply for a Short-term study visa if you’re doing a short course of study in the UK. This visa will allow you to come to the UK if you are 18 years or older and want to enter for up to 6 months to study a short course, up to 11 months to study an English language course or do a short period of research up to 6 months as part of a degree course of your overseas study. |
In general, students need to apply for a Tier 4 (General) Student Visa to study in the UK to study Foundation, Bachelors, Masters (or MBA), MPhil or PhD in the UK.
UK Student Visa Application:
- Funds (tuition fees for year 1 (even if the course is of higher duration) + maintenance funds) must be maintained in your bank account/FD for minimum 28 days. Keep up to date on the exchange rate using oanda.com/currency/converter/. We recommend that you keep extra money in your account in case of changes to the exchange rate. Your bank has to an accepted financial institution as per UKVI. Refer to “Banks Accepted“
- Financial Documents need to be in specific formats (list of financial documents is available below)
- Maintenance Funds: This is basically your living expenditure in the UK and the following guidelines apply:
Studying in London: £11,385 (£1265 multiplied by 9 months) if the UK University is in London.
Studying outside London: £9,135 (£1,015 multiplied by 9 months) if the University is outside London (outside of inner London boroughs)
Note: Even if the course duration is higher eg. Bachelors degree may be for 3 years, you still need to show the funds listed above
- TB Testing is mandatory. Testing can only be done from one of the approved clinics. Refer to “TB Testing – Approved Clinics in India” or Online Link
- MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALL YOUR FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS IN HAND WHEN YOU ARE TAKING YOUR APPOINTMENT. i.e.: Do not submit your visa application (for an appointment) on 12th August and have your financial documents dated 14th August
- Online Visa application
UK Visa Fees for students (Tier 4 visa) is Rs. 33,810/- (£322) as of July, 2015. Visa Fees will have to be paid online using Visa or MasterCard debit or credit card. UK Visa Application Link: https://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/
Important points to note about your UK student visa application:
- Sponsor: While filling your visa application your Sponsor is your University not your parents. So enter the University name
- Travel Date: If you’ll be studying for more than 6 months in UK, you can go there 1 month before your course starts. So select the date of arrival in the UK accordingly
- Booking your Appointment: Before selecting a visa application centre on Visa4UK, you will be asked to confirm the type of appointment you want. When applying for a Tier 4 Student visa, you’re required to book the appointment as follows:
- Select appointment location
- Select appointment type which should be ‘PBS Tier 4 Student’
Note: You should only pick up the Tier 4 student option and not the Standard appointment
- Select appointment Date and Time
If an appointment is booked in a wrong category, centre won’t let you in or accept your application
- UK Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS): From 5 July, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is improving how applicants pay the IHS of GBP 225. If an IHS reference (or payment) is needed, you will be automatically directed through the IHS process when you complete your online visa application. All Indian students will need to pay this amount. For Bachelors students, you have to pay the IHS fee for all 3 years. You can calculate the cost of IHS here
- Biometric Residence Permit (BRP): April 2015 onward, students will be issued with a sticker in their passport instead of the vignette. This sticker will be valid for 30 days from the applicant’s intended date of travel. Once the applicant arrives in UK, they have 10 days to go to the post office and collect their Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) for the rest of their stay in the UK. Your University may also be a location from where you can collect your BRP. Your University may provide the BRP number (code) which must be entered in the visa application before submission
- Photo: Your photos (4) must meet UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) requirements. You can also have the photos taken inside the VFS when you go for the appointment ( 204/4 copies)
- Biometric & UK Visa Interview: When submitting your documents at the VFS you will be required to get your biometrics done & you will be interviewed over skype at the centre by the Home Office in the UK. Prepare well for the UK visa interview
- UK Visa Process Time (Tier 4 Visa): 12 Working days (in general). Priority visa service (at higher visa fees – £120) is also available where the decision is made within 3 to 5 working days