Applying for a new UK Student Visa (PBS Tier 4 General)

Guidance 2017
This document is designed to help you with a Tier 4 Student (General) visa application
from outside the UK, to come to the Academy under the UKVI Points-Based System ‘PBS’.
www.ram.ac.uk/immigration-advice www.ukvisas.gov.uk
https://www.gov.uk/visas-immigration www.ukcisa.org.uk
https://www.gov.uk/tier-4-general-visa

YOUR FIRST GENERAL STUDENT VISA

The correct visa type is PBS Tier 4 Student, General Student.
The Academy is a registered Sponsor for Tier 4 General Student Visa applications. You
must meet all the conditions of entry before we sponsor your visa. If you are under 18 years old when you apply, you
apply as a General Student because the Academy is not licensed to sponsor Child Student visas.

Immigration Advice at the Academy and UKCISA (UK Council for International Student Affairs)
The main contact for advice about your immigration status is the Admissions Manager in the Registry, who can offer
Level 1 advice (under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999), this means basic immigration advice and assistance with
applications for entry clearance and leave to remain. Information is also available from UKCISA and they have an advice
phone line if you have any specific questions not covered in their website.
These are authorised contact points for advice and there is no fee involved. You should not need to pay any fees for
immigration advice, and do not seek advice from unauthorised sources; please direct your enquiries to the Academy or
UKCISA, or consult the UK Government websites listed in this document.
Academy email: admissions@ram.ac.uk
UKCISA website: www.ukcisa.org.uk

VISA SPONSORSHIP FROM THE ACADEMY.

Before you can apply for a visa, you must ask the Academy to sponsor your application.
www.ram.ac.uk/immigration-advice has information about this, including the CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for
Studies) sponsorship request form which you send to the Academy Registry.
The Academy will check these things before sponsoring you:
1. How much money have you paid us for your tuition fees?
2. Your English Language test score – is it good enough in every part of the test?
3. Have we received your Practical Reference and Academic Reference?
4. Your Matriculation documents – have we seen a copy (with translation) as proof that you can join your study
programme?
5. Do your bank documents meet the UKVI requirements for financial evidence?
When all these things are OK and we have received your CAS request form, we will put your details into the UKVI
database and send you a copy of those details. Please read those details carefully and tell us if anything is wrong. For
example, check the end date of your study programme, and your passport number. When you have confirmed that all
the details are correct, we will assign you a CAS number. This will be done no earlier than 6 months before your study
programme begins; normally we begin processing CAS requests from early June because you cannot apply earlier than
three months before enrolment week.
The CAS number will be sent to you by email, please wait for it before you begin your visa application.

HOW TO APPLY FOR YOUR VISA

To apply for your first UK student visa, you have to make your application outside the UK, normally in your home
country. You should apply online through https://www.gov.uk/tier-4-general-visa, and you may also need to complete
the VAF9 Appendix 8 form from the same website.
If you already hold another type of UK visa, it may be possible to ‘switch’ to Tier 4 within the UK, see the www.gov.uk website
for guidance about this, and our ‘Changing from another UK visa’ document on www.ram.ac.uk/immigration-advice.
Please note that you will only be able to apply for your Tier 4 visa a maximum of three months before enrolment week.
The visa will be valid from one month before the first day of enrolment week.
You will need to gain 40 points to get your visa, and you must include all of the things listed on the next page.
The Tier 4 rules are simple, but very strict – if you do not answer all the required questions, or your application has
incorrect documents, missing documents, or false documents, the wrong application fee or photographs in the wrong
format, your application will be rejected and it is not possible to appeal. You will have to apply a second time, pay the
application fee again, and make sure all the application papers are correct.
You will also have to request another CAS number from the Academy, this will cost you £21.
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1 : MONEY : 10 POINTS
When you apply for a student visa, you have to show bank documents to prove you have 9 months maintenance money
(living costs at £1,265 per month = £11,385) plus the balance of the coming year's tuition fees in an eligible bank or
savings at the time you apply for the visa. (See Note 1 below about exemptions to this)
You must show that you have held the money for a consecutive 28 day period (finishing on the date of the closing balance)
ending no more than 1 month before the application, and you must sign an assurance that the money is genuinely available to
pay for your study costs: the UKVI might check this after you arrive in the UK.
• You can use money held in an account owned by your parents or legal guardian. You will need to show evidence that
you are related to your parent(s)/legal guardian and that you have your parent(s)/legal guardian’s permission to use
this money.
2 : CAS NUMBER : 30 POINTS
The Academy's CAS number proves that we have sponsored you, and that gives you 30 points.
3 : PROOF OF MATRICULATION
BMUS, MA, MMUS, MPhil, AdvDip, ProfDip: To join a degree or post-Masters diploma programme at the Academy, you
have to gain the correct academic award before coming here. For example, to join a Masters programme, you will need
to get a Bachelor Degree, and we need to see proof of it, either a copy of the certificate or of the final transcript. The
Academy will specify the documents in the UKVI database, and you will see them listed in the details we send to you
before we sponsor your application. (See Note 1 below about exemptions to this)
YEAR IN (Year Abroad): Because you are already on a degree programme, you may need to show a transcript from that
programme to prove that the placement at the Academy forms part of your home institution’s degree studies.
PGCert and PGDip do not require any academic award.
4 : ENGLISH LANGUAGE RESULT
If you were required to take an English Language test and have reached the required scores for each individual section of the
test, the Academy will state this in the UKVI database. You do not need to include the test certificate with your application.
5 : PHOTOGRAPHS
Photographs must be in the correct format, this is described in the visa guidance notes from UKVI.
6 : APPLICATION FEE and HEALTH CHARGE
The correct visa application fee. The student visa application fee depends on where you make the application and will be
specified in the visa application form. You must also pay the new Health Charge before you make your visa application,
this is calculated by the UKVI online system.

REMEMBER!....
The visa may take a number of weeks to process, see https://www.gov.uk/visa-processing-times
Make sure you continue to keep enough money in your bank account after making the application – if there is a
problem and you need to make a new application, you may need to send new bank documents which must still meet
the requirements.
You will be given a temporary travel vignette (in your passport) which allows you to come to the UK. Then you collect
your Biometric Residence Permit (this is the Tier 4 visa) from a Post Office branch in the UK within 10 days of your
arrival date, or before the expiry of the vignette. UKVI will send you a letter with the Post Office details by UKVI.

POLICE REGISTRATION
If there is an instruction on your visa (or the accompanying letter) saying that you are required to register with the police,
you must go to the Overseas Visitors Records Office within seven days of your arrival in the UK.
Overseas Visitors Records Office (OVRO) 323 Borough High Street, London, SE1 1JL +44 (0)20 7230 1208
https://beta.met.police.uk/advice-and-information/registering-as-an-overseas-visitor/
The registration office is normally open between 9.00am and 4.30pm Monday to Friday and you should go early in the
morning because there are usually queues. The nearest Underground (tube) station is Borough on the Northern Line.
Check the police website to confirm the documentation you must take with you to register. After you have registered,
you will need to tell your local police station, the Academy Registry and UKVI every time you change your address.

Note 1: “Low Risk” - The UKVI has cancelled the requirement to provide documentary evidence of maintenance and
qualifications at the time of application for students of some nationalities: see www.ukcisa.org.uk under ‘Preparing and
Planning’. However, the UKVI reserves the right to request that documentation at random, so please ensure you can
provide this evidence if you are asked.
June 2017

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