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Visa information for students studying in the UK

Visa information for students studying in the UK

Visa information for students studying in the UK

Congratulations! If you are on our UK Visa Information page it means you’re now considering taking a course in our London school. #Londonisopen

Some students require a visa to study in the UK, depending on their nationality or passport issuing country. You can quickly and easily find if you need a visa to enter the UK on the UK Government website here.

The UK is a very culturally diverse and welcoming place to attend your English course. Your visa application is important and the Home Office will process it as quickly as possible. In fact, 98% of applicants receive their decision from the Home Office within 15 days.

Firstly, we want to guide you in the right direction to help keep you informed and ensure you are comfortable with the visa process. Therefore, please see below some points you may find helpful.

Students arriving from the EU, EEA and Switzerland

To find out about the rules that apply to countries in the EU, EEA and Switzerland check online here.

If this applies to you, you do not need a visa to study in the UK for up to 6 months. Simply bring your passport or ID card when you travel and present it at customs and immigration when entering the UK. At this point, you should also show your confirmation of study documents from the school.

Students arriving from countries outside of the EU or non-EEA territories

If you require a visa to enter the UK, a Standard Visitor visa is necessary for courses up to 6 months. For courses of a maximum of 11 months a Short-term Study Visa is required for entry to the UK. Key points of the Short-term Study visa are summarised below – further details on the government website here.

  • Study for up to 11-months if you are aged 16 years or over
  • Applications to be made from your home country, prior to arrival
  • Visa nationals (including Columbia, Russia, Thailand and Turkey) studying less than 6-months should apply for entry clearance before travelling
  • Non-visa nationals (including Brazil, Japan, Korea and Mexico) studying less than 6-months can make visa applications at the UK arrival airport
  • Process time approximately 3-weeks (15 working days)
  • Costs from £97 per-application

If you are applying for a Short-term Study Visa there will be some documentation you need to provide. Therefore, here is a list of documents required. Importantly, our staff assist with visa documents for hundreds of students every year and will help you with the process. Our team will ask you to provide payment and a digital copy of your passport.

Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) and registering with the police

Students with a Short-term study visa for longer than 6 months, must collect a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) in their first 10 days in the UK. If you do not, you can only stay in the UK for 30 days. For more information on the BRP visit the government website here.

If you have a stamp in your passport which tells you to register your arrival in the UK, you will need to register with The Overseas Visitors Records Office, and then attend an appointment at Brandon House.

Brandon House is open from 09.00 – 16.00 Monday to Friday. The telephone number is 020 7230 1208. The address is 323 Borough High Street, London, SE1 1JL.

The nearest tube station is Borough, on the Northern Line.

We can supply a letter on official headed paper with the details to prove that you are studying with us. For full details of how to register click here.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS FROM JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND SINGAPORE

Immigration officials may encourage travellers to use the passport e-gates instead of seeing an immigration official. Do not use e-gates if you are attending an English course with us.

People who have enrolled on courses in the UK, but did not apply for a study visa before travelling, must not use the e-gates. These students should make sure they see an immigration officer to get the correct stamp in their passports.

Students without a visa in their passport may not be able to enrol on their course if they use the e-gates.

Read an information pack from the Border Force

Attendance

As-per the school Attendance Policy and UK Visa and Immigration guidance, students must attend a minimum of 85% of classes to be compliant with the terms of their visa. Please refer to our Attendance Policy for further details.

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