TIER 4 ONLINE APPLICATION (OUTSIDE UK) GUIDANCE NOTES

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1 TIER 4 ONLINE APPLICATION (OUTSIDE UK) GUIDANCE NOTES To complete a Tier 4 online application form you will need to register and create an account on the following website You will receive an activation , if this does not arrive within 24 hours you may wish to check your spam folder. Below is a guide to completing the online application. This guide may not cover complicated applications and you are advised to contact the International Student Support Office for further guidance if required. Once your account has been created and activated you will be required to provide the personal information requested below. Please provide all the relevant and mandatory information according to your personal circumstances. 1

2 When your visa application is granted, you will receive a sticker in your passport that is valid for 30 days. This validity period will be calculated based on your course start date, and will start either one month before the course start date or seven days before the intended date of travel; whichever is later. You must travel to the UK within the 30-day validity period of the visa sticker in your passport, and then collect your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) within 10 days of arrival in the UK. This BRP will show the full duration of your Tier 4 Student visa. BRP collection is covered in more detail at the end of this guidance, in the section What happens next?. The information box below will appear once all personal information has been provided. Please select the reason for your visit ( Study ), the type of visa ( PBS Tier 4 Student ) and under visa sub type, select the option that applies to your particular circumstances, select as follows: - Tier 4 (General) Student if you will be self or family funded, otherwise privately funded or funded by a student loan; - Tier 4 (General) (Sponsored) Student if you are going to be funded by an "official financial sponsor", which includes an Imperial College scholarship or bursary, your home government (though this does not include student loans), the British Council or any international organisation or international company; - Tier 4 (UK Government Scholarship) Student ONLY IF you are the holder of a Chevening Scholarship or Fellowship, a British Marshall Scholarship, a Fulbright Scholarship or a Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan. 2

3 Click the Create Application button to proceed The following screen will provide a summary of your application to date. Please click on Go To Application to begin. 3

4 Passport Information The first section of the online application form requires you to provide your current passport information and personal details as shown in your passport. If you currently hold another nationality or have previously held another nationality you must say YES and provide the relevant details requested. 4

5 When applying for Tier 4 you must be applying from the country which issued your passport or the country in which you are ordinarily resident. If you answer NO to this question then please provide the details requested below. 5

6 If you have had any previous passports please provide the details. 6

7 If you are travelling with another person (eg dependent spouse/children) please answer YES and provide their details as requested. If you do not have an address in the UK then please use the main Imperial College address Address: Imperial College London South Kensington Campus London SW7 2AZ Telephone: Travel Information 7

8 Personal Details and Travel History Provide the contact details of where you are currently living. 8

9 Read through the travel history questions and answer accurately and honestly based upon your personal circumstances. If you answer YES to any of these questions you will be given an opportunity to provide more details. 9

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11 Family Details Only Tier 4 (General) Student applicants in specific circumstances may bring dependents with them to the UK. You can bring dependents with you if you are a new student who is 1. studying on a course at NQF Level 7 or above (i.e. Masters or PhD) and as long as the course lasts at least 12 calendar months OR 2. Government-sponsored and your course is more than 6 months long. 11

12 Parents please provide all information requested about your parents. Complete this section if you have any dependent children (under 18 years of age). 12

13 Medical Treatment If you have sought medical treatment at any time when you have previously been in the UK, you must declare this here and provide the relevant details. 13

14 Tier 4 Details Sponsor Imperial College London PBS Tier 4 Student (General) This section refers to your educational sponsor which is Imperial College London. Complete this section as shown below. 14

15 Log-in to your Student e-service account to view your CAS information and course details. - If you have forgotten your username and/or password for Student e-service you can reset it online at - For technical support on activating online accounts and accessing Student e-service please contact the ICT Service Desk on +44 (0) To find the CAS information - Please click the tab Personal Details and then select Passport/Visa near the top on the left-hand side of the screen. Scroll down to view your CAS information. - Please note that sometimes the Tuition Fees information does not appear in the CAS information on this screen. You can refer to the Imperial College website for Tuition Fee information. If you have paid part of your fees then please verify with your Admissions team what information is stated on the CAS. - To find the Course Details - Please click on the Course Details tab. You will find your course title, course start date and course end date. - The level of course and qualification would be as follows: o for Undergraduate studies write NQF Level 6 o for Masters studies write NQF Level 7 o for PhD studies write NQF Level 8 Course Dates Tier 4 Details Studies (course details) MSc and MRes students should not use the course end date mentioned on e-service otherwise the visa will be issued for an incorrect length. The course dates which will appear on CASs for Masters students will be exactly 1 year apart, as shown below: Start Date End Date 4 September September October October 2016 If you are studying a 2-year Masters course, please contact International Student Support. PhD students should use their thesis submission deadline (4 years from course start date) as their planned course end date, e.g. if the course start date is 1 October 2015, the end date will be 30 September 2019, which should be listed under the Research section of the Course Information section of Student e-service. If you are unsure about what your course end date should be, please contact International Student Support. 15

16 Refer to Student e-service and the notes on page 15 to help complete this section Below, provide the address of where you will be primarily based for your studies. For a list of the different campus addresses please refer to our website 16

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18 Meeting the English language requirement There are several different options to prove your English language ability: If you are from a majority English speaking country as recognised by the Home Office. Please refer to the Home Office website for a full list 18

19 Only Pre-sessional English students with a conditional offer for their main degree must select this option and provide details of the English language test used as evidence. You do not need to submit any documents (e.g. test certificates) as evidence of English Language competence with your visa application. The only exception to this is in the case of Pre-sessional English students, who need to pass their pre-sessional course as a condition of the offer for their main degree. These students will have to take a Home Office Approved English Language Test and provide evidence of this test with their visa application. 19

20 Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) Certain courses require you to apply for an ATAS certificate. If applicable, this would be a condition of your offer. ** If this question does not appear, yet ATAS is required for your course, you should mention the details of your ATAS certificate in the Additional Information section at the end of the application form and include the ATAS certificate with your visa application. ** 20

21 Tier 4 Maintenance and Fees ( ) To access: - your Student e-service account please click here - the Tuition Fees webpage please click here If you answer YES then select Shown in the CAS unless you qualify as a low-risk applicant, in which case select Evidence is not required under guidance but held by applicant. (See the screenshot below.) low-risk nationals Nationals of certain countries have been identified as low-risk by the Home Office. As a low-risk national you do not need to provide all the supporting documents that are mentioned on the CAS (eg previous degree certificate), or those documents normally required as part of a visa application (eg bank statements). However you must still have these documents with you and they must meet the relevant Home Office criteria should the Home Office request to see them. An ATAS certificate should always be included as part of a visa application (if required for your course) regardless of whether you are low-risk or not. A full list of low-risk nationals can be found on the Home Office website. 21

22 If you answer NO complete this section as follows: established presence principle Established presence is a principle in the Immigration Rules which determines how much money you will need to show for your maintenance. If at the time of making your visa application you have - A valid Tier 4 visa AND - During that visa have completed at least 6 months of your course or have completed a course that is 6+ months in length then you will only be required to show 2040 for maintenance. This amount must have been held in a bank account for 28 days in a row and the money must not drop below 2040 during that time. All students (except those based at Silwood Park Campus) will need to select the option inside the Inner London Boroughs. Where you do not meet the criteria for established presence outlined above (eg new students coming to the UK for the first time) then you will be required to show the full maintenance amount of 9180 held in a bank account for 28 days in a row and that the amount has not dropped below 9180 during that time. Silwood Park Campus students would need to show 1640 for established presence or 7380 for full maintenance. 22

23 At the question below please write here 1020 as this is the amount you need per month. Students based at Silwood Park Campus would need to write 820 per month. Accommodation fees paid to UK Education Provider (i.e. Imperial College) Only select Yes Paid to UK Education Provider here if you are an Undergraduate student in Imperial College Halls of Residence who has paid their full accommodation fees, and you have an official receipt. Otherwise, you must select NO and show the full amount for maintenance. ** Please note that: - Only up to 1020 can be deducted from the required maintenance amount. If you have paid your Imperial College Halls of Residence accommodation fees in full, you will still need to show the outstanding amount of funds for living expenses in your own / your parents bank account for 28 days (in most cases 9180 minus 1020 = 8160).The only exception to this is where you have a full scholarship covering more than 1020 per month for living costs. - Grad Pad is not an Imperial College owned hall of residence so unfortunately any payments for accommodation in Grad Pad cannot be deducted from the required maintenance amount. You will need to show the full maintenance amount in your own / your parents bank account for 28 days or covered by a full scholarship. ** - 23

24 Financial sponsorship Students who are being financially sponsored by an education institution, international company, UK Government or overseas Government must select YES to this question about financial sponsor and provide a scholarship letter with their visa application that provides the details of that sponsorship. ** Please note that parents or any other family member/friend are not considered an official financial sponsor for the purposes of your visa application ** The question asking How much in GBP( ) is the official is asking for the total amount that the sponsor is covering for your first year s course fees and maintenance. Then you are required to provide the specific amounts for course fees and maintenance. (The amounts entered in Course Fees and Maintenance Fees should add up to the total amount entered in the first box) If your sponsorship covers your full tuition fees and required maintenance, then you should answer NO to the question Do you have any remaining fees and maintenance still due for payment. As the scholarship will be in your name, you should answer YES to the question Do you have money in your own name, as your scholarship has been awarded to you. In the box What original documents have been supplied showing evidence of funds for the fees that still need to be paid? you should write Original scholarship letter. Please ensure that your scholarship letter meets all the criteria listed on our Financial Sponsorship information sheet. If you do not have an original scholarship letter, or your letter does not meet all of the criteria listed above, please contact International Student Support for advice on how to complete this section. 24

25 Partially-funded students If your sponsorship only covers part of your tuition fees and/or required maintenance, then you should answer YES to the question Do you have any remaining fees and maintenance still due for payment, calculate the remaining amount of tuition fees and/or maintenance which you will need to show in bank statements, and fill in the boxes with the appropriate amounts. 25

26 Self-funded students (including parent-funded students) Self-funding students should answer NO to the question Do you receive support from a financial sponsor, then proceed to the questions in the screenshot below. All self-funding students should write YES in answer to Do you have any remaining fees and maintenance still due for payment?. Students with tuition fees still to pay should fill in the relevant amount at course fees. Students who have paid their tuition fees in full should write 0 at course fees. At maintenance fees, put the amount determined by whether you consider yourself to have an established presence or not and whether you have any accommodation deductions. The amount that you need to show must be either in your name (in this case answer YES below) or in the name of a parent / legal guardian (in this case answer NO). If you select NO please give details of: - How you will show the money (e.g. an original bank statements showing the money has been held for 28 days in a row) AND - How you will prove your relationship to the person named in the bank account (e.g. a Birth Certificate). ** Please note that you can only use bank statements from another person if they are your parent or legal guardian. Bank statements provided by any other relative or friend are not acceptable ** 26

27 Enter the points claimed as set out below: 27

28 Additional Information This text box provides you with an opportunity to provide any information relevant to your application that you may wish to explain further or you were not able to provide based upon the previous set of questions. Once you have completed your application click on the Confirm Application button. You will be taken to a screen displaying all the information you have provided. Please check that all the information is accurate. This is your opportunity to go back into the form and make corrections if necessary. Once the application has been confirmed you will then be able to submit the form online, book your appointment and pay the Immigration Health Surcharge and application fee. 28

29 What happens next? After you submit your application you will be required to print off your visa application form and take this together with your supporting documents to your visa appointment. Visa application successful: Please upload a copy of your new visa, which will be valid for 30 days, to the Student e-service. Follow the instructions below on how to collect your BRP when you arrive in the UK. Visa application unsuccessful: Please contact the International Student Support team and include a scan of the Refusal Notice. BRP Collection from Imperial College: On the BRP Collection Location screen, please tick the Alternative Location box, and enter the code 2HE497. Click Find, and the following screen should appear: This means that your BRP will be delivered to Imperial College London at the South Kensington Campus. Instructions on when and where you will be able to collect your BRP from will be ed to you at the address listed on your Student e-service once your BRP has arrived at Imperial College. (This is also applicable to students who will be based at Silwood Park.) You must travel to the UK within the 30-day validity period of the visa sticker in your passport, and then collect your BRP within 10 days of arrival in the UK. 29