Student Visa Application Procedures

Student Visa Application Procedures

From 1 January 2005 all applicants seeking a student visa in order to attend a course of study in the United Kingdom must ensure that the establishment at which they propose to study is registered on the Department for Education and Skills Register of Education and Training Providers. The register will be available at the web address below for students who wish to check if their institution is registered www.dfes.gov.uk/providersregister For information on Studying in the UK, please visit www.educationuk.org.cn This is a guide for student applications in Beijing. From the 23rd February you should submit your application at the UK Visa Application Centre in Beijing. Click here for help finding the UK Visa Application Centre 1. Applicants making student applications via the UK Visa Application Centre in Beijing, Wuhan, Jinan and Shenyang after 29 May 2006 should first contact the UK Visa Application Centre to arrange a booking for a date for lodging the application. To lodge an individual application as a student, please take your application forms and all your documents to the UK Visa Application Centre. For general enquiries, please call (010) 6418 5156. 2. Anyone can submit your application on your behalf at the UK Visa Application Centre. 3. Applications will be considered only on the documents you have presented. 4. Applications should take 4-5 days to process. When you submit your application, you will receive a reference number. You will be able to check the status of your application on line at the UK Visa Application Centre's website, www.ukvac.net.cn using this reference number. If you do not have access to the internet, you should call the UK Visa Application Centre on (010) 6418 5156 two or three days after your application has been submitted, to learn of it's current status. Once your application has been returned to the UK Visa Application Centre you will be informed as to whether your visa has been issued, refused or whether you require an interview. This process has been introduced by the British Embassy as a further step in improving the overall visa application service for PRC students, with a view to making the whole visa application process more convenient. Students may find the following list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) useful: Do these new procedures also apply to the British Consulates in Shanghai, Chongqing and Guangzhou? Yes. Does the individual student have to lodge the student visa application in person, or can a friend, family member, agent or other organisation do this on the student's behalf? Anyone can submit your application on your behalf. If the student is required to attend a visa interview after initial assessment of the application package, when will the interview take place? As soon as possible and practical (eg allowing time for travel arrangements). Under what circumstances will a student be called for a visa interview? If the visa officer has a query which cannot be answered through the documentation alone. Will it be possible for the student to mail their application to the UK Visa Application Centre? No. I feel that my students background and proposed study plan is quite complicated, and I feel that the student should attend a visa interview. Will it be possible to book a student interview direct? No, first submit the documents. Of course, it is best if the application package contains a full detailed explanation of the areas which you feel may need greater explanation. This can be as detailed as you wish. As my application will be assessed on documentation, is there any further documentation required? No, there are no further requirements, and no changes to what has always been required. However, we strongly recommend that all student visa applicants provide a full set of detailed, logically ordered documents which will enable Embassy staff to review quickly all documents submitted. Please also ensure that the application form is completed correctly and fully, marking those sections that are relevant to you. Where appropriate, complete in Pinyin as well as Chinese characters (e.g. name and address). Does more documented information need to be submitted by the applicant? No. As mentioned above, the criteria for obtaining a UK student visa has remained unchanged, and the same documentation is required. However, applicants may wish to provide a table of contents as well as further explanations of documents where there may be room for misunderstanding or confusion. How many weeks before commencement of the proposed course of study in the UK should the student lodge application? As early as possible. The British Embassy will accept applications up to 3 months prior to the commencement of the proposed course of study. This year the British Embassy are asking that applications are made 6-8 weeks in advance of travel. How long does it take for a visa application document package to be assessed? Between 4-5 days. Will the British Embassy return all of the original documents the applicant has submitted after the assessment, whether successful or not? Yes, as long as the applicant also submits photocopies of the original documents. The British Embassy will withhold documents where they have clear evidence that a document has been forged or contains unauthorised alterations. Is there a specific percentage of applicants or a quota of applicants which need to be interviewed? No, there is no quota. In fact, the Embassy likes to receive genuine, well documented, logically ordered visa application packages which will result in no applicant being called for visa interviews! What is the length of bank deposits required for visa application? The British Embassy prefers to see the historical provenance of money intended to cover the costs of your course. In addition they need to know the provenance of the funds (where the money has come from) for large deposits even if they have been deposited some time ago. I have been refused a visa because the officer is not satisfied about aspects relating to my finances. What can I do? Where a person is refused a student visa s/he will always receive a notice setting out why the application failed and giving a right of appeal where applicable. One of the reasons for this is to ensure that the student knows exactly what areas in his evidence he has to address in any reapplication or appeal. A good proportion of the visas we issue are to students who failed to get a visa on first application but then addressed the reasons for failure by supplying good, clear, relevant evidence in a reapplication or appeal. Where there are large deposits of money, often amounting to many months or even year's income for the family, put into a bank account as one or more large lump sums. In those cases we need to see a paper trail history of original documents showing the origins of that money. Will the student visa application fee increase due to these changes? Is there an additional cost? No. The visa fee will not increase. However, there is an administration charge of 220RMB which is charged by the Visa Application Centre. Will there be a separate, new visa application form for this new procedure? No. However, there is an Additional Student Questions Form which can be obtained from the web site. Although this form is optional we recommend that you complete it as it is a source of additional information for the visa officer. How about Group Visa Applications? Agents and organisations should also submit their Group Applications at the UK Visa Application Centre. Does this change in procedures mean that it will be tougher to obtain a student visa for the UK? No, not at all. The criteria for students to obtain a student visa to the UK have remained unchanged. It is merely the system which has changed. If anything, the new system will allow Embassy staff to assess more applications on paper without the need for visa interview. It is hoped that the new system will speed up the processing of visa applications. How will the Embassy assess a student's level of English Language Proficiency without an interview? British Embassy staff prefer not to assess levels of English Language Proficiency with student visa applications. This is the responsibility of English Language Examination Bodies such as IELTS, Cambridge etc in China, or representatives from schools and colleges in the UK who administer their own English Language Tests in China.