{"id":3867,"date":"2020-10-23T05:10:31","date_gmt":"2020-10-22T23:40:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.universityliving.com\/blog\/?p=3867"},"modified":"2025-01-29T19:20:53","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T13:50:53","slug":"uk-student-visa-changes-heres-what-you-should-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.universityliving.com\/blog\/immigration\/uk-student-visa-changes-heres-what-you-should-know\/","title":{"rendered":"UK student visa changes: Here\u2019s what you should know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Aspiring to study abroad in the UK? You\u2019re probably aware that the government will implement a points-based immigration system from 2021 onwards for students applying for a the <strong>UK student visa<\/strong>, as announced by the Home Office in\u00a0September. This new Student route replaces the Tier 4 (General) student visa on Oct. 5, 2020.<\/p>\n<p>The Student route will be open to an\u00a0unlimited number\u00a0of international students, including those from Europe coming to study after the Brexit transition period ends.\u00a0Here\u2019s what you should know as an international student:<\/p>\n<h2>How do I qualify for a UK student visa?<\/h2>\n<p>International applicants must achieve the required 70 points to be granted a visa to study at a <strong>UK university<\/strong>. They will achieve the required points\u00a0if they can demonstrate\u00a0that they:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>have been offered a place on a course<\/li>\n<li>can speak, read, write and understand English<\/li>\n<li>have enough money to support themselves and pay for their course<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>When should I apply for a UK student visa?<\/h2>\n<p>The earliest you can apply for a student visa is six months before you start your course when applying from outside the UK \u2014 up from the\u00a0three-month window\u00a0previously under Tier 4. You\u2019ll usually get a decision on your visa within three weeks.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re applying from within the <strong>UK<\/strong>, the earliest you can apply is three months before your course starts. Do note that you must apply before your current visa expires.\u00a0Gov.uk\u00a0notes that your new course must begin within 28 days of your current visa expiring; you can expect to get a decision within eight weeks.<\/p>\n<h2>When can I travel to the UK?<\/h2>\n<p>You can arrive in the UK up to one week before your course starts, if it lasts six months or less; and up to one month before, if your course lasts more than six months.<\/p>\n<h2>How long can I stay in the UK?<\/h2>\n<p>How long you can stay depends on the length of your course and how much of it you\u2019ve already completed.\u00a0\u201cIf you\u2019re 18 or over and your course is at degree level, you can usually stay in the <strong>UK<\/strong> for up to five years. If it\u2019s below degree level, you can usually stay in the UK for up to two years,\u201d according to Gov.uk.<\/p>\n<h2>Can I extend my student visa?<\/h2>\n<p>You may be able to\u00a0extend your visa\u00a0if needed or if you\u2019re eligible, such as if you want to continue your studies in the UK. For more details, click\u00a0here.<\/p>\n<h2>How much does the student visa cost?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>International students<\/strong> can expect to fork out 348 pounds if you\u2019re applying for a student visa from outside the UK, and 475 pounds to extend or switch to a <strong>student visa<\/strong> from within the UK<\/p>\n<h2>Can I still work with this new student visa?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>International students<\/strong> can study and work as a student union sabbatical officer, but Gov.uk adds that \u201cYou may be able to work, but how much depends on what you\u2019re studying and whether you\u2019re working in or out of term-time.\u201d They add, \u201cIf your application is successful, you\u2019ll be told what you can and cannot do on a student visa.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aspiring to study abroad in the UK? You\u2019re probably aware that the government will implement a points-based immigration system from 2021 onwards for students applying for a the UK student visa, as announced by the Home Office in\u00a0September. This new Student route replaces the Tier 4 (General) student visa on Oct. 5, 2020. The Student [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3868,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[977],"tags":[229],"class_list":["post-3867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-immigration","tag-united-kingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.universityliving.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.universityliving.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.universityliving.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.universityliving.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.universityliving.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.universityliving.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.universityliving.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.universityliving.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.universityliving.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.universityliving.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}