Placements: Frequently asked questions
General Placement Questions Uniform Learner Support Fund General ARC Questions Practice Assessor…
Last updated: 16 February 2023
Please see our step-by-step guide to applying for a Tier 4 visa inside the UK.
You should submit your application within the last three months of your current immigration permission and no later than the date your current immigration permission expires. In addition, please note that, if you have applied for a new course of study and currently have a Tier 4 visa under another institution’s sponsorship, you will not be permitted to start the course until you have submitted a fresh visa application under the University of Gloucestershire’s sponsorship. Applications to switch to the University of Gloucestershire cannot be submitted any earlier than 1 month before the scheduled start date of the course.
As part of the on-line application process, you can select one of three processing options:
The university does not issue CAS to students who have over-stayed their visa. If you have become an overstayer, you will need to supply us with proof that you have left the UK before we can consider issuing you with a CAS.
No. To be eligible to submit an application inside the UK, the gap between the date your current visa expires and the start date of your course must be no greater than 28 days. If the gap is greater than 28 days, the university will withhold issuance of a CAS until it has received proof that you have left the UK.
You can apply inside the UK under the Tier 4 (General) student category if you currently have, or were last given, permission to stay in any of the following categories:
• Tier 4 (General) Student
• Tier 4 (Child) Student
• Tier 2 Migrant
The precise documents required will depend on your particular circumstances, but you are likely to have to prepare the following documents:
For more comprehensive information about the required documents, please refer to the Tier 4 PolicyGuidance.
For the most up-to-date information on application fees, please see here. Please also note the requirement to pay an additional charge for healthcare, known as the immigration health surcharge. For further information about this charge, see here.
Payment must be made as part of the on-line application process using a debit or credit card.
UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) categorises certain nationalities as “low risk”. To find out if you are a “low risk” national, please see Appendix H of the Immigration Rules. If you are a “low risk” national you are not required to submit evidence of your academic qualifications or finances with your visa application. You must, however, confirm on your application form that you meet all the relevant requirements, and that you hold documentary evidence in the manner required. Please be aware that UKVI reserves the right to request documents from “low risk” students as part of the visa application process. For this reason, the University of Gloucestershire requires all “low risk” students to prepare their applications in the same way as students who are not considered “low risk”.
You must show that you have enough money to pay for:
• any first year course fees that are outstanding on the date you submit your visa application
AND
• living costs (see question 12)
Unless you are applying for the Doctorate Extension Scheme, you must show that you have held a minimum of £1015 for each month of the course, up to a maximum of 9 months. If your application is for a course or period of study longer than 9 months, you will therefore need to show a minimum of £9135 for living costs.
If the length of your course includes a part of a month you need to round the time up to the next month. For example, if your course lasts 4 months and 2 weeks, you must show that you have 5 months’ worth of living costs, i.e. £5075.
If you have pre-paid for halls of residence accommodation, you are permitted to deduct a maximum of £1265 from your living costs.
Examples:
The university requires students to supply evidence in one of the following formats: cash funds in a bank, a loan in your name, or official financial sponsorship. Evidence of cash funds in a bank Money must be held as cash, which includes savings and current accounts. Shares, bonds, overdrafts, credit cards, pension funds and similar savings accounts will not be accepted, regardless of notice periods. You will need to provide a bank statement showing funds have been held for a consecutive 28 day period ending no more than 31 days before the date of your visa application. The statement must show:
• your name or your parent(s) / legal guardian(s) name(s); and
• the account number; and
• the bank’s name and logo; and
• the amount of money available through the 28 day period (note: the balance must not have dropped below required amount at any time during the 28 day period!).
If you are using overseas currency, please be advised that UKVI will expect you to write on the document the closing balance in GBP, calculated using the OANDA website.
Please note that a Certificate of Deposit, as issued by many banks in China and Vietnam, can be accepted by UKVI provided it meets both the following requirements:
Where a statement is in a parent or legal guardian’s name, there is a requirement to submit two additional documents:
A loan in your name.
If you are relying on a loan to fund your studies, you must provide a letter from a financial institution (regulated by your country’s home regulator) confirming the loan. The letter must be dated no more than 6 months before the date of your visa application and must show:
• your name; and
• the date of the letter; and
• the financial institution’s name and logo; and
• the money available as a loan; and
• that the loan is provided by your national government, their state or regional government, a government sponsored student loan company, or is part of an academic or educational loans scheme.
Please note: loans held in a parent or legal guardian’s name are not acceptable. The loan must be in your name!
Official financial sponsorship
UKVI define official financial sponsorship as money given to a student to cover some or all of their course fees and/or living costs, by one of the following organisations: the UK government; the student’s country’s government; the British Council; any international organisation, international company or University. If you are in receipt of sponsorship from one of these organisations, you need to provide a letter from your sponsor in support of your visa application. The letter must be on official letter-headed paper and must have the official stamp of the sponsoring organisation on it. The letter must show:
• your name; and
• the name and contact details of the official financial sponsor; and
• the date of the letter; and
• the length of the sponsorship (including start and end date); and
• the amount of money the sponsor will be giving you or a statement that they will be covering all of your fees and living costs.
Please note that:
If your sponsor letter only confirms that some of your fees and/or living costs are covered, you will need to provide additional evidence to confirm you hold the rest of the money required e.g. personal bank statements;
If your sponsorship covers all your tuition fees and living costs, but your sponsor limits the time that you may study in the UK, UKVI will take the date on the sponsorship letter as the course end-date for visa purposes, irrespective of the actual course end-date stated on your CAS.
For more detailed guidance regarding what types of document are acceptable, please see our Guide to Tier 4 Financial Requirements.
No. The university will not issue a CAS unless you can supply a financial document that meets UKVI criteria.
The Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) is designed to ensure that those applying for postgraduate study in certain sensitive subject areas do not acquire knowledge that could potentially be used in Weapons of Mass Destruction programmes. Very few courses at the university will require clearance under this scheme, but if you are required to obtain an ATAS certificate, this will be picked up as part of the CAS Request process.
To learn more about the ATAS application process, and for more detailed information about which types of study and subject areas are affected, please see the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website. Please note: it can take several weeks to obtain an ATAS certificate, so it is important that you apply well before submitting your Tier 4 visa application.
Yes, as stated at paragraph 83 of the Tier 4 policy guidance. The letter needs to be signed by your parent(s), and must confirm:
• your relationship to your parent(s); and
• that your parent or parents consent to your visa application; and
• that your parent or parents consent to you living independently in the UK; and
• that your parent or parents consent to you travelling independently to the UK
Please find a suggested template here.
Yes. Where an original document (e.g. bank statement, birth certificate) is not in English, it must be accompanied by a fully certified translation by a professional translator/translation company. This translation must include details of the translator/translation company’s credentials, confirmation that it is an accurate translation of the original document, and the translator/translation company’s contact details. It must also be dated and include the original signature of the translator or an authorised official of the translation company.
No. If you make a further fee payment after you have been issued with a CAS Statement, you need to send an email notification to [email protected]. We will then check with the university’s fees department that the money has been received and amend your CAS accordingly.
Please note: it is your responsibility to ensure the CAS is up to date prior to applying for a visa. The university cannot accept responsibility for any visa refusals that result from a CAS not being up to date.
Yes. We will run a series of workshops during and following your pre-sessional course to guide you through the visa extension process. Please note that you will be required to submit originals of all relevant academic certificates as part of this extension application.
This depends on the type and length of your course:
• Four months after the end of your course if your course lasts 12 months or more.
• Two months after the end of your course if your course lasts between 6 and 12 months.
• One month after the end of your course if your course is a Pre-sessional course of less than 6 months.
• Seven days after the end of your course if your course is less than 6 months long and is not a Pre-sessional course.
Your dependants can submit applications to extend their visas at the same time as you only if:
your permission is current or expired no more than three months before this extension application
AND
your extension application is for a course over six months long
AND
your dependants already have Tier 4 dependant or “student” dependant leave AND
you apply for an extension of your visa at the same time as your dependant
Each dependant needs to submit the following documents:
For the most up-to-date fees, please see here.
Dependants are required to show £680 for each month of immigration permission that you have been granted (if they are applying after you have received visa) or will be granted (if they are applying at the same time as you). This is up to a maximum of 9 months, i.e. £6120.
Examples:
The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) has produced a detailed guide to applying for a student route visa from outside the UK. This guide includes information about all aspects of the visa application process, and includes links to many other useful publications.