This section of the website is dedicated to helping and informing the international students at the University of Bolton. In these pages you will find lots of information which will hopefully help to make your stay in the UK, and in particular Bolton, enjoyable and trouble free. One of the main reasons that international students make appointments with the Advice Unit is to get help either extending their stay in the UK as a student, or for help applying for visas which allow them to stay in the UK to work once they have finished their studies (Post Study Work).

INFORMATION - IMMIGRATION CHANGES!!!!

There will be a new Tier 4 form for those making there application on or after 4th July 2011 - The cost of making an application will remain the same at £386 for a potal application.

From the 4th July, some new immigration rules will affect Tier 4 and Dependant applications.  Below is a summary of the changes which might affect you if you apply on or after 4th July 2011.  The changes do not affect current students with valid Leave to Remain. If you are planning to submit an immigration application on or after 4th July 2011, you should read the revised Tier 4 Policy Guidance| which is available from the links below.

Key changes being introduced on 4th July 2011 are:

Working During your Studies

You will be entitled to work only if you study at either a Higher Education institute or a publicy funded Further Education college.   

Your Family's Immigration

You can bring or keep dependants in the UK if:

• you are studying a Postgraduate course that lasts 12 months or more, at a Higher Education institution; or
• you are a Government sponsored student on a course that lasts 6 months or longer; or
• you are applying for immigration permission to study a course of six months or more, your dependant is applying at the same time as you, and within 3 months of the date of your application you had (or were last granted) immigration permission under Tier 4 or as a student under the old rules.

Evidence of Maintenance for Tier 4 Applications

From 4 July 2011, Tier 4 application forms will include a formal declaration that maintenance funds are genuinely available to you to pay for living and studying in the UK.

Students from certain countries that the UKBA has defined as 'low risk', who are applying in the home country or in the UK for permission to study with a Highly Trusted Sponsor, will not need to provide any further formal evidence of maintenance.  A list of these coutries can be found in the Tier 4 Policy Guidance.  However, the UKBA still has the right to request further evidence of your maintenance.  If they do request the evidence, and you do not provide it, your application will be refused.

The UKBA has said that the date of the closing balance on any financial statement used in a Tier 4 application will be counted at the 28th day of the 28 day period for which the funds must have been held.  They have also said that this day must be no more that 31 days before the date of application.

Academic Progress

From 4 July 2011 the new rules say that a Tier 4 sponsor can normally only issue a CAS for a course that represents 'academic progress from previous study undertaken', or which confirms that the new course compliments or enhances your previous study in the UK.  There are some exceptions to this rule, including students who are applying for more time to re-sit an examination or repeat a module.

The changes below were announced in April 2011

• If you currently have immigration permission as a Tier 4 student which was applied for before 5 October 2009 and you wish to change institution, you must obtain permission from the UK Border Agency (UKBA). From 21 April 2011, you must request permission to change institution using the Permission to Switch application form and pay a fee of £160. We are still waiting for the UKBA to publish this form.
• If you intend to study a course which is at degree level, level 6 on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) or level 8 on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF), or above, your English language ability must be at level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). In addition, if the institution you intend to study at is not a publicly-funded Higher Education institution then your English language ability must be assessed by means of a Secure English Language Test (SELT). The only exceptions to this are if you are the national of a majority English speaking country, or have obtained a specific qualification in a majority English language speaking country, as stated in the Immigration Rules. Your institution will be able to advise you if you need to take a SELT.
• If you intend to study a course which is below degree level (levels 3, 4 or 5 on the NQF or levels 5, 6 or 7 on the SCQF) your English language level must be at B1 on the CEFR. If you apply to study any course below degree level, your English language ability must be assessed by means of a SELT. The only exceptions to this are if you are the national of a majority English speaking country, or have obtained a specific qualification in a majority English langague speaking country, as stated in the Immigration Rules. Your institution will be able to advise you if you need to take a SELT.
• The definition of "established presence" has changed. To benefit from the reduced maintenance provision, you must have current immigration permission as a Tier 4 migrant or student under the "old Rules" (pre Tier 4) and have finished a single course of 6 months or more during this immigration permission, or be applying to continue your studies on a single course which you have already been following for 6 months or more.
• Tier 4 sponsors which are publicly funded Higher Education institutions can issue a single Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) for a pre-sessional course plus an academic course at degree level or above. The pre-sessional course must be no more than 3 months in duration and must not end more than one month before the academic course starts. The applicant must already hold an unconditional offer for the academic course.
• All education providers must become Highly Trusted Sponsors (HTS) by April 2012 in order to sponsor new international students. However all Tier 4 sponsors will be able to continue to sponsor exisiting students for the remainder of their course, even if they have not obtained HTS status by April 2012. They do not need to be HTS to offer courses to Student Visitors.
• If you are 16 or 17 years old and studying an English Language course as a Tier 4 (General) student, you are now able to apply for immigration permission from within the UK to progress on to an academic course as a Tier 4 (Child) student, provided you meets all of the requirements for the Tier 4 (Child) category.

Further changes to the Immigration Rules will be implemented over the next 12 months and we will notify you when details of these have been published. The proposed changes include:  

• You will not be able to spend longer than 5 years doing courses at degree level. There will be exceptions if you take certain longer courses, including medicine and architecture, and if you study a PhD. This means, for example, you might not be able to do a 4–year undergraduate degree followed by a 2–year Master's course. If you take longer than you expect to do a first degree, you might not be able to take another course below PhD level (April 2012).
  This work route will close in April 2012. We do not yet have the details of what will replace it. However, it looks as if you will need to meet most of the requirements of Tier 2, except for the Resident Labour Market Test, or of a new student entrepreneur route which does not yet exist. This means that a Tier 2 employer will not have to show that the job was advertised and no UK or EEA nationals could do it. However, the job will have to be a graduate level job with a specified minimum wage, and the employer must have a Tier 2 licence. There will be no specific provision for you if you need to complete a period of work in order to qualify in a profession. You should speak to your college or university if you think this is likely to cause you problems.

The UK Border Agency has published new Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) guidance which comes into force on 6 April 2011. The application fees increase on this date to £474 for entry clearance (a visa) outside the UK, £594 for a postal application in the UK and £918 for a premium application in the UK. Make sure you use the most recent application form on the UK Border Agency's website.

New Application Forms and Important Information

If you apply on or after 6th April 2011 you must use the new version of the the form, you must be able to show that you have had the required sum of money for maintenance in your account for a period of 28 days. This already applies to you if you apply for entry clearance (a visa) from outside the UK.

You will aslo need a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS), which is a number your Tier 4 sponsor (college or university) will give you. You will no longer be able to apply using a Visa Letter.

New Forms and Interactive Tier 4 Form

The Tier 4 interactive form will help you to complete your application form, it is for guidance only - do not print it off and use it as your application form!!! We suggest that you complete your form in pencil so that any mistakes can be corrected.  Once you have completed your form, got your CAS from Student Services and any other documents you will be sending with your application, either call in or ring the Students' Union to make an appointment with Janet who is the Advisor.  Once you have had your form checked you can go over the answers in BLACK ink. 

Click here|  for the interactive Tier 4 (General) form.   

Click here| for the interactive Tier 1 (Post Study Work) form.

You can either download the current application form and guidance notes from the links below or you can pick up an Application Pack from the Students Union Reception. An application pack from the Students Union costs £1 and consists of

Please note the Students Union does not stock copies of the Tier 4 Guidance document, PBS Dependant application forms or the Tier 1 Post Study Work form, however you can download these forms from the links below.

Tier 4| (General) Application Form

Tier 4| (General) Help Text

Tier 4| Guidance Document

PBS Dependant Form|

Tier 1 Post Study Work| (for applications made on or after 6th April 2011)

You will aslo be able to find out more about changes to the UK Immigration system at www.ukcisa.org.uk| and www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk|

To try and make applying to the Home Office for visa extensions as easy and stress free as possible we have devised some interactive forms to help.

Once you have a copy of the form you need to complete, click on the interactive help form you want to use.

• If you are applying to extend your student visa TIER 4 (G) clickHERE
• If you are applying for Tier 1 (PSW) click HERE