TOP TIPS FOR UK STUDENT VISA APPLICANTS!

If you are heading to the UK to study this year, read the UKBA top tips on making a Tier 4 student visa application

 
Top tips for UK student visa applicants

Apply as early as you can. You can apply up to 3 months in advance.

You will need a certificate of acceptance for studies (CAS) from your chosen place of study before you make an application.

You should read the guidance on Tier 4 student visas at the website.

You should know what additional supporting documents you will require for your application and allow plenty of time to get these together.

If you are applying in Vietnam you will need a TB certificate from an approved TB test clinic.

You will need to provide bank statements and education certificates.

Your bank statements should show that you have had the required maintenance funds in your bank account for at least 28 days prior to paying your student visa fee online.

Some applicants might also need a Secure English Language Test certificate and/or an ATAS certificate.

You should complete your Tier 4 student visa application form, pay your visa fee and book an appointment at your visa application centre online at the website.

You should only complete your application form in ENGLISH

When making an appointment you must choose a Tier 4 student appointment

Take a printed copy of your application form, your passport, a passport photo and any supporting documents that you require to your visa application centre appointment.

You must provide a certified translation of any supporting documents that are not in English.

As you will have completed your application online, Appendix 8 is not required.

UK Visas and Immigration will aim to process your visa within 15 working days. However, we are currently experiencing a high volume of applications and you may experience some delays. You should not expect it any sooner. If you need your visa in a hurry, you can choose our 3-5 day priority visa service.

UK BLOCKS STUDENT PSW-ENTREPRENEUR LOOPHOLE!

The Home Office places new restrictions on the entrepreneur visa route in response to scams from individuals and organised criminal groups.

New Immigration Rules Changes

The entrepreneur route is intended to allow migrants to set up businesses in the UK in order to create jobs and growth. However evidence from tax records shows that people on expiring student visas are transferring to entrepreneur status under the pretence of setting up a business when they are actually working in low skilled jobs.

Entrepreneur route targeted after the closure of the post-study work visa route

Visa statistics suggest that individuals and organised criminals began to target the entrepreneur option once the post study work visa, which allowed students to stay on after their studies, was axed in 2012.
We will take firm action to protect our immigration system

Immigration and Security Minister, James Brokenshire said:

This government is building an immigration system that is fair to British citizens and legitimate migrants and tough on those who abuse the system and flout the law.

Our reforms have cut net non-EU migration to levels not seen since the 1990s and slashed overall net migration by a third since its peak under the last government.

And we will not hesitate to take firm action to protect our immigration system further – particularly when there is evidence of criminals targeting what they think are weaknesses in the rules.

With the new clampdown students will only be able to switch using funds from a government-approved source, and post-study workers will need additional evidence of their business activities. In addition, those who have not yet started businesses and who do not have evidence of a genuine business will not be able to switch from the old post-study route onto an entrepreneur visa.

NIGERIAN-EAST LONDON FRAUDSTERS JAILED!

East London document fraudster jailed

06 December 2013

A group of East London immigration offenders who used false documents to accumulate £63,800 in illegal wages have been jailed for a total of almost 2 years.

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Nigerian nationals Kennedy Avebuan, James Igbinosa and Dorothy Igbinosa fraudulently used the identity of a Dutch man to gain employment in the UK.

Woolwich Crown Court heard that Dorothy had entered into a sham marriage with the Dutch man in 2004. He flew back to Holland on the day of the 'wedding' and she was initially granted leave to remain on the basis of the 'marriage'. However, this was revoked in 2005 when it was established that the relationship was not genuine as she was in fact with the partner of Avebuan, with who she has since had 4 children. James Igbinosa and Dorothy Igbinosa claim not to be related.

The scam was uncovered in January this year when Avebuan, an illegal immigrant, was arrested after he was discovered working illegally as a cleaner at Haberdashers Askes School in Brockley. He was found to have used a forged passport in the Dutch man's identity to gain this employment.

James Igbinosa, a Nigerian who had overstayed his visa, was arrested the same day when he was found living at the same address as Avebuan in Romford. Investigations showed that he had also used a forged passport in the Dutch man's identity to work illegally at Enterprise Support Services, as a cleaning contractor.

Investigations established that Avebuan and James Igbinosa had used the same bank account which they had set up fraudulently to deposit their illegal earnings.

Dorothy Igbinosa was arrested in March this year at the house in Romford that she shared with Avebuan. She had worked illegally at Folkestone Nursing Home in East Ham, and Fircroft Primary School, in Tooting, through Enterprise Support Services. She lied to both employers regarding her true immigration status.

Investigations showed that the 3 had netted a combined total of £65,746 in earnings through working illegally for 4 different employers, all of who had been duped by their forged/false documentation.

At a hearing at Woolwich Crown Court on 2 October all 3 defendants pleaded guilty to a number of the charges against them. The judge ordered 4 not guilty pleas to remain on file and they were sentenced at the same court on Thursday 5 December.

Hannah Shirley, from our immigration enforcement criminal investigations team, said:

'This was a cynical attempt to con legitimate employers out of thousands of pounds in wages from illegal working.

'Unfortunately for the 3 people involved the law caught up with them and they are now where they belong - behind bars.

'The Home Office is cracking down on all forms of immigration crime, no matter how large or small, and those who seek to cheat immigration laws face prosecution and conviction.'

The judge recommended they be deported from the UK when they have served their sentences.

A sham marriage or civil partnership typically occurs when a non-European national marries someone from the European Economic Area as a means of attempting to gain long-term residency and the right to work and claim benefits in the UK.

Our immigration enforcement criminal investigations team is a specialist unit of seconded officers from the Metropolitan Police Service working alongside our warranted immigration enforcement officers to investigate organised immigration crime.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk