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Topic: Tier 4 visa start date  (Read 308 times)

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Tier 4 visa start date
« on: July 29, 2014, 11:49:04 PM »
So I have just received my email stating my visa has been issued, today, so I have decided to book my flight. My official course start date is the 22nd September. I booked my flight for leaving the 22nd august, as I know they allow you to travel one month before. Would this be alright? What is usually the visa start date? As im guessing one month before my course starts would probably be what's printed under the visa start date? Im just hoping I've not made a mistake in booking.my flight for exactly a month before.


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Re: Tier 4 visa start date
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2014, 12:04:36 AM »
I wouldn't book your flight until you have your visa in your hands and have checked the start date and that the visa has no errors.

You cannot enter the UK until the start date printed on the visa so what happens if you have booked the flight for august 22nd and then you find your visa isn't valid yet on that date?

Your visa should be made valid from the travel date you put on the application, and it can be made valid up to 1 month before your course starts... So it depends what date you put on the application, and what date they've actually made it valid from.

Are you able to cancel or change your flight now that you have booked it? I know some airlines allow you to cancel or change it free of charge within 24 hours of booking.


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Re: Re: Re: Tier 4 visa start date
« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2014, 12:25:25 AM »
I wouldn't book your flight until you have your visa in your hands and have checked the start date and that the visa has no errors.

You cannot enter the UK until the start date printed on the visa so what happens if you have booked the flight for august 22nd and then you find your visa isn't valid yet on that date?

Your visa should be made valid from the travel date you put on the application, and it can be made valid up to 1 month before your course starts... So it depends what date you put on the application, and what date they've actually made it valid from.

Are you able to cancel or change your flight now that you have booked it? I know some airlines allow you to cancel or change it free of charge within 24 hours of booking.

Thank you for your reply, I just called and cancelled. I did put the 22nd as my intended date of arrival but I would rather be safe then sorry. So hopefully it is still for that date and I can just Redbook with no worries

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Re: Tier 4 visa start date
« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2014, 01:02:18 AM »
Mine had a full month before my course start date on it.
April 11, 2012-Began talking online
June 2012-Officially dating
August 2012-Met in person
Aug 2012-Nov 2012-Tier 4 (General)
Aug 2014-present- Tier 4
Oct 2015-Wedding!!! and spouse visa sometime after that and before the Tier 4 expires


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Re: Tier 4 visa start date
« Reply #4 on: August 04, 2014, 04:48:37 PM »
Just as a note, you *can* enter the country before your visa start date -- but it's sort of risking it at the border. I had to be in the UK for other reasons a couple of weeks before my tier 4 started, so I flew in, told the border agency it was so I could drop of my luggage (and ice hockey equipment, which they were amused by) and then travel around Europe before my course started.

You would have to leave the UK and re-enter, to activate the visa rather than being in on a tourist visa. So like 3 weeks before my course started, I went off to France and Belgium, and no problem at all to activate the visa from Belgium.

So it's possible. But again, I could have been refused at Heathrow, so it's probably not advisable.
Sept '11: premium service same-day tier 4 visa granted in NYC
July '13: tier 4 visa - applied from boston
October '14: FLRM - applied priority in sheffield office
March '17: FLRM 2 - applied priority in sheffield office
Sept 2019: IRL, priority at Croydon, granted same day
October 2019: submitted naturalisation application
January 2020: citizenship approved!
March 2020: last citizenship ceremony before covid :-O


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Re: Tier 4 visa start date
« Reply #5 on: August 04, 2014, 05:16:43 PM »
Just as a note, you *can* enter the country before your visa start date -- but it's sort of risking it at the border. I had to be in the UK for other reasons a couple of weeks before my tier 4 started, so I flew in, told the border agency it was so I could drop of my luggage (and ice hockey equipment, which they were amused by) and then travel around Europe before my course started.

You would have to leave the UK and re-enter, to activate the visa rather than being in on a tourist visa. So like 3 weeks before my course started, I went off to France and Belgium, and no problem at all to activate the visa from Belgium.

So it's possible. But again, I could have been refused at Heathrow, so it's probably not advisable.

Yes, as you say, the issue with doing this is that you need to have a very good reason why you have to enter the UK before your visa is valid, and why you can't just wait a couple of weeks until it is valid to enter instead.

As you would be let in on a visitor visa, not the student visa, you would also need prove that you are only a visitor and will definitely leave the UK, so that you can come back in to get your student visa stamped before your course starts.


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