Help Please!!!

I decided to apply for graduate school in London because my boyfriend lives there. It makes everything a bit more difficult as I am not just concerned about getting over there right before school starts--I want to move as soon as possible!! I have since been accepted into the University of Greenwich, among others but I have a few questions about applying for a visa.

I plan to visit London next month and after reading over all the information on the UK visa website it seems that I should apply for a prospective student visa as I will not receive my CAS until I graduate at the end of May. I'm wondering what would happen if I were to be denied? Would I not be able to visit next month? Also, I am applying online, do I have to give them my passport? And how much money do I have to show that I have for the prospective student visa?

Will you not have to go back to the US to graduate or finish undergrad first?

Honestly, it's probably better to not complicate the situation by trying to get over there as soon as possible and apply for random visas.  You already know you're eligible for a Tier 4, so it might be best to just visit next month as you normally would and then come back and wait it out until you're able to apply for your Tier 4.

I will be coming back in May to graduate, but then heading back over to London because the University has a summer program I would like to attend. The issue I have with just waiting to apply for a tier 4 visa is that I would have to wait until 3 months before the Sept 21st start date of grad school to apply, and the summer program starts on Jun 21. I also know I can't apply for a tier 4 while already in London unless I am just switching over from a prospective student visa. So my time constraints don't seem to allow for me to wait.

Oh, well it probably changes the situation a bit if there is a summer programme you want to attend rather than trying to get over here sooner just for the sake of it, although I'm not sure how exactly you would go about it.   Is the programme part of your course or for credit?

The thing about the prospective student visa is that it seems to be meant for people who have not chosen a course yet, but it sounds like you have already chosen one.  I don't know if that might pose a problem if you try to apply for it.

I can't really give any advice as the whole Tier 4/student route situation has changed in the 2 years since I applied for mine and this situation seems a bit tricky.    Is there an International Student Office at your Uni?  Perhaps they might be able to give you some advice.  Hopefully this will be seen by someone who knows a bit more about it.  Sorry I can't really be of any more help than that!

But good luck and congrats on getting into grad school! 

The prospective student visa is only for those evaluating schools & programs. If the OP came into the UK on a perspective student visa there would be a problem as they wouldn't be able to attend a summer programme, for that they would need a student visitor stamp not a prospective student visa. Ultimately they would have to return to the US to apply for the Tier 4 once the summer program has ended.

So you can do student visitor for the summer program, return to the US at the end of it, apply online & do a premium walk in appointment to get your Tier 4 visa the same day and then return to the UK before your graduate program starts.

Thank you for your help!! Now I am wondering...the summer program isn't necessary for starting grad school it is just a 7 day course about dissertations--I wanted to try it out just because i'm not sure how to get started with a dissertation as we don't have to do them for a bachelors degree in the states. So should I just forego that program altogether, and wait to get a student visa until it gets closer to the September start date? I will be visiting london in between now and that time but I haven't had a problem with immigration...yet. I didn't know you could have a premium appointment in the United States to get a tier 4 on that day, how would I set that up?
Sorry for so many questions i'm just so confused!!

You can do your summer program if you want to, you just have to leave to go back to the US to get your Tier 4. If your program starts 21 September, you can enter the UK up to 1 month ahead of your start date, so you can enter 21 August. Which means the earliest you could apply for your Tier 4 is 21 May (that is if you have all your ducks in a row by then).


The problem with trying to get your T4 that early is that you probably shouldn't enter the UK as a visitor or student visitor after getting it because they could potentially take issue with you having a student visa and trying to enter as a visitor before your visa is valid, which could cause probelms for you & your university.



You can see details on the application process & options for student visa submissions on the WorldBridge website, just select United States in the drop down menu and then 'How do I apply?' from the menu on the left, also check out the 'Additional Services' page with the Premium application service offered for Tier 4 Student visas for further information on how the process works.

Okay, last question. I have been accepted to a few different schools and I am not 100% certain which one I want to go to so if I were to apply for the prospective student visa, how much money would I have to have in my bank account?

Prospective Student falls under the Special Visitor category not under the PBS system so there is no 'set amount' to qualify for the visa. You just have to show you have enough money not to be dependent on public funds in the UK and to cover your expenses while you're in the UK, but there is no specific set amount. However if you intend to switch to a Tier 4 then you need to make sure that you have those funds set for the minimum time frame before you make the Tier 4 application.


Here is the guidance from the UK Visa site:

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/infs/inf2visitors#183088682

This is the paper version of the Prospecitve Student Visa application. See page 11 for documents that you will need to support your application: http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/resources/en/docs/1903073/vaf3a

Thank you so much!!!  I feel much better about all of this now!

The issue I have with just waiting to apply for a tier 4 visa is that I would have to wait until 3 months before the Sept 21st start date of grad school to apply, and the summer program starts on Jun 21.

I think you are confused.  A sponsor can assign your CAS a maximum 3 months before the sponsored studies start, and you can apply for your visa as soon as the CAS is assigned.  If you are joining the summer programme, you can therefore expect your sponsor to assign the CAS anytime after 21 March 2011.

Does a summer short course qualify to get a CAS? I was under the impression that a summer course doesn't particularly affect the whole CAS thing.

Does a summer short course qualify to get a CAS? I was under the impression that a summer course doesn't particularly affect the whole CAS thing.

You need to ask your Tier 4 sponsor that.  If it is a free-standing course of less than 6 months, they may suggest you come to the UK as a student visitor instead.