When did you apply for your student visa?

wish I had known that last year    I am now here on a spousal visa, but that might have given DH too much time to propose, the earlier date meant we had to get married sooner, not such a bad thing

Ah sorry, I thought you were about to start your studies, I didn't realise you were talking about a course you have already finished.

He can't legally rely on his UK earnings to pay his living costs at all.  As the rules stand, and in the instructions issued to entry clearance officers, it's a key condition of getting permission to come to the UK as a student that you can pay your fees and living costs *without* needing to work, and that you continue to do so throughout your stay.  Somone with the immigration status of student can work part-time for extra money or even for non-financial reasons, but they cannot rely on those earnings for fees or basic living costs.  This is fairly standard immigration law in the UK, US and many other places.  People have their leave curtailed for breaching this condition. 

Your boyfriend will need to show upfront that he has funds available to him to meet his fees and living costs, so he may need to ask his parents to agree to provide more money than they intended to.

The only way he (and you) could rely on his earnings is if you were married, and he was your dependant rather than a student in his own right.

That's incredibly useful, thanks so much, I'll be posting back for more great advice before we actually apply for the visa!
Is it usual for visas to be granted to students with loan approval and confirmed places? or will we have to fight tooth and nail and have every piece of information possible to get one(we will anyway )

Is it usual for visas to be granted to students with loan approval and confirmed places? or will we have to fight tooth and nail and have every piece of information possible to get one(we will anyway )

When I read this, my first thought was 'Well, who else are they going to give the visas to? People with no confirmed place and no loan?', but then it clicked that you meant if you have a confirmed place and a loan approved, will you get issued a visa, or is there competition for them?

It is my understanding that unless you give them any other reason not to issue a visa (e.g. criminal record, intent of staying in the UK after visa expiry, etc.), then you are pretty likely to be issued a visa. As far as I'm aware (and I may be wrong), as long as all your paperwork is in order and you appear to be an honest citizen, student visas are fairly easy to get.

Going the other way, I had no problem at all getting a US student visa to study in the states and I don't know anyone who has applied to study abroad in the US and has been refused a visa before (although I'm sure that there are some people who have been refused).

When I read this, my first thought was 'Well, who else are they going to give the visas to? People with no confirmed place and no loan?', but then it clicked that you meant if you have a confirmed place and a loan approved, will you get issued a visa, or is there competition for them?

It is my understanding that unless you give them any other reason not to issue a visa (e.g. criminal record, intent of staying in the UK after visa expiry, etc.), then you are pretty likely to be issued a visa. As far as I'm aware (and I may be wrong), as long as all your paperwork is in order and you appear to be an honest citizen, student visas are fairly easy to get.

Going the other way, I had no problem at all getting a US student visa to study in the states and I don't know anyone who has applied to study abroad in the US and has been refused a visa before (although I'm sure that there are some people who have been refused).

sorry, my bad english!
That's exactly what I mean, my boyfriend had some (paid) traffic tickets, one for a broken  light and one for some sort of expired certificate, but I'm pretty sure these don't count (I hope ) I'm just worried that after all the FASFA hassle they'll go "nope, no visa" over something we've overlooked, or by phrasing something wrong etc.

I guess I need to relax

Thanks for the help again

I have a very naughty speeding ticket (borderline criminal, but wasn't) on my record, but that was about 5 years ago. I doubt that sort of thing would impact a visa decision!

It is my understanding that unless you give them any other reason not to issue a visa (e.g. criminal record, intent of staying in the UK after visa expiry, etc.), then you are pretty likely to be issued a visa.

If the course is degree level or above, you do not need to show that you intend to leave the UK at the end of your studies.

If the course is degree level or above, you do not need to show that you intend to leave the UK at the end of your studies.

When I applied for my exchange student visa to go to the US (for one year as part of my undergrad degree), I had to prove that I intended to return to the UK afterwards and have been told I need to do the same when applying for the visa for my PhD in the US later this year.

I assumed that the same would apply for a UK student visa, but perhaps not.

I've got a question! Can I apply for my visa before my alt loan has been approved? I noticed it asks on the application how much money is available for the trip, and my study abroad adviser said to write in the estimated "personal cost" amount that they provided for me (9 month stay, $9,240USD estimated). I don't have this money in my bank account, and my alt loan has not been fully approved yet. I probably won't get all of the money in one lump either. I'm not sure what this means in terms of my student visa application or not. Are they going to request this information from me? I'm not sure what to do.

I've got a question! Can I apply for my visa before my alt loan has been approved? I noticed it asks on the application how much money is available for the trip, and my study abroad adviser said to write in the estimated "personal cost" amount that they provided for me (9 month stay, $9,240USD estimated). I don't have this money in my bank account, and my alt loan has not been fully approved yet. I probably won't get all of the money in one lump either. I'm not sure what this means in terms of my student visa application or not. Are they going to request this information from me? I'm not sure what to do.

you don't need to have the money yet, but you do need to have loan approval letters which state:

- the fact that your loan has been approved
- how much money you're getting
- what the disbursement dates are. (they don't need to be lump sum, they can be spread out over the year.)

You should get these letters automatically from your loan company once your loan has been officially, finally approved- if not definitely hound them for it, hehe

See that is what I thought. The adviser gave me a list of documents that I would need to have in order to apply, but it doesn't say anywhere about providing proof of funding and that worried me a lot. I suppose I should just wait until I get final documentation from Sallie Mae about my loan. Thanks Andrea!

One more question! My program is technically for about nine months. If I think I may want to travel around the UK at the end of my program (or europe for that matter) should I estimate the time I will be in the UK for longer? I would only change it from 9 to 10 months just to be safe. Is that okay or will they think it to be strange?

One more question! My program is technically for about nine months. If I think I may want to travel around the UK at the end of my program (or europe for that matter) should I estimate the time I will be in the UK for longer? I would only change it from 9 to 10 months just to be safe. Is that okay or will they think it to be strange?

it won't really matter, to be honest.  If your program ends in June/July, your visa will most likely be valid until the end of October (this is standard and what they're supposed to do) or almost certainly until August at least (if they mess it up, which has been known to happen.)  But putting 10 months on the form is no big deal, that should be fine

I actually just got an answer back from my adviser. Apparently one of the documents I have is a "Student Validation Document" or something, and it states on there that my program provider has already prepaid my fees (since I am technically paying my home uni, who is in turn paying my host uni). So apparently I don't have to send any loan information.

Okay now I have a stupid question. The online visa app doesn't give very many character spaces to type "Place of Issue". I thought I would just put "USA" but my adviser said it's the office that issued the passport? My passport doesn't say anywhere that I can locate what office issued it. Is she just confusing me? I applied through my home university, since they have a passport office. If that is what I should write down, is there a number or something or should I put the city and state there? Sorry I'm so lost!