Tier 4 questions

Hello all,

I plan on studying abroad for the spring semester at Queens University Belfast. I'm still in the process of applying, but all signs indicate that I shouldn't have an issue being accepted.  I'm starting to think about things like visas and getting a bit freaked out.  Since the program I'm doing isn't affiliated with my home uni at all, I'm having to organize this all on my own.

I plan on going over to Belfast during the second or third week of January in order to get settled. I start class during the first week of February. The semester officially runs until June 1 I believe, but I was hoping to stay a bit longer after classes finished to visit with my boyfriend.

I was under the impression that it'd be fine to be on a Tier 4 visa and stay a bit longer than classes ran, as long a I was out before my stay reached 6 months.  Is this completely correct?

A friend of mine will be studying abroad in Oxford, and she told me due to the fact that Oxford's semester are short-ish, she doesn't even need a student visa.  This is not the fact for me, correct?

Also, the website for Queens indicates that it is okay to work part time (less than 20 hours a week) with a Tier 4 visa. I read somewhere else that it's not okay now, and now I'm getting really confused.  I understand I cannot rely on the income I'm getting for money to live on. Really, I just want to do it for the experience.

Even if I cannot work for money, is it okay to try to find an unpaid internship or volunteer work while I'm over there?  I do plan on moving to N. Ireland on a spouse or fiance visa in the future, so I'm quite worried about creating problems for the future.

Thanks for any help you may have for me!

--Brittany

I was under the impression that it'd be fine to be on a Tier 4 visa and stay a bit longer than classes ran, as long a I was out before my stay reached 6 months.  Is this completely correct?

If your course is 6 months or less, then you can stay in the UK for 7 days after the course finishes.

If your course is between 6 months and 12 months, then you can stay for 2 months after the course finishes.

If your course is longer than 12 months, you can stay for 4 months after the course finishes.

A friend of mine will be studying abroad in Oxford, and she told me due to the fact that Oxford's semester are short-ish, she doesn't even need a student visa.  This is not the fact for me, correct?

Also, the website for Queens indicates that it is okay to work part time (less than 20 hours a week) with a Tier 4 visa. I read somewhere else that it's not okay now, and now I'm getting really confused.  I understand I cannot rely on the income I'm getting for money to live on. Really, I just want to do it for the experience.

If the course is 6 months or less, then you don't need a Tier 4 visa, you can just get a student visitor visa issued to you at the UK airport when you land. However, you are not allowed to work at all on a student visitor visa, so if you wish to work during your time in the UK, you need to get a Tier 4 visa anyway. With a Tier 4 visa, you can work for a maximum of 20 hours per week during term-time and full-time during vacation time.

Even if I cannot work for money, is it okay to try to find an unpaid internship or volunteer work while I'm over there?  I do plan on moving to N. Ireland on a spouse or fiance visa in the future, so I'm quite worried about creating problems for the future.

'Work' in the immigration/visa sense, means absolutely no work at all - this includes unpaid volunteering, babysitting, working for a US company from your computer, paid employment etc., so no, you wouldn't be able to do this if your visa did not allow you to work. However, a Tier 4 visa does allow you to work, so this shouldn't be a problem (it would not be allowed on a student visitor visa though).

Thanks so much for your help. You've made this much easier.

So the plan is, I believe, to apply for a Tier 4 visa so that I can find some sort of part-time work while over there.  And also just for my sanity's sake so I don't have to be AS worried at the airport about being turned around at immigration.

Also, Vicky has indicated to me in a past thread that I can attempt to change my student visa to a visitor visa near the end of my course so that I can stay a bit longer into the summer. I understand I wouldn't be able to work under the visitor visa, so I would make sure my job ended at the end of my semester.

I'm just curious, though, how i would go about changing over to a visitor visa?  Would I have to leave the country and then come back, or would I go to the nearest consulate to get this taken care of?  I'm just worried that I won't be able to afford a trip home to get the visa straightened out and then return back for a few more weeks.

Thanks so much for all your help!