Trying to figure out my plan B- student visa

Hello,

I'm fairly new to the forums and in the process of trying to research visas and find the best options for me and my long distance boyfriend to be living together for 2 years so we can meet the requirements to obtain an unmarried partners visa and settle in the UK.

We have two plans, one for each country(UK and US) so we can obtain our goal of meeting the visa requirement.

Our plans are about the same difficulty wise.

I won't bore you with plan A.(him moving to the US for 2 years)....So plan B- Student visa

I am from the US, 22 years old, been graduated from high school for over 4 years now. I have been working full time since then and attending community college part time since HS. Due to my credits and failed classes I am probably only considered a sophmore in college. I would like to obtain a degree in the future but for right now would be content with studying at college so I can be with my boyfriend in England.

My boyfriend suggested me coming to England to do a two year course, or 2 separate one year courses at Oxford and Cherwell college. Right now I cannot afford the course fees but if I saved up for a few more months I could afford the fees for at least a year, if not both. From what I understand, when you file for a visa you must have upwards of £5,000 in your bank account for living, ect which I would not have in addition to course fees. Obviously I would live with my boyfriend but I still have to have the fees to show.

I know there are changes to the Tier 4 student visa, so I'm wondering if this even seems possible! I have some Tier 4 questions

Tier 4's new rules say if you are considered "low risk" you may not have to provide documents. Low risk qualifications-

-I am a citizen of the US- check
- is applying for entry clearance in his/her country of nationality or for leave to
remain in the UK- can someone please explain this? if I obtained the student visa, I would be living in the UK for 2 years and applying for the unmarried partner visa after the 2 years, I probably wouldn't state this to the UK border off the bat, but if these are my intentions does this mean I am not qualified for the low risk category?

-the institution is sponsored by a Highly Trusted Sponsor- check

other questions....

If I did not qualify as low risk, I would have to show I had the right documents.
If my boyfriend could transfer the amount of money required for a student on a visa to have(maintenance fees), would that be legit or would they question where I got all the money and do they have to check to make sure the money is still there over a period of time?

After I did these 2 years of courses, and I was settled in the UK under the unmarried partner visa, would I have an easier time applying and being accepted into universities in the UK? Would I basically be considered a UK student, and not an "international" student" since I was settled and living in the UK, but not married to my partner?

The college I want to go to (Oxford Cherwell) has four campuses, Banbury and Oxford and others. The town is listed as Oxford on the UK Register of sponsors. I would like to attend the Banbury campus, as it is 5 mins from my boyfriends house...and Oxford is 30mins away, and would be time consuming/expensive to commute to everyday.
Does this mean I cannot even study at the Banbury campus, if it is not listed on the Register list or do all campuses fall under the sponsors list if one of them is?


Does anyone have any stories or information about studying advertising in the UK? It is what I would like to eventually study at uni, if I went to uni after college. I have done business and advertising courses in the US, which are obviously geared toward the US view of advertising, and obviously if I was going to be settling in the UK and looking to obtain a career in advertising, I would want to get my degree from a UK school, not an American school, which is why I am trying to figure all this out.

Thank You!

My boyfriend suggested me coming to England to do a two year course, or 2 separate one year courses at Oxford and Cherwell college.

You'll need to study at the NQF level 3 or higher, which is basically an A-level or NVQ 3 or higher. I'm not sure if this college will really provide enough options for you, or if you can take A-level courses.

If the course is below revised NQF level 6 or equivalent and is not an English language course or a study abroad programme, it must:

be approved at or above level 3 on the NQF or Qualifications and Credits Framework (QCF), or accredited at or above level 6 in the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF), if you will be studying with a Highly Trusted sponsor; or

be approved at or above level 4 on the NQF or QCF, or accredited at ar above level 7 in the SCQF, if you will be studying with a sponsor that has an A (Trusted) or B (Sponsor) rating; or
be a pre-sessional course to prepare you for your main course of study in the UK (see 'More information' below).

Level 3 of the NQF is equivalent to a UK 'A level'. Level 6 of the revised NQF is equivalent to a UK bachelor's degree.

Someone will correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that as long as you have the funds a US national is low risk. I really wouldn't overthink this point.

After I did these 2 years of courses, and I was settled in the UK under the unmarried partner visa, would I have an easier time applying and being accepted into universities in the UK? Would I basically be considered a UK student, and not an "international" student" since I was settled and living in the UK, but not married to my partner?

I don't think getting accepted into UK universities has anything to do with your immigration status, in fact, I think it may be easier when one is paying international fees. (Caveat: I am being a bit snarky here, but sometimes I think there is a bit of truth to that) You need to have settled status in the UK (ILR, ILE) before you can even think of paying local fees. To get ILR currently you need to have been with your partner, with the correct visa, for two years.

Does this mean I cannot even study at the Banbury campus, if it is not listed on the Register list or do all campuses fall under the sponsors list if one of them is?

Sorry, can't help you there.  

Does anyone have any stories or information about studying advertising in the UK? It is what I would like to eventually study at uni, if I went to uni after college. I have done business and advertising courses in the US, which are obviously geared toward the US view of advertising, and obviously if I was going to be settling in the UK and looking to obtain a career in advertising, I would want to get my degree from a UK school, not an American school, which is why I am trying to figure all this out.

You may want to start your search here

You'll need to study at the NQF level 3 or higher, which is basically an A-level or NVQ 3 or higher. I'm not sure if this college will really provide enough options for you, or if you can take A-level courses.


Someone will correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that as long as you have the funds a US national is low risk. I really wouldn't overthink this point.

I don't think getting accepted into UK universities has anything to do with your immigration status, in fact, I think it may be easier when one is paying international fees. (Caveat: I am being a bit snarky here, but sometimes I think there is a bit of truth to that) You need to have settled status in the UK (ILR, ILE) before you can even think of paying local fees. To get ILR currently you need to have been with your partner, with the correct visa, for two years.

Sorry, can't help you there.  

You may want to start your search here

thank you for both links, they are helpful!

Hi jenny,

Have you thought about using student loans? I know they arent the greatest thing ever but I am using them for my course fees and living expenses just as a back up in case I cannot find a job. If you don't want to go that route, you may have your boyfriend give you the money for the maintenance fees. You just need to have it in your bank account for 28 days, and the statement that you send to immigration cannot be over 30 days old. It doesn't matter where it has come from-they assume if you have it that long then its yours.

As far as the low risk factor goes--you will be low risk because you are an american and you are applying for a student visa. You wouldn't mention the unmarried partner thing in your application. However, this only means that you don't have to submit certain documents showing financial info but that if they ask for them you will have to provide them. So it would be a good idea to make sure that you have the documents anyways.


I don't think you will have an issue being accepted into universities -I would just apply to as many as possible. The cool thing about England is that they don't have application fees most of the time so you can apply to as many as you want! Hope this helps!
Bryana

I don't think you will have an issue being accepted into universities -I would just apply to as many as possible. The cool thing about England is that they don't have application fees most of the time so you can apply to as many as you want!

This may be the case for postgraduate degree applications, but for undergraduate degrees you have to apply through UCAS, where you are limited to a maximum of 6 applications... not 6 schools, but 6 different programme applications - so if you want to apply for two different degree programmes at the same university, that is 2 of your 6 application choices already gone.

Once you get your offers from the universities, you then have to narrow them down to just two offers: a first and second choice ( i.e. the schools offering the highest and lowest entry grades). If you get the grades for your first choice, you have to go there. If you don't, you go to your second choice. If you don't get the grades for either choice, you go into clearing - where you get put into a pool and if a different university offers you a place, you go there, even if it wasn't a university you originally applied to.

So, even though the US has application fees for universities, at least you can still apply to as many universities as you like for undergraduate and are not limited to just 6 applications, which are then narrowed down to just 2 choices .

Good to know Ksand, I had no idea!!

I definitely think this is doable. As for fees, you could take out a Stafford loan. I filled out a FAFSA, my university told me what amount I could get, and then they originated it for me. Fairly easy process. It would supplement the money you already have, and if needed, you'd have the documentation to prove the funds if the ECO asked to see it.

Applying to the universities was the easiest part of the process for me. I applied to two. Heard back in one day from Manchester and in a week from Aberystwyth.