Becoming a member:
About UKCISA:
Who can be a member?
Your organisation can become a member of UKCISA if it is:
- a UK independent school, language school, college or university
- a students’ union of one of the above, or
- a UK organisation working on matters connected with international students (excluding agents)
Educational institutions applying for membership will normally be expected to be on the UK Border Agency's Register of Tier 4 Sponsors.
Most membership of UKCISA is organisational, not individual. Exceptionally, individual membership may be open to those with an established track record in international education who are not currently employed by an organisation eligible for UKCISA membership, as long as they are not providing advice or counselling to students, whether for a fee or not.
Subscriber status
If you are an agent or individual who counsels or advises international students, whether or not for a fee, you cannot become a member of UKCISA. You may, however, apply to become an agent subscriber, which will entitle you to receive UKCISA mailings and electronic updates, to access the members’ area of the website, the advice line and to receive discounts on our training and publications. You will not be eligible to join the members’ discussion list or participate in UKCISA elections..
To be accepted as a subscriber, you must provide satisfactory references from two educational institutions which are current UKCISA members and demonstrate that you comply with any relevant legislation, eg the framework set out by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner for those providing immigration advice. You will normally only be accepted as a subscriber if you are UK based. You will also be expected to abide by the Statement of Principles for the Ethical Recruitment of International Students by Education Agents and Consultants.
Students
If you are an international student, you don't need to become a member of UKCISA to get advice and information from us. See the Student Advice zone of our website for details of how to access our services.
