UKCISA - international student advice and guidance - Making a Tier 4 (General) application in the UK

Can you apply in the UK?

Last modified: 05 July 2018

First, check that the start date of your new course of studies (as stated on your CAS) is no more than 28 days after the end of your current visa. If the start date is later, you must leave the UK and apply from your home country.

Next, you must currently have Tier 4 (General) student leave for a full-time course sponsored by one of these types of Tier 4 sponsor (see how your sponsor is described on the Register of Tier 4 sponsors):

a UK recognised body or a body in receipt of public funding as an HEI (higher education institution); or
an overseas higher education institution and you have been doing a short-term study abroad programme in the UK; or
an embedded college offering pathway courses (this does not include pre-sessional courses); or
an independent school

If your Tier 4 sponsor does not meet one of these definitions, or if your current Tier 4 visa was issued for a part-time postgraduate course, you must return to your home country and apply for a new Tier 4 visa from there. If you are unsure, or if your Tier 4 visa has now expired, ask your Tier 4 sponsor for advice.

Alternatively, you must have Tier 2 or Tier 4 (Child) student leave.

Students who have previously been granted Tier 4 (General) student leave must also meet the academic progress requirement, or be exempt from it, in order to apply in the UK. For information about how the Home Office defines 'academic progress', see the Tier 4 policy guidance.

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Syrians

Dependants of diplomats

Where, when, how to apply

Last modified: 23 October 2018

After you have checked whether you are able to make a Tier 4 (General) student application in the UK, you need to prepare for making the application.

The system described here will change in November 2018 and will mean that you can keep your documents while your application is being processed. See the government press release for an overview. We will update this information when more details are available.

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How to apply

When to apply

We advise you start preparing for your application at least two months before your current immigration permission ends, and longer if you need an ATAS clearance certificate. Some of your supporting evidence may take some time to obtain. .

A Tier 4 application for a new course must not be made more than three months before the start date as stated on your CAS. You should also usually wait until you have finished, or almost finished, your first course before you make your application for leave to remain to study a second one.

If you are able to apply in the UK for more time to continue the course that you are already studying, for example a PhD, you can submit your application as soon as you meet all of the requirements.

The gap between the end of your current immigration permission and the start of your new course must not be more than 28 days.

Staying in the UK after the end date of your immigration permission without making a new application means you become an overstayer, which is a criminal offence. Becoming an overstayer can have serious consequences for any future immigration applications that you make, including applications for countries other than the UK.

If you are unable to apply before your current immigration permission ends you should leave the UK before this date and apply for entry clearance to return to the UK as a Tier 4 (General) student once you meet all of the requirements.

The Immigration Rules have some limited provision for an overstayer to make a Tier 4 application in the UK within 14 days of becoming an overstayer and if they show a good reason why they could not apply in time. However, your Tier 4 sponsor must first decide whether they are willing to issue a CAS for such an application and, if they are willing to do that, what conditions they will attach. For example, they may not allow you to attend while you are an overstayer, and they may insist on a premium (in person) application, at your own expense, in order for your to resume your studies with a new visa as soon as possible.

Some Tier 4 sponsors have a policy to not support applications by overstayers under any circumstances. They can withdraw your CAS if you have become an overstayer without using it in an application, and they may not be willing to issue a further CAS until you can show you have left the UK. It is important to understand your Tier 4 sponsor's policy on overstayers.

Therefore if you think that you are going to be unable to submit a Tier 4 application before your current permission expires you should speak to an adviser at your institution as soon as possible. If appropriate they should also be able to discuss with you whether or not you have a 'good reason' for making a late application; the threshold for this is very high.

Application fee

Immigration health surcharge

The immigration health surcharge for a Tier 4 application is £150 per year for each year of leave that you are applying for, including the extra periods of time before and after your course. If this includes part of a year that is six months or less you will be charged an additional £75 for this period. If it includes part of a year that is more than six months, you will have to pay £150 for this period. For example, if your Tier 4 application is to allow you to do a further 12 months of study in the UK then you should be granted leave for an extra four months after your course end date and the immigration surcharge will therefore be £225.

The immigration health surcharge will double, so students will be required to pay £300 per year. This change is contained in draft legislation which is currently awaiting approval by Parliament. According to a Government press release, it is likely to come into force and affect applications made from December 2018.

If your new period of leave overlaps with the leave that you were previously granted then you will be entitled to a refund of the surcharge for this overlapping period of time, but only if you have paid the surcharge twice for the same period of time.

For example, if your previous visa was valid from 1 September 2017 until 1 February 2018 and you applied for a new visa in January 2018 for a course that started on 8 February 2018 and ends 30 September 2019, then the maximum period of leave you could be granted under the Immigration Rules is from 8 January 2018 until 30 January 2020 (that is one month before your course and four months after your course) and the IHS will be calculated accordingly. These two periods of time overlap between 8 January 2018 and 1 February 2018 (even if you are not granted your new visa until after this date) so you would be entitled to a refund of the IHS for this period, if you had paid it as part of your first visa application. However, in this example, if the previous visa was granted outside the UK and was less than six months long it did not include the IHS so there is no overlap in payment and you would not be eligible for a refund.

You can use the Immigration Health Surcharge tool on the Home Office website to check how much you will have to pay.

The Tier 4 application form calculates the amount that you need to pay and asks you to pay it before you can complete your Tier 4 application. Once you have done this you will receive an email containing your IHS reference number. This number will automatically be included on your Tier 4 application form cover sheet.

There are some very limited number of people are exempt from paying the immigration health surcharge, including British Overseas Territory citizens who live in the Falkland Islands. See the Home Office website for more information about who does not have to pay the IHS.

Biometrics

Interview, Medical Checks

Submitting your application

Last modified: 24 April 2018

You complete and submit the form online, then you submit your supporting documents to the Home Office by post (a Standard or Priority application) or in person (a Premium application).

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The application form

You can choose between three types of Tier 4 application:

Standard: you must submit your documents by post within 15 days of your application date (the form does not specify "business days"); most applicants receive a decision within eight weeks (although it can take longer during busy periods). This service costs £475.
Priority: you must submit your documents by post within two days of your application date; most applicants receive a decision within ten working days. This service costs £952.
Premium: you submit your documents in person at a premium service centre within 45 business days of your application date; most applicants receive a decision on the same day. This service costs £1085.

The application form involves the following steps:

1. Create an account and complete the application form. You will receive an automatic email from the Home Office with a link to your application. You can use this link to access your application at a later date or when it times out after 25 minutes of inactivity.

Some questions on the application form are confusing. We have explained this to the Home Office and hope that the form will be amended soon. If you are not sure how to answer a question, you can ask an adviser at your institution or you can call our advice line. We also suggest that you use the feedback function on the form itself to encourage the Home Office to improve the application form. The feedback function appears at the end of the form (once you have paid the application fee) or you can access it here.

If you want to change an answer, use the ‘Show your answers’ function at the bottom of each page. Do not use the ‘back button’ on your browser.

If you start an application but do not compete it, after 46 days of inactivity you will receive a reminder email. If you do not access your incomplete application within another 10 days, it will be deleted. If you experience any technical difficulties with the application form you should contact your sponsor institution. If they are unable to assist, you can contact the Home Office.

2. Check your answers on the summary page.

3. Provide information about which financial documents you will submit in support of your application. Before you complete this section you should make sure you understand how much money you will need to show the Home Office and which documents you can use to do this.

4. Confirm that you will submit the appropriate supporting documents and check your answers again.

5. Complete the declaration.

6. Complete the immigration health surcharge assessment, check that the information is correct and complete the declaration. (Some of the information will be carried across from your Tier 4 application form but the IHS website will ask you to provide your course dates again.)

The portal will calculate how much your immigration health surcharge is. You must pay this amount before being directed back to your Tier 4 application form.

Once you leave the Tier 4 form and go to the IHS website you will be unable to make any further changes to your Tier 4 application.

7. Return to your Tier 4 application form and choose your application type:

Standard
Priority
Premium

Technical support

Standard

Priority

If you want to use the Priority option when applying for your visa you must first complete the Tier 4 priority service request form and send it to the Home Office email address at the top of the form. This is a limited service: only the first 60 requests received after 8:30am (Monday to Friday) are accepted. If you are successful then you will receive an email containing a ‘priority service reference number’. If you are not successful then you will receive an email informing you of this. If you still want to use the priority service then you can try again the following working day; however it is very important that you do not allow your visa to expire in the meantime. If your visa is about to expire then you should make a standard or premium application instead.

After you receive the priority service reference number you must complete the online form within 24 hours, entering this number when you select the Priority option. You will then be redirected to the WorldPay website to pay your application fee. Once you have done this you will receive a confirmation email from WorldPay and one from the Home Office. You must print out your application cover sheet and complete the checklist to confirm which documents you will submit with your application.

It is important that you post your application cover sheet and supporting documents within two days of the date on which you pay the application fee online, otherwise your application may not be considered for the priority service. You should therefore either use a courier or the Royal Mail 'Sameday service' or 'Special Delivery Guaranteed'; whichever method you use make sure you keep evidence that you sent your documents within two days of applying, for example a screenshot of the online delivery notification.

A Biometric Enrolment Letter (BEL) will be generated automatically when you apply. Print the BEL and take it to the Post Office when you give your Biometrics. Before 14 September 2017 the Home Office sent you the BEL by post. You must enrol your biometrics within two working days of the date on the letter. If you have not received your biometrics letter within two working days of receiving the email from the Home Office then you should let the Home Office know. It is important to meet these deadlines in order for your application to be decided within the expected ten working days.

Premium

If you select the Premium option when completing the online application then you will be redirected to an online system for booking an appointment at one of the Home Office's premium service centres. You must book an appointment that takes place within 45 business days of the date that you pay the application fee online, even if this means travelling to a premium service centre which is not the closest one to where you live. (It is okay for your appointment date to be after your current leave has expired as long as you pay the application fee online before your current leave expires.)

Once you have selected an appointment it will be reserved for you for ten minutes, during which time you must pay the application fee via the WorldPay website in order to confirm your appointment.

You must print out your application cover sheet and complete the checklist to confirm which documents you will submit with your application. These documents must be submitted to the Home Office at your appointment along with your supporting documents.

At the appointment, your application and supporting documents will be checked by a caseworker. You will also have your biometric data recorded. You may be asked to attend a credibility interview before your application is decided. Sometimes this will take place on the same day as your appointment, but this is not always possible, in which case the outcome of your application will be delayed until after you have attended an interview.

Applying in person does not provide an opportunity to discuss or explain aspects of your application. If you feel that there are aspects of your application that would benefit from further clarification or explanation, we advise that you do this in writing and submit your documents by post. We also advise you to speak to an adviser at your institution before doing this as it might be better for your institution to send your application to the Home Office on your behalf if they agree to do so.

Unless you are asked to attend a credibility interview at a later date, you should receive a decision on your application on the day that you attend the premium service centre in which case you will be able to take your passport and other documents away with you. However, you will not receive your biometrics residence permit (BRP) on the same day. It will be sent to you by courier some time later. This identity card is your evidence that you have been granted immigration permission to stay in the UK. You should wait until you have received your BRP before you make any arrangements to travel abroad.

After you apply

Temporary return of passport

If you choose to submit your documents to the Home Office by post (rather than attending an appointment at a Premium Service Centre) you will be without your passport until your application has been decided; this can take several months.

It is possible to request temporary return of your passport for identification purposes, but not for travel. However, we advise that you avoid requesting return of your passport if possible, because it will add time and complication to your application. It normally takes up to 20 working days for your passport to be returned and the Home Office will not consider your application until you have returned your passport to them.

If you know that you will need to show your passport while it is with the Home Office, for example at enrolment, ask your institution if you can show them your passport in advance, before you send it to the Home Office.

You cannot request temporary return of your passport for travel purposes; if you need your passport in order to travel outside of the Common Travel Area, (the UK, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man), then you will need to withdraw your application. We suggest that you speak to an adviser at your institution before you withdraw your application as doing so is likely to have consequences both for your current immigration status and for any future immigration applications you may make.

If you withdraw your application your application fee will not be refunded. If you paid the immigration health surcharge (IHS) as part of your application and you withdraw your application the IHS will be refunded in full.

You can request the return of your documents for identity purposes, or withdraw your application altogether via the Home Office's online return of documents form.

You do not need to request temporary return of your passport to show a new employer that you can work in the UK under the student work restriction. This is confirmed in the Home Office's frequently asked questions for employers (section 9, question 69).

Application checklist

Last modified: 08 March 2018

This checklist is a summary of the steps involved in making a Tier 4 (General) application in the UK. We have included links to more detailed information and to external websites.

Choose institution and course
Apply for a place and receive an unconditional offer
Obtain a ‘Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies’ (CAS) number from your institution. A CAS is only valid for six months, you must make your visa application within this time.
Check that the gap between the end of your current leave and the course start date on your CAS is no more than 28 days. If it is you must go home and apply there.
Apply for ATAS clearance if applicable (some institutions may ask that you do this before they will issue a CAS)
Check that you meet the Tier 4 requirements
Make sure that you have all of the necessary evidence.
Complete the Tier 4 application form online. You can start completing the application form as early as you like; your application will not be made until you pay the application fee
If you wish to make a Priority postal application, complete the Tier 4 priority service request form and obtain a ‘priority service reference number’. After you have received this reference number you must complete the next step within 24 hours.
Pay the immigration health surcharge, choose which type of application to make and pay the application fee online – at this point you have made your application. Print the application summary, and download and print the Biometric Enrolment Letter.
Your deadline for submitting the application summary and all of your supporting documents to the Home Office will depend on whether you are using the Standard, Priority or Premium service - select The application form in Submitting your application.
Give your Biometrics. For a Standard or Priority application you do this at a participating post office. For a Premium application, you do it at your appointment.
Attend a credibility interview if you are asked to do so.
The Home Office will decide whether to grant or refuse your application and return your documents to you with a decision letter. If your application has been refused you should contact an adviser at your institution as soon as possible.
If your application has been successful your biometric residence permit (BRP) will be sent to you separately by post.
Check that all of the details on your BRP are correct (including the conditions and length of leave), and show it to the relevant staff member at your institution so that they can update their records.
Update your police registration (if applicable) within seven days.

Biometric residence permit (BRP)

Last modified: 08 March 2018

Evidence of your permission to be in the UK is issued as a biometric residence permit (BRP), separate from your passport. A BRP is a plastic card similar to a credit card which contains your personal information, your biometric information (photograph and fingerprints) and states your immigration status and some of your conditions.

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Receiving your BRP

Your biometric residence permit will be sent to you or your Tier 4 sponsor and someone will need to sign for it. You will also receive a letter and leaflet setting out some of the conditions to which your permission to be in the UK is subject.

As soon as you receive your BRP, check that all the information on it is correct:

your name and date of birth
that you are a Tier 4 (General) student
the Sponsor Licence Number (SLN) of the institution that you intend to study at
that the start and end dates of the permission are correct (see next section)
whether you can work (see Can you work? and How many hours a week can I work?)
for some students, the instruction to register with the police (see Police registration).

If there are any basic errors on your BRP such as your name, date of birth, or the sponsor's licence number, you should complete the online form on the Home Office website.

If you have been given the incorrect length of permission or the incorrect conditions (see Tier 4 conditions ) you may be able to request that the Home Office carries out an administrative review of the error and grant you the correct length of permission and/or the correct conditions. The deadline for making this application is within 14 calendar days of receiving your BRP and, if the Home Office agrees that it has made a mistake, it will refund your administrative review fee. Contact a student adviser at your institution as soon as you receive your BRP if you think you have been given the incorrect length of leave or the incorrect conditions on your immigration permission.

If you are changing institution and your new institution is a Probationary Sponsor, they will need to see your new leave to remain before you can enrol on your new course. They should tell you the latest date that you will be allowed to enrol on your course; this date might have been included in your CAS statement. Since 'standard' postal applications can take many weeks to be decided you might need to make a 'priority postal' or a 'premium' (in person) application in order to obtain your new leave to remain before this latest enrolment date.

Make sure you contact your institution immediately if you think you will have a problem enrolling before the latest enrolment date. If you do not enrol as expected, your institution will be obliged to notify the Home Office.

Start and end dates

Your leave to remain will start when the Home Office grants your Tier 4 application. You must comply with all of the conditions attached to your immigration permission as a Tier 4 student from the date on which the Home Office informs you that your application has been successful.

Your biometric residence permit (BRP) will be sent to you by courier a week or two later. It will have an 'issue date', which is the date on which it was issued to you.

The date that your immigration permission ends will depend on the length and type of course. The Home Office will use the course dates listed on your CAS to calculate the length of your course; if you will be studying for part of a month, this will not be rounded up to a full month. For example, if your course will last 11 months and three weeks, it is not rounded up to 12 months.

Course	End of immigration permission
12 months or more	4 months after the end of the course
Masters 13 months or less at a Tier 4 pilot institution*	6 months after the end of the course
6 months or more, but less than 12 months	2 months after the end of the course
Pre-sessional course, less than 6 months**	1 month after the end of the course
Other course, less than 6 months	7 days after the end of the course
Postgraduate doctor or dentist on a Foundation Programme	1 month after the end of the course

* To check whether your sponsor is taking part in the Tier 4 pilot, see the Tier 4 Policy Guidance, annex 6

** If it is a pre-sessional course which will prepare you for degree-level study at the same institution (or at its partner institution), your sponsor may issue a single CAS for both courses. In this case your immigration permission will end after the main course, not after the pre-sessional.

Refusals

Last modified: 08 March 2018

If your Tier 4 application is refused, you will usually have the right to apply for administrative review of the refusal, which should be made clear in the decision notice. The Home Office will review its decision to see if it made a case working error. You should also apply for administrative review if the Home Office has granted you the incorrect length of immigration permission or placed incorrect conditions on your immigration permission.

You must meet the deadline for applying for administrative review, so seek advice from your Tier 4 sponsor or a lawyer as quickly as possible after you receive a refusal. Details of how to apply for administrative review are in the Tier 4 policy guidance.

When an application is refused, the Tier 4 application fee is not refunded. However, if you paid the immigration health surcharge (IHS) as part of your application this will be refunded in full.

You should tell your Tier 4 sponsor that your application has been refused so that you can receive help and advice about how this might affect your study and what your options might be.

Making a Tier 4 (General) application in the UK

Can you apply in the UK?

Syrians

Dependants of diplomats

Where, when, how to apply

How to apply

When to apply

Application fee

Immigration health surcharge

Biometrics

Interview, Medical Checks

Submitting your application

The application form

Technical support

Standard

Priority

Premium

After you apply

Temporary return of passport

Application checklist

Biometric residence permit (BRP)

Receiving your BRP

Start and end dates

Refusals

About UKCISA

Useful links

Making a Tier 4 (General) application in the UK

Can you apply in the UK?

Where, when, how to apply

Submitting your application

Application checklist

Biometric residence permit (BRP)

Refusals

Related content

About UKCISA

Useful links