Student Visitor Visa System

There are two types of Visa that can be issued for language course:

*  Student Visitor Visa (S V V) system which allows for periods of study up to a maximum of 6 months at any level.

*  General Student Visa (G S V). The UK operate a ‘Points Based System' which applies to this type of long term visa

The new Points Based system requires accredited English language schools to issue a Confirmation of Acceptance (CAS) Letter to all Visa Nationals coming to the UK. We are authorised to issue CAS letters to students applying to our courses who are "non-beginners" in English.

Adult students from countries that require a visa to visit the UK, who are looking to study in the UK, must be able to demonstrate they have a proven track record in studying before they come to the UK. They need to book a course at Level A2 of the European Common Framework of Reference for Language (Elementary level of English) if they are seeking to learn English. Students must also show that they have evidence of sufficient funds to pass a maintenance test.

Tighter rules on who can apply for a Student visa

The UK Border Agency will only allow adult students from overseas to study English in the UK, then the qualification needs to provide a proficiency that is equivalent to A2 on the 'Common European Framework' scale.

Sponsorship

Before a student is eligible to apply to come to the UK to study under the Student Tier, they will require an immigration sponsor. The sponsor will be the education provider in the UK that has accepted them on a course of study. Sponsoring education providers will issue would-be students with a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS). A CAS is not a guarantee of a visa.

The key criteria for admission into the UK are:

• evidence of sufficient funds to pass a maintenance test
• education documents used to obtain the CAS from the sponsor

Active Checks in the UK

Once students have come to the UK there will be on-going checks to ensure that they are complying with the terms of their visa. Under the new system, a student's visa will be 'locked' to the Sponsor that issued them with the CAS used for their visa application.

You can find more information on the UK Borders Authority (UKBA) website.