Changes to the Student & Short-term Student Visa Routes

The UK Home Office have introduced the following changes to the Student and Short-term Student Visa routes effective from 6 April 2022.

Appendix Student:

Financial requirement

Applicants must have enough money to pay for their course and support themselves in the UK.

• Evidence must be provided to show that the required level of funds have been held for 28 days, unless the applicant is relying on a student loan or official sponsorship which meets the requirements of FIN 8.3. in Appendix Finance.
• If the funds held in the applicant’s account on the date of decision are significantly below the required level of funds the decision maker must be satisfied that the spent funds have been used to pay outstanding course fees, a deposit for accommodation or other costs associated with the proposed course of study in the UK.

Students are exempt from meeting the academic progression requirements where they are adding a work placement to their original course of study or applying for further permission to complete their course following a work placement.

Work Conditions

Work placement

It must be a work placement on a course that is at degree level or above:

• at a higher education provider with a track record of compliance; or
• at an overseas higher education institution in the UK; or
• as part of a qualification recognised as being at UK bachelor’s degree level or above by a student undertaking a study abroad programme in the UK, must not be longer than half of the total length of the course of study.

Full-time employment

Those who have submitted a valid application to stay in the UK under the Skilled Worker or Graduate route, can start working in a full-time permanent vacancy either up to 3 months prior to the course completion date (for the Skilled Worker route) or once they have successfully completed their course of study (for the Graduate route), provided all of the following apply:

•  the student is studying a full-time course of study a degree level or above with a higher education provider with a track record of compliance; and
• the application for the Skilled Worker or Graduate route has been submitted when the applicant had permission as a Student; and
• a decision has not been made on the Skilled Worker/Graduate application, or any Administrative Review against a refusal of the application has not been finally determined.

Study Conditions

Change to ST27.3 (c) A student may begin studying a new course with their current student sponsor if the new course is not at a lower qualification level than the course the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies was assigned for unless they were last granted permission to study an integrated master’s or PhD programme and will now be studying on the lower level qualification of that programme.

Dependants of a Student

An application for permission to enter or stay in the UK as a partner or child of a Student must meet all of the below validity requirements:

• any fee and NHS Surcharge must have been paid; and
• the applicant must have provided any required biometrics; and
• the applicant must have provided a passport or other travel document which satisfactorily establishes their identity and nationality; and
  • has made a valid application to enter or stay in the UK on the Student route that has not been decided; or
  • has permission to enter or stay in the UK on the Student route.

Appendix Short-term Student

The course requirements have been updated to say that the applicant must supply written evidence from the course provider that they have been accepted onto an English language course (that does not include any other subject) that lasts at least 6 months and no longer than 11 months.

Contact our Skilled Worker and Graduation Visa Lawyers in the UK

Should you need any advice on bringing your dependants into the UK or switching into the Skilled Worker or Graduate route get in touch with a member of our team.