Student Services International Student Advice Applying for Tier 4 in the UK This guidance is for those applying for a Tier 4 visa from within the UK – either because they are extending their current Tier 4 visa, or because they are switching into Tier 4 from another UK immigration category. Students should check key information stated on Home Office website https://www.gov.uk/tier-4-general-visa/extend-your-visa to make sure they are eligible to apply for Tier 4 in the UK before starting your applications. Understanding the Tier 4 application process The general process of a Tier 4 application in the UK includes the below steps: Apply for and obtain your ATAS certificate, if you need one; Complete the Tier 4 application form online; Pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) and visa application fee (this is done online); Submit your supporting documents by post (for standard and priority service) or in person (for premium service) Have your biometrics (photograph and fingerprints) taken: o at the Post Office (you will need to print off the PDF of the Biometric Enrolment Letter once you have paid for your visa application), or o at your appointment (if you have chosen the in-person option) Receive a decision letter from Home Office regarding your visa application outcome (this envelope should also contain all of the original supporting documents you submitted in support of your application) from UPS or Royal Mail Receive Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) card through DX delivery Before you submit the online application form, you must ensure you have all your documents ready, as these must be dated on or before the date you submit your form or they will not be acceptable as supporting evidence and your visa application will be refused. Starting the application form If all of your documents are ready, you can start the online application process on the Home Office’s Tier 4 visa webpage: https://www.gov.uk/tier-4-general-visa/extend-your-visa . This webpage details the three different service options you have for the visa application, and the fees associated with each one.
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Student Services International Student Advice
Applying for Tier 4 in the UK
This guidance is for those applying for a Tier 4 visa from within the UK – either because they are extending their current
Tier 4 visa, or because they are switching into Tier 4 from another UK immigration category. Students should check key
information stated on Home Office website https://www.gov.uk/tier-4-general-visa/extend-your-visa to make sure they
are eligible to apply for Tier 4 in the UK before starting your applications.
Understanding the Tier 4 application process
The general process of a Tier 4 application in the UK includes the below steps:
Apply for and obtain your ATAS certificate, if you need one;
Complete the Tier 4 application form online;
Pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) and visa application fee (this is done online);
Submit your supporting documents by post (for standard and priority service) or in person (for premium service)
Have your biometrics (photograph and fingerprints) taken:
o at the Post Office (you will need to print off the PDF of the Biometric Enrolment Letter once you have
paid for your visa application), or
o at your appointment (if you have chosen the in-person option)
Receive a decision letter from Home Office regarding your visa application outcome (this envelope should also
contain all of the original supporting documents you submitted in support of your application) from UPS or
Royal Mail
Receive Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) card through DX delivery
Before you submit the online application form, you must ensure you have all your documents ready, as these must be
dated on or before the date you submit your form or they will not be acceptable as supporting evidence and your visa
application will be refused.
Starting the application form
If all of your documents are ready, you can start the online application process on the Home Office’s Tier 4 visa webpage:
https://www.gov.uk/tier-4-general-visa/extend-your-visa . This webpage details the three different service options you
have for the visa application, and the fees associated with each one.
The ‘Documents’ section of the form is now complete. You should be able to amend your answers by using the
‘Change/Add’ option.
Please note: if you are using your parents’ bank statements to support your Tier 4 application, you will need to provide a
consent letter from them confirming that you are their child + they give their permission to you using their funds for your
studies in the UK, and your birth certificate which proves the relationship between the bank account holder and you, i.e.
parent and child.
Next, you will move to the ‘Declaration’. You’ll be asked to confirm that you are the applicant and that all the information
on the form is correct. We recommend that students save a copy of your application form as a PDF for your records at
this stage.
Extra requirements
for students who are
using parent’s bank
statements
You will then be forwarded to the Immigration Health Surcharge page. Once you have continued from this page you will not be able to amend your answers.
If your solicitor is filling
out this form for you,
then they should tick the
second option.
Proceed to IHS payment if
you are happy with all the
answers provided above.
The Immigration Health Surcharge is an additional charge you must pay if you’re applying for a visa in the UK or overseas
after April 5th 2015. It gives you access to the National Health Service. For those in the UK, it will affect anyone who
needs to extend their Tier 4 visa for a new course, a resit or for more time to complete their course.
For Tier 4 students, the charge is £75 per 6 months of study, according to the length of Tier 4 visa granted (not according
to the course length). If, for example, you’re studying a one-year course you’ll actually be required to pay £225 (as your
visa should last for 16-17 months, and this gets rounded up to 18 months).
After you choose ‘Continue’, you will then see the summary screen. These answers are automatically filled according to
your answers provided for previous sections. However, you will be asked to provide more details as below.
Please click the link as shown in the screen and it will direct you to the answer pages.
After these three additional questions, you should now see the summary of your health surcharge information. If you
need to change any of the answers, you can amend them by clicking ‘change’.
If you are happy with the information shown on the page, you then need to complete the Declaration for IHS.
Please provide your payment card details here. Once it is through, you would have completed the IHS payment for your
visa application.
By clicking this, you
will move to the
payment screen.
Submitting your application online Once you have paid for the Immigration Health Surcharge, you will be re-directed back to the visa application where you
will be asked to pay the visa application fee.
We always advise that you have all supporting documents in your possession before you submit the application online. For example, you should have already held the correct money for 28 days and have your bank statements to prove this. Any dates on a bank statement which are after the date you submit your application may not be accepted. You will be given 3 options to pay for your application Standard application: This is the normal postal application. With this service, you will have to post all of your documents within 15 working days from the date of application. You will be expected to post everything “special” or “recorded” delivery via the Post Office.
Priority application: You need to email the Priority Service request form to UKVI to request to use this service. The Home
Office releases 60 Priority Service “slots” per day. Once you have received confirmation, the application process operates
in a similar way to the Standard Service but with much shorter turnaround times. It has a processing time of 10 working
days if all deadlines are met. The deadlines are that the UKVI must receive your documents and biometric enrolment
within 2 days of paying for your application. If choosing this service, in the confirmation email from the Home Office you
will be directed to another link with instructions on how to proceed.
If you cannot meet the deadlines specified above for whatever reason, then your application may be reverted back to the
standard application route and the difference of the fee may possibly be retained by UKVI.
Premium application: This service allows you to book a face to face appointment at a UKVI Premium Service Centre. You
must book an appointment within 45 days of the day you pay for your application online. You should bring all supporting
documents to your appointment where you will also do your biometric enrolment. If the application is straightforward,
you should be given a decision on the same day. You will have to wait a few days for your BRP to be posted to you.
Once you pay the correct fee, you will have officially submitted your application to the UKVI.
The date of your application is considered to be the date that you make this online payment.
After submitting your visa application Once the application fee has been paid, you will then go back to the main screen which says you have got few more tasks to complete. If you follow the steps, you will then see 3 PDF documents are automatically generated:
- Checklist - Biometric Enrolment Letter - Copy of your Tier 4 visa application form
Checklist You will have to download and print out the Checklist. All boxes on the Checklist have to be ticked and you will need to post all supporting documents along with the Checklist to the address specified on the second page of this Checklist. Biometric Enrolment Letter Important: As part of the visa extension process, you also need to download and print off the Biometric Enrolment Letter and take it to a post office to have your fingerprints scanned and have a digital photograph taken. Not all post offices have biometric enrolment facility, but you can search online by ticking ‘Home Office Biometric Enrolment’ function using their official website http://www.postoffice.co.uk/branch-finder
The last page of the letter includes a unique barcode specific to your visa application which the post office will need to
scan, so please ensure your letter is clearly printed. There is a fee of £19.20 for enrolling your biometrics, which you pay
at the post office.
You do not need to post this letter to UKVI with other documents. Once the enrolment is completed, you are advised to
keep this letter with the receipt provided by the post office as evidence that you have completed this important
procedure. You have 15 working days to enrol your biometrics from the date you submit your application on-line. If you
don’t complete this procedure within this timeframe, your application will be rejected as invalid. For more information
about biometric enrolment, see the following link: https://www.gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits/personal-data
Copy of your Tier 4 visa application form UKVI are able to read your applications online and therefore it is not necessary to print this document. You should download this form and save it to your own computer as it is a reference on what answers you have provided UKVI with in this application. You may find it helpful to check this documents when filling out future applications to keep consistency your answers. Please note you will need to complete all steps within the time scale given by UKVI. Failure to complete the procedures on time may lead to your application becoming invalid (i.e. application not submitted successfully).
Finding errors after completing all the above steps
If you find anything might be incorrect afterwards, please get in touch by emailing [email protected] or come to one of our drop-in’s following our website instructions https://www.kcl.ac.uk/campuslife/services/student-advice-support/StudentAdvicedrop-ins.aspx We will be assessing your questions and happy to hold discussions with you when necessary.