A student visa doesn’t constitute a route to settlement within the UK and doesn’t lead to an opportunity to become a UK citizen. However upon completion of your course you are able to switch to another immigration service without having to leave the UK.

In order to come to the UK to study there are certain aspects that you need to demonstrate and requirements that you need to fulfil; you need to demonstrate that you have been accepted onto a course to study at one of the following:

• A publicly-funded institution of further or higher education i.e. University  
• A private education institution that maintains satisfactory records of enrolment and attendance for students and offers courses which lead to qualifications recognized by the appropriate accreditation bodies.
• An independent fee-paying school outside the maintained sector.

As well as demonstrating that you have been accepted to one of these institutions you must also intent to follow any of these:

• A recognized full-time degree course.
• A weekday course at a single institution that involves at least 15 hours of organized daytime study a week.
• A full-time course of study at an independent fee-paying school.

When you have been accepted on a course it should be noted that you will have to meet the cost of your accommodation and the fees of your course yourself without using public funds. 

In some cases your course of study may only last about six months, if this is the case then you may be able to enter the UK under a visit visa, which is also referred to as a travel or tourist visa. However, the benefit of studying in the UK under a visa for students is that you will also be permitted to undertake limited employment. What is meant by this limited employment is that you must study for 15 a week; however you are eligible to work for 20 hours a week during term time and then this is increased to 40 hours during holidays.

If you would like to find out more information about applying to come to the UK on a student visa then get in touch with Immigration Consult, who can help you with every stage of your application process. Or if you would like to get a process underway then speak to our professional immigrations lawyers and we will go through the process with you.