Applying for Tier 4

Entry Clearance

If you are applying from your home country, you will need to submit your application to your local British Embassy/High Commission or Visa Application Centre. This will be through completing an online application or the paper form.

Please check the UKBA country finder to check how you can apply and where your nearest application centre is. From here you can also check if you need to complete the online application or the paper forms VAF9 and Appendix 8.

You may  be required to attend an interview as part of the application process.

Entry Clearance applications cost the equivalent of £298 in local currency. You can also check here to see how long the application will take to process. We advise that you apply for your visa as early as possible. The earliest you can apply for Entry Clearance is three months before your course start date (this will be on your CAS).

You can include your spouse/civil partner/unmarried partner and/or children in your application, as long as: 

• You will be studying a postgraduate course that is at least 12 months long or,
• You are a government sponsored student that will study a course that is at least six months long.

 Please email visa@derby.ac.uk if you require any guidance in completing the application form.

Leave to Remain

If you are already in the UK and need to extend your visa for a new course, or to continue studying your existing course, you need to complete a Leave to Remain application to submit to the UK Border Agency. Leave to Remain applications should ideally be submitted around two months before your visa expires.

Leave to Remain applications are completed online using the Tier 4 ‘print and send’ application on the UK Border Agency website. You will need to register an account and log in to start filling in the application. Make sure you save your progress as you complete each page.

It is very important that once you reach the Check application page of the application form that you save your progress and do not proceed any further. Once you pass this point you cannot make any amendments to your application. You will need to contact the Immigration Advisor by emailing visa@derby.ac.uk to arrange an appointment to go through with you what you have completed. You will need to bring with you to the appointment your account login details, all your supporting documents and a bank credit/debit card to pay for the application to be processed.

Posted applications will cost £406; applications in person at a UKBA Public Enquiry Office (PEO) will cost £781. PEO applications can be processed in a single day, but you will need to book an appointment after you have completed the application form and there is no guarantee that you can be seen before your visa expires as there are limited spaces available.

Your application will be posted by the Immigration Advisor. After the application has been submitted the UKBA will send a letter inviting you to have your biometric (fingerprint) details taken. You will need to go to a participating post office within 15 working days of the date of the letter. The address of the nearest Derby branch is:

Post Office Derby

Midland Road

Derby

DE1 1AA

 

Once your biometrics have been taken your details will be passed to UKBA, who will process your application. Your documents will be returned to the University and you will be contacted by the Immigration Advisor to collect them.

Documents required

• Current and/or previous passport(s).
• Two recent passport-sized photographs (see the Photo guidance).
• Police Registration Certificate (for Leave to Remain applications only). This is only for those nationals who are required to register with the police.
• Evidence of money available to you (see Maintenance (funds)).
• Evidence used to obtain the offer for the course. This could be qualification certificates, transcripts and/or English language test reports. These documents will be listed in your CAS under "Evidence used to obtain offer".
• ATAS certificate (if applicable) (see Tier 4 information).

Documents not in English or Welsh must be accompanied by a certified translation by a professional translator/translation company. The translation must include details of the translator’s credentials, their contact details and confirmation that it is an accurate translation of the original document.

See Dependants (family members) for information on what documents you need for any dependants you may have. All documents must be original.

Low risk applicants

British Nationals (Overseas) and nationals of the following countries are considered ‘low risk’ by the UK Border Agency:

• Argentina
• Australia
• Botswana
• Brunei
• Canada
• Chile
• Croatia
• Hong Kong
• Japan
• Malaysia
• New Zealand
• Singapore
• South Korea
• Taiwan (if you hold a passport issued by Taiwan that includes the number of the identification card issued by the competent authority in Taiwan)
• Trinidad and Tobago
• United States of America

Low risk nationals only need to provide their passport, photographs and police registration certificate (if applicable) with their application, although they will still need to retain all other documentation as the UK Border Agency may still ask for them to be submitted during the application process. We will need to see all original documentation before we submit your application to ensure that you meet the criteria.