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TIER 4 ONLINE APPLICATION 2020

GUIDANCE NOTES FOR VISA APPLICATIONS OUTSIDE THE UK

PLEASE USE GOOGLE CHROME OR SAFARI TO COMPLETE THE VISA APPLICATION FORM. THE FORM MAY NOT WORK CORRECTLY IN OTHER BROWSERS.

To complete a Tier 4 online application form you will need to register your details on the following website: https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/product/uk-visit-visa. NEXT you will be taken through several different screens to:

1. Select your language

2. Select the type of visa which you will be applying. Please select the appropriate category below, note that the College does not hold a Tier 4 (Child) licence so do not select this option.

3. Select the country from which you are applying

4. Confirm that you are able to attend an appointment at one of the visa

application centres listed on screen.

When your visa application is granted, you will receive a sticker in your passport that is valid for 30 days. This validity period will be calculated based on your course start date and will start either one month before the course start date or seven days before the intended date of travel; whichever is later. You must travel to the UK within the 30-day validity period of the visa sticker in your passport, and then collect your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) within 10 days of arrival in the UK. This BRP will show the full duration of your Tier 4 Student visa. BRP collection is covered in more detail at the end of this guidance on page 43. Please note: If your course is LESS than 6 months in length, your full Tier 4 visa will be issued into your passport and you won’t be required to collect a BRP. {

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Once you have completed these steps the following screen will appear, please click the Apply Now button.

1.To begin your Tier 4 application enter your email and create a password.

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2. The next screen is ‘Contacting you by Email’ where you are asked if the email address belongs to you or someone else. Followed by a screen asking for any additional email address you may have. If you only have one email address that’s fine. 3. The next section asks for your telephone number.

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4. If you are unable to be contacted by text or telephone you will need to provide an explanation on the next screen

5.The next section asks for your Imperial College CAS number.

If you are joining the College in October 2020 your CAS will not be issued until July 2020 at the earliest – i.e. a maximum 3 months before your start date.

You will not need to request a CAS. We will generate a CAS when you are eligible to receive one. To receive a CAS:

1. You will need to have met all the conditions of your offer (have an unconditional-firm status).

2. You will need to have indicated that you require a Tier-4 visa.

3. You will need to have provided your admissions team with a colour copy of the passport that you intend to make your visa application with.

4. If you are under 18 years of age, you must have completed/submitted the minors declaration form.

If you have your CAS number copy and paste it into the text box on screen then select Yes and click Save and Continue.

If you don’t yet have the CAS you can still tick ‘No’ and continue the rest of the application but you won’t be able to submit the application until you have a valid Imperial CAS saved in this field.

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6. Next the form asks for your name and personal details.

7.If you have ever been known by another name provide those details, otherwise select No.

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8. Select your gender and relationship status.

9.Then it asks for your address and details of the property you currently live

in.

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10. Enter your passport and nationality details.

You need to ensure that the passport you are using to travel to the UK is the same passport information you have provided to Imperial College. If you have changed your passport since your CAS was issued you will need to contact the relevant Admissions Team to get your CAS updated before you make your Tier 4 application.

11.If you have been issued with a National ID Card from your home country then provide the details as requested. You DO NOT need to submit the ID card with your visa application.

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12. Add your nationality, date of birth and country/place of birth.

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13. Select English as your language preference should the UKVI need to contact you.

14. If you are married or in a relationship the next section will ask questions

about your spouse. There may also be questions about any dependants you

may have. If you answered the relationship status question with ‘single’ you

will not see this section.

If you are travelling to the UK with your spouse/children there will be

additional questions here where you can add their details.

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15. The next section asks for details about your parents. Add their name, date

of birth and nationality.

16. If you have family that live in the UK provide their details.

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If you answer yes there will be a follow-up question asking for their name, nationality,

relationship to you and details of the UK visa they hold.

17. The majority of Imperial students will come to the UK as individuals and

not part of an organised travel group.

18. Answer as appropriate your own circumstances.

19. If you do not yet have an address in the UK please use the main Imperial

College address:

Imperial College London

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South Kensington Campus

London SW7 2AZ

Telephone: 020 7594 8040

20. The following screens ask a series of questions about your UK and

international travel history. Please answer questions as accurately as

possible.

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21. Add your planned arrival date. This cannot be more than 30 days in

advance of your course start date (as specified on your CAS). If you cannot

arrive in the UK before your course start date please contact

international@imperial.ac.uk for further advice.

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22. The next section asks for details on any immigration problems that you

may have encountered, both in the UK and elsewhere. Please answer the

questions as accurately as possible.

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22. The following screens take you through a series of questions about any

possible criminal convictions or civil penalties that you may have against you

in the UK or any other country. Please answer these questions truthfully and

provide all the requested information.

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23. Next here is a very long section explaining terrorism and genocide/war

crimes followed by a number of mandatory questions.

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24. The following screen asks you to declare any work (paid or unpaid) you

have undertaken with any of the following types or organisations. It is

important that you declare anything you think is relevant.

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25. The next set of screens asks for information about the College and your

studies. Please use the screenshots below to help you complete your answers.

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26. Below, provide the address of where you will be primarily based for your studies. For a list of the different campus addresses please refer to our website.

27. Students studying an Undergraduate course (eg. BSc) or an integrated Masters programme (eg. MSci) will have applied for their course through UCAS. For UG students you must answer YES to this question and provide your UCAS number. All other applicants should answer NO and move on to the next screen.

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28. Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) Certain courses require you to apply for an ATAS certificate. If applicable, this would be a condition of your offer and you would not have been issued a CAS number without first having been issued an ATAS certificate. You will have a PDF of the ATAS certificate, please refer to the certificate for the reference number.

29. Financial sponsorship (scholarship/bursary) Students who are being financially sponsored by an education institution, international company, UK Government or overseas Government must select YES to this question about ‘financial sponsor’ and provide a scholarship letter with their visa application that provides the details of that sponsorship. Please ensure that your scholarship letter meets all the criteria listed on our “Financial Sponsorship” information sheet. If you are receiving a scholarship from Imperial or through your Department at Imperial you can request to have this information added to your CAS as a Sponsor Note. Please note that this will not automatically happen and you must contact your Admissions team to ask for the information to be added. ** Please note that parents or any other family member/friend are not considered an official financial sponsor for the purposes of your visa application **

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30. How to find your Course Information

Refer to the CAS document sent to you by admissions or log-in to your MyImperial account to view your course details: The level of course and qualification would be as follows:

o for a 3-year Undergraduate programme write ‘RQF Level 6’ o for a 4-year Undergraduate programmes eg MEng and MSci write

‘RQF Level 7’ o for Masters studies write ‘RQF Level 7’ o for PhD studies write ‘RQF Level 8’

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31. Course start and end dates. Please use the exact dates specified on your CAS.

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PhD students should use their thesis submission deadline (4 years from course start date) as their course end date, e.g. if the course start date is 29 September 2020, the end date will be 29 September 2024. If you are unsure about what your course end date should be, please contact International Student Support.

32. Accommodation Please select NO to this question. Even if you have paid for your accommodation in Halls this will not be reflected on your CAS and you will be still be required to show the full maintenance amount of £11385 held in your bank account.

33. Tuition Fees

To find out what your Tuition Fees will be for the first year of study please refer to your CAS or the Tuition Fees webpage click here

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34. Maintenance amount required All Tier 4 applicants for Imperial College are required to show a total of £ 11385 (i.e.£ 1265 x 9 months) and dependants need to show a total of £ 7605 (£ 845 x 9 months) per dependant. Evidence of your maintenance You may only use bank statements either in your own name or one of your parents to demonstrate the required funds. If you will be relying on bank statements in your parents name you will need additional documents as part of your application:

• Your parent’s original bank statement. This must be in English and if the document is not in English it must be translated to meet the UKVI translation requirements.

• A letter from that parent confirming that the money in the account is to be used for your studies in the UK and that you are their child.

• An original birth certificate confirming the family connection. This must be in English and if the document is not in English it must be translated to meet the UKVI translation requirements.

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If you want to use your parents’ bank statements to show that you meet the Tier 4

financial requirement you would answer as follows:

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35. This text box provides you with an opportunity to provide any information relevant to your application that you may wish to explain further or you were not able to provide based upon the previous set of questions.

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36. Finally there is a ‘Check your answers’ section where you can make any

final changes and edit answers before you submit your application.

37. ‘Low-Risk’ nationals / differentiation Nationals of certain countries have been identified as ‘low-risk’ (differentiation) by the Home Office. As a low-risk national you do not need to provide all the supporting documents that are mentioned on the CAS (eg previous degree certificate), or those documents normally required as part of a visa application (eg bank statements). However, you must still have these documents with you and they must meet the relevant Home Office criteria should the Home Office request to see them. An ATAS certificate must always be included as part of a visa application (if one is required for your course) regardless of whether you are low-risk or not. A full list of low-risk nationals can be found on the Home Office website.

Everyone else will see the following screen where they can add details of their bank

statements:

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If you will be relying on more than one bank account to evidence your funds you can now add the additional information about these bank statements.

38. Stage 3: Documents. Please check the boxes to confirm that you have the documents requested to submit with your visa application.

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39. This screen provides a summary of the documents required and gives you a final opportunity to make amendments.

40. Stage 4: Declaration

Firstly tick to confirm that you accept the following conditions on your visa if it

is successfully issued.

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41. Proceed onto the main declaration to confirm that everything is true and

correct in your application to the best of your knowledge.

Once you have clicked save and continue it will no longer be possible to go back

and edit any of your previous answers.

If you subsequently discover a mistake before you reach the payment the stage, it is

advisable to restart a fresh application.

If you discover a mistake after the payment stage please contact

international@imperial.ac.uk for further guidance.

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42. Next is the payment of the Immigration Health Surcharge.

After clicking the ‘Go to IHS website’ follow the screens to pay the health surcharge and then you will be returned to the application form to complete the payment of for the visa application.

Biometric Residence Permit alternative collection location There will also be a section asking where you would like to have your Biometric Residence Permit delivered in the UK. We strongly advise that you choose to have your BRP delivered to the College and you can do this by entering an Alternative Collection Location code when requested. The College ACL code is 2HE497.

43. Finally you will reach the application payment page where you can choose the level of service you would like: standard, priority or super-priority. Once you have paid the fee you will be redirected to a 3rd party website where you can book your visa appointment. Your visa application date will be the date that you make this online payment. The date of your appointment at the visa application centre (VAC) is the date you will present your original supporting documents and have your photograph and fingerprints taken ready for the issuing of your BRP. Good luck with your application. Any questions please contact international@imperial.ac.uk.