Skip Navigation

I want more time in the UK, as a student. What do I do about immigration?

August 2008

printer friendly version

Who is this Information Sheet for?

This Information Sheet is for you if you are in the UK now and you want to stay here with immigration permission as a student. It is not relevant to you if you want to stay in the UK as a student nurse, postgraduate doctor or dentist or as a school child. If you are a national of the European Economic Area, or of Switzerland, this Information Sheet is not for you. Please see instead EEA and Swiss Students.

If your permission to be in the UK has already expired, your position is complicated. You should seek advice immediately from the international student adviser or welfare officer at your college or university before you think about making an application.

Back to contents

Who can apply from inside the UK?

Not everyone who is in the UK is allowed to apply for more time, as a student.

You will qualify to apply for more time, as a student, if either:

You have current immigration permission to be in the UK as a student; or
You last entered the UK with valid entry clearance as a student or as a prospective student; or
Your latest immigration permission to be in the UK was granted under the rules for students who are re-sitting an exam; or
You have been accepted on a course of study at degree level or above and your latest immigration permission to be in the UK was granted to you as one of the following:
- a sabbatical officer
- a work permit holder
- a tier 1 post-study work migrant
- a participant in the International Graduates Scheme (IGS) or in the Science and Engineering Graduates Scheme (SEGS)
- a participant in the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme (FT:WISS).

Examples

You have entry clearance (a visa issued in your home country) or a UK residence permit as a student and the 'valid until' date has not yet passed. You can apply to stay in the UK as a student under category one.
You obtained entry clearance as a student before you left your home country. While you were in the UK, your entry clearance expired and you were given a UK residence permit as a student. At the end of your studies, you stayed on with immigration permission as a visitor. Now you want to apply to do another course. Check the last time you entered the UK. If it was before the 'valid until' date on your entry clearance expired, you can apply to stay in the UK as a student under category two. If you last entered the UK after this date, for example, if you travelled in and out of the UK when you had a UK residence permit as a student or when you had immigration permission to be here as a visitor, you cannot apply to stay in the UK as a student.
You have never had entry clearance as a student. Instead, you applied for student immigration permission on arrival in the UK and/or you were granted a UK residence permit as a student. You can apply for more time as a student if you make your application before your student permission runs out, under category one. If you have stayed on as for example, a visitor or a dependant or under any other categories not covered by the four groups above, you cannot make this application in the UK.
You are in the UK as a working holidaymaker. You have started, or are about to start, your studies. You cannot apply to stay in the UK as a student.
You are in the UK as the dependant of a student, or as the dependant of a work permit holder. You cannot apply to stay in the UK as a student.
You are in the UK as a sabbatical officer, a work permit holder, a tier 1 post-study work migrant, or as a participant in the Science and Engineering Graduates Scheme, the International Graduates Scheme or the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme. You are about to start your course. You can apply under category four if your course is at degree level or above. If your course is below degree level, you can apply only if you came to the UK with entry clearance as a student or as a prospective student, and you last entered the UK before the 'valid until' date on that entry clearance expired (this means you come within category two; If you travelled out of and re-entered the UK when you had a UK residence permit as a student, or when you had immigration permission as a sabbatical officer, work permit holder, a tier 1 post-study work migrant, or participant under SEGS, IGS or FT:WISS, or in any other capacity, and you now want to study a course at below degree level, you cannot make this application in the UK).

If you do not meet the requirements of any of these categories, you will need to leave the UK and apply for entry clearance from the country where you normally live. For more information, see the section of this Information Sheet, What to do if you cannot stay in the UK to make your application.

If you do meet the requirements of one of the categories, now check the other requirements you must meet if you want to stay in the UK as a student.

Back to contents

What to do if you cannot stay in the UK to make your application

If you do not fall into any of the categories described above, you are not permitted under the Immigration Rules to stay in the UK to apply for more time as a student. You should return to your home country, or the country where you normally live, and apply for entry clearance as a student. For information about applying for entry clearance, see our Information Sheet Student immigration before you come to the UK.

Warning: If you make an application in the UK when you do not qualify to do so it is highly likely that it will be refused, and your passport marked to show that you made an application that was refused. It will be much more difficult for you to apply for entry clearance for the UK and other countries in the future. If you feel that there are very unusual circumstances in your case that mean that an exception should be made for you, DO NOT make an application without seeking advice first. It is generally very difficult to persuade the Home Office to make an exception, and unless your case is truly exceptional there is a high likelihood that your application will be refused. Go and see the international student adviser or welfare officer at your college or university to talk about your situation.

Back to contents

Other requirements for staying in the UK as a student

The other requirements you must meet if you want to stay in the UK as a student are:

You must be enrolled on a course (we use the term 'course' to cover all the different types of study described at 4, below).
The course must be provided by an institution which appears on the Register of Education and Training Providers.
The course must be provided by either:
- a publicly-funded institution of further or higher education which maintains satisfactory records of enrolment and attendance of students and which supplies them to the Home Office when requested or
- a 'bona fide' private education institution
The course must be either:
- a recognised full-time degree course or postgraduate studies at a publicly-funded institution of further or higher education; or
- a period of study and/or research in excess of six months at a publicly funded institution of higher education where this forms part of an overseas degree course; or
- a weekday full-time course involving attendance at one institution for a minimum of 15 hours' organised daytime study a week. If you are taking more than one subject to make up the 15 hours, then you have to show that the subjects are directly related to each other. The study of English language is always counted as being directly related to any other subject, if English is not your first language.
You must have the ability to follow the course.
You must intend to follow the course.
If you have already begun the course, you must have attended it regularly.
You must have regularly attended any course that you were enrolled on in the past.
If you have already begun the course, you must have made satisfactory progress so far, including taking and passing any relevant exams.
If you have been accepted to study externally for a degree at a private education institution, you must also be registered as an external student with the UK degree awarding body (ask your institution if you are not sure what this involves).
If you are studying specific subjects at Masters or Doctorate level, you must have a valid Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) clearance certificate. This also applies to you if you are undertaking a period of study or research in the UK that forms part of your overseas postgraduate course,
You must intend to leave the UK at the end of your studies (unless you are a degree student hoping to stay on to work when you finish your studies, and are not sponsored by your own government or an international scholarship agency).
You must not intend to take employment or engage in business, unless the immigration authorities allow you to.
You must have enough money without needing to work or engage in business or claim public funds to pay for:
- your course fees
- the accommodation and maintenance of yourself and your husband, wife, civil partner and children, if they are here with you.
However, there are two situations in which you are allowed to refer to your earnings from work as a source of money:
- If your course is a sandwich course, and your college or university can guarantee that a sandwich placement will be available for you, and how much you will earn, then you can refer to those earnings. Your college or university will need to give you a letter confirming those details.
- If you are going to be studying at a publicly-funded institution of further or higher education (rather than a private college), and that institution can guarantee that they will be able to offer you some work themselves. Provided they are prepared to give you a letter confirming how much they will pay you, then you can refer to those earnings.
If you have come to the end of a period of sponsorship by a government or international scholarship agency, then you must have their written consent to remain in the UK.
The extension must not result in you spending more than two years on courses that are below degree level, and are either:
- less than one year long; or
- longer than one year but abandoned by you before completion.

Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS)

If you are studying a course that leads to a postgraduate qualification at Masters or Doctorate level, and your course is included on the list on the Foreign and Commonwealth (FCO) website at www.fco.gov.uk/atas, you must apply for, and be issued with, an ATAS clearance certificate from the Counter-Proliferation Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) before you apply to extend your permission to be in the UK as a student. This means that you should apply for an ATAS clearance certificate at least one month before your immigration permission is due to expire.

If you are studying for a Doctorate or a Masters degree by research, you should check the JACS code of your course against paragraph 1 of the list. If you are studying a taught Masters degree, you should check the JACS code of your course against paragraph 2 of the list. The institution where you are studying can give you the JACS code for your course. If you are undertaking a period of study or research in the UK for six months or more, and that study or research in the UK forms part of your postgraduate qualification in another country, you must apply for an ATAS clearance certificate if you are studying any of the subjects listed in paragraphs 1 and 2 of the list.

You do not have to apply for an ATAS clearance certificate if you are applying to extend your permission to be in the UK in the immigration category of a student who is re-sitting exams, or if you are a student who needs extra time to write up a thesis, and your last period of immigration permission as a student was granted before 30 November 2007. You do not need to apply for an ATAS clearance certificate if you are studying a four-year enhanced degree, for example, an MEng, MPharm or MSci, and you started the course as an undergraduate student.

You apply online for an ATAS clearance certificate through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website, where you can also find more information about the scheme. The certificate applies only to the institution and course of study you put on the application form. The FCO aims to process your application within three weeks of receiving it, and processes most applications within 10 working days.

Back to contents

Making the application

Which form?

You need to obtain a copy of the latest version of the Home Office application form for making student immigration applications, the FLR(S) form, and the Home Office guidance notes that come with it. The international student adviser or welfare officer at your college or university might be able to give you a copy. Alternatively, you can:

download a copy from the internet - go to www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/studyingintheuk/extending/
telephone the Home Office's Application Forms Unit (0870 241 0645) to ask them to post you a copy (they usually post them the same day)
if you are a textphone user (because you have difficulties with speech or hearing), use the Home Office freephone textphone service to ask them to post you a copy (0800 38 98 28 9).

Back to contents

When to apply

You must make your application before your current permission to be in the UK runs out. If you do not apply before then, you lose any rights of appeal against a refusal and you become an overstayer, which is a criminal offence. It is likely to jeopardise any future immigration applications you make.

You can apply at any time when you can show that you meet all of the requirements for staying in the UK as a student.

You should also check that your passport is not about to expire. You need to have a valid passport to enclose with the application.

Back to contents

Where to apply

You can:

send your application by post to the Home Office
book an appointment to take your application in person to a Home Office Public Enquiry Office in Croydon, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool or Sheffield
if your college or university participates in the Home Office's student batch scheme, you can ask your college or university to send your application by post on your behalf.

The part of the Home Office that deals with immigration is called the UK Border Agency (UKBA).

Points to bear in mind in deciding which method to choose:

Sending your application by post to the Home Office

The charge for this service is £295.
You will have to send off your passport, and it will be returned to you in 2 to 14 weeks' time. You must not book any travel abroad until you receive your passport back. In unusual cases, it can be even longer than 14 weeks before a passport is returned.
It is not a good idea to use a card to pay for your application. It is much safer to pay using postal orders. Card payments often fail (because, for example, there is a mistake in entering the card details on the form, or the bank balance drops at the wrong time). If a payment fails, then you are treated as though you have not made an application. There will be a delay before you hear that your payment has failed. If your permission to be in the UK runs out before you hear that your payment has failed, you will not have the opportunity to try to pay again. Instead, you will become an overstayer. For this reason, it is not a good idea to pay by card unless you have a number of weeks before your permission to be in the UK runs out (so that you have enough time to hear if your card payment fails).
If you pay by cheque, your application will take five working days longer to process than it would do if you paid with postal orders. This is because of the 'clearing' time that banks allow for cheques.
Make sure that you put your completed form in the post no later than the date that your current permission to be in the UK runs out. If you have already missed this date, seek advice urgently from the international student adviser or welfare officer at your college or university.
Always use recorded or special delivery when you post anything to the Home Office, and keep the receipt. Make sure to allow enough time to get to a Post Office to do this.
The Home Office always uses recorded delivery when returning passports and other documents to you.

Back to contents

Taking your application to a public enquiry office

The charge for this service is £500.
You need to telephone in advance to book an appointment - telephone 0870 606 7766.
When you telephone to book an appointment:
- September and October are particularly busy times of year, and it will be days or even weeks before an appointment is available.
- If there are no appointments available until after your current permission to be in the UK runs out, you should find another way of making your application in time. This means choosing one of the following options:
  - putting your application in the post to the Home Office, using recorded or special delivery, no later than the date stamped in your passport; or
  - if your college or university participates in the Home Office's student batch scheme, asking your college or university to send your application by post on your behalf, no later than the date stamped in your passport; or
  - asking if any of the public enquiry offices other than your first choice office has an appointment available before the date stamped in your passport.
If you accept an appointment for a date after your current permission to be in the UK runs out, you will not have a right to appeal if the Home Office decides to refuse your application for an extension, and you will be an overstayer while you wait for the appointment.
Usually your application will be processed on the day, so that you can take your passport home with you.
Wait until your passport has been endorsed before booking any travel abroad.
If you are using someone else's card to pay for the application, the card holder must come with you to sign for the payment. You might need to explain this to the door staff at the Public Enquiry Office, if they are reluctant to allow the card holder into the building with you.
If you are using a cheque to pay part of the charge, remember that:
- If it is not your cheque book, the person whose cheque book it is must come with you to sign the cheque.
- You will need to bring along a cheque guarantee card for the cheque.
- Every cheque guarantee card has a limit, beyond which cheques are not guaranteed. Look at the cheque guarantee card to see what the limit is (eg £50, £100). If the limit is less than £500, you will have to use some other payment method to pay the balance of the £500.

Back to contents

The student batch scheme

Not all colleges and universities participate in this. Ask your international student adviser or welfare officer whether yours does.
It is your responsibility to complete the form and gather the information and documents you need for the application.
Your college or university will have a quick look through your application to try to ensure you have not forgotten anything, and will then post the application off to the Home Office on your behalf. If there are any problems with the application, the Home Office will contact your college or university rather than you.
Do not wait until the last minute before going to see your international student adviser or welfare officer. They may not have enough time to help you if your current permission to be in the UK is about to run out.
Your college or university needs to make sure that they put your completed form in the post no later than the date that your current permission to be in the UK runs out. If they do not do this, you will become an overstayer, and you will not have a right to appeal if the Home Office decides to refuse your application for an extension. Being an overstayer may jeopardise any future immigration applications you make.
The charge for this service is £295, plus a very small administrative charge in some colleges and universities.
Your college or university will have to send off your passport, and it will be returned to them in 2 to 14 weeks' time. You must not book any travel abroad until you receive your passport back from them. In unusual cases, it can be even longer than 14 weeks before a passport is returned.
Some colleges and universities insist that students using the student batch scheme use a particular payment method (for example, postal orders) to pay for their applications. Ask your international student adviser or welfare officer what the policy is at your college or university.
It is not a good idea to use a card to pay for your application. It is much safer to pay using postal orders. Card payments often fail (because, for example, there is a mistake in entering the card details on the form, or the bank balance drops at the wrong time). If a payment fails, then you are treated as though you have not made an application. There will be a delay before you hear that your payment has failed. If your permission to be in the UK runs out before you hear that your payment has failed, you will not have the opportunity to try to pay again. Instead, you will become an overstayer. For this reason, it is not a good idea to pay by card unless you have a number of weeks before your permission to be in the UK runs out (so that you have enough time to hear if your card payment fails).

Back to contents

Completing the application form

This information takes you through version 08/2008 of the FLR(S) form. Always check what the latest version of the form is, before you start to complete it. Make sure that you answer all the questions on the form. Write 'not applicable' if there is no answer.

Payment details section:

See the detailed guidance on page 2 of the FLR(S) form.

If you are using the student batch scheme, then in answer to questions 6 and 7, write the name and address of your adviser.

Section 1

The space for a photograph: You should use a paper clip to attach 2 recent passport photographs of yourself here. Write your name on the back of each photograph.
Question 1.8: If you do not have a Home Office reference or do not know it, write 'not applicable' or 'not known' here.
If you are using the student batch scheme, then in answer to question 1.13, write your adviser's name, job title, address, email and telephone number. In answer to question 1.14, if your college or university is a publicly funded institution of further or higher education, you should write 'exempt'.

Section 2:

Tick only one box. Seek advice before completing the form if you are thinking of ticking one of the following boxes: 'Student undertaking examination re-sits', 'Prospective student' or 'Postgraduate student writing up a thesis'. This is because there are special requirements you have to meet for these categories.

Section 3:

If you have a husband, wife or civil partner or child under 18 already here in the UK with you, you need to decide whether you want to apply for extensions for them, as your dependants. If so, you should fill in all their details here.
If you have a child who is in the UK as your dependant but who is now 18 or over, you should not include that child's details on this form. Instead, the child should complete form FLR(O), tick the box to indicate they are applying for 'other purposes', and below that explain that they: have current leave to enter or remain as the child of a student - are now over 18 but are applying as the child of a student - want the application to be processed at the same time as yours - and then give your name, your date of birth, your nationality, your Home Office reference number, the date you are submitting your application, and the recorded delivery number for your application. The child should enclose their birth certificate (listing you as a parent), as well as evidence that you are currently a student and attending your institution. Send the child's FLR(O) form in the same envelope as your FLR(S) form, and write a letter to go with each of the forms, explaining that you want both the applications to be processed together, listing all the following details about both you and the child: name, date of birth, nationality, Home Office reference number, date the application is being submitted, recorded delivery number for the envelope). The fee for each application made on the FLR(O) form is £395 if you post it or £595 if you take it to a public enquiry office.
Remember that the Home Office will want to check that there is enough money available for their accommodation and maintenance. If their current immigration conditions allow them to work and they already have a job, it is acceptable to refer to those earnings as a source of financial support.
Do not worry if your husband, wife, civil partner or child under 18 came into the UK not as the dependant of a student, but under some other category of the Immigration Rules (for example, as a visitor). They are allowed to apply to stay on as the dependant of a student, even if they are visa nationals. There is no restriction on this kind of 'switching', as there is for students.
Listing your family members who qualify on your form means that they do not have to fill in a separate form, and pay a separate fee. There is only one fee for each form completed, no matter how many dependants are listed.
If your relevant family member currently has permission to be in the UK as a student, and they are going to want to stay in the UK longer than you, then it will probably be unwise to list them on your form, if they will not fall into one of the categories of people who are allowed to apply for more time as a student, after you leave (see Who can apply from inside the UK?). Talk to the international student adviser or welfare officer at your college or university about their position.
Only a husband or wife or civil partner, and children under 18 can be listed on your form. You cannot list an opposite-sex unmarried partner, or a same-sex partner who is not a civil partner.
Write the dependant's name on the back of each photograph of them.

Back to contents

Section 4:

Question 4.3: The Home Office guidance which explains how to notify them if you change course is in paragraph 14 of the separate FLR(S) guidance notes.
Question 4.5: If your college provides information about your attendance on your course, it is usually acceptable if the figures show that you attended 80% of the possible time.
Make sure you explain any long periods of absence.

Section 5:

Ask the international student adviser or welfare officer at your college or university for help with your application if you are thinking of ticking any of the following boxes, because there are special requirements that you will have to meet.:
- To re-sit an examination
- To write up a thesis
- Other
If you are not currently thinking of moving on to further studies in the UK when you finish your course, say that in answer to question 5.6. You are free to change your mind in the future.
Note that the Home Office does not normally give more than one extension to re-sit a particular exam.
Note that the Home Office does not normally give more than one twelve month extension to write up a thesis.

Back to contents

Section 6:

Students are not allowed to work in the UK unless they have a stamp or sticker in their passport that includes the words 'work (and any changes) must be authorised' or 'able to work as authorised' or 'not enter or change employment paid or unpaid without the consent of the Secretary of State' . If you do not have such a stamp or sticker, and are working in the UK, you should not make your application until you have taken advice from the international student adviser or welfare officer at your college or university.
If you have the right stamp or sticker, and have been working more than 20 hours a week during term time, ask the international student adviser or welfare officer at your college or university for advice about your application. 20 hours is the maximum number of hours that you are allowed to work during any week, when it is term time.
If you tick to say that you are not working in the UK, then in answer to the questions about your hours and pay, write 'not applicable'.
In answer to the question 'how many hours on average do you work during term time?', say how many hours you work on average each week.
If you have recently been sponsored by your place of study, a government or an international scholarship agency, then the Home Office will not give you an extension if the sponsor does not consent to you continuing to study. This applies even if you will be relying on different sponsorship, or none at all, for the new course.
Question 6.6: It is only the benefits listed in this question that count as public funds. Nothing else counts as public funds. If you are not receiving any of the benefits listed, then in answer to the question 'are you receiving any public funds?', say 'no'. If you tick 'yes' in answer to the question 'are you receiving any public funds?', ask the international student adviser or welfare officer at your college or university for advice about your application before you take or send it to the Home Office.

Section 7:

The Home Office is currently testing its procedures for collecting 'biometric identifiers' (fingerprints and a photograph of the face) from applicants and their dependants, with a pilot scheme (on the form, it talks about this as 'applying for a biometric immigration document'). You will only be affected by the pilot scheme if you make your application in person at the public enquiry office in Croydon (not by post). If you are applying in person at the public enquiry office in Croydon, you and your dependants' fingerprints and photographs will be taken when you attend your appointment.

Section 8:

Question 8.1: In the UK, a criminal conviction means that a judge or jury in court has found you guilty of a criminal offence.

Section 11:

If you are under 18, you can sign the form yourself, you do not have to get your parent or guardian to sign it.

Back to contents

Documents you need for your application

You need to provide the Home Office with all those documents listed in Section 10 of the form that are relevant to your application.

If you are applying for a Home Office extension to continue a course that you have already started, you do not need to provide:

evidence that you have received an unconditional offer of a place for study; or
evidence that you have accepted the unconditional offer made to you.

All the documents you enclose must be originals rather than photocopies.

If you are not going to be able to obtain original documents in time to make your application before your permission to be in the UK runs out, do not wait for them to arrive before making the application. Instead, you should make your application by post rather than in person, and ask an adviser at your college or university to provide you with a letter to enclose, explaining:

why the documents are missing; and
when you will be sending them.

If an adviser is not able to provide you with that letter, you need to write it yourself. It is up to the Home Office to decide whether your reason is good enough for them to wait for a short amount of time (usually 28 days at the most) for you to get the documents to them (see paragraph number 14 of the separate FLR(S) guidance notes for information about where to send them). If they decide not to wait and instead process your application immediately, they will refuse it if they find that you have not produced enough evidence that you qualify for a student extension. It is a good idea to enclose copies of the missing original documents when you send the application off, if you have any. You should obviously enclose all the original documents that you do have as well.

Do not fail to enclose passport photos (this would make your application invalid from the start).

Back to contents

Financial documents

These are crucial. The Home Office want to check that you have enough money without needing to work, to pay for:

your course fees; and
the accommodation and maintenance of yourself and your husband, wife, civil partner and children, if they are here with you.

The Home Office will expect to see your bank statements for the last three months, so they can check that you were able to support yourself without needing to rely on earnings from work during that period. They will expect to see original bank statements, not ones printed from the internet or a cashpoint machine. If you do not have bank statements, then think about what other evidence you have of how you have supported yourself financially.

The Home Office will also want to see evidence of how you intend to support yourself for the rest of your time in the UK. What evidence is appropriate will depend on the source of your funding.

Sponsorship by friend, family member or employer

If you are going to be sponsored by someone, you need to provide a letter from your sponsor. It should confirm:

their name and address
why they are sponsoring you, for example, because they are your parents
what course you are studying
if they have already sponsored you for a period, how much they have provided you with and how often
that they are willing to continue providing you with funds for your course fees and maintenance costs
how much they will be providing you with in future and how often
where their income comes from. This will probably mean identifying what job they do, and what their salary is.

You will also need to ask them to let you have their original bank statements or wage slips for the last three months, so that you can provide them as evidence that the money promised really is available.

Back to contents

Your own savings

If you are going to be using your own savings, you need to provide bank statements showing those savings. They should cover at least the last three months, so it is clear the money really is yours.

Government or other scholarship

If you are going to be sponsored by a government or other scholarship agency, a letter from them will probably be adequate, provided it explains clearly how much funding they will be providing and how it is to be paid.

Your college or university is going to employ you

If you are going to be relying in part on your own earnings from employment provided by your college or university, you need to enclose a letter from them confirming:

what job you are doing for them
how long they can guarantee that you will have the job
what your hours and earnings are.

Remember that you must not work more than 20 hours a week during term time, although there is no limit to the number of hours you can work during vacation time.

If you are going to be relying in part on your own earnings from a sandwich course placement that your college or university can already guarantee will be available, you need to enclose a letter from them confirming:

that you are on a sandwich course
that they can guarantee a placement will be available to you
what that placement will be
approximately when it will start and finish
what your earnings will be

Back to contents

Other sources of funding

If there are any other sources of funding available to you, provide evidence of those too. For example:

If you have a husband or wife or civil partner with you and he or she is working, you should provide those wage slips for the last three months.
If you are receiving rental income from abroad, provide evidence of that for the last three months.
If someone is providing you with free accommodation and board, get a letter confirming that person is willing to continue providing for you in that way, and why.

Any letter you include which is addressed 'to whom it may concern' will be kept by the Home Office, unless you enclose a note asking them to return it to you. You could do this using a detachable sticky note attached to the document you wish to be returned.

If you are applying late

Do not make an application more than 28 days after your immigration permission expires, unless an immigration specialist is helping you with your application. Overstaying is a criminal offence and the Home Office views overstays of more than 28 days particularly harshly.

If you make an application late, but less than 28 days late, you should enclose a letter from an adviser at your college or university, explaining why you were unable to apply in time. The Home Office does have discretion to consider applications that are only a little late, and will do so if there are good reasons. If the adviser is not able to write the letter for you, you will need to write the letter yourself.

It is important to note that if the Home Office decides to consider your late application, but then refuses to give you the extension, you will not have the right to appeal against the decision, and will be asked to leave the UK.

Back to contents

Make photocopies of all your documents

Make and keep photocopies of:

the whole of the completed application form
all the pages of the passports, except the blank ones
all the supporting documents
the cheque or postal orders, if you are sending your application by post using either a cheque or postal orders.

Submitting your application

Refer back to the Where to apply section of this Information Sheet for information about where to make your application. Remember to:

Watch out for any letters from the Home Office, and respond to them promptly. Always quote your Home Office reference number when contacting the Home Office (you will find this on the letter they sent you. It is usually a letter followed by several numbers).
Keep those letters somewhere safe, and take photocopies of your replies before sending them off.
Keep all that paperwork, even after you hear that you have been given an extension, as it may be necessary to refer to it at a later date.
Let the Home Office know straightaway if you (or your adviser, if you have given their address on the FLR(S) form) change address before you have your passport back from the Home Office. Look at paragraph number 14 of the separate FLR(S) guidance notes for information about how to do this. Write to the Home Office using recorded delivery. Do NOT simply telephone them.

Back to contents

Definition of terms

Accreditation bodies

Accreditation bodies include:

Accreditation UK - a quality assurance scheme run by the British Council for UK schools, colleges, and universities offering courses in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) - see its website at www.britishcouncil.org/accreditation-students.htm
British Accreditation Council for Independent Further and Higher Education (BAC) - see its website at www.the-bac.org
Association of Accredited British Language Schools (ABLS) - see its website at www.abls.co.uk

Back to contents

Bona fide private education institution

A bona fide private education institution is a private education institution which:

maintains satisfactory records of enrolment and attendance of students and which supplies them to the Home Office when requested
provides courses which involve a minimum of 15 hours' organised daytime study each week
ensures a suitably qualified tutor is present during the hours of study to offer teaching and instruction to the students
offers courses leading to qualifications recognised by the appropriate accreditation bodies
employs suitably qualified staff to provide teaching, guidance and support to the students
provides adequate accommodation, facilities, staffing levels and equipment to support the numbers of students enrolled at the institution
if it offers tuition support to external students at degree level, ensures that such students are registered with the UK degree awarding body.

Back to contents

Civil partner

Your civil partner is your same-sex partner with whom you have either registered a civil partnership in the UK, or entered into a similar form of legally recognised relationship in a different country. For details of partnerships in countries outside the UK that are regarded in the same way as civil partnerships, see the website of the UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group at www.uklgig.org.uk//civil_partnership.htm#Overseas_Recognition. In relation to immigration, and most other matters, a civil partner should be treated in the same way as a husband or wife.

Back to contents

Degree level course

A course is at degree level if it leads to:

a UK degree at bachelor's level or above; or
in England,Wales or Northern Ireland, a qualification at level 6 or above of the revised National Qualifications Framework; or
in Scotland, a qualification at level 9 or above of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework.

If you do not know whether your course is at degree level or above, ask the course tutor (you should show them a copy of this Information Sheet so they can see how degree level is defined).

Back to contents

Entry clearance

Entry clearance means the sticker placed in your passport by a British diplomatic post abroad (not in the UK). Next to the word 'type', it tells you what it was issued for (what 'category' you fall into, for example, 'student'). It is valid if it has not expired, which means that the 'valid until' date on it has not yet arrived.

Back to contents

Public funds

Public funds is a term which is defined in paragraph 6 of the Immigration Rules and explained in a Home Office leaflet. It includes specified welfare benefits and social housing. Anything not included in the list is not regarded as public funds.

Back to contents

UK Residence permit

A UK residence permit is the sticker that the Home Office puts in your passport when it grants you permision to stay in the UK. It does not always state the category under which you have been granted permission. For example, if you have extended your immigration permission as a student, your UK residence permit will not say 'Student' on it. However, it will say 'Limited leave to remain', 'No recourse to public funds', and either 'No work' or 'Able to work as authorised by the Secretary of State'.

Back to contents

Visa national

You are a visa national if your country of nationality is on the visa nationals list in Appendix 1 of the Immigration Rules at www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/policyandlaw/immigrationlaw/immigrationrules/appendix1.

Back to contents

Where to go for help and other useful contacts

If you need help with your application:

talk to the international student adviser or welfare officer at your college or university (or its students' union)
ask if your local Law Centre has an immigration specialist who can help you, free of charge. For details of law centres in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, see the website of the Law Centres Federation at www.lawcentres.org.uk. For details of law centres in Scotland see www.govanlc.com/scotland.htm
ask if your local Citizens Advice Bureau has an immigration specialist who can help you, free of charge. For details of Citizens Advice Bureaux in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, see the website www.citizensadvice.org.uk. For details of Citizens Advice Bureaux in Scotland, see the website www.cas.org.uk
ask if your nearest Immigration Advisory Service (IAS) office can help you, free of charge or at a low cost (they have offices in various towns and cities in England, Wales and Scotland). See the IAS website at www.iasuk.org or telephone their head office on 0844 974 4000 for contact details
if you are on a low income, and know that a local solicitor specialises in immigration, ask them if you qualify for free advice from them under the legal aid scheme. See the Community Legal Service website at www.clsdirect.org.uk or the website of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association at www.ilpa.org.uk for details of lawyers and other organisations who specialise in giving immigration advice

This Information Sheet may not be reproduced in any form without permission from UKCISA except by the following categories of UKCISA member, who may reproduce copies for the use of their students and staff: institutions of further and higher education, students' unions and voluntary sector bodies. All other UKCISA members who wish to reproduce Information Sheet must contact UKCISA.

© UKCISA

The information in this Information Sheet is given in good faith and has been carefully checked. UKCISA, however, accepts no legal responsibility for its accuracy.

↑ Back to top