Extending Student Visa UK
International students may need to extend their student visa in order to complete their program. This may be because they have made a change to their course, need to repeat a year, or wish to defer some of their assessment. Applications can be made from both within and outside the UK.
Eligibility criteria:
To extend visa students must;
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Hold a valid Student visa or a Tier 4 (General) student visa.
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Have an unconditional offer of a place on a course with a licenced student sponsor.
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Show academic progress, meaning that their studies are at a higher academic level than their current studies. However, there are certain exceptions to this requirement
Showing academic progress.
If applicants wish to start a new course, it must be one of the following:
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at a higher academic level than their current course.
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at the same level and related to their previous course. It must be degree level or above at a Higher Education Provider.
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a part of a medicine, dentistry or medical science course they started under their Student visa.
Exceptions
Students do not need to satisfy academic progress requirements if they are:
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resitting exams/repeating modules.
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applying to a new institution to complete their program if their current institution lost its sponsorship licence.
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applying after working as a student union sabbatical officer.
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completing their studies because they have done (or want to do) a work placement or study abroad program.
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continuing medical, dentistry, or medical science after completing an intercalated (part of their program) course.
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completing a PhD or other doctorate that they started under their last Student visa.
When To for Student visa extension Apply and Fees:
The earliest students can apply is 3 months before their course starts. However, their new course must begin within 28 days of their current visa expiring. It costs £475 to extend this visa. The health surcharge (£624 per year) and biometric appointment (£19.20) fees must also be paid. A decision will usually be made within 8 weeks. The application must be made online.
Time Limit
Students cannot study for longer than 5 years under a Student Route visa. However, UKVI may extend this period as a result of COVID-19.
IMPORTANT TRAVEL INFORMATION
While the application is pending, although applicants will retain their passport and other documents, they will be unable to travel outside the UK, Ireland, and the Channel Islands. Doing so will automatically withdraw their application.
Due to uncertainty caused by the pandemic, a large number of international students have disrupted their studies and need to repeat a year. We understand that extending a Student visa may be stressful. Our immigration team is highly experienced in making successful extension applications and achieving the best possible outcome for our clients.
We value your time. After the consultation, we will let you know what the next steps are. We will request the documents we need, and only call you when necessary. We are proactive, will update you on your case as soon as we have any news so that you don’t need to call, meaning you can rest assured that no actions are needed from your side.
We haven’t forgotten about you, but we believe you’d rather spend time doing something that really matters than on the phone with a lawyer.
