International Students

About Tier 4

Prospective students who do not hold a UK passport must apply for a Visa in order to enter the country. Your eligibility will be calculated using a points-based rules system called a Tier 4 Student Visa.

For the Tier 4 Visa, prospective students must achieve a total of 40 points, from which 30 points come from the chosen University/College CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) letter, and another 10 points come from the students’ maintenance statement. The latter is dependent upon the location of the Institution in which the prospective students intend to enrol.

Maintenance Statement for Institutions outside London

Once the Tier 4 students have acquired their CAS letter and paid their deposit fees, they must provide a 28-day bank statement, either from their own bank accounts or their parents’, in which they can demonstrate that they have at least £1,015 per month for living costs, if they are studying outside London.

The total amount for maintenance they would need to demonstrate to have available would be £9,135 (£1,015 for 9 months). This amount should be in addition to the outstanding balance of the first year’s fees.

Maintenance Statement for Institutions in London

For Institutions based in London, the amount they must demonstrate to be available in their 28-day bank statement is £1,265 per month for living costs. The total amount of maintenance they would need to demonstrate to be available is at least £11,385 (£1,265 for 9 months). This amount is in addition to the outstanding balance of the first year’s fees.

Please note that you will be considered to be studying in London if your Institution of choice is located wholly or partly within the City of London, and the Former Metropolitan District. For details regarding the latter, please visit their Official webpage form here. read form here

Our Strength On Tier 4

Our specialist team is highly dedicated to helping prospective students from around the globe, with special emphasis in Asian countries, including: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, China and the Middle East.

ALPA Consultants have been helping Tier 4 students for over 9 years, and we have more than a thousand successful stories!

Future In UK For Tier 4 Student

There are several ways in which Tier 4 students can apply to continue living in the UK. The academic progression rule, for example, has be established in order to ensure that students, who wish to progress academically, may do so by applying to study a further course in the UK, and not merely seeking to extend your stay in the UK.

If a person had previously had permission to stay as a Tier 4 student, then their Tier 4 sponsor can only give such student a CAS for a new course, if their new course represents the academic progression from their previous studies.

Other alternatives for students are the Tier 1 and Tier 5 Visas. The former is for persons the government is expressly looking to attract to the UK. These include: investors, entrepreneurs and individuals with expert knowledge in a specific field of work. There are a number of different Tier 1 Visa options, and it usually include those who have an outstanding aptitude, or persons who have capital to invest in a business in the UK.

Tier 5 Visa is a provisional working category, and usually involves a student to return to their home country, before applying via this route. Whilst Tier 5 is limited in both duration and the ability to switch, it can be a practical, albeit temporal, solution for a student seeking to build a relationship with a company, in the hope of a future Tier 2 sponsorship.

It is important to note that, upon completion of their degree/course, Tier 4 students are generally eligible for Visa extensions; with anyone who remains legally in the UK for a period of 10 years or more, being entitled to apply for Permanent Residency.