Visa extension information session July 2011

What we are talking about today Why you need to apply before the 19th Sept Why a perfect application is IMPORTANT How we are going to help you Supporting documents How much money you will need to show Completing the application form – the tricky parts Questions???? 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

Why you need to apply before the 19th Sept You currently have a visa which is valid for Sheffield International College If you want to register at the University of Sheffield, you must have applied for a visa which is valid for the University of Sheffield Registration is taking place from 19th September Therefore you must have submitted a visa application for TUOS before the 19th September 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

Why is it so important to make a perfect application? If your application has only one little mistake (e.g. the photographs are not acceptable, you have missed out a question on the form) it will be rejected as invalid If your application is rejected as invalid, UKBA will return it to you and by that time your visa might have already expired and you will have to make an out of time application as an overstayer If you make an out of time application, you will have to show the higher maintenance amount (£5400 for 28 days plus outstanding tuition fees) and you will have no right of appeal if it is refused (even if UKBA have made a mistake) Overstaying can have serious consequences such as not being able to make a visa application for one year 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

How we are going to help you STEP 1: Today we will talk you through the supporting documents and the tricky parts of the application form STEP 2: S22nd July between 9am-5pm at SIC reception: sign up for a preliminary document checking session on the STEP 3: During the first weeks in August: Attend your preliminary document checking session at your allocated time (We will check your photographs & financial evidence and inform you if these meet the requirements or if you need to change anything. At this session you will be given your appointment for the final visa application checking session. STEP 4: During the first 3 weeks in September: Attend your appointment at the final visa application checking session. At this session we will check all your documents and your visa application form. STEP 5: You will submit your visa application to UKBA 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

Documents you must send Everybody: Passport 2 Photographs Bank statements (if self funding) or Sponsor letter (if financially sponsored) CAS (statement doesn’t need to be sent but information needed for form) SIC Transcript Postal order If applicable: Biometric card (If you have extended your visa before) ATAS clearance certificate Police registration certificate Under 18 years only: a letter from your parents giving consent to the application and to your studies in the UK 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

We also recommend to keep photocopies of all the documents you submit IMPORTANT NOTE: You must keep photocopies of your passport pages and of your visa pages We also recommend to keep photocopies of all the documents you submit You must send your visa application by recorded delivery and keep your receipt. You must show these (the photocopies and the receipt) to Registry in order to register 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

Photographs Read the UKBA photograph guidance (available on http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/applicationforms/ecaa/photo-guidance.pdf) Do not use old photographs taken in your home country. Go to a photographer (e.g. Max Spielmann or Jessops in the town centre or Seaman Photography on London Road) Measure the photographs (overall size and head size) don’t smile, have a neutral expression Make sure the background colour is either cream or grey Write your name on the back of each photograph More information: You can crop a picture (trim slices from the side, top or bottom) by selecting on the slide the picture that you want to crop, going to the “format” menu, selecting “picture…” and in the “picture” dialog box clicking the “picture” button. This opens the crop options. The preview button allows you to see whether the crop achieves the effect you wanted. (If you have an old version of PowerPoint these controls may be located differently - refer to the PowerPoint Help menu.) Before importing a picture into your presentation save it in a suitable format (eg jpeg) at a resolution of 72 dots per inch if possible. This resolution keeps the size of the picture file small but still displays fine on screen – particularly important if you’re using several pictures, because half a dozen taken on a five megapixel digital camera and imported at full resolution could mean that your presentation is over 20 megabytes in size. This means it will take up unnecessary disk space, will be slow to open and run on many less powerful computers – and will be too big to e-mail. 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

Bank statements Use UK bank statements (not parents account, not overseas bank statements) £1200 plus outstanding first year tuition fees Money has to be in the account for consecutive 28 days before making the application Bank statements must not be older than 1 month The closing balance / last transaction must be less than a month old If your bank statement was printed within the last month but the last transaction was more than 1 month ago, your visa application will be refused Bank statements must include student’s name, logo, account number, date of the statement Online statements must be stamped on each page 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

Sponsor letter Must be original (no photocopies/scans) and include: Students name Name and contact details of the official financial sponsor Date of the letter (dated within one year) Length of the sponsorship Amount the sponsor is giving to the student or a statement that the student’s official financial sponsor will cover all of the fees and living costs 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

Previous qualifications (SIC transcript) You only have to submit your SIC transcript You must send the original, not a photocopy (it will be returned to you) You don’t need to send any other qualifications such as IELTS results 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

Postal order – Why? Payment by postal order is safe, no risk of rejection for non-payment Card payment and cheques – sometimes UKBA cannot withdraw money (even if there is sufficient money in the student’s account) and then application will be rejected and you become an overstayer 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

Postal order – how to get one Postal orders can be bought from the Post Office Maximum value of a postal order is £250 so you will need two postal orders (one for £250, one for £136) You must pay for the postal orders in cash (Post office doesn’t accept payment by cards or cheque) You must also pay a fee for each postal order (up to £10 per postal order) so take enough money with you for the postal order and the fee 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

Postal Order – how to complete it Ask the Post Office to make it payable to “Home Office” On the back of the postal order, write your name, nationality, date of birth See slide 15 to see where to write your details on the back 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

Postal Order (front) 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

Postal order (back) Write your name, nationality and date of birth in this space 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

Police registration certificate (if applicable) Up to date address (the address must be the same as on the application form) 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

ATAS You must check on your offer letter if your course requires ATAS clearance If your course requires ATAS, you must apply for ATAS clearance immediately to avoid any delays. http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/what-we-do/services-we-deliver/atas/apply-online/ Once you receive the ATAS clearance certificate you must include it with your application 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

Your CAS statement Admissions will email you your CAS statement after your exam results are out You only need the information on the CAS statement in order to complete the form,. You don’t have to send the CAS statement to UKBA

Details on your CAS statement Details you need from your CAS statement to complete the visa application form: The Sponsor License Number Name and address of the sponsor Your CAS number The course title The start and end date of your course If your course requires ATAS clearance or not which qualification you must submit with your application – in your case this should be the SIC transcript – stated under “evidence used to obtain the offer” If you had any University scholarship, country discount or sibling discount (but not discounts for early fee payment) – stated under “evidence used to obtain the offer” 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

Your CAS number The CAS number on your CAS statement is your unique number UKBA can access your CAS record online using this number Therefore you don’t need to send the CAS statement Any tuition fee payments or University accommodation payments made after you received the CAS statement will be updated and show on the CAS record so UKBA will see those online 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

How much money do you need to show? £1200 plus outstanding tuition fees for 28 days If your visa application is refused or rejected as invalid, you must show £5400 for 28 days if you make a fresh application so it is safer to keep £5400 in your bank account until your visa is granted Therefore we strongly recommend: Ask your parents to transfer £5400 into your bank account no later than 1st August and keep it in your account until your visa has been granted Ask your parents to pay the full tuition fee before making the visa application 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

Tuition fee reductions University scholarships and sibling discounts will show on your CAS record Discounts for early payment will not appear on your CAS record 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

Tuition fee discounts for early payment If you pay your tuition fee in full, you will receive a discount (between £50 and £200, depending on total fees) These discounts will reduce your tuition fee but they will not appear on the CAS record and you will not get any document to show that you have received this discount As you cannot provide any evidence for the discount, you have to treat them as if they are an outstanding payment (although they are not) Example: your tuition fees are £10000 and you received a £100 discount for early payment. Therefore have only paid £9900 and this amount will appear on your CAS record. 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

How to complete the application form when you receive an early payment discount Example: Tuition fees: £10000 Early payment discount: £100 Total payment £9900 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

The application form Tier 4 (G) application form (version 7/11) Tier 4 policy guidance (version 7/11) -we refer to this in the step by step guidance Tier 4 policy guidance is available from the UKBA website http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/studyingintheuk/adult-students/applying-inside-uk and download Step by step guidance to help completing the form is available on http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ssid/international/self/guidance 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

In this example the total tuition fees (according to the CAS statement) are £12600 and there are no discounts Student has paid £6300 (if you pay after receiving your CAS statement, it won’t show on the CAS statement but it will be updated on your CAS record and UKBA can see this, so tick this box) In L2 write how much you have already paid. If you haven’t paid anything, write 0.00. Any tuition fee payments appear on the CAS record so tick “available from the CAS record in L3” As you have been studying for more than 6 months at SIC, you are qualify for the reduced maintenance level, tick the last box 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

In L1 write the total amount before any discounts or scholarship In this example the student’s total tuition fee are £12600 but he received a £2000 fee scholarship from the University (so after reduction the tuition fee is £10600) In L1 write the total amount before any discounts or scholarship Next to L1 write the discounts you have received and where these discounts are stated (early payment discounts are stated on the certificate of student status, all other discounts on your CAS under “evidence used to obtain the offer” In L2 write how much you have already paid. If you haven’t paid anything, write 0.00. 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

The maintenance requirement for you is £1200 Unless you are fully sponsored or you have paid all your tuition fees and accommodation cost of more than £1200, you will have still fees and maintenance owed, so most of you will tick “yes” in L20 In this example the student’s tuition fees were £12600, he paid £6300 so there are £6300 outstanding The maintenance requirement for you is £1200 Write here the total amount In this case the student is using his own bank statements 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

Bank statement Check Does it cover a period of 28 days, with the closing balance/last transaction being no more than 1 month before making the application? Does the minimum balance never drop below the required amount during those 28 days? Does it include the bank’s logo? Does it include your name? If you use online- or ad-hoc-statements: Is every single page stamped by the bank? 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

Photograph Check Have you measured the head size? Does it meet the requirements of the photograph guidance (e.g. is it not too close to or to far away from the camera)? Do you have a neutral expression (e.g. no smile)? Is the background grey or cream? Was the photograph taken within the last 1 month? 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield

FAQ’s I live in private accommodation. Can I deduct the accommodation payments from the maintenance requirement? No, only University accommodation can be deducted. I want to use my parents bank statements/my bank statements from abroad. Is this possible? You can use your parent’s bank statements from abroad, but you will need to provide your birth certificate and a letter from your parents, if not in English you will also need a translation. However, we will not check any bank statements from abroad and won’t be able to comment on those or tell you if they are suitable or not. Question: Why should I pay with postal order? Students have often experienced that their application was rejected when paying by card or cheque, even if they had sufficient funds in their account. We don’t know why they were rejected but this cannot happen if you send the correct amount in postal orders. If your application is rejected, you might become an overstayer. How long does it take until we get our passport back? It can take between 4 and 12 weeks. This is a very busy time for UKBA and it might take longer than usual. We advise you not to book any flights until you have your passport back. Can I apply from my home country? Yes, the rules are the same but the form is a different form (the questions are similar) What if I move house? Write both addresses down with the dates when you will be living there (the new address in “correspondence address”. If you don’t know where you will be living, you can use a friend’s address, as long as you can trust that you will get the correspondence sent to that address.

http://www. sheffield. ac http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ssid/international/immigration/sic-presentation

Questions??????? 17/04/2017 © The University of Sheffield