And if you are an American looking to cross the pond for school... here's a few questions and answers to help you on your way.
First of all, if you're getting a visa, you need to know which one you have to get. For me I had to get a Tier 4 Student Visa-General. How did I know I needed that one? The UKBA website made that fairly obvious. Although you can get a bit nervous when the online application asks you what kind of Tier 4 Student Visa you're getting because it has options. If you don't have a scholarship and you either have student loans or Mommy & Daddy have the money in their bank account and you're over 17... you're a general student.
So I know what visa to get, what documents do I need?
The first thing you need is what is called a CAS from your sponsor-which is the university itself. The CAS is the Certificate of Acceptance for Studies, or something like that. It's a document that the university sends to the UKBA to let them know you're coming to their school. They should email you a copy. The University of Hull does, at any rate. I would recommend that you save this email... you need all the information of of it for your application.
What does it take to get a CAS?
I think it depends on the University. For Hull I had to apply. I thought it was the easiest application process ever. And it was. Once I was accepted I got a Conditional letter of acceptance which meant I needed to send them a few things before they'd send me my CAS. They needed official transcripts, 2 letters of recommendation and a copy of my diploma. Once they had those and processed them I was sent a CAS, which was also sent to the UKBA. You will get the CAS 4 months before the start of term. You CANNOT apply for a visa any sooner than 4 months start of term. You CANNOT enter the country on a student visa any earlier than 1 month prior to start of term.
I have my CAS now what?
You need money, and lots of it! The website will tell you that you need to have enough money to cover your tuition and enough money to cover what they call your maintenance fees. These fees are what the UKBA requires you to have so that you will have money for things like books and housing and food so you won't try and get onto their version of welfare. They have to different rates depending on where you're going to school. Because I am outside of the inner London Boroughs I only needed 600 GBP for 9 months which is 9800 GBP total. That's over $15,000 so yeah, it's a lot of money. If you don't have $40,000 wasting away in the bank and neither does Mommy or Daddy, make sure you apply for financial aid before March 2... you're going to need every dime you can get your hands on.
Once you've done that- go to your university's website and see what they require from You and what they require from your loans. The University of Hull requires you to send them the 8 page SAR. When ordering it make sure it can get to the university and if it doesn't, you might have to mail it. Ask to see if you can't email scans instead. Hull's been great about accepting scans of all my stuff... thank God!
So I have my CAS and the university is awarding me $40,000, now what?
Make sure you have a copy of their award letter. A print up of the email saying you have it is okay, though they university will probably send you an official copy of the award letter. And double check the amount. The people in the office are only human and there is a huge difference between a $20K award letter and a $40K award letter! The UKBA needs every single piece of paper the university gives you saying how much money you're getting so if the university sends you 5 sheets, make sure you give that to the UKBA with your visa packet. If there's only 1, make sure you send that. If you're going to Hull, you should have 2.
Alright already, can I apply for my visa now or what??
Yes. Make sure you have a copy of your CAS in front of you as you will be referring to that to answer the questions on the visa application. This is really easy and straight forward so don't sweat it. It also doesn't take very long. And all the questions they ask are either things you know (such as your mother's name, birthday, birthplace, same with dear old dad) and things you might not know (do you qualify for NTI?-your CAS has the answer for you). Once you are finished, GO Over Your Answers!!! At one point, I noticed that I had somehow checked that I was male. I'm not. So do be paranoid about your answers.
And Make Sure you have the RIGHT GW number (visa application number) and the right passport number!!!
Once you've finished that pay for it and schedule a biometrics appointment. This will be with the DHS immigration services building in the closest city to you (If you're in Sacramento this is on Reed Ave just off of Harbor BLVD and across the road from Ikea). You'll be given a date and time for your appt. but I'll give you a hint, you might be able to get in early, like a day early. You never know.
But you have 2 weeks from your biometrics appt. to send in your application packet so don't sit on it!
Do I need to worry about my biometrics appointment?
No, this is easy and painless and should take no more than 5 minutes. At this point I would suggest that you have a manila envelope or something to hold all of your visa application documents in. If you're at the point where you're getting your biometrics done then you should have the following printed up and on hand:
1. Copy of your CAS printed from your email.
2. Copy of your visa application.
3. Copy of your biometrics appointment (both of these will have been printed from your online application site) 4. Copy of your proof of financials.
5. Official transcripts (can be opened) or whatever proof you sent to the university to show you already have a degree and
6. YOUR PASSPORT! If you don't have all of these things together, stop what you're doing and get them together.
Now!
Okay, so I got fingerprinted and my picture taken now what?
You're almost done. Did you know that you need an auxiliary sheet?
Say what?
It's true. They need additional information from you. This is something you print up and fill out in blue or black ink. This lets them know how much money you owe the university, how much money you've paid, how much money they require from you total and how much money you can get your hands on to support yourself. They have changed their website and so you should be able to get this form once you've started your application. If not, make sure you scour the UKBA site for it!! and make sure you're filling out the right one. If it doesn't say Tier 4 general student visa on the top right hand corner, you've got the wrong one.
Anything else?
Yes. They want 1 passport picture of your pretty face. You can send them both but they'll just return the one they don't need. Make sure you don't smile. A Mona Lisa smile is okay but really, all they want is a mug shot. Don't smile.
Can I mail it already?
yes but check off these items to make sure you have them.
1. Printed Visa application
2. Biometrics appt. stamped and verified
3. Auxiliary information sheet (the one you had to find)
4. Evidence used to obtain your CAS (transcripts)
5. Copy of your CAS
6. Copy of your proof of financials
7. 1 passport photo of you Not smiling no older than 6 months old
8. Your Passport + any old passports you might have on hand
Got them all? Good, now you're ready to mail them.
There are 4 places in the continental 48 to take your application, the British General Consulate in LA, NYC, Chicago & DC. Your appt. sheet tells you where you're supposed to send your application.
So how should I send this?
If you have never applied for a visa before, your application should be easy and shouldn't take too long. If you have managed to get all of this done 4-2 months before start of term, put the documents into an express envelope and spend the $5 to get it there priority. It should arrive in 2 days. And it should take them a couple of weeks to approve your visa at which point they mail all your documents back to you.
If, however, you got a month to go and you're worried about getting to the UK in time for start of term, do a search for their expedited services. They have two options: You can either spend $100 for their expedited fee or $150. The $100 is one in which you make an appointment in either LA, Chicago, NY or DC to walk and get your visa in the same day (you can hope). The $150 fee is for NYC only. You pay worldbridge $150, write Priotrity Service on the outside of your envelope (spend the $20 to get it shipped overnight w/ express) and mail it in. You can only mail it in after 24 hours have passed since your biometrics appointment. Once you've paid for it, you Have to include that receipt in with your whole visa package. They will send you an email letting you know each stage of the game.
At no time should you even Think of buying a plane ticket until you have your visa in your hot little hand. I have learned this the hard way. You might have to pay a few extra scheckles to get your plane ticket with little advance warning but you could end up spending a Lot more in the long run. Trust me, I learned that the hard way.
Once you have your travelling papers in order, get in touch with the university and they'll probably have a welcome team to pick you up from the train station/bus station/whatever that is closest to the university and help you get settled in.
All I can say is good luck.
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