English Language Courses Students Can Apply For Student Visitor Visa

14 Dec 2010

From 10 January 2011, English language students wishing to attend exclusively English language courses will be able to apply for a student visitor visa allowing them to stay for up to 11 months. The extended student visitor visa will only be available to applicants outside the UK.

Students wishing to study other courses in the UK for longer than 6 months will still need to apply under Tier 4 of the points-based system.

The extended student visitor visa's other requirements, entitlements and restrictions are the same as those for the current student visitor route. The student visitor route does not allow students to work, take a work placement, bring dependants, extend their stay or switch into other courses at the end of their stay.

The fee for an extended student visitor visa will be the same as for a student visitor visa.

A review of the extended student visitor visa within the next 12 months will be carried out to ensure that it is operating as intended.

This change does not affect the ongoing consultation on the main student route to the UK (Tier 4 of the points-based system), which has set out proposals to tackle abuse and make the system more selective and robust.