Statement of changes July 2015 -Tier 4 Visas

A number of changes are being implemented on the July 2015 Immigration Rules. Summary of the changes are as follows:

1. Amend paragraph 19A which relates to returning residents, to include the spouse, civil partner, unmarried partner or same-sex partner of a Home Office employee serving overseas.
2. Make changes and clarifications to the Immigration Rules relating to administrative review.
3. Make minor changes and clarifications to the Immigration Rules on family and private life.
4. Increase the maintenance requirements for Tier 4 (General) and Tier 4 (Child) students.
5. Expand the area in which Tier 4 students have to demonstrate a higher maintenance requirement for London to include the University of London, or institutions wholly or partly within the area comprising the City of London and the former Metropolitan Police District.
6. Apply the same maintenance requirements to all Tier 4 (General) students, regardless of whether they are already living in the UK, except Doctorate Extension Scheme students.
7. Make all time spent in the UK as a Tier 4 student count towards Tier 4 time limits.
8. Change the conditions for those given leave to enter or remain to study at publicly-funded further education colleges, to prohibit work.
9. Prevent college students from extending their stay in Tier 4 or switching into any other points-based route in-country.
10. Allow university students to extend their studies at the same academic level, but only if the course is linked to the previous course and the university confirms that the course supports the student’s genuine career aspirations.
11. Prevent Tier 4 (General) Students from spending longer than two years in the UK studying further education courses.
12. Allow a Tier 4 visa to be issued in line with a student’s intended date of travel.
13. Require that Tier 4 (Child) Students be sponsored by Independent Schools only (which does not include Academies).
14. Prevent Tier 4 (Child) Students granted leave after the changes come into force, and those already here not sponsored by an HEI in receipt of public funding from specified bodies, to switch into Tier 2 and Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur).
15. Prohibit Tier 4 Migrants from studying at Academies or schools maintained by a local authority.
16. Update the list of Tier 5 Government Authorised Exchange schemes.
17. Remove Part 2 of Appendix T and refer instead to the list of approved overseas screening providers published on the GOV.UK website.
18. Make minor changes and clarifications to the Immigration Rules relating to visitors.
19. Enable South African diplomatic passport holders to travel visa free to the UK as a visitor for official purposes, for tourism or for the purpose of “visit in transit”.
20. Align the eligibility requirements for transit passengers who are non-visa nationals with visa nationals (other than those using the Transit Without Visa Scheme) in relation to the maximum duration of stay that may be granted to them.

If you are seeking further advice on the changes and how these will impact you, you can either e-mail us on info@icslegal.com or call us on 0207 237 3388.