There Will Be Other Exemptions from the Requirement to Produce a SELT Certificate For

There Will Be Other Exemptions from the Requirement to Produce a SELT Certificate For

31 March 2011
Following the announcement of changes to Tier 4 by the Home Secretary on 22 March, the Government today laid down changes to the Immigration Rules affecting students, which contain the following new information:

NEW ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS
Warwick pre-sessional English students will now have to obtain a Secure English Language Test (SELT) certificate to show that they have’ intermediate’ level English (a minimum of CEFR level B1) in each of the four components (reading, writing, listening and speaking). A list of test providers approved by the UKBA will be published and will indicate for each type of test the minimum score required which equates to B1. It is expected that TOEFL , IELTS and Pearson will be among the approved tests.

Warwick degree-level students will have to demonstrate to the University that they have ‘upper intermediate’ level English (a minimum of CEFR level B2). The University can decide how it assesses students’ English and a Secure English Language Test (SELT)certificate is not a requirement.

There will be other exemptions from the requirement to produce a SELT certificate for:

  • students moving from Tier 4 (Child) into Tier 4 (General) who have completed a course of

study of at least six months duration;

  • those who have completed a qualification equivalent to a UK degree which was taught in

a majority English-speaking country (includingdegrees taught in the UK); and

  • those who are nationals of a majority English speaking country

In very rare cases, the University may wish to sponsor a student who does not meet the CEFR Level B2 requirement and wherea requirement to attend a pre-sessionalcourse is inappropriate. In such cases, the UKBAwillaccept a CAS where the Academic Registrar hasindicated this to be the case.

From 21 April 2011, the UKBA will introduce a rule that students must be able to demonstrate they can speak English to the required standard (B1 or B2). If interviewed by a UKBA officer, a student must show that they can hold a simple conversation without an interpreter. This will be applicable even if the student has had to obtain a SELT certificate. If the student is found not to be able to speak English, they will be refused permission to enter or remain in the UK for studies.

The new English language requirements will apply to all CAS issued after 21 April 2011, whether to be used by an entirely new applicant overseas or in the UK, as well as existing students applying for an extension of leave to remain, for example through the University’s Student Batch Scheme.

EVIDENCE OF STUDENT FUNDING

From summer 2011, we are likely to see changes to the financial evidence requirements for a Tier 4 application.

In addition, as a result of some cases in which a student no longer held the funds by the time their entry clearance application was considered or had arrived in the UK, the UKBA wants students to sign a declaration in their application form, promising that funds are ‘genuinely available for the purpose of funding their study and upkeep in the UK’.
The UKBA may then check to confirm that funds continue to be available or have been spent to fund course fees or living expenses.

What is implied by the introduction of this new declaration is that if funds are no longer available/haven’t been spent as previously described, the UKBA could find that the student had gained leave to enter or remain by deception. This is a serious offence and one which would mean a student facing a time ban on their re-entry to the UK. Students will need to be mindful of having signed this declaration and to ensure that they do have access to funds for their study and living expenses.

The UKBA has also decided to maintain local lists of financial institutions that cannot verify financial statements to the UKBA’s satisfaction. Current and prospective students will need to check that the bank statements/letter that they submit to prove their access to the required amount of funds is not on this list. This is because should the UKBA have a reasonable doubt about the declared funds, they would not follow their normal procedure and contact such a financial institution to request verification, but instead, UKBA will simply award zero points for financial evidence. This will lead to a Tier 4 visa refusal.

STREAMLINED APPLICATION PROCESS FOR LOW-RISK STUDENTS

Warwick students from countries on the UKBA’s ‘low risk’ list will benefit from a waiving of the requirement to provide documentary evidence of maintenance and qualifications at the time of applying for their Tier 4 visa/visa extension, other than the CAS and the passport/identity document. These requirements will also be waived for dependants where both the main applicant and dependant are of a nationality listed above. This will apply for applications in the UK and in a student’s home country, but not for applications made in third countries.
The substantive rules will remain the same, including the 28 day rule for maintenance, and students must be able to provide the documents if requested to do so. The ‘low risk’ list will be reviewed as and when new risks are identified.

The ‘low risk’ countries on the UKBA list are:

•Argentina;

•Australia;

•British National Overseas;

•Brunei;

•Canada;

•Chile;

•Croatia;

•Hong Kong;

•Japan;

•Mexico;

•New Zealand;

•Singapore;

•South Korea;

•Trinidad and Tobago; and

•United States of America.

DEPENDANTS
The UKBA has clarified that it is only postgraduate students on courses that are at least 12 months long,that are permitted to bring their dependants with them (rather than on courses lasting more than 12 months as was the wording in their previous summary of Tier 4 changes on 22 March). This means our 12 month Master’s students are not prevented from bringing their dependants.

Furthermore, this rule change will be applied from summer 2011 to students applying for their initial grant of leave (visa), i.e. it won’t affect the dependants of current students, who have already hold a Tier 4 visa .

TIME ALLOWED AS A STUDENT IN TIER 4 (GENERAL)

The UKBA will introduce a maximum total period of permission to stay as a student in Tier 4 for degree-level study or above to 5 years. If we include the maximum period of 3 years that can be spent in Tier 4 at sub-degree level, this limits the overall time spent in Tier 4 (General) to 8 years with limited exceptions.

Exceptions will be made for advanced courses where, as a matter of professional qualification, the required total period of degree-level study is longer than five years. The UKBA will work with the education and other sectors to define a list of such courses by April 2012, which will include:

  • Architecture
  • Engineering
  • Law
  • Medicine (including dentistry and pharmacy)
  • Veterinary Medicine and Science

PhD students will not be subject to the time limit, but if they have eight or more years’ leave as a student or in Tier 4 (General) on completion of their PhD they will not be able to apply for further leave in Tier 4 (General). We will seek clarification on whether the UKBA’s definition of ‘completion’ is the same as the University’s.

ACADEMIC PROGRESSION

UKBA expects most students who are extending their visa from within the UK to progress to a higher course level. From summer 2011, it will introduce a requirement for the University to confirm that a student is making academic progress when they are applying for a visa extension to start a new course that is not a higher level on the National Qualifications Framework. We will need to confirm that the new course is complementary to the previous course or that the student is developing a deeper specialisation in a given area.

Exceptions to this include:

  • Applications to move to a new course at the same level at a different institution before completion of the initial course (once only); and
  • Applications to take re-sits

This rule will not affect students who have completed a qualification overseas and are applying to come to Warwick to undertake another qualification at the same level (e.g. where a student has completed a Master’s in India and wishes to apply to do a second Master’s at Warwick).

TIER 1 (POST STUDY WORK)

The new information relating to Tier 1 (PSW) is that from April 2012, students will only be able to switch into Tier 2 if they are in the UK, before their student visa expires. Also, they must find a graduate level job that pays £20,000 per annum or the minimum set out in the code of practice.

Students who switch into Tier 2 will only be able to sponsor dependants who accompanied them as students. They will not be permitted to bring dependants who were not here with them as dependants during their studies. This could be problematic for students who get married during or after their undergraduate degree and who wish to switch into Tier 2 and bring their new dependant(s) with them.

STUDENT ENTREPRENEUR

The UKBA will work with education and business sectors to design a process to identify students whose ideas and innovation make them eligible for permission to remain in the UK under this new category, which will not be tied to an employer.

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