Changes to Tier 4 Immigration Policy: How will this Affect You?

A new Home Office pilot scheme allows certain students to stay in the UK for six months after their course has ended. The scheme also reduces the administrative burden for students applying as part of the pilot.

 

The scheme was launched on 25 July 2016 for students applying to study a Masters course. Those eligible for the scheme can apply from the UK or any other country and must be undertaking a Masters degree for 13 months or less at the following institutions:

 

Participating in this pilot allows students to:

 

We would advise that although these documents are not required at the application stage, applicants should still be held by the student as they could be requested by the UKVI at a later stage.

 

Dependents who apply at the same time as Tier 4 students will likewise benefit from this pilot and will also not be required to submit maintenance evidence at the time of their application.

 

The pilot is initially scheduled to run for two years, however, it is not clear at this stage as to the UKVI plans following this pilot.

 

This implements a tailored policy in which compliant sponsors benefit from flexibility in terms of their students Tier 4 applications and the documentary requirements. This does, however, move the responsibility regarding student documentation to the sponsor and what is also unclear at this stage is whether the UKVI will request for the sponsors involved to keep on file documents for any future Tier 4 audits. The current Appendix D states that sponsors are required to keep on record a copy of examination certificates, however, it doesn’t mention anything regarding maintenance documentation. We have requested clarification regarding this from the UKVI and are awaiting a response.

 

The introduction of this pilot highlights the UKVI’s intentions to continue to operate a differential treatment of Tier 4 sponsors and students based on the Tier 4 sponsor’s compliance history. To date, this has been centred on a HEI vs Non-HEI policy differentiation. But this may well be the start of a more specific differentiation that is not based on the type of education institution alone but based on the actual performance of the individual sponsor. This could have positive benefits for the wider sector if the approach taken is one that rewards compliant institutions rather than seeking to tighten policy regardless of compliance performance.

 

This also continues the trend in Tier 4 policy making that aligns policy benefits with proven compliance, essentially aligning continuing access to the International Student market with increased corporate responsibilities, including ensuring a low visa refusal rate for students. This again highlights the need for institutions to maintain high levels of compliance and to help their students as much as possible through the tier 4 visa and leave to remain application processes.    

 

Should you wish to discuss your sponsor compliance obligations, how assistance can be provided to your students through the visa process or any of the above information, Fragomen have a dedicated Compliance Team who are able to assist with all aspects of maintaining a sponsor licence.