Tier 4 Visa for International Students

The following information is about the UK's new points based system, which has not been fully implemented yet. It's possible that information may change over the course of the following months, so please check back periodically.

Tier 4 Visa Overview

The United Kingdom's upcoming new points based system, broken into five tiers covering highly skilled migrants to unskilled workers, will also include Tier 4 for international students.

Students coming to the UK under a Tier 4 visa will require a university or other qualified UK educational institution to sponsor them. They will also need to score enough points to be accepted as an international student in the UK. How the points system for students will work has not been decided yet.

The current system grants visas for an initial period of one year, which may or may not change under the tiered system. Foreign students have been historically allowed to work -- 20 hours while school is in session and 40 hours during holidays.

Tier 4 for international students is expected to go into effect at the beginning of 2009.

International students also have special immigration options available to them upon graduation under the new points based system. Once a student graduates from an eligible UK educational institution, they can apply for a Tier 1 visa under the Post-Study Work sub-category. This will allow international graduates to remain in the UK for two years. Once completing their period under Post-Study Work, a graduate can move into another sub-category or tier.