Dear Sir,

I am in UK as a Tier 4 Migrant student. I came in December and my visa expires in April. The first 2 semester of my course was taught in India and the last 2 semesters are taught in UK. The course has been delayed and I need to extend my visa in UK. I am told that I need to show full maintenance to extend my visa. Is it correct?


A student qualifies for reduced maintenance only if he/ she has an established presence in UK. A student will make an established presence in UK if he /she has completed a course of 6 months duration or is studying a course and has completed 6 months of study in that course within the past 4 months. In your case as you have been in UK for less than 6 months you will not be considered to have an established presence in UK and therefore you will not qualify for the reduced maintenance requirement under the policy guidance. You may be able to argue that clause 127 ( 2) of the guidance is applicable in your case as you are currently studying a single course, of which you have completed at least six months, amalgamating the study you have done in India and in UK. But it will be difficult to convince the UKBA official regarding this and you may need to go before an Immigration Judge to establish your case in appeal. So the easiest and more practical way to adopt in your case is to show full maintenance. In case you don’t have the required funds for showing full maintenance you should get legal advice from a legal advisor to make an application in this regard.

Paul John

Dear Sir,

I am currently in UK as a student doing NVQ Level 4. My employer just offered to give me a work permit as a senior carer. But I am told to get IELTS in order to process my application. I have previously done IELTS but I did the exam 2 years before and the result is not valid now as 2 years have passed. I checked for doing the IELTS exam but I was told that the result will not come in 2 weeks time and I need the results before 2 weeks as I am told that there is no senior carer visa after 6th April. What can I do in these circumstances? Please help me

Preethy, Woking

Dear Preethy,

IELTS is only one of the English qualifications which can be used for scoring points in Tier 2 visa applications. There is another test called The Certificate in English Language Test ( CIELT) which also is accredited by the UKBA for Tier 1 and Tier 2 Visas. The test is offered by a college called College of excellence in Greenford, Middlesex. As far as I am aware you can get the result of the test in the same day. I normally recommend this test to those visa applicants who approach me for Tier 1 and Tier 2 Visa application. The telephone no of the college is 0208 575 5145. I therefore suggest you to contact this college and do the exam at the earliest possible date. All the best wishes

Solicitor Paul John