UK Student Visa Rule Changes. Tier 4. 6 April 2012 is the date

April 6, 2012 is the date that the new UK visa rule changes for the Tier 4 (students) comes in to effect. And also come along a list of changes to Post Study Work (PSW) Visa, maintenance fund requirements, new graduate entrepreneur route and more.

Synopsis - some concrete changes to note:

UK Student Visa - Maintenance Funds Requirements
Main Applicants (students who have a CAS): Previously, students had to prove they had:

• £7200 (£800 multiplied by 9 months) if the UK University was in London (inside of inner London boroughs) and 
• £5400 (£600 multiplied by 9 months) if the University was outside London (outside of inner London boroughs)

Apart from the programme tuition fee at respective Universities, the living cost stated above remained constant irrespective of the course duration (for UK student visa purposes only). While that understanding remains unchanged, the new fund requirements for UK student visa maintenance funds are as follows for students (main applicants):

• £9000 (£1000 multiplied by 9 months) if the UK University is in London (inside of inner London boroughs) 

eg. if you have a study offer and CAS from University College London (UCL) or University of Westminster or any London Colleges, you will need to show £9000 towards living costs

• £7200 (£800 multiplied by 9 months) if the University is outside London (outside of inner London boroughs) 

eg. if you have a study offer and CAS from a British University (including a University in England) outside of inner London Boroughs like the University of Manchester, University of Birmingham, Durham University, Aston University, or from a University in Wales (like Cardiff University, Bangor University or other Universities in Wales) or from a University in Scotland (like the University of Strathclyde, University of Glasgow, University of Edinburgh, and other Universities in Scotland), you will need to show £7200 towards living costs.

Thus, any applicants applying for Tier 4 UK visa after April 6 (2012) must adhere to the new rules.

For (adult) dependants, the following fund must be shown:

• £5400 (£600 multiplied by 9 months) if the University of the main applicant is in London (inside of inner London boroughs)
• £4050 (£450 multiplied by 9 months) if the University is outside London (outside of inner London boroughs)

Working in the UK. Work Visas: Students in perspective
Post Study Work (PSW) Visa to be replaced:

• PSW Abolished: The post study work visa under Tier 1 visa category where students used to get a two year work permit to work in the UK after successfully completing their Bachelors degree or Masters Degree (in general) has been abolished. A more "selective system" will come into effect allowing retention of only the most talented international graduates who can apply for work permit to stay in the UK for work purposes
• Graduate Entrepreneur Route: A new graduate entrepreneur route opens up with up to 1,000 places for students working on world-class innovative ideas who want to stay and develop them but do not meet the requirements of the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) route
• Young entrepreneurs or small company directors can stay on in the UK after their studies if they have £50,000 to invest in their business thereby boosting the UK economy favourably
• Graduates from a UK University with over £20,000 salary (or more in some cases) can continue to live and work in the UK. The job must also be offered by a reputable employer accredited by the UK Border Agency (UKBA). Ideally, this would mean that students can then convert their visa in Tier 2 later

Read the full visa rule changes document: 
UK government's plans to make changes to Tier 4 (Students) and Tier 1 (Post-study work) of the points-based system are available to read in the following document.
Source: UK Home Office Publications

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