Howdy! It’s Denise again. This post aims to try and answer some questions you might have about Immigration, visas and your CAS.
1. Do I need a Visa to study at the University of York?
— Yes. Yes you do.
2. What’s a CAS? Do I need one?
— You need a CAS. A CAS is a Confirmation of Acceptance of Study. In other words, the University of York must acknowledge that you are indeed coming to the UK to study and not to sell drugs and plunder the villages. The University of York is therefore your Tier 4 visa sponsor. Thankfully, the University of York is a Premium Highly Trusted Sponsor.
3. What’s the visa application process like?
— This was what the process was like for me. It might differ for you if you are not applying under the same circumstances as I am.
You’ll need to request a CAS number from the University of York first. Do that through e:Vision, your personal student portal. You will need to provide a scan of your passport- just the biometric page.
Wait for them to give you a CAS number. Note: it expires in 6 months.
You will then need to register on the VISA4UK website. Create the account like normal. However, make sure you give them a proper email, because this is how they will contact you when you collect your visa.
Make sure that you are applying for the visa at most 3 months before you plan to arrive in the UK. Anything earlier is not accepted for some stupid reason. Follow the instructions. When you are required to select the type of visa you want, select the Tier 4 PBS.
Fill out the form. Here is a walkthrough to help you. It should be quite idiot-proof if you’ve tried filling in the UCAS form. Note: This visa application costs a BOMB. It cost me S$600++.
Submit it, along with all the correct documents. You then need to go down and take your biometrics.
When booking your appointment, give yourself 2-3 hours. Even though it takes less than 10 minutes to do the biometrics stuff, the waiting time will make you pull your hair out. Go early in the day, and go alone. You are not allowed to bring others into the venue.
Bring the documents specified under the next question.
The venue is at Raffles Place MRT. You will need to walk quite a distance underground, but once you come up, you just need to cross the road. The venue also hosts Immigration offices for Australia and Canada, so be sure you make it very clear which visa you are applying for because the security guards will get very confused.
The security guards will do a bag check, so bring a small bag.
Get a ticket number and wait your turn. When it gets to you, just do everything they tell you to do. You will have to give them your passport, so don’t plan to travel for the next 1-2 weeks.
Give them around 1-2 weeks to settle your visa. Nothing should go wrong if you’ve given them everything they need. You will receive an email from the UK Immigration office in Manila and/or the Immigration office in Singapore, saying that it is ready for collection. Check your email regularly!
Go down to the same place to collect your passport with your shiny new visa. You can only do this between 2pm and 4pm. Check that the visa is all good, and leave happily.
Make a scan of your shiny new visa and upload it onto your e:Vision account (Under the ‘Your Tier 4 visa’ tab). You will be prompted to do so by the University if you take longer than usual.
Fill in the details of the form, should be idiot-proof as well. Your visa number is the one in red at the top right of the visa.
And you’re done! Remember to bring your passport when you travel to the UK
4. What do I bring to the visa appointment?
— You don’t need to bring much. Bring your passport, the printed appointment sheet, 2 passport photos of you with a light grey background and a neutral expression (which means you look semi-pissed off), and if you feel kiasu, either a bank statement showing you are rich enough to study in the UK, or a scholarship letter. I personally only needed the first 3 items because Singaporeans are ‘low-risk’ applicants, and so we don’t need to prove we’ve got the $$.
You might also want to bring a book, or something non-digital to entertain yourself for 2-3 hours. You must switch your phone off inside the venue and you are not allowed a camera/anything with a camera, so bear that in mind when you’re packing. I basically stared at a white wall for ages and lost 5 IQ points.
5. What do I need to bring to Immigration in the UK?
— Just your passport. If you want, you can write down your CAS number somewhere. You can bring your accommodation contract if you want. If you really want, you can print a screenshot of the CAS details. None of your seniors have ever been asked to provide anything other than a passport. They want to let you into the country. They’re not trying to stop you from coming in.
Here’s my experience: I went up to the guy at Immigration, a huge burly, bald man that looked like he could beat me, and then eat me up. He’s your typical red-neck looking American officer, but British, of course. I said “hi” and he said “hi” back. He asked me how was my flight, I said it was long. He asked me if I was alright and I said “probably worse off than Scotland” and he laughs (this was during the time when Scotland was voting for independence). He asked me why I was coming to the UK. I said “I’m coming here to study”. He asked me “where?” and I said “University of York”. He then asks me where’s my visa, and I say “in the middle”, because of all the pages in one of the world’s thickest passports they could have used, they put it in the middle. He flips to the middle, looks at me, looks back at the visa and stamps it. And I’m free. THAT’S IT!!!
~:Denise
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