Visa to come to the UK work and visit

My wife (who is Russian) has 2 friends in Russia who would like to come to the UK for 6 to 9 months to visit and/or study. They are male and will not come accompanied. We will give them accommodation and feed them. In return, they will help us with work in the construction of our new house. They have the skills to work on this. We plan to pay them a bit as well, for them to have money to go out, sightseeing and the English school if they study. Obviously Russia is not in the EC and does not qualify for the Working Holiday scheme.

My question is, what is the best way for them to ask for the visas that will run the smallest risk of rejection by the British Embassy? What type of visa?

They need to buy a course in a college, which is registered with the Home Office, the college will give them a letter - with this letter they will need to apply for a STUDENT visa to the British consulate in Russia. This does not guarantee that the visas will be granted - a lot of people are refused student visas now.

Strictly speaking, what you are going to do is not exactly legal, because if they say that the main reason of their coming to the UK is work, their visas will be rejected immediately. According to the new rules, the college will have to inform the Home Office about their attendance - so they will need to study. On the other hand students are allowed to work 20 hours a week.