peterrowe10 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 18, 2020 10:51 am
Thank you for your responses, as they were certainly helpful. However, it still seems that if the point of the visa is to prevent people from coming to work more than study, then why not apply the same 20 hour working limit that the tier 4 full time study is allowed?
You are not fully understanding the purpose of the 4-tier part-time student visa. It is a new visa that did not exist before, created to address the specific needs of some distance/part-time students, to ease their lives instead of having to apply for short-term visitor visas every few months.
Again, people on part-time tier 4 visa are NOT supposed to be continuous residents in the UK, they are supposed to come and spend only the time that is necessary for them to complete the required face-to-face academic activities to comply with their part-time degree. They do NOT study part-time over the course of a year, they study full-time for a very short period of time each time they come, e.g. a week or two, once every few months, then do exams, submit assignments, etc. then go back to their countries and lead their normal lives until the next time they come. In this scenario, there is no window for them to carry out any part-time work while in the UK, since they are supposed to be dedicated full-time to their studies during their stay here.
Also, if I were to study part-time for 6 years whilst paying international fees, I would guess I'd end up paying more than if I were to study full time for 3 years, given the 5% increase in tuition that my university suggests will occur each year.
A common question for people to ponder when considering enrolling in UK higher education. Such is life.
I wonder how many tier 4 visas are issued for part-time study each year? Given they're only required for students outside the UK/EU/EEA, I don't suspect many people would bother with flying to the UK every two months or when required, but stranger things have happened.
My own part-time masters degree is a modular degree, where instead of having only afternoon or morning lectures for several months as typical part-time degrees, you enroll in one-week modules of your choice, so international people come three or four times a year to the UK for a whole week, with full-time class schedules each time. It does end up being very expensive, but being it part time and so flexible, people do have full-time day jobs in their country of origin. I understand most people are usually sponsored by employers, so that is also a factor for why people enroll in it. THIS is the use-case of the Tier 4 part-time visas.
I checked the home office website for this data and they only publish figures for Tier 4 General, Dependent and Child and unfortunately don't categorize by full time or part time.
It's quite a recent visa, so makes sense. It also makes sense that numbers are scarce since it is a very specific use-case.
Nonetheless, it's a bummer for many students who would love to continue with their studies in a financially sustainable manner.
Again, classic dilemma. And such is life.
My posts express what I believe are the facts, based on the best of my knowledge, about the topics discussed in this forum. They do not constitute immigration advice.
