A question of Short Term Student VISA

[coalball]

I have a friend who is keeping tourist visa and having stayed in UK for near 6months, she wants to learn English, so she plan tobe back to China to apply short term student VISA.

Can I know if she can apply the VISA and comes back for next term learning? Or she has to wait for 180 days, then come back

[coalball]

Anyone can help answer the question? Just concerned she has already in UK 180 days, can she come back with short term student visa in short time

[alterhase58]

Friend has been in the UK on a visitor visa for the full 6 months, has left the UK now?
Probably not a good idea to go for another 6 months straight away. You can't be seen to spend more time in the UK than in your home country, in a 12 months period.

For studying English refer to this section of the visitor rules: https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor/visit-to-study

[ALKB]

Anyone can help answer the question? Just concerned she has already in UK 180 days, can she come back with short term student visa in short time

Short term student visa is a separate category from visitor visas, so she can apply any time and if granted can come back according to her specific visa validity and parameters.

Whether a short term student visa will be granted after spending a whopping six months on a visitor visa only to immediately apply for another stay of potentially up to 11 months, is another question.

When your friend applied for her tourist visa, how long did she state she will stay in the UK?

What kind of social and economic ties to her home country did she show when she applied for her tourist visa?

A six month stay in the recent past will most probably invite scrutiny, as this is well beyond the average person´s ability to stay away from employment, family responsibilities, etc.

She will have to have strong documentation regarding the course she wants to attend and her economic ability to fund this endeavor (and reasons to return home after her course). An application pattern such as this could potentially look like she might have worked under the table for six months and is now trying to find a way to continue doing so.