Tier 4 priority questions

[hunter2017]

Hey everybody, new to the forum.
I have some questions regarding the tier 4 student visa. I will be studying in Scotland this September as a US citizen and have received my confirmation of studies. Because the start date is in September, obviously I cannot apply for it ahead of 3 months. The thing is, in June, I have taken a short term au-pair position in France - the family is aware of my situation. I am looking for the most efficient way to apply for the visa that way I can receive it quick and go to France. I was looking at the premium services, particularly the priority service, but on the description it mentions
"The Tier 4 priority service is for people who are in the UK and want to either extend or switch to:"

The way I'm reading this is I am not eligible for priority, it is just that I've read mixed answers on such and am a bit confused.
The next question is pertaining to financial support. I am using FAFSA and private loans to finance my studies, but also will be awaiting scholarship results for sponsorship. Do I need to just send in copies of my eligible loan amount papers from both lending institutions? I've also read somewhere that citizens from the US are not required to submit financials because we are "low risk."
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, thank you !

[sah10406]

Hey everybody, new to the forum.
The thing is, in June, I have taken a short term au-pair position in France - the family is aware of my situation. I am looking for the most efficient way to apply for the visa that way I can receive it quick and go to France.

As you say, you cannot apply for a Tier 4 visa more than 3 months before the start date of the course. If that means there is no time to apply in the USA, you should be fine to apply in France, as long as you are there on a work visa of some kind which I assume you will be.

The next question is pertaining to financial support. I am using FAFSA and private loans to finance my studies, but also will be awaiting scholarship results for sponsorship. Do I need to just send in copies of my eligible loan amount papers from both lending institutions? I've also read somewhere that citizens from the US are not required to submit financials because we are "low risk."

You need to have loan letters that meet the requirements of paragraph 220v of the Tier 4 policy guidance. If you apply in the USA, you keep the documents safe in case they are requested. If you apply in France, you submit the documents.

220v. Letter from a regulated financial institution confirming a loan

The loan letter(s) from a regulated financial institution that you send us must be dated no more than 6 months before the date of your application. The letter(s) must be the original (not a copy) and must
clearly show:
* your name;
* the date of the letter;
* the financial institution’s name and logo;
* the money available as a loan;
* that the loan is provided by your national government, their state or regional government, a government sponsored student loan company or is part of an academic or educational loans scheme.

The financial institution must be regulated by either the Financial Conduct Authority, the Prudential Regulatory Authority or, in the case of overseas accounts, by the home regulator (the official regulatory body for the country the financial institution is in and where the money is held) for the purpose of student loans.

You cannot use loans held in the name of your parent(s) or legal guardian(s) as evidence of money held by you.There must be no conditions placed on the release of the loan funds to you, other than your Tier 4
application being successful.

If you are applying from overseas, the loan funds must be available to you before you travel to the UK, with only two exceptions:
1. the loan is an academic or student loan from your country’s national government and it will be release do you on or before arrival in the UK,
or
2. the loan funds are or will be paid to directly to your Tier 4 sponsor before you travel to the UK and the living costs portion of the loan will be released to you on or before your arrival in the UK

[hunter2017]

Thank you so much, sah10406 !

[macarama]

Hi Hunter,

I have previously had a very similar situation to you. I was working as an au pair in Ireland, and I had been accepted onto a disability studies research course at the University of Bristol in the UK. I thought I would be able to apply for the tier 4 student visa while I was in Dublin because I was actually living and working in Ireland on a working holiday visa. I decided to call UK Immigration to ask them, because I was finding conflicting information online. They told me that although I was working in Ireland on a visa, I did not have leave to remain there indefinitely, therefore I would have to return to my home country to apply for my visa. At this point, it was too late for me to be able to take time off of my au pair job to fly back to the states to apply for my visa and therefore I deferred my offer for a year.

Just wanted to inform you of my experience so that you don't end up in France unable to apply for your UK visa. I know this probably isn't the answer you wanted to hear, but I hope it helps regardless.

[sah10406]

They told me that although I was working in Ireland on a visa, I did not have leave to remain there indefinitely, therefore I would have to return to my home country to apply for my visa.

You were misinformed. The Home Office's own guidance about this matter is very clear, hence my advice to OP above:

Applications ... should be made in your country of residence. ‘Country of residence’ might not be your country of origin and refers to wherever you have permission to live, for example for work or study purposes. Many countries issue overseas nationals with residency cards in these circumstances.

See https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... pply-ecb05