English Language Centre Bristol

VISAS

Extending your visa

You can only extend your visa if you arrived in the UK with a General Student Visa issued in your country.  If you have a Student Visitor Visa, you will have to leave the country before your visa runs out.

The cost of extending your visa by post is £357.00.  You must apply in advance.  If you leave it late, you must go to London and apply in person.  This costs £565.00.
To extend your full student visa, you will have to fill in forms and provide documents.  If you make a mistake or do not send the correct documents, you will lose your visa application fee.

The school is not legally allowed to advise you or to help you to extend your visa.  If you need help, you need to contact a registered immigration advisory service.

UKCISA is a registered organisation that gives international students free advice on immigration, working in the UK, Higher Education and other more general advice.

You can call the UKCISA advice line on  0207 1079922  between 1-4pm, Monday- Friday.

The UKCISA website is also very useful: www.ukcisa.org.uk

The application procedure is quite complex and although Ukcisa will give you general advice, they will not be able to help you personally.

If you would like someone to help you personally, contact one of the registered immigration advisory companies in Bristol:

IAS Immigration Advisory Service
Anthony Jaffray
Unit 7, Hide Market, Bristol BS2OBH

Tel:  0117 3041174     fax: 0117 9557647  anthony.jaffray@iasuk.org   www.iasuk.org

The cost of their service is:

1 Hour checking service = £138.00    Complete service = £400.00   You have to pay these fees as well as the visa application fee.

If you want to save money by using the 1 hour checking service, you should do the following things before your meeting with the immigration advisory company:

• Complete as much of the form as possible, in pencil
• Have 2 passport photographs
• Get bank statements from the past month showing you have enough money to fund yourself.  Bank statements should not be older than 1 month.
• Request a CAS (confirmation of studies) from the school
• Call IAS (Immigration Advisory Service) and arrange an appointment with Mr Jaffray.

Police Registration

If you have been asked to register with the police on arrival in the UK, please do so as soon as possible.  This will usually be requested on the bottom of your visa in your passport.

You will need:

• your passport
• 2 passport photos
• £34.00 cash
• a completed form (available from the school office)

Take these to the Immigration office at 83, Newfoundland Road in the City Centre (near Cabbot Circus).  The office is open from Tuesday to Thursday from 09.00 - 13.00 and from 14.00 - 15.30

Tel: 0117 9529769

Please note that if you change your accommodation during your stay, you must notify the Immigration office within 7 days of the move.

To get to the Immigration office, take a No 1 bus from stop WZ (Clifton Down Station) on Whiteladies Road to the Horsefair in the City Centre, stop SK.  There is then a 10-minute walk.

Schengen Visas

If you are thinking of visiting other countries in Europe during your stay here, you may need a Schengen Visa to do so.  Nationals of the member countries of the European Union do not have to obtain a Schengen Visa but all other nationals should check with the Embassy of the country to which they want to travel whether a Schengen Visa is required.

A list of contact details for all foreign embassies in the UK can be found here.

You should be able to find all the information required to make an application on the embassy websites.  You will normally need to make an appointment at the relevant embassy in London to which you will need to take your application form and all the relevant documents.  It is important for you to think ahead about any possible trips, as the appointments are aften booked up for many weeks.