Enrolling International Students and Student Visa Sponsorship in Independent Schools

This webinar explores what independent schools in the UK need to do and be aware of to recruit and enrol international students under the UK’s post Brexit immigration system.

Delivered by immigration education specialists, who examine the recently changed Student and Child Student Immigration Routes and Student Sponsorship in UK Independent Schools. They also cover the implications of Brexit on enrolling international students seeking to study in the UK.

Whether or not your school is currently an approved Home Office student sponsor or considering obtaining a licence to enable you to enrol international students, this webinar provides a breakdown of the key issues and points to note when enrolling overseas students (including EU nationals) and the benefits of applying for or maintaining a student sponsor licence.

The webinar is designed to introduce attendees to the student sponsorship regime for independent schools in a post-Brexit UK, providing an overview of the journey from becoming an approved student sponsor, supporting overseas students with their visa applications to compliance with ongoing Home Office sponsorship duties. 

The key points to take away from the webinar are:

• The UK formally left the EU on 31 December 2020. Since 1 January 2021, the UK has a new points-based immigration system that treats EU nationals and non-EU nationals equally. Significantly, this means any non-UK national (apart from Irish citizens) coming to the UK from 1 January 2021, with the primary purpose to work or study, will need to apply for UK immigration permission.
• In this webinar, we looked at the revamped Student and Child Student visa routes, which came into force on 5 October 2020. Replacing the previous Tier 4 (Child) and Tier 4 (General) sponsored student visa route, the biggest change is that EU nationals will now be required to meet the same requirements to study within the UK as non-EU nationals where this is their primary reason for coming to the UK. EU students already resident in the UK on or before 31 December 2020 should not use the new Student or Child Student Routes and are eligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme and have until 30 June 2021 to do so.
• Independent Schools who do not currently hold a sponsor licence should therefore seriously consider applying now to become a Home Office approved sponsor. Being an approved Home Office sponsor - which can include both a ‘Student Sponsor’ category and a new ‘Skilled Worker’ category - will give your education institution the ability to enrol pupils and hire staff from all over the world (including Europe) where their primary reason for coming to the UK is to study or work.
• The webinar introduced attendees to the student sponsorship regime for independent schools in a post-Brexit UK,  providing an overview of the journey from becoming an approved student sponsor, supporting overseas students with their visa applications to compliance with ongoing Home Office sponsorship duties once the sponsor licence is in place. 

Interested in a particular area? Find the answer easily without watching the whole webinar (times are approx)

1. Minutes 0 - 4. Intro 

2. Minutes 4 - 7. Who has the right to study in the UK?

3. Minutes 7 - 10. Brexit : implications for the EU Student Enrolment 

4. Minutes 10 - 12. New points based immigration system

5. Minutes 12 - 15. Student Sponsor License Application 

6. Minutes 15 - 18. Student Sponsor License - key points 

7. Minutes 18 - 20. Sponsored Student Visa routes 

8. Minutes 20 - 21. New Student and Child routes 

9. Minutes 21 - 22. Apply for a Child Student Visa 

10. Minutes 22 - 24. Course requirements 

11. Minutes 24 - 26. Financial requirements 

12. Minutes 26 - 27. Changes to financial requirements

13. Minutes 27 - 28. English language requirements

14. Minutes 28 - 29. Parental consent requirement

15. Minutes 29 - 31. Additional considerations - child students 

16. Minutes 31 - 33. Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)

17. Minutes 33 - 34. Application costs 

18. Minutes 34 - 38. Applying from inside & outside the UK 

19. Minutes 38 - 41. Visa conditions 

20. Minutes 41 - 43. Student sponsor duties 

21. Minutes 43 - 44. Right to Study Checks 

22. Minutes 44 - 45. Record Keeping 

23. Minutes 45 - 46. Safeguarding Duties 

24. Minutes 46 - 47. Reporting Duties : Student change of circumstances 

25. Minutes 47 - 49. Reporting Duties : School change of circumstances 

26. Minutes 49 - 50. Covid-19 concessions 

27. Minutes 50 - 51. Conclusion