International students hoping to come to the UK to study will have to meet strict new criteria, the Government.

The Home Office has published proposals for much tighter rules for finternational students - and the universities and colleges hosting them - under tier 4 of its new Points Based System.

All colleges and universities that want to recruit foreign students will now need a licence to do so and will have to take greater responsibility for their international students, helping Government crack down on bogus colleges who abuse the system. For the first time education providers face a ban on bringing over international students if they fail to follow strict new rules - including alerting the UK Border Agency (UKBA) if students fail to enrol. The new rules set stricter limits on courses involving work placements to ensure these are not used as a route for disguised employment and limit the amount of time those coming to the UK to study as adults can spend on low level courses. Students will also face stringent new criteria if they want to study in the UK, ensuring only those who benefit Britain can come. An applicant is recommended to use the self-assessment tool on the ukba website before making his/her application. This will give the applicant an indication of whether he/she will meet the points criteria. Under Tier 4 an applicant must score: 30 points for a valid CAS Certificate of Acceptance of Studies), and 10 points for maintenance funds. Before they can study here, an international students must:

1- Supply a UKBA licensed education institution with all genuine copies of education certificates gained from age 16 onwards and where applicable work experience letters from employers. When the college is satisfied of the student's academic ability to finish the course, they will be in a position to issue a CAS statement stating the documents seen to make this judgement. 

2- Prove that they have the means to support themselves while studying here. For courses of more than 6 months (tier 4 General student) ; the amounts you need to show are £7200 for living expenses in London plus course fees, or £5400 for those living outside London plus course fees. Students must prove this by producing personal bank statements with the amount available in the account for at least 28 days. For those being sponosred by close family, students must provide proof of relationship to satisfy UKBA offocials.
For courses of 6 months or less (student visitors visa); the amount you need to show is at least £4800 for  plus course fees. Students must prove this by producing bank statements with the amount available in the account for at least 28 days.

Visas will only be granted to students who show a proven track record in education and are applying for a course that meets a minimum level of qualification. The visa section may want to check the supporting documents a student sends with his/her application. Therefore, international students must ensure that all the evidence comes from a source that can be clearly identified and that it can be independently confirmed is being genuine.

A confirmation of acceptance for studies issued to them by their sponsoring institution,  confirms the CAS number which must be  entered into the VAF 9 Form as part of the student's visa application. It also acts as a pledge from the college or university that they accept responsibility for the student while they are in the UK. In effect student and sponosr are tied until the end of the permission of stay. A student will not be able to change course or college once granted a visa to study at a sponsored college.