Studying in UK: Changes to ‘sponsor’ rules

WOULD-BE adult students must take note of the changes brought by Tier 4 of the PBS to the changing roles of the traditional sponsors. Prior to these changes, the prospective student only had to show was that the visa letter was from an education provider on the approved list and that he had someone to financially support him; be it an organisation or an individual. Under this system it was not unusual for brothers, sisters or spouses and partners of the prospective student to provide their supporting documents in order to show that they meet the maintenance (Funds) requirement.

The PBS has revamped this arrangement and it starts with the education providers. Education providers are also referred to as sponsors as they are the ones that are entrusted with the duty of issuing the confirmation of acceptance for studies to prospective students. This is done once the migrant student accepts the offer of a place and the student is given permission to study in the United Kingdom based on this confirmation. Most important also is the requirement that restricts the student to studying only with the sponsor named on their CAS (or visa letter).

It must also be noted that before an education provider qualifies to sponsor a student in this manner it must meet the set criterion that includes, inter alia: inspection, audit or review by an appropriate body and also being a holder of a valid accreditation from an appropriate body. It would appear that this has been driven by the desire to weed out bad apples from this industry. Most students would all be too familiar with rogue colleges that closed shop or just disappeared in thin air leaving students stranded. This even cost some students their right to stay in the UK and some students lost their passports for good. Therefore from that perspective this rigorous regime is laudable in so far as it safeguards the interests of the unsuspecting members of the student population from those rogue education providers.

As regards this category of sponsorship most students do not find it a problem to obtain their CAS (or Visa Letter) from those duly registered education providers. Under Tier 4 students will be able to claim 30 points for Attributes once they are able to produce their CAS.

The major problem seems to be more prevalent when it comes to maintenance (Funds). The Tier 4 guidance states that a prospective student must have the ability to maintain himself and to pay any outstanding course fees. This is usually evidenced by production of bank statements that demonstrate that a student has the sufficient funds. If this is demonstrated then the student is awarded 10 points and together with the 30 points under Attributes qualifies for leave to remain in the United Kingdom as a Tier 4 (General) Student Migrant.

Surprisingly this does not always appear to be as straight forward as it is put considering the prevalence of refusals under Appendix C. As highlighted earlier on prior to PBS, the student could be sponsored by anyone able to show that he has funds to do so. However under the Tier 4 PBS financial sponsorship is money given to a student to cover some or all of their living costs by the UK government, student’s home government, the British Council or any international organisation, international company, university or independent school. Therefore if a prospective student has any of the above he can use this in his application as evidence that he has enough money to pay the fees and costs.

However, the reality of the situation for some students is that no such sponsors are there to support their applications; leaving them to still rely on their relatives and friends to act as their financial sponsors. The result has been that they have not been awarded the 10 points under maintenance (Funds). At the same time adult students cannot rely on their parents for sponsorship, with the result that the money in issue must actually be in the prospective student’s account or joint account. However for child students it would suffice that the parents hold themselves out as the sponsors and the money may not necessarily have to be in the child prospective student’s account.

It is important to realise that failure to meet the requirements of Appendix C remains fatal to a prospective student’s application under Tier 4(General) Student Migrant. What is however not known is the definition of an international organisation or international company. The question being: would it suffice just to show that the company that is sponsoring a prospective student is registered either in terms of the laws of the United Kingdom or any other foreign State. Further more what would constitute a recognised international organisation? Are these restricted or is it that any organisation that operates internationally is recognised.

Be that as it may it seems to suffice that the financial sponsor has to provide a letter of confirmation that must show; student’s name; sponsor’s name and contact details; date of the letter; length of sponsorship and the amount of money the sponsor is giving or a statement that it will cover all of the student’s course fees and living costs. This seems to operate like a guarantee letter that the financial sponsor is giving.

Prospective students must therefore make sure that they understand that they need two sponsors for them to qualify under the Tier 4 of the PBS. The first sponsor under Appendix A will give them their CAS and the second one under Appendix C will financially sponsor them. Of particular importance is the fact that the financial sponsor is now restricted and most adult prospective students are failing on this hurdle as they are still bringing in relatives, spouses and partners rather than institutional sponsors.

George Tizirai-Chapwanya, BL (Hons) LLB LLM is a Solicitor with Bake & Co Solicitors. He can be contacted on gtchapwanya@bakesolicitors.co.uk or visit Bake & Co Solicitors’ website at www.bakesolicitors.co.uk; 0121 616 5025 or 07815958475

Disclaimer: This article only provides general information on immigration law. It is not intended to replace the advice or services of a Solicitor. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. The writer will not accept any liability for any claims or inconvenience as a result of use of this information