Comparing Tier 4 and Short-term Student visas
For details see our
Tier 4
and
Short-term Student
visa pages.
|
Tier 4 for full-time study
|
Short-term Student visa for full- or part-time study
|
| Allowed to work part time during semester time and full time out of semester time. |
Not allowed to work at all. |
| Visa issued will cover the full length of your course, plus up to 1 month before the course starts and 4 months after the course finishes for courses of 12 months or more. |
Valid for a maximum of 6 months. You need to leave the UK within 30 days of finishing the course. (If you are coming to study University English, there is an exception and you can apply for a visa for up to 11 months.) |
| You can normally extend this visa. In some cases this can be in the UK. Check with ISAT regarding your situation. |
You cannot extend this visa. If you need additional time to study, you would need to leave the UK and apply for another visa. You cannot immediately apply and return with a second Short-term Student visa for another six months. Check with ISAT
which type of visa this would be for you. |
| Costs £348 outside the UK and £475 in the UK (price may change from April 2019), plus £300 per year of the visa for Immigration Health Surcharge. |
Costs £97 (price may change from April 2019). |
| You don’t need to pay
hospital fees.
|
You are only covered for medical treatment that is free to everyone so we recommend you get private insurance.
Information here.
|
| ISAT will be able to advise you whether you can apply for your visa in the UK or whether you must apply from home. |
You cannot apply in the UK. Nationals of
visa national countries
need to apply for their visa from their home country. Non-visa nationals can apply from their home country or at the airport. |