EU/EEA students
If you are an EU/EEA national and have been accepted on a course of study, you are entitled to enter the UK freely and have the right of residence for the duration of your course. If your stay is for less than six months and you hold form E128, you can receive NHS treatment. Form E128 is available from the health authority in your own country and must be issued before you leave your home country.
Non EU/EEA students
If you are a visa national (visit ukvisas.gov.uk to find out whether you are) planning to study in the UK for six months or less, you have to apply for entry clearance in your home country. See the question 'How do UK immigration rules affect me as a non -EU/EEA student?'for details.
If you are on a course of six months or less and want to travel into and out of the UK during your period of study, you should obtain a multiple entry visa before coming to the UK.
If you are a non-visa national, at the moment it is optional to obtain entry clearance before you enter the UK to study for six months or less. Instead you will have to prove to an Immigration Officer when you arrive in the UK, that you satisfy all the requirements for entry clearance given in the 'How do UK immigration rules affect me as a non-EU/EEA student?' question. The maximum length of visa you will receive is six months. Please see an advisor in the Student Advice and Welfare Services before you make an application for a visa extension.
UWE strongly advises any students coming to the UK for programmes of six months or less to apply for entry clearance before they leave their home country to travel to the UK. Please note that from September 2007 all non-EU/EEA nationals will need to apply for entry clearance in their home country before coming to the UK.
To find out whether you are a visa national and further details on how to apply for entry clearance, contact the British Embassy, High Commission or Consulate in the country where you normally live. For further informationvisit ukvisas.gov.uk or UKCOSA's guidance note: Before Leaving Home.
You should be aware that if you and your dependents do not obtain entry clearance before coming to the UK and an immigration officer does not allow you to enter the UK, you have no right of appeal and you will have to leave immediately.
For further information please contact Student Advice and Welfare Services (SAWS).