Date:17/07/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/07/17/stories/2006071717220200.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Seminar for students planning study in UK

Staff Reporter

Given immigration guidelines and basic tips

CHENNAI: Students planning for higher education in the U.K. were given a briefing for various requirements such as visas during a British Council initiative on Friday.

Lai-Ming Siu, Entry Clearance Officer, Visa Department, British Deputy High Commission, Chennai, provided an overview of student immigration guidelines and procedures through a blend of basic tips, practical advice and what is a strict no-no.

An overview

Participants at the seminar on student visas were provided an overview of the processing of visa requests, required supporting documents, fulfilling sponsorship criteria and where and how to make the applications.

The reason that authorities insist on original documents rather than photocopies is because of proliferation of forged documents, which make verification difficult. Original documents are easier to check for authenticity and whether tampering has been done.

For the same reason, students need to ensure that documents are not laminated as far as possible.

Sponsor

A sponsor can be located anywhere in the world to support a student's education in the U.K. For students going there, after obtaining education loans, a sanction letter from the bank will suffice.

British Council offices can help aspiring students arrive at estimates of the aggregate expenses required for the duration of the course.

Though students have been allowed to work part-time for a maximum of 20 hours a week, they are advised to not lose focus on the prime objective of their being in the U.K. — study!

A U.K. fact sheet distributed to seminar participants, overseas education consultants as well as education providers, was illustrative of recent efforts to make entry and visa arrangements more user-friendly.

Websites

Some useful websites are www.ukindia.com, www.vfs-uk.co.in, www.britishcouncil.org/india and www.educationuk-in.org.

Chris Burchell, Visa Department officer, also participated.

VFS, the outsourcing partner for U.K. visa services in India, runs helplines over 55850332/55850333 from its office in Chennai.