Working closely with colleagues across Government, educational institutions and other partners, we endeavour to make visa and entry arrangements more user-friendly for international students. We also aim to make their stay in the UK a positive experience.

Support for UK institutions
Cultural connections - order form (333KB) - we are pleased to announce the publication of Cultural connections, the essential guide to cultural awareness, based on Feeling at home, the British Council's earlier booklet, for those who want to make the most of the international student experience – and to help students do the same. Latest issue: Fourth Edition published June 2007.

Beacon Award for International Student Support (116KB) - along with the Association of Colleges (AoC), we have supported the Beacon Award for ten years. The Award recognises best practice in supporting international students from recruitment through to completion of qualifications. It is awarded to FE colleges that have developed and maintained consistent and caring procedures in the support of students studying in the UK.

Creating confidence (2MB) - this international student safety survey, conducted by the British Council, is a major attempt to assess student experiences and premises about safety issues in the United Kingdom.

Safety first - order form (196KB) - this personal safety guide for international students can be ordered from us, and can also be downloaded from the Education UK website link below.

Support for entry clearance officers
Information sheet (395KB) - explains the wide range of UK education options open to international students.

Support for international students
The following information sheets are for students and therefore located on the Education UK website.

			Find your way to work
			First steps - a pre-departure guide for international students coming to the UK
			Safety first - a personal safety guide for international students
			Sources of funding for international students - information about applying for scholarships

Please note that the First steps - preparing for entry clearance and Studying and living in the United Kingdom information sheets are not available any more as they are no longer being published.

Printed copies of Find your way to work can be obtained, free-of-charge, from DCSF Publications by contacting them and quoting the reference number 00338-2008LEF-EN:

PO Box 5050 Sherwood Park Annesley Nottingham NG15 0DJ United Kingdom E-mail dcsf@prolog.uk.com Telephone +44 (0)845 6022260 Fax +44 (0)845 6033360

Printed copies of other publications are available by contacting Stephanie Ashcroft.

Additional strategies
We are also working with UKvisas and the Home Office to create mutual links between our websites, to ensure that students get all the information they need to make their applications for entry clearance and prepare for their stay.