The requirements to be met by a person seeking leave to enter the United Kingdom as a student are that he or she:

(i) has been accepted for a course of study that is to be provided by an organisation that is included on the Department for Education and Skills’ Register of Education and Training Providers 1,  and is either:

  1. a publicly funded institution of further or higher education; or

  2. a bona fide private education institution which maintains satisfactory records of enrolment and attendance; or

  3. an independent fee-paying school outside the maintained sector; and

(ii) is able and intends to follow either:

  1. a recognised full-time degree course at a publicly funded institution of further or higher education; or

  2. a weekday full-time course involving attendance at a single institution for a minimum of fifteen hours' organised daytime study per week of a single subject, or directly related subjects; or

  3. a full-time course at an independent fee-paying school; and
(iii) if under the age of sixteen years, is enrolled at an independent fee-paying school on a full-time course of studies which meets the requirements of the Education Act 1944; and
(iv) intends to leave the United Kingdom at the end of his/her studies 2;  and
(v) does not intend to engage in business or take employment in the UK, except part-time or vacation work undertaken with the consent of the Secretary of State for Employment; and
(vi) is able to meet the costs of his/her course and accommodation, and the maintenance of him/herself and any dependants without taking employment 3 or engaging in business or having recourse to public funds.

Note:

(1) The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has compiled a register of genuine education and training providers in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Genuine providers are defined as those assessed and validated by the DfES as part of the registration process.
From 1 January 2005, immigration permission (visas, entry clearance and leave to remain) will be granted only for study at institutions which are listed in the Register. It is very important that potential international students check whether the institution they want to attend is in the Register before making an immigration application. The Register is available online and can be searched by institution name or address. If the institution is not in the Register, the student’s visa application will be refused and there may be no right of appeal.
Resource: For more information about the Register, please see the DfES website at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/providersregister.

(2) Degree students who successfully complete their studies may become eligible for work-permit employment, as long as they meet the set requirements. Students who have been sponsored by an overseas government or international agency will need to have written permisson from their sponsor if wishing to remain in the UK to work

(3) There are, however, two minor exceptions to this. Students can meet some of their costs through earnings from employment if that employment is either:
(a) Provided and guaranteed by their college or university, and the college or university provides a letter confirming what their hours and rate of pay will be; or
(b) a sandwich course placement which the college or university can guarantee will be available to the student. The college or university must be prepared to write a letter confirming this guarantee, and how much the student will earn.

A ‘bona fide’ private education institution is one which can prove that it meets the requirements of the Immigration Rules. They must provide evidence that students seeking leave to enter or to remain as a student at their institution meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules.

This means it will:

• maintain satisfactory records of enrolment and attendance of students;
• provide courses which involve a minimum of 15 hours’ organised daytime study per week;
• ensure a suitably qualified tutor is present during the hours of study to offer teaching and instruction to the students;
• offer courses leading to qualifications recognised by the appropriate accreditation bodies;
• employ suitably qualified staff to provide teaching, guidance and support to the students;
• provide adequate accommodation, facilities, staffing levels and equipment to support the numbers of students enrolled at the institution; and
• comply with the latest Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) guidance on notification of absent students.

The three main bodies accrediting courses at private education institutions are:

1. BAC – The British Accreditation Council for Independent Further and Higher Education;

2. British Council – the scheme is managed by British Council together with English UK (formally ARELS - the Association of Recognised English Language Services and BASELT - the British Association of State English Language Teaching). ARELS and BASELT merged in May 2004 to become English UK.

3. ABLS – the Association of British Language Schools.

Vietnamese students will have to apply for a visa to study in the UK. You can do so by coming to the British Embassy, 4th Floor, 31 Hai Ba Trung Str., Hanoi, or British Consulate General, 25 Le Duan Str., District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.

You must satisfy the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) at a British Embassy that you meet the Immigration Rules before you leave for the UK. The ECO will then issue you entry clearance(more commonly known as a visa), in the form of a sticker in your passport. The entry clearance should normally be valid for the whole length of your course. When you arrive in the UK, the Immigration Officer at the port of entry (e.g. Heathrow or Gatwick airports) will put a date stamp in your passport to show when you entered the UK. The date your leave expires is shown on the visa.

It is vital that you check the UKvisas and Immigration and Nationality Directorate websites on a regular basis and liaise with the British Embassy in Vietnam so that you are aware of how UK immigration procedures will affect you.

Please find out about Student Visa Guidance, including Student Fast Track Visa Service and Guidance for UK Visa online application, provided by the British Embassy, Vietnam. For more information about student visa guidance, please visit the website www.uk-vietnam.org.

Make sure you apply for entry clearance as a student rather than as a visitor. Vietnamese are not allowed to extend their stay as students when they finish a visit, so make sure you apply for the right kind of visa in the first place.

If you do not yet meet the Immigration Rules for students because you have not yet finalised your study arrangements, try to make sure that you meet the Immigration Rules for prospective students described below. Vietnamese prospective students are allowed to extend their stay as students. However, they have to pay a fee to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) for extending their stay, of £250 or £500 (2006 prices). That is why it is better to come to the UK as a student rather than as a prospective student.

If you have found out about a course but need to visit the institution before finally accepting a place (you may, for example, need to have an interview or sit an exam there), explain this to the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) when applying for entry clearance.

If ECO is satisfied that you genuinely intend to start study within six months once you’ve found a suitable place, and that you meet all the immigration requirements, they will give you permission to enter as a prospective student, for six months. Then, once you are in the UK and have enrolled on a course (within the six months), you will need to extend your permission to stay as a student. You will have to pay £250 or £500 to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) when you apply for that extension (2006 prices). You will not be allowed to work while you are in the UK as a prospective student.

Ask your welfare officer at your institution for advice about coming back into the UK before you plan any trip abroad. In many cases this should be relatively straightforward.

For more information about obtaining entry clearance, please read our First Steps guide. It summarises immigration policy and procedures, helps you answer questions on the visa application form and tells you what to do if you experience difficulties. Download or view this guide here.