What kind of visa do I need and where do I get it?
April 18, 2008 8:17 AM Subscribe
I'm completely confused about UK immigration policy and am getting conflicting information re: extended stays for academic research.
I'm an American graduate student, currently enrolled in a Ph.D program at an American university. In February, I flew to England to live in Yorkshire and do research for four months. I was planning on returning to the States in early June, but I have since received several fellowships and grants that I applied for last fall, which means that I now have enough money to continue my research in England for another 16 months. Great news!
However, I don't understand what kind of visa I now need to get. The immigration officer at Heathrow admitted me as a tourist for the usual six months (expiring around August 4th), after which I would obviously be overstaying. The info on the British consulate website seems to indicate that my position (graduate student) isn't "important" or high-status enough to apply for an academic research visa. It also says that the scheme for "sponsored researchers" was discontinued and that I should enter under the work permit scheme. This makes no sense, since I won't have an employer in the UK; I'm getting money from American grant agencies. Finally, I can't get a student visa because I'm not enrolling in a UK program. I'm still officially enrolled in the United States and will have no formal ties with any UK academic institution.
The US British consulate hasn't responded to my emails, so I turn to you, hive mind. My questions are:
1) What kind of visa do I need to get?
2) Can I get said visa from here in England, now that I'm already in the country? Do I really have to fly all the way back to the States and go to the British consulate in NYC?
Many thanks for your help. These immigration codes are about as comprehensible to me as tax law.
I'm an American graduate student, currently enrolled in a Ph.D program at an American university. In February, I flew to England to live in Yorkshire and do research for four months. I was planning on returning to the States in early June, but I have since received several fellowships and grants that I applied for last fall, which means that I now have enough money to continue my research in England for another 16 months. Great news!
However, I don't understand what kind of visa I now need to get. The immigration officer at Heathrow admitted me as a tourist for the usual six months (expiring around August 4th), after which I would obviously be overstaying. The info on the British consulate website seems to indicate that my position (graduate student) isn't "important" or high-status enough to apply for an academic research visa. It also says that the scheme for "sponsored researchers" was discontinued and that I should enter under the work permit scheme. This makes no sense, since I won't have an employer in the UK; I'm getting money from American grant agencies. Finally, I can't get a student visa because I'm not enrolling in a UK program. I'm still officially enrolled in the United States and will have no formal ties with any UK academic institution.
The US British consulate hasn't responded to my emails, so I turn to you, hive mind. My questions are:
1) What kind of visa do I need to get?
2) Can I get said visa from here in England, now that I'm already in the country? Do I really have to fly all the way back to the States and go to the British consulate in NYC?
Many thanks for your help. These immigration codes are about as comprehensible to me as tax law.
What is your expected exit date now, and will you be travelling back to the US at all in the interim?
posted by DarlingBri at 9:31 AM on April 18, 2008
posted by DarlingBri at 9:31 AM on April 18, 2008
Response by poster: I'd plan on staying through January of 2010, which is how long the grant money will last.
I'll certainly be going back to the US once in a while, but would ideally like not to go back now until Christmas time. But that would make me overstay my original allotment, as I was only admitted to the UK until August 4th when I came in February.
posted by venividivici at 9:49 AM on April 18, 2008
I'll certainly be going back to the US once in a while, but would ideally like not to go back now until Christmas time. But that would make me overstay my original allotment, as I was only admitted to the UK until August 4th when I came in February.
posted by venividivici at 9:49 AM on April 18, 2008
Stop asking strangers and disinterested government bureaucrats and go see Alison Learwood or Fran Collins!
posted by Pollomacho at 9:51 AM on April 18, 2008
posted by Pollomacho at 9:51 AM on April 18, 2008
I can understand the confusion - you're not a student here, you're not employed by anyone here. You sure as hell shouldn't be on a tourist visa - this could get you into a lot of trouble. (On re-entry, if UK customs find evidence that indicates you might thinking of working of studying here, they could get nasty.)
Pollomacho has it right: universities usually have people to deal with this sort of thing. (Usually - I encountered a wide range of expertise in this area.) Hit them up and get it sorted out.
posted by outlier at 12:44 PM on April 18, 2008
Pollomacho has it right: universities usually have people to deal with this sort of thing. (Usually - I encountered a wide range of expertise in this area.) Hit them up and get it sorted out.
posted by outlier at 12:44 PM on April 18, 2008
Veni, I sent you a MeMail.
Working on a tourist visa is illegal. Studying at a UK institution without a student visa is illegal. Studying independently on a tourist visa is perfectly legal, but that visa isn't long enough. So while we're all agreed on that, outlier, I think that it is worth noting that you are correct only so far as "nasty" realistically means "refused entry." Not, as they say, the end of the world, although certainly the end of that particular study session.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:08 PM on April 18, 2008
Working on a tourist visa is illegal. Studying at a UK institution without a student visa is illegal. Studying independently on a tourist visa is perfectly legal, but that visa isn't long enough. So while we're all agreed on that, outlier, I think that it is worth noting that you are correct only so far as "nasty" realistically means "refused entry." Not, as they say, the end of the world, although certainly the end of that particular study session.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:08 PM on April 18, 2008
The OP specifically requested that I look at this question, which is ironic since I initially did so, but decided people with more knowledge probably would.
I'll just say that you can probably get your new visa from within the UK, but it will take a lot longer, and be a big hassle (although not as much perhaps as an extra trip back to New York). It used to cost more, but I think now everywhere costs an equally exorbitant amount.
You really ought to try to get a UK institution to take you on in some sort of student role. It will significantly reduce the complications here.
posted by grouse at 4:21 PM on April 18, 2008
I'll just say that you can probably get your new visa from within the UK, but it will take a lot longer, and be a big hassle (although not as much perhaps as an extra trip back to New York). It used to cost more, but I think now everywhere costs an equally exorbitant amount.
You really ought to try to get a UK institution to take you on in some sort of student role. It will significantly reduce the complications here.
posted by grouse at 4:21 PM on April 18, 2008
I don't know if this is available to PhD students. The requirements ("8 credits") are phrased for undergrads. But if you are or have recently been a full-time student at an American university, you can apply for a 6-month work-visa through BUNAC. During this time you can work part or full-time while you are in Britain.
10 years ago you could, after completing your 6 months of working (or "working"), apply for an extension of your stay for 3 months as a tourist (according to their literature) or 6 months (not in the literature, but if you proved to the Home Office that you had sufficient funds to support yourself for 6 months).
They say they can't mail your BUNAC "blue card" to anywhere other than a US address. I don't know if you could possibly apply, have it mailed to the US, have it posted to your address in the UK and then apply for extended stay while in the UK.
I don't know if the Home Office would require you to leave the UK (be it for 24 hours or 3 months or whatever) before returning for an extended stay like this.
If you are officially a full-time PhD student during this whole year on the BUNAC scheme, you may or may not be able to apply for their work in Ireland scheme and get an additional 4 months legal working-time in Ireland while making regular trips to the UK for research.
You probably need professional (or at the very least university-international-student-centre) advice as to whether or not the BUNAC permit will suit you and what your cross-border movements (or lack of) need to be. It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing so if you get a BUNAC blue card to extend your PhD studies now, you won't be able to do it again after you finish. My second-hand experience with UK Immigration is that if you are an American and acting in good faith for whatever visa/extension you are seeking, then the Home Office are happy and (relatively) quick to give you the green light. YMMV.
posted by Martin E. at 5:22 PM on April 18, 2008
10 years ago you could, after completing your 6 months of working (or "working"), apply for an extension of your stay for 3 months as a tourist (according to their literature) or 6 months (not in the literature, but if you proved to the Home Office that you had sufficient funds to support yourself for 6 months).
They say they can't mail your BUNAC "blue card" to anywhere other than a US address. I don't know if you could possibly apply, have it mailed to the US, have it posted to your address in the UK and then apply for extended stay while in the UK.
I don't know if the Home Office would require you to leave the UK (be it for 24 hours or 3 months or whatever) before returning for an extended stay like this.
If you are officially a full-time PhD student during this whole year on the BUNAC scheme, you may or may not be able to apply for their work in Ireland scheme and get an additional 4 months legal working-time in Ireland while making regular trips to the UK for research.
You probably need professional (or at the very least university-international-student-centre) advice as to whether or not the BUNAC permit will suit you and what your cross-border movements (or lack of) need to be. It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing so if you get a BUNAC blue card to extend your PhD studies now, you won't be able to do it again after you finish. My second-hand experience with UK Immigration is that if you are an American and acting in good faith for whatever visa/extension you are seeking, then the Home Office are happy and (relatively) quick to give you the green light. YMMV.
posted by Martin E. at 5:22 PM on April 18, 2008
Response by poster: Thanks for the help so far; I'll try and contact more university departments here, but so far they have not been willing to help someone who is not a student of their institution. They all reply with a single-line "Sorry, we can't help you" email, and that's the end of that.
Grouse, I've explored the options of being affiliated with a UK university, but there's no way to do it without spending half of my grant money on tuition and fees. Even "adjunct student" status, which would give me a letter on university stationary and a library card, is well over two thousand pounds.
Martin E., thanks for the suggestion, but unfortunately I did BUNAC as an undergraduate, so can't do it again.
I have no doubt that I'd be approved for a visa, since I have official letters proving that I'll have enough money to support myself. It's just a question of what to do next -- and the British Consulate in London just emailed me back saying that they don't offer consultations for people with visa questions (?), that they only approve or deny applications. Their phone hotline is now automated and simply repeats all the contradictory information on their website. There must be a way to get an official answer to this question, but I have no idea what it is!
posted by venividivici at 3:08 AM on April 19, 2008
Grouse, I've explored the options of being affiliated with a UK university, but there's no way to do it without spending half of my grant money on tuition and fees. Even "adjunct student" status, which would give me a letter on university stationary and a library card, is well over two thousand pounds.
Martin E., thanks for the suggestion, but unfortunately I did BUNAC as an undergraduate, so can't do it again.
I have no doubt that I'd be approved for a visa, since I have official letters proving that I'll have enough money to support myself. It's just a question of what to do next -- and the British Consulate in London just emailed me back saying that they don't offer consultations for people with visa questions (?), that they only approve or deny applications. Their phone hotline is now automated and simply repeats all the contradictory information on their website. There must be a way to get an official answer to this question, but I have no idea what it is!
posted by venividivici at 3:08 AM on April 19, 2008
You can probably get some advice from your local Citizen's Advice Bureau although even if they would give you the same advice as an immigration lawyer, it might be worth spending some money on the latter and having them prepare your paperwork since that demonstrates you mean business and have money to spend on doing important things (ie dealing with them) the right way. Your specific situation might be well outside the experience of your local CAB.
They will probably tell you that when making an application for a special visa it's better to include more documentation than less and that it would be good to include reference letters from professors in both countries detailing what a wonderful student/doctoral candidate you are and how your work will benefit your chosen subject specifically and, ideally, the British academic community in your field specifically (if it's history or hard science, these letters will probably write themselves).
posted by Martin E. at 12:07 PM on April 19, 2008
They will probably tell you that when making an application for a special visa it's better to include more documentation than less and that it would be good to include reference letters from professors in both countries detailing what a wonderful student/doctoral candidate you are and how your work will benefit your chosen subject specifically and, ideally, the British academic community in your field specifically (if it's history or hard science, these letters will probably write themselves).
posted by Martin E. at 12:07 PM on April 19, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by car01 at 9:09 AM on April 18, 2008