GOING TO UNITED KINGDOM TO STUDY

In order to come to the United Kingdom (UK) to study, one would need a student visa (also know as a Tier 4 Visa). At the moment, there are there are two main routes which can be used to enter UK, these include child and adult student category, Brief description is provided below:

Child Student Visa: this visa is for children between 4 and 17 years old who are coming to the UK. It was highlighted that children between four and 15 years old can only apply if they are going to study at an independent fee-paying school. If the child is under 16 years old, maximum time allowed under this category is the full length of the course (up to a maximum of 6 years) plus 4 months after the end of the course. If the child is 16 or 17 years old, maximum time allowed is the full length of the course (up to a maximum of 2 years) plus 4 months after the end of the course. Am guessing the type of student that would fall under this section includes those intending to study at the secondary or Advance Level (possibly the first part of the study called ‘AS’).

Adult Student Visa: According to the home office website, one can apply to come to UK as an adult student if the intention is to study at post-16 education level. Types of course that can be taken under this section is more varied compared to the child student visa. Some of the courses and length of stay allowed in the UK includes:
­ Degree level or above: For courses 12 months or more, duration of stay is the full length of the course plus 4 months after the end of the course. Courses that are 6 months or more but less than 12 months, duration of stay is the full length of the course plus 2 months after the end of the course.
­Course to prepare to study (known as pre-sessional): duration to stay would cover the full length of course plus 1 month after the end of the course.
­ Postgraduate doctors and dentists on a recognised Foundation programme: the maximum length of the course allowed is 3 years. Duration of stay in the UK would cover the full length of the course plus one month after the end of the course.

As UK has now adopted a point based system, you would need 40 points to be able to apply for a student visa. A brief description on how to obtain the points and document needed as proof is explained below:
­ -30 Points from doing a course (at an acceptable level) with an approved education provider (also known as sponsorship). A visa letter or confirmation of acceptance for studies issues by the approved education provider is the proof needed to get the points. From February 2010, UK Border Agency will only accept a confirmation of acceptance for studies and will no longer accept a visa letter.
­-10 Points for having enough money to cover the course fees and monthly living costs (also known as maintenance). Document needed as proof of meeting the point is a bank statement or letter confirming that you have enough funds to cover the course fees and living costs for up to one year, at the time of submitting the application. You would need to be able to prove that the fund (money) has been in the account for 28 days prior to submitting the application for it to be accepted.

Approved Education Provider
To score the 30 points highlighted above, the institution (College, University, etc) to be attended needs to have been approved and hold a license to teach international students. List of approved education provider which has been assessed by UK Border Agency (UKBA) can be found on the education provider register following the link below. Potential student would not be able to obtain student visa if the institution is not on the register.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/studyingintheuk/quickguideforstudent/adultstudents/applyingforanadultstudentvisa/#header1
Rules on working
As an international student in the UK, you are only allowed to work 20 hours per week during term-time (except where the placement is a necessary part of the studies such as one-year industrial work placement). Students are allowed to work full time during the holiday season which is usually between July – September.
People on student visa are not allowed to engage in activities such as Business services, self-employment or professional sportsperson/entertainer services.

Post-study work
As part of UKBA initiative to retain the most able international students who have studied in the United Kingdom, there is an option to apply for a 2 years working visa. This enables a graduate to be able to secure a job more easily as the potential employer does not need to apply for a work permit for the graduate. You need to note that you will need to switch to another category once the Post Study Work (PSW) visa expires, and also this does not count as part of the residency period.

Key Facts about UK
­ According the UK Met Office the average warmest year in the UK was 2006 with a temperature of 10.84 degree Celsius. So, if you are moving from Bahamas you might want to think twice!
­ United Kingdom consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The capital of England is London, hence London is not the country as some people might think.
­ If you see football like a religion then you are in for a spoil. Premiership, probably the biggest league in the world is based in UK. Be warned though that the ticket and club jersey are quite expensive if you are a dedicated fan.

Reference and Links
Overview of the student visa system

Video about studying in the UK

Calculating how money needed as proof

Post study working in UK

UK Met Office

Premier League

Microsoft Combined with Yahoo, a recipe for......

Thank goodness it was friday, was in the process of switching of my pc, its been a busy week work hard as ever on web projects, but thought let me quickly take a quick glance at the bbc news website technology section, Microsoft wants to buy Yahoo was the headline. I checked the calendar and realise it was no where near April 1st, hence it was not a fools day joke.

$44 billion is not a small price to pay in order to have a bigger share of the $80 billion online search market, which Google currently leads the way. I dont really know how Microsoft would dissolve Yahoo into its already big company, but am sure it MIGHT work.

They are still in the proposal stage, but Google has already wants regulators to scrutinise the proposed buy out.

Damn... I might now need to combine my Hotmail with Yahoo Mail, but lets wait and see

ASDA New Website

It was a long journey back home from visiting my sister yesterday, hence decided to pop into WHSmith and pick up my favourite web design Magazine, but for some strange reason could not find the .NET Magazine on the stand. The Marketing magazine caught my eyes and the headline that struck me was the new proposed Asda website Walmart (owner of Asda) have got in mind.

Apparently the top UK digital shops inline for the project is Avenue A | Razorfish, whose client according to their website includes: Oxfam, Pringles, Capital One, Bosch Tools, Garnier, New York Times, just to mention a few.

According to the article, visit to the ecommerce portal rose by 85% in the year 2007 to just under 3m in December according to the Nielsen/NetRatings. The 3m visit to the Asda website is still way short of the 6.9m unique visit to Tesco.com - UK biggest retailer with more than 30% share of the retail market.

I would be keeping an eye on the progress to see how it all shapes up.

High Rate

If you are like me that check his/her credit card statement every month to see how much interest been charged by the credit card issuer then let me share with you my little experience.

I have been using my credit card for the past 3 years or more, but recently I noticed that the interest been charged by one of of my card issuer shot up from an interest rate of 15% to 19.20% APR, at first I thought maybe its the credit crunch stuff, as I am not an account nor finance guy, I thought I give my bank a call and get an explanation as to why my credit card interest rate has shot up my savings account rate remain stagnant.

Well, spoke to this lovely guy probably based in India, wasn't much of any help has he could not explain to me why the rate had gone up from 15 to almost 20%, but he was kind enough to inform me that the rate goes up based on the calculation done by one of their computer system.
That was not good I rant on the phone, after 15 minutes of heated debate (poor bloke), he decided to take the interest rate back to 15.9%.

As a selfish guy, I thought I try my luck, and ask for a refund based on the high interest I have been charged in the past couple of months, I would love to say I won, but he wasn't willing to give me a refund, but I am happy with the final outcome.

Lesson learnt, don't let your bank or any financial institution rip you off. A call for an explanation and clarity is what it takes