Official UK visa application website in Thailand

      LATEST NEWS

• 26 August 2010: Tier 4 student visas - financial maintenance requirements - important reminder. Tier 4 student visa applicants are reminded that their visa application must fully meet the financial maintenance evidence requirements otherwise it will be refused. Read our guide to financial maintenance requirements for Tier 4 students and visit the UK Border Agency website for more details.
  
  
• 19 August 2010: British council online survey. Interested in studying for an international qualification? Join the largest global student survey and you will have a chance to win exciting prizes! Student decision making survey is a global online survey which targets students interested in studying abroad or pursuing a foreign qualification in their home country. The survey captures information such as why students want to study overseas, what they are looking for in an institution, location and course, where they look for information. The survey should take about 15 minutes to complete. It gives international education organisations insights into what their customers are interested so they can provide better services for their customers. Good luck with your future studies and many thanks for taking part in this survey.
  
  
• 17 August 2010: List of approved providers published for English language testing for partners. The UK government announced plans In June 2010 to introduce compulsory English language tests for all non-European migrants applying to come to the UK to join or marry their settled partner. Today the UK Border Agency has published a list of approved test providers. For further information on these changes and to view the list of approved providers please see the question and answers document on the UK Border Agency website.
  
  
• 12 August 2010: Secure English language testing comes into effect for student Tier 4 (General) visa applicants. Mandatory secure English language testing comes into effect today (12 August 2010) for student Tier 4 (General) visa applicants wishing to study a course below degree level (excluding foundation degrees). Students applying for these courses will need to demonstrate from today, through an approved test, that they have the required level of English language competence to apply to study in the UK. For further information please visit the UK Border Agency website.
  
  
• 30 July 2010: Date announced for English language requirements for visa applicants joining their partners in the UK. In June 2010 the UK Government announced plans to introduce compulsory English language tests for all non-European migrants applying to come to the UK to join or marry their settled partner. From the 26 July, the UK Government announced that new rules will take effect from 29 November 2010. From that date, any migrant who wishes to enter or remain in the UK as the partner of a British citizen or a person settled in the UK will need to show that they can speak and understand English. For further information, please visit the UK Border Agency website.
  
  
• 22 July 2010: Secure English language testing announced for student Tier 4 (General) applicants. The British Government announced today that it will be introducing mandatory secure English language testing for adult students studying below degree level under Tier 4 (General) of the points-based system. The new requirement will come into effect on 12 August 2010. For further details of these changes please visit the UK Border Agency website.
  
  
• 19 July 2010: Corrections to the Student Tier 4 policy guidance. On 13 July 2010 we published a new version of the Tier 4 guidance setting out a number of policy changes. The document contained a number of draft paragraphs relating to the introduction of secure English language testing for Tier 4 (General) students. These paragraphs were included in error. We have not introduced secure English language testing for Tier 4 (General) students. Should we do so, we will publish full guidance at the time.
  
  
The incorrect version of the policy guidance was withdrawn and replaced with the correct document on 14 July 2010. Please ensure you are using the most recent version of the Tier 4 policy guidance.


• 19 July 2010: Important changes to Tier 1 (General) visa applications from 19 July 2010. Following an earlier announcement by the UK Government, 2 important changes have come into effect for Tier 1 (General) visa applicants today, 19 July 2010.
  
  
  • An interim limit on the number of visas that will be issued to Tier 1 (General) applicants between 19 July 2010 and 31 March 2011.
  • The number of points required for a Tier 1 (General) applicant has been increased from 95 to 100.

For further information please visit the UK Border Agency website.

The interim limit will also apply to some Tier 2 applications, please see the information on the UK Border Agency website.


• 13 July 2010: Changes to Tier 4 guidance on student loans and students with International Baccalaureate qualifications. On 12 July an addition to the policy guidance was introduced for students applying under the Tier 4 point-based system. This applies to students making visa applications using a loan letter and students making visa applications using an International Baccalaureate qualifications awarded on 5 July 2010. Please see the latest Tier 4 Policy Guidance found on the UK border Agency website for more information.
  
  
• 12 July 2010. Beware of bogus UK visa websites. We have recently been made aware of a number of websites who are using similar names to official websites operated by the UK Border Agency and its commercial partners, VFS Global and WorldBridge. These websites have been making inappropriate claims about processing UK visa applications. The UK Border Agency operates through the following official websites:
  
  
  • UK Border Agency corporate website: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk
  • UK Border Agency Visa Services website: www.ukvisas.gov.uk
  • UK Border Agency online visa application system (Visa4UK): www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk
  • WorldBridge (official commercial partner) visainfoservices.com/Pages/Welcome.aspx
  • VFS Global (official commercial partner) www.vfsglobal.com/applyforvisa.html#uk
    
    
  We would advise you to avoid all other websites claiming to be in partnership with the UK Border Agency as they may be operating on a purely commercial basis and are not authorised to provide information on behalf of the Home Office or the UK Border Agency. Please let us know if you come across such websites.
  
  
• 2 July 2010: Student Tier 4 visa applications - apply early. During our busy summer period, it is important that you submit your Tier 4 points-based system visa application in good time. This will allow us enough time to process your visa application and for you to attend the start of your course. To enable you to do this you can apply for your visa within 3 months of the start date of your intended course. For courses longer than 6 months your visa will be valid for travel from 1 month prior to the start date of the course. If your course is less than 6 months you will only be allowed to travel up to 7 days before the start of your course. To find out about our most recent visa application processing times, please see the 'Guide to Processing Times' page on this website.
  
  
• 28 June 2010: The UK Government will introduce a limit on non- European immigration. The number of workers entering the UK from outside Europe will be controlled by a new limit, the UK Home Secretary, Theresa May, announced today. Details of how the final limit will be delivered will be agreed following a 12-week consultation with businesses and other interested parties. In the meantime an interim limit will be introduced to ensure there is no rush of visa applications being submitted and the number of work visas issued stays below levels from 2009. For further information please visit the UK Border Agency website.
  
  
• 16 June 2010: New English language requirement for partners. The UK Border Agency has produced further guidance on the English language testing for:
  
  
  • nationals of a country outside the European Economic Area and Switzerland; and
  • nationals in a relationship with a British citizen or a person settled here; and
  • nationals who want to apply to enter or remain in the UK as their husband, wife, civil partner, fiancé(e), proposed civil partner, unmarried partner or same-sex partner.
  
  Please see the UK Border Agency website for the latest up-to-date information and the latest news dated 9 June 2010 on this website.
  
  
• 09 June 2010: Migrants marrying UK citizens must now learn English. Compulsory English language tests will be introduced for non-European migrants applying to come to the UK to join or marry their settled partner. The new rules will apply from autumn 2010 to anyone applying as the husband, wife, civil partner, unmarried partner, same-sex partner, fiance(e) or prospective civil partner of a UK citizen or a person settled in this country. The compulsory English language test will be with a UK Border Agency approved test provider and will apply to visa applications from overseas as well as people applying from within UK. The full news report can be found on the UK Border Agency website.
  
  
• 26 May 2010: The Visa Application Centre at Regent's House is now operating a full service. The Visa Application Centre has re-opened and is now operating a full service. Please refer to the ‘contact us’ page on this website for details of our operating hours. Customers should be aware that due to our recent closure we are extremely busy and ‘walk-in’ customers are likely to experience longer waiting times before seeing counter staff. Customers can however book an appointment by visiting the ‘schedule an appointment’ page on this website.