How To Obtain Work And Residence Permits In The UK For Non-Europeans?

The people who are citizens of countries off the European Union, who wish to travel to the United Kingdom with the aim of living there or working, will need to apply for an entrance visa first. They also have to have a work permit and a residence permit. On the other hand, citizens of certain countries such as: USA, and countries of the Commonwealth, do not need an entrance visa but a work permit and a residence permit are necessary.

How to obtain a residence permit in the UK for Non-Europeans?

The citizens of countries off the European Union, who stay in the UK for more than 6 months, will need a residence permit. If they are able to meet their needs without having to resort to State help (social assistance for example,) they have the right for a 6-month residence permit. The nationals of certain countries also have to register themselves at local police.

Tourists in the United Kingdom are not authorized to take a work. If a job-seeker obtains a work permit, he will also receive a limited residence permit. The expiration of the residence permit follows that of the work permit. The latter has a maximal validity of 4 years. After this deadline, the worker usually receives a permanent residence permit. And to receive this permanent residence permit, it is necessary to be able to prove a permanent residence in the United Kingdom during the past 4 years (minnimum 9 months a year).

How to obtain a work permit in the UK for Non-Europeans?

An employer in the UK has to introduce an application for a residence permit for the nationals of countries off the European Union. The work permit is issued only for a well determined employment. If the contract of employment changes in any way, the work permit expires automatically. 

Work permits are delivered by Overseas Labour Service (OLS), the employment agency of foreigners, a sub-section of Department of Education and Skills. Although the representatives of the industry consider that OLS is favorable to the economy, the law imposes on it to respect certain political regulations. For example, if a national of the EU can occupy a job offered to a national off the European Union, the OLS will not issue a work permit for the latter.

At first, these regulations aimed at avoiding that the cheap labour penetrates in Europe. Today, however, these laws prevent qualified workers from reaching the European labor markets. Nevertheless, the UK, just like many other member states of the EU, has a big shortage of IT specialists, and the OLS issued regularly work permits in this sector. In general, it is sometimes necessary to waite for six months from the introduction of the work permit application to obtaining it. 

All the work permits delivered by OSL expire after a maximal duration of 4 years. After this deadline, you will obtain a permanent residence permit, which also functions as work permit.

Categories: UK

How To Find The Right Program Of Study In England?

There several ways and websites that can help you to find and to choose a program of study in the United Kingdom, if you are interested in studying in this country. Some of these helpfull tools and websites are:

a- UCAS: 

The website of the UCAS is the official platform to be used to join a university in England after you got your high school diploma. The website provides numerous information onto all the programs of study, which are proposed by colleges or universities. 

b- Propects: 

Propects is the ideal website for all the students, who wish to take a Master's degree in England. Prospects has a search engine of the Master's degree programs available at different universities.

c- QAA: 

Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education is an organization which accompanies British universities and colleges in the improvement of their practice. For that purpose the agency establishes regularly reports on every checked establishment.

d- Unistats: 

This website was created by the British Government, and it provides precious information for every study program such as: the rate of satisfaction of the students, the distribution of the working time between the courses and the individual works, the cost of one year according to the type of accommodation being chosen, the rate of placement in a company in six months after the exit, the annual salary etc.

e- UKPASS: 

Another help tool for students who wish to study in the United Kingdom is, UKPASS. The latter is the platform of registration by which you can apply to19 British universities. It allows you to look among thousands of graduate programs. It should be noted that, the big English universities do not use the UKPASS system. It is not, thus, possible to find their programs in the database proposed by the website.

f- TheStudentRoom: 

TheStudentRoom is like a reference site for every student, who asks questions on his continuation of studies. TheStudentRoom is very appreciated by British students due to its up to date forum on which you will obtain all the information you need to choose your university.

Categories: UK

5 Frequently Asked Questions About Studying In The UK

1/ What is the necessary average to obtain in high school diploma to be able study in England?

Every university defines the average that you must have obtained in high school diploma. For example, if you wish to study in Cambridge or Oxford, it is necessary to have at least 16, even 17, of average in high school diploma. On the other hand, the university of Edinburgh, in Scotland, which also uses the portal UCAS to manage its applications, asks for a minimum of 14 of average with at least 12 in three different disciplines. And sometimes, according to the diploma which you will choose, it can be required that you obtained certain score in such or such discipline.

2/ I still haven't got my high school diploma yet, am I able to apply to a university in this case?

Naturally. The registration has to be made before January, 15th. As a rule, by that time, you still have no high school diploma yet. If a university accepts your registration, you will obtain then a conditional agreement, that is subdued on condition that you have your high school diploma with a certain score.

3/ How and when I should send to send my official documents such as diploma, student transcripts etc.?

All your official documents such as: your diplomas, student transcripts etc. are not systematically asked. If they are, the university will contact you to ask you to send it.

4/ When should I take the IELTS or the TOEFL tests?

You can take the TOEFL or te IELTS tests two years before applying to the university or two months after you have registered at a university. It is not necessary to have your score before registering your application on the UCAS portal, however, it will be necessary to supply it to the university as fast as possible.

5/ How can I register at a university if the date of January, 15th, passed?

If you missed the deadline to apply to a British university, you can try your luck until June, 30th. For that purpose, it is necessary to wait until the end of February (generally after 25th) because it is at this moment there, that universities indicate if there are places in some of their programs.

To know if it is still possible to apply for a program after February, 25th, make a search by specifying the discipline, and if you do not know the name of your discipline in English, try to find it by clicking the search by subject button. The type of diploma in course type, then choose degree if you want to apply for a Bachelor's degree program.

You will see a number of cources and programs. To be certain that the one which interests you is still open to applications, you have to verify, at first, that the name of the program is followed by X. If it is followed by C, then it is impossible to apply for the moment.

Then, contact the university to make sure that you can always apply, because it is possible that a program, even indicated as being still open, is already closed in reality. After June, 30th, there is an ultimate chance to join, thanks to the procedure of Clearing.

Categories: UK