Uk Student Visa Validity Extension

Dear Nairalanders. I just arrived the UK days ago on a student visa to expire Jan 2009. But i plan to defer my admission till september 2008. Then i will have just about 6 months left on the visa. Kindly advise on how, & when to get an extension. are there any risks in this?? Candid advice needed, any risks? when and how to extend? any points to note?. thanks

@LJ
Found this on a UK school FAQ site -

10.  Can I defer or change my course after entering the UK?The student may be permitted to change their course provided that they have good reason to do so and that there is a place on their chosen course. The final decision is made at the discretion of the Dean. A student will not be permitted to defer a course or change institution once they have been granted a student visa. Deferrals can only be considered if a student is leaving the UK for personal reasons, and intends to return after one term.

see the link below - http://www.ctlondon.ac.uk/faq#faq-10

i believe this would apply to most (if not all schools) in the uk taking non eu students. So my 2 cents - don't put in a deferral except you are intending to leave the UK. Regards

hey,

  Am a student in the uk too,but u just have to b careful, because for u to renew ur visa now, the new rules states that the home officer will request for ur admisson details ,ur attendance from the sch before ur visa can be renewed.the best u can do is to enrol for a course in all those road side schools in uk thats a affordable for now and when the time comes for u to start school in september u den go to the school so that u can be able to prove to them that you were in a sch before,if not u need to be careful.

Things are changing rapidly now in the UK.
Rules are changing every day.
Be careful. Very careful.

When you go for renewal, they will ask you
why you didn't start your studies september,
and what  you have been doing in the UK since then.
Difficult to answer. Isn't it?

A friend just got rejected for working more than the required 20 hrs/week.
He risks being arrested and deported as we are speaking.
You better start your studies once you arrive here.

@LJ
It seems based on some degree of self-conviction you might possibly be missing some very crucial issues regarding your dilemma.

1) Student visa for 1-year postgraduate studies are normally issued for a period of about 4months beyond the end date for the course. Most students that applied for student visa to study at the PG level starting mid/late september or early october this year would normally be issued with a 16month (extra 4 months) visa expiring Jan 2009 (this is what i got and from some other posts on earlier threads, this seems to be the case). Note that this is given deliberately by BHC to enable students tidy up any issues with their PG thesis and attend the graduation ceremony (if they so wish). These additional months are not extra months for you to work or to start following another course (with the intention of getting an extension to complete this).

2) The only extension given for a student visa issued for postgraduate study would be under IGS (International Graduate Scheme). Undergraduate students who were issued with student visas that does not cover the entire period of their studies are able to apply for an extension on provision of evidence of regular attendance (and maybe others) at the school. This is not the case for PG students who would normally be issued with visas to cover the entire period of their course of study.

3) Have you verified from your school international office that you would indeed be able to defer your admission for 1 year having already arrived in the UK? I don't suppose you would have much issues with changing your course, but deferring your present course (or changing to a new one and deferring for 1 year at the same time) would be another issue entirely.

4) If the validity of your visa is Jan 2009 and i presume your course starts this september or early october, then i'll safely conclude that your course would actually end in July or August 2008. The 2008/2009 session in most schools would commence September 2008. Even if against the odds you were able to start the course in September 2008 (mid/late), that would only give you barely over 4months into the programme and not 5 or 6 months as you earlier thought. Registration requirements in my school for instance requires that international students physically bring their passport/visas and original certificates to the international office before they could be enrolled and classified as properly admitted students, if your uni have the same requirements, it would be a no brainer to think of the issues you might have with a visa not coverying the whole period of your programme when registering in sept 2008.

5.) As Azoriju rightly pointed out - why you didn't start your studies september, and what  you have been doing in the UK since then. - how're you are going to give a plausible explanation on this beats me.

6.) As per suggestions of finding other schools, the odds are very great. Cases in which a student applied to several schools and actually got unconditional offers from more than one school, if such student applied and were issued with a student visa, then on arrival in the UK, might be able to go to the other school (for which he has been given and has accepted an unconditional offer of admission) which might not necessarily be the one for which he tendered docs for which a visa was issued. (However i think this would change with the new tier and point based immig system from 2008 when student visas would be valid for study only at the original institution for which the visa was issued). I don't think there would be enough time to arrive in the uk and get admission into another school for the same session.

On a last note, i presume you must have done due diligence and expended resources in securing your student visa, why let all these go to waste with your intended moves? Remember many folks would give a lot to be in your shoes. Regards

These are the kinds of scenerio that makes student visas harder to secure for those in Nigeria. Of course you should expect UK immigrations rule to get stiffer when people do these things. 
In fact from what i read in the University of Sheffield's handbook for Int'l students, the University is expected to report back to appropriate authorities the registration af all new int'l students. I don't really know how that affects your situation.

OP
is silent now

Better start school

do not let them deport you o!