₦airaland Forum

No. As long as you can prove your right to work in the UK to your employer, you're good but you must also not take that to mean that you shouldn't apply for your NI. It's to ensure that you're able to work while waiting for your NI appointment and/or NI number.

Some employers would ask for proof (the paper you get from your NI appointment) that you've applied for your NI while some will allow you work with just your BRP pending when you can supply your NI but some others would not employ you until they see the NI number.

Kingp91:
This isnt against any rule ba?

Getting NI number takes months sometimes. Appointment dates are usually quickly booked up in the first few days/weeks of resumption but one can start some jobs before getting the NI number.

SAMDEEA123:
You don't have to wait for two months to hit the ground. Once you get your NI reference number, an employer can engage your services. We never enter plane no mean say we never see am for photo.

No. Visa vignettes are usually for 30 days; it would have expired before her travel date.
She can apply after you get to the UK.

Meddyakki:
Hi everyone, a quick one please,

I want to apply for tier 4 visa together with my wife who is my dependant. My travel date is Oct. 2 while she won't come till November 30. Is it possible to make the application together?

Can I ask why you want her to apply with you even though she wouldn't be travelling until months after?

Since she's not travelling with you, she doesn't have to apply with you.
I didn't say it's not permitted to apply earlier than travel date. Visas are usually granted around the time you state in your application but if the visa is granted 30 days earlier than the date, the 30-day vignette will expire before she is able to travel.

Ibromoney:
Thanks for your response. What if the dependant specify a later date for her trip in her application? Isn't it permitted for anyone to apply for visa for about 3 months before his/her travelling date? Thanks.

There's no British embassy in Nigeria, it's British high commission and British Deputy high commission. As long as the content of the letter are in line with the requirements, you're good.
If you can paste the letter on here without your personal details, I can give feedback on the content.

It's not a problem as long as his last and first names are correct.
For your own piece of mind, you can include an affidavit if you wish.

Arhmiee:
My sponsorship letter was addressed to:
The Entry Clearance Officer,
British Embassy.

Please, I hope it won't be a problem.

Also, my dad's bank statement has his surname, first name and middle name but on my birth certificate, it has only his surname and first name. Will he need to do an affidavit to say he is the same person?

In this case, I suggest that the dependant applies after the student has settled down in the UK.

Visa vignettes are normally valid for one month. The dependant travelling 2 months after the student's arrival in the UK even though they applied and received their visas at the same time will only be possible if the visa vignettes are valid for 3 months as in the case of the current reissued vignettes for the visa vignettes that expired due to Covid-19.

If the student and the dependant apply together with both visas granted, the dependant can apply for a replacement vignette after the initial vignette expires and this will be issued with 3 months' validity till the end of 2020. This usually costs about £189 and I think it will be a waste of time and resources in this scenario.

Ibromoney:
If the Husband and wife are applying for TIER 4 and Tier 4 Dependant visas respectively at the same time(same biometric date), can the dependant come to the UK like 2 months after the applicant has started his course of study? Thanks.

Normally, you don't get your decision via email; you'd have to wait till you pick your passport so I can't confirm that it's the norm now.

ss2020:
Goodmorning NairaLanders! I did my biometrics on the 19th of March before the lockdown. Tracked my application on the 30th of July and saw this! no email notification till date. Does it mean that visa was granted ? Just curious, I was told by a friend that also submitted before the lockdown that he got refusal via email. Is that the new norm to send refusal via email ? Has anyone experienced this before ? Hopefully I will get an email notification for pickup by next week.


Mine is still in application received by DMC and my biometrics was done on the 18th of march. That means they have even progressed yours ahead of mine. They are not handling it according to date of biometric capture

As long as you've got the complete amount that you need plus some extra as inflation buffer, just count 28 days leading up to your application date. You don't need to make deposits to run your account.

smocky:
Please house, is it necessary to make deposits to run your account after having more than required for the 28 days or we just leave it in and counting days

No. The only familily that can stand as your sponsor are your parents/guardians. Any other family that wants to sponsor you will have to pay the money into your account or your parents' accounts.

Anon123:
Please can my aunty's brother stand as my sponsor ?

You can't pay IHS without submitting your application online and you can't submit your application online without your CAS.
Under the current PBS rules, CAS is usually available 3 months before course start date and because your course start date is in Jan, your CAS might not be available until Oct (3 months before course start date) after the new IHS is implemented.

missnigeria:
Is it possible for someone going for January intake to pay IHS fees £300 before October to avoid paying the new rate £470.

Then I'd advise that you have the full tuition minus any tuition payments in your account if the £15,000 minus tuition deposit/payments is what will be shown on your CAS.

Hisgraceapparel:
The tuition was not stated per year. They only wrote £15000 for the whole programme.

How much is the program per year? Are you required by your school to pay this amount within the 1st year of your course?
For visa applications, you normally need to show only the 1st year fees hence, the questions above.

Hisgraceapparel:
Hello everyone!
I also want to ask: For a 20 month course with a tuition of about £15,000 for the whole programme; Do one need to pay/show this amount in the first year or the payment of tuition is split into two?

You will pay IHS for 2 ¹/² years during your visa application before you pay your visa fee. £300*2 (2 years IHS) + £150 (¹/² year IHS for the extra 4-6 months visa).

Acuna91:
Please, I want to ask. Assuming your study is two years will you be required to pay the Ihs fee for the two years or you pay them yearly?

Lexusgs430:
That's why they are royal...........

Yes. My school paid for the DHL delivery because Royal Mail messed up royally on the previous delivery. It never got delivered.

Lexusgs430:
DHL delivers in 3/4 days......... One has to PAY to PLAY..........

True! Thanks duchess90

duchess90:
Hi @Kingp91,

I think what @mimilyrics is saying is that your answers to Pre CAS interview (for those in that stage) or the main interview (Visa stage) should be very specific and detailed.
For example if you are asked ' Why did you choose this school or course for you masters degree', a generic answer will be defining what education or postgrad education or masters degree is. That shows the person either isn't prepared or not a genuine student.

Be straight forward and give detailed evidence ' so a better answer will be for e.g i chose the school because of the track record in being top?? Uni or my course is affiliated with XYZ organisation' or the school has a strong research culture ' etc

There are links on preparing for interviews on youtube, have a look, prepare and be confident.

Cheers

You're welcome. Amen. You too.

HerMoney:
Wow! This is mighty helpful Mimilyrics. Thank you so much for taking the time to share these info and links. You're too kind. I appreciate it. May God bless you and grant you a favorable new month.

You can get a T4 visa despite your US refusals; just ensure you state them + the reasons (if any) in your application, ensure that all your documents meet UKVI requirements and prepare for your credibility interview (knowledge about your accomodation & transport options, course & school in addition to not giving generic answers during your interview and confidence during your interview are important).

Read the links below for more info and if you have questions, post them here and anyone who's available will answer them:
Nottingham has explained the Tier 4 Visa process in this link and there's a link to the T4 official guidance in the explanation (take note that the maintenance quoted is for outside London): https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/studywithus/international-applicants/visa-help/10-steps.aspx

Information on how to apply is here on UKVI site: https://www.gov.uk/tier-4-general-visa

Cost:
1. Visa fee - £348

2. IHS - £300 per year; goes up to £470 in October. You can use the IHS checker in this link to calculate your IHS fees: https://www.immigration-health-surcharge.service.gov.uk/checker/type
You'll pay extra IHS for ¹/² year for the extra 4-6 months you'll be granted after your course end date though.

3. TB test from IOM N57,800

Required documents / information for your application:
1. Your CAS information from your school; this information will be filled in your visa application form. Your CAS will also show all the documents that you need to submit with your application.
2. TB test certificate.
3. Documents listed in your CAS.
4. Finance: your tuition fee/balance + maintenance )£1015 monthly *9 for outside London and £1,265*9 monthly for London).
If your course is for more than one year, you only need to show your course fees for 1 year and maintenance for 9 months.

How to show tuition balance and/or maintenance:
A. Your bank statement: This money must be in your account or your parents' for at least 28 days before the day you submit your application online. You will upload your statement to show this.
B. Official financial sponsorship letter from an international company/organisation, the Nigerian govt, the British govt or your T4 sponsor (school). A sponsorship letter will be required except in the case of a scholarship from your school; scholarship from your school will be detailed in your CAS.
C. Loan: must be from a bank regulated by the financial regulators in the country in which the money is held. A loan letter within the 6 months before the date you submit your online application will be required.

Document submission:
After you submit your online application, you will need to pay your IHS, then visa fee before you can select an appointment.
Once you select an appointment, you can select self-upload which is free or assisted upload which costs N11,700.
If you select self-upload, you must upload clear and legible scans of all your documents (preferably in colour since this will closely look like the original). You can upload documents up till the day of your biometrics appointment. You can scan and save your documents in pdf format using the TinyScanner App
If you select the assisted upload, the VAC staff will take care of the scans + uploads for you.
If I missed out anything in the list above, I'll update as soon as I remember.
You can watch the video by TLS in the link below for a step-by-step explanation on the visa application process:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ69oswmeyk

HerMoney:
Thank you Lagosismyhome for the encouragement. I usually do such things myself but I'm really just overwhelmed right now, with work, personal, life, issues etc and after 2 US visa denials before the lockdown. I'm just tired tbh of grad school stress. Please what are the steps? I'd be grateful if you could outline for me please. Thanks and God bless you. Include charges and fees too please.

It might have been lost. I once had a document sent through Royal Mail to Lagos but it never got delivered. Eventually had to use DHL.

dgee1:
Sorry I'm bringing this here, I just feel there must people here with lots of experience about parcels sent to Nigeria from the UK.

An item was sent to me from the UK since 30th of May through Royalmail but it hasn't arrived. The last update about the item was on June 2nd and it reads "Your item has left the UK and on its way to destination country". The service used won't provide further details once parcel leaves the UK.

Local post office here say they can't track the parcel on their system. Please has anyone here used Royalmail with this period? I want to know whether the item is lost or they've just done me strong thing here by stealing it. I'm worried...

Thanks.

It can be addressed to whom it may concern or the BHC as follows
The British Deputy High Commission,
11 Walter Carrington Crescent,
Victoria Island,
Lagos.

Lianalexa:
A quick one please for anyone that can assist me with a response
For the official financial sponsorship, should the letter be addressed to the school or the embassy or both. Pls I need an answer
Thank you

There must have been an error because the IHS checker calculated you and your dependant's IHS at £750 (£972.107) each.
Try to start over again, exit the portal, restart your browser and start again. If you're unable to do proceed past that stage, contact UKVI to see if it can be resolved. If that fails and you go ahead with the payment, the ECO should normally send you a message to pay the difference before a decision is made.

UPDATE
PS: it might be because you imputed your course end date as answer to when is the main applicant's visa expiring question.
Even though your course end date is in June 2022, you will be granted a visa that will run till October 2022 under the current PBS and it's automatically calculated the IHS for the extra months for you while your dependant's stay will be calculated based on the date you stated that your visa will end.

Yimi4real:
Thank you so much. 21 September 2020- 30 June 2022

Can you just exit the page and try again?

I just tried it out for a dependant on a course duration of 2 years and it brought up £750 (the normal cost for 2 years) and didn't change to £900 until I imputed a course end date of over 2 years, 6 months.

If it's a mistake as I suspect from the cost you mentioned and you need to pay more, you'll be contacted by UKVI before the application is decided.

What exactly are your course start and end dates?

Yimi4real:
Please is IHS not the same for dependents? I saw 780 USD instead of 975 USD that was charged for the main applicant’s 2 year course. Tried to go back to see if there was no error but it won’t let me.
I entered the course end date for visa expiry, could that be why?
Please help anyone.

Thank you

Count 28 days from the day after the full money you need was paid into your account and don't make any applications before you complete your 28-day count.
For safety and to prevent an error in your count, you can wait till the 29th day before you make your application.
Do you have your CAS yet?

eddymatti:
the money is still in the account and it not yet day 28.

Cool. Got to know them through my mum who had glowing recommendations about them. I've used them at several times between Nov 2017 and Nov 2019 and they've not disappointed me yet. I've picked up, dropped off and had stuff sent directly to my residence.
Been to their offices in London and Lagos and their ops looked ok.

Mamatukwas:
Thank you jare. I think I called them today funny enough while doing research. Il bump them up the list since you recommend them.

Cheers.

I don't quite understand you.
The money has already been in your account for over 28 days, right? If it has, you don't need to keep funding it since it's in £ and not subject to currency fluctuations. Just print the statement for the 28 days preceding the submission of your application online; your statement doesn't need to capture the date the money was paid in.

eddymatti:
please, @mimilyrics the fund in my account is carrying a narration of the person’s name that paid into my account. It a must that I should keep funding it before day 28? Please I need you to help me on this. Thank you

1. There should be a round square with a plus sign on the TLS page you've been directed to, just click it to upload your documents.
If you can share your screen without your personal details, it might help.

You need to pick a date before you're able to upload.

2. Check the payment options, you should be able to pay online.

assavin:
Hello here,

I sincerely appreciate everyone here for your timely updates and responses to questions. Pls, I have two questions

1. Having completed payment for visa application fee and IHS payments, I have been directed to TLS website for documents upload and appointment. But on this TLS site, I did not see a tab for document upload, can someone pls guide me?
Also, is it till I upload my documents before I can pick a date? Cos the dates are not clicking after several attempts

2. Secondly, I picked my appointment venue for Lagos VI. And I saw a bill of £55 in 'my basket'. Do I need to pay this money before I can process with the application?

I look forward to your responses.

Thank you.

Yes you can as long as the money is at least 28 days old before your online application submission.

eddymatti:
Good day house, I have a pounds account that is funded with the required amount. Can I present it as statement of account? Please I need urgent reply.

Yes but because you'll be submitting your original passport, you'll need a photocopy of your passport which will be attached to your submission checklist to be used for your passport collection.

garuskoko:
So for self upload, it means that I do not have to go to the VAC with any photocopies at all. All I need to go there with is the originals of the documents I have uploaded so they can sight it. Right?

No, you don't; the only physical document you submit is your passport. Your other documents are given back to you after the VAC staff confirms the originality of your documents and/or scans + uploads them for you.
If you're using self-upload, you only need to scan your documents and upload them while the VAC staff will just sight the originals with you and make sure that you've uploaded all that is required.
If you choose assisted upload, the VAC staff will sight your documents to confirm its originality and help you with the scan and upload.

iamlinton:
You need to submit original documents if applying for student visa

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I'd suggest colour copies to make your scans look as close to the originals as possible but as long as they are clear and legible, you're good to go.

Akchi32:
Please i need clarification with the colour of photocopied documents that will be submitted during visa interview. Should it be a coloured copy or in black and white?

Thanks.

I really don't know any apart from BDCs or your close friends/family who can help out.

qonfupanda:
Yeah she dey try, but which better way can I use to send money to UK, black market no dey smile at all.

I learnt that you'd need to provide an address now for isolation reasons so maybe an AirBnB accommodation will suffice or if you have someone you can stay with, it might help.
You can check the student thread in the link below for info on it:
https://www.nairaland.com/5816163/uk-student-visa-tier-4/180

drills:
Yes, Student tier 4 visa, with dependants. Do I need to fill an accommodation, as I do not want to book or pay for one until I get the visa confirmation