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Doctorate Extension Scheme

 

 

87. If you are currently following a course leading to the award of a PhD with a Tier 4 sponsor that is a UK HEI, you can apply for the Doctorate Extension Scheme to stay in the UK for 12 months after your course has ended. Once you have successfully completed your PhD there will be fewer restrictions on the work you can do and you can use the 12 months to gain further experience in your chosen field, seek skilled work, or develop plans to set up as an entrepreneur.

 

88. For the purposes of the Doctorate Extension Scheme, PhD means a PhD qualification or one of the doctorate qualifications listed at Annex 6 of this guidance. This does not include Research Masters Degrees.

 

89. You can apply for the Doctorate Extension Scheme by making a new Tier 4 (General) application. You are expected to meet all the normal Tier 4 (General) criteria, including having a CAS from your Tier 4 sponsor.

 

90. You can only apply for the Doctorate Extension Scheme if you are in the UK when you make your application.

 

91. You can only apply for the Doctorate Extension Scheme up to 60 days before the course end date stated on the CAS you have been given to apply for the Doctorate Extension Scheme. You cannot apply after you have completed your PhD.

 

92. To qualify for the Doctorate Extension Scheme you must:

 

 

• have permission to stay as a Tier 4 (General) student, or as a student under the old

rules, to study a course that leads to the award of a PhD qualification ;

 

• be studying with a Tier 4 sponsor that is a UK HEI; and

 

• not yet have completed your course; and

 

• have a CAS from your Tier 4 sponsor confirming that they expect you to complete your course on the stated expected course end date and that they will sponsor you during the 12 months you are on the scheme; and

 

• be applying no more than 60 days before the expected course end date specified on

your new CAS.

 

 

93. The Doctorate Extension Scheme is a sponsored scheme. Your Tier 4 sponsor must agree to continue sponsoring you while you are on the scheme. Your sponsor is expected to maintain contact with you. As a minimum, there must be at least two contact points while you are on the scheme. Your sponsor will withdraw their sponsorship if you miss these contacts without reasonable explanation.

 

94. If your Doctorate Extension Scheme application is approved, you will be subject to new work conditions once you successfully complete your course. Under the new conditions, there will be no restrictions on the type of employment you may take except for as a Doctor or Dentist in training or a sportsperson (including coaches). You will be regarded as having

 

Tier 4 Policy Guidance version 11/2014 page 14 of 81


successfully completed your course on the date that your sponsor formally confirms that

your PhD is completed to the standard required for the award of a PhD.



 

 

95. If you finish your course without completing your PhD, or are awarded a lower qualification, you will not be subject to the new work conditions. Your Tier 4 sponsor will contact us and your permission to stay will be curtailed to the date you would normally receive after your course. For example if your course was three years long, your leave will be curtailed to four months from the date your course ended.

 

96. If you apply for the Doctorate Extension Scheme and you are studying a course which requires an ATAS clearance certificate, you will need a certificate that covers you up to the end of your course, unless your course will finish within 28 days of your doctorate extension scheme application date. You do not need an ATAS clearance certificate to cover your time on the Doctorate Extension Scheme after you have finished your course.

 

 

At what point can a Tier 4 (General) student come to the UK?

 

97. Your course start date is the date given by your Tier 4 sponsor on your CAS.

 

98. If you are doing a course that is six months or longer, or for a pre-sessional course that is less than six months, you will be able to come to the UK up to one month before the start date of your course.

 

99. If you are doing a course that is less than six months and is not a course to prepare you for study, you will only be able to come to the UK up to seven days before the start date of your course.

 

 

How long can a Tier 4 (General) student come to the UK for?

 

 

100. The table below explains how much time a Tier 4 (General) Student can come to the UK for:

 

 

Type of course Length of course Length of stay allowed
  Main course of Study (including Sabbatical Officers)   12 months or more   The full length of the course plus four months after the end of the course
  Six months or more, but less than 12 months   The full length of the course plus two months after the end of the course
    Less than six months   The full length of the course plus seven days after the end of the course

 

Tier 4 Policy Guidance version 11/2014 page 15 of 81


  Pre-sessional courses     12 months or more   The full length of the course plus four months after the end of the course
  Six months or more, but less than 12 months   The full length of the course plus two months after the end of the course
    Less than six months   The full length of the course plus one month after the end of the course
Postgraduate doctors and dentists on a recognised Foundation programme   The full length of the course (up to a maximum of three years) plus one month after the end of the course

 

101. If you are approaching the end of a PhD you can make a further application for leave as a Tier 4 (General) Student on the Doctorate Extension Scheme. This will enable you to remain in the UK for 12 months beyond your expected course end date, during which time you will

be able to work.

 

102. The CAS issued by your Tier 4 sponsor will include the start and end dates of your course.

A course will be considered to be 12 months long if it lasts a full calendar year. For example, a course starting on 1 January 2011 and ending on 31 December 2011 will be considered to be 12 months long.

 

103. If you are 18 years old or over, you are allowed to spend no more than three years in the UK studying below UK Bachelors degree level in your lifetime. We cannot approve new leave for you to study below UK Bachelors degree level, if you have already been studying below UK Bachelors degree level for three years.

 

104. These three years can be spent studying one course or a number of courses.

 

105. This three year limit does not include any time that you spend studying below UK Bachelors degree level under:

 

• the student rules that were in place before 31 March 2009; or

 

• Tier 4 (General) when they were 16 or 17 years old; or

 

• Tier 4 (Child) when they were aged 17 years or under; or

 

• any other non Tier 4 category which permits study.

 

 

106. If you have official financial sponsorship which wholly covers your fees and living costs, and

your financial sponsor limits the time you may study in the UK, your permission to stay will

be limited to that length of time plus the usual post-course period allowed.

 

 

107. The time that you can spend studying at or above degree level is limited to five years

unless:

 

Tier 4 Policy Guidance version 11/2014 page 16 of 81


• you are studying a course at or above degree level in one of the following subject areas:

 

• Architecture;

 

• Medicine;

 

• Dentistry;

 

• Veterinary Medicine & Science;

 

• Music at a music college that is a member of Conservatoires UK (CUK); or

 

• Law, where the applicant has completed a course at degree level in the UK and is progressing to:

 

      a)   a law conversion course validated by the Joint Academic Stage Board in England and Wales, a Masters in Legal Science
        (MLegSc) in Northern Ireland, or an accelerated graduate LLB
        in Scotland; or
            b)   the Legal Practice Course in England and Wales, the Solicitors Course in Northern Ireland, or a Diploma in Professional Legal Practice in Scotland; or
      c) the Bar Professional Training Course in England and Wales, or the Bar Course in Northern Ireland.

 

• you are studying for a Master’s degree at a Recognised Body or at a HEI, following the successful completion of an undergraduate degree where the duration of that degree course was four or five academic years. If this applies to you, the limit will be set at six years in total instead of five.

 

• you are on the Doctorate Extension Scheme.

 

• the grant of entry clearance is to follow a course leading to the award of a PhD, Post Graduate research qualification or Research Masters Degree (as listed in Annex 6 of this guidance) and the applicant is sponsored by a Sponsor that is

a Recognised Body or a body in receipt of public funding as a higher education institution from the Department of Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland, the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales or the Scottish Funding Council.

 

108. In all cases, if you have already completed a course leading to the award of a PhD, Post Graduate research qualification or Research Masters Degree (as listed in Annex 6 of this guidance) in the UK, the grant of leave you are seeking must not lead to you spending more than 8 years in the UK as a Tier 4 (General) Migrant, or as a Student.

 

109. In calculating the maximum amount of time that you spend studying at or above degree level, we will only include the length of the course and will not take into account the

additional periods of leave granted before or after your main course of study that are referred to in the table at paragraph 98.

 

110. Unless the above listed exceptions apply to you, we cannot approve new leave for you to study at or above UK Bachelors degree level, if you have already been studying at or above UK Bachelors degree level for five years.

 

111. The following scenarios are examples of course combinations that wouldbe acceptable:

 

 

Tier 4 Policy Guidance version 11/2014 page 17 of 81


• A Tier 4 migrant spends 1 year studying a foundation degree programme, followed by

4 years studying a Bachelor’s degree, followed by 2 years studying a Master’s degree

at an HEI.

 

• A Tier 4 migrant spends 2 years studying a Scottish HND, followed by 2 years studying a Scottish Honours degree, followed by 2 years studying a Master’s degree at a Recognised.

 

• A Tier 4 migrant spends 2 years studying A levels (as an adult student), followed by

4 years studying a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, followed by 2 years studying a

research or professional Master’s degree at an HEI.

 

• A Tier 4 migrant spends 3 years studying a university validated degree at a private college, followed by a one or two year master’s at a Recognised Body or private college.

 

• A Tier 4 migrant spends 4 years studying an undergraduate course, followed by a 1

year post graduate diploma at an HEI, followed by a 1 year MBA at an HEI

 

• A Tier 4 migrant spends 4 years studying an integrated Master’s course at an

HEI, followed by a two year MPhil at Recognised Body, would be able to meet this

requirement of the Immigration Rules.

 

• A Tier 4 migrant spends 5 years studying an integrated masters degree, followed by a

1 year MBA.

 

• A Tier 4 migrant spends 5 years studying an undergraduate degree followed by a

three year Masters degree in music.

 

 

112. The following scenarios are examples of course combinations that would notbe acceptable:

 

• A Tier 4 migrant who spends 2 years studying at NQF 3, followed by more than 1

years studying at NQF 5 would not be able to meet this requirement of the Immigration

Rules.

 

• A Tier 4 migrant who spends 3 years studying at NQF 3, followed by 3 years on an NQF 6 course, followed by a further three year course at NQF 6 would not be able to meet this requirement of the Immigration Rules.

 

• A Tier 4 migrant who spends 3 years studying an undergraduate degree at an HEI, followed by a doctorate at a private college validated by a university would not be able to meet this requirement of the Immigration Rules.

 

• A Tier 4 migrant who spends 4 years studying an undergraduate degree, followed by a

2 year post graduate management qualification at a private college would not be able

to meet this requirement of the Immigration Rules.

 

• A Tier 4 migrant who spends 5 years studying an integrated masters degree with sandwich year at an HEI, followed by a 2 year research masters at an HEI would not be able to meet this requirement of the Immigration Rules.

 

• A Tier 4 migrant who studies spends more than 5 years studying an NQF6 accountancy course would not be able to meet this requirement of the Immigration Rules.

 


Date: 2016-03-03; view: 749


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