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What to do if your college closes down -
information for students (October 2011)

Changes to the UK's immigration rules and regulation of independent further and higher education institutions has led to the closure of some colleges. Please see below for guidance on what you can do if your BAC-accredited college closes down.

Transferring to another college

If you wish to continue your studies in the UK, BAC has many contacts within the education sector and we can provide you with information to help you to transfer to another college. It should be noted, however, that you may need to pay a contribution toward the tuition fees.

If you wish to consider this option, you will need to provide to BAC with the following:

  • a completed copy of our college closure questionnaire (click here to download), providing details including what course(s) you were studying, for how long, and your progression to date;
  • proof of attendance at classes, i.e. an indication of the percentage of classes you attended before the closure of the college accompanied by a witness statement. This can be provided either by a previous tutor at the college or by a member of the administrative staff in a position to confirm your attendance.

Please note that if you applied for your Tier 4 student visa before 5 October 2009 and wish to move to a new college to study the same or a different course under your current permission to stay in the UK, you must get written permission from UKBA.

If however you applied for your Tier 4 student visa on or after 5 October 2009 and wish to move to a new college to study the same or different course, you must apply for a new Tier 4 visa. The new college must be a licensed Tier 4 sponsor, and, in most cases, must assign a new CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies to you).

You may start your new course before UKBA approves your new Tier 4 application if:

  • you have applied to UKBA for leave to remain using the CAS from your new Tier 4 sponsor college; and
  • your new Tier 4 sponsor college has a Highly Trusted Sponsor (HTS) rating; and
  • your permission to stay and study in the UK with your former sponsor is still valid.

Please note that, in this case, you would be starting the new course at your own risk, as UKBA may still refuse your application. You cannot, however, start your new course until UKBA approves your new application if you are applying to study at a college with only an A (Trusted) or B (Sponsor)-rated Tier 4 licence and not HTS.

Maintenance/Living Costs

If you have an established presence in the UK and have current entry clearance, leave to enter or leave to remain as a Tier 4 student, UKBA will require you to demonstrate that you have a minimum of two months' maintenance funds in your account. To qualify for having an established presence, you will need to show that you have completed a single course that was at least six months long during your last grant of leave. If you do not qualify for established presence (i.e. you have not completed at least six months of a single course) you will need to demonstrate that you have enough money to cover your living costs for each month of your new course for up to a maximum of nine months.

Please see paragraphs 155-157 of the UKBA publication: Tier 4 of the Points Based System - Policy Guidance (on or after 4 July 2011), which can be downloaded from the UKBA website at: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/applicationforms/pbs/Tier4migrantguidance.pdf

Recovery of Fees

If you have tried to recover your fees from your previous college without success, you may wish to seek further advice from the following:

For information and practical advice, contact Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06 or the Consumer Rights section of Directgov, the website of the UK Government, which can be found at: www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Consumerrights, and which should be able to offer some information on how you may be able recover the fees paid to the college.

You may also be entitled to reimbursement of fees if you paid with a credit card. In this case, please contact your credit card provider.

Revocation of Tier 4 Licence by UKBA (if relevant)

Please note that if your college’s Tier 4 sponsor licence has been revoked by UKBA, there are a number of implications and requirements which you must adhere to and address accordingly; see: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/studying/adult-students for further details.

  • If UKBA revokes your college’s Tier 4 sponsor licence while you are studying in the UK, UKBA will limit your permission to stay.
  • If you were in no way responsible for the licence withdrawal, your permission to stay will be reduced to 60 days. UKBA will not limit your permission to stay if it expires in less than six months. You may want to apply for permission to stay with another Tier 4 sponsor during this time.
  • If UKBA considers that you were involved in the reasons why the licence was revoked, UKBA will curtail your permission to stay immediately.

Please email Wilhelmina Nartey at the British Accreditation Council (wilhelmina.nartey@the-bac.org) for more details on all of the above.

Please refer to BAC’s complaints procedure if you have a complaint on any other matter.

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