Visa Advice for Conference (and similar) Visits
Anonymous submitted on
Tuesday 25th October 2016
Complete
Hi, I am a PGR student and recently applied for a Schengen Visa. Applying for a visa is a hard and tedious task and without proper guidance it becomes even worse. The visa team at the university stopped giving advice for non-UK visas about 4 years ago, as I was told. I was hoping that the union or university can start visa advice centres again for visas other than UK visa. International students have to frequently travel for conferences, summer schools or holidays abroad but the lack of guidance and support makes it difficult to apply for one.
Responses
Here, you can view the complete set of official responses from the sabbatical officers regarding this submission.
Students' Union replied on
Friday 6th Jan 2017 1:30pm
Hello,
I discussed this issue with our Advice Centre staff before Christmas and have an update.
The University is a Highly Trusted Sponsor for Tier 4 visas, which means it has to ensure any visa advice is provided by fully trained staff. A few years ago, the Union and the University agreed that all visa advice would be provided by the University alone. Our Advice Centre have spoken to the Visa Guidance team who explained that they could not give detailed advice about Schengen visas as the requirements change from country to country; the Visa Guidance team would always advise students to contact the relevant Embassy for detailed advice about applying for a Schengen visa. However, they do run a visa drop-in on Monday (9.00 – 10.30), Wednesday (1.00 – 2.30) and Thursday (9.00 – 10.30) and can give students general advice about applying for Schengen visas at these drop-ins.
I hope that help clarifies our position.
Happy New Year!
Flora Noble
Vice-President Student Communities
Students' Union replied on
Friday 25th Nov 2016 1:36pm
Hello,
Originally this idea was forwarded to David (VP Welfare), however, as it relates more specifically to international students, I have decided to take this forward and discuss this with our Advice Centre staff. I'll arrange to discuss this next week and ensure an update is provided below this message.
Best wishes,
Flora Noble - VP Student Communities
Actions
Forwarded to Vice President Welfare
Friday 28th Oct 2016 1:33pm
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