Student entry in different countries.

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Rules governing student entry  vary from country to country. In most cases, you will find immigration officers hostile to your attempt to gain entry in any country. This is more so if you are travelling on a passport from any of the African states. You therefore need to read very carefully the rules that govern who should be allowed to enter and who should not. If the immigration officer you meet first decides that you should not be allowed, you will find it difficult to have that view changed.   If you are unsure, email us for confirmation of the validity this information and for further advice.

If you visit the UK immigration website at  http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/ind/contents.htm you will find all the rules you need for entry into the UK. For students, go directly to    http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/ind/part-3.htm#pt3-1. What these rules do not tell you is the conduct of immigration officers when faced with your presence face to face. They use certain tactics to determine whether or not you should be allowed to stay for your studies. They ask you many questions and sometimes the same question in different ways to determine if you are telling the truth. For many years Zimbabweans have been able to come into the UK without a visa from Zimbabwe, being allowed to apply at entry port. Many have used this exemption to come in as visitors and overstay. Many thousands have been refused entry because they could not give assurances that they were going to go back to Zimbabwe after their allocated period of stay. You need to convince one immigration officer.

Papers:
All your papers need to be in order, and consistent with what you are telling the officer in front of you.

Basically tell the truth about your reasons for arrival in UK. It is not easy to tell a lie and answer all the other questions that follow without faltering. Once an officer suspects that you are not telling the whole truth, you will be detained for a long time and be subjected to a lot of questioning. If you are refused entry, you will be detained at the port till a flight back to Zimbabwe becomes available. You will then be returned to Zimbabwe. This costs a lot of money to an average Zimbabwe family. It is a pointless risk to take. All our supported students are given the correct documentation prior to leaving Zimbabwe. If you contravene any of our guidelines, you will be liable to pay back the cost of your flight.

Remember, the officer has no interest in your presence in the UK. Most would rather you remained in your own country.

Holidays:
If you should take a holiday outside the UK while you are a student there, on your return you will be subject to the same scrutiny as you experienced the very first time you entered the UK. You can be deportated even though your period of study is not complete, if it is suspected that you may not fully satisfy the rules of entry. Do be careful to treat the immigration officer seriously.

Sometimes your passport is not stamped on your way out. If you notice this, go back and ask an officer to stamp it for you. It is very difficult for you to explain how you left the country if you have no stamped passport even though you may have a valid ticket.

Always keep your flight tickets to show when you left. Do not throw any used tickets away till you have others in their place.

Overstaying: This is a serious offence. If you will want to come back to the UK at another time, do not ever overstay as this will be used against you the next time round. Overstaying is logged on the homeoffice computer and checking against a name is a simple matter. It is not easy to get away with it. If you intend to stay longer than is authorised by your visa, apply for an extension. Usually you will have agood reason which the Home Office takes account of when deciding whether or not to grant you an extension.

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