TIER 5 LEAVE TO REMAIN APPLICATION GUIDANCE FOR IN-COUNTRY APPLICANTS
Overview
This document provides guidance on the requirements for a Tier 5 (Government Authorised
Exchange) leave to remain application made from within the UK. ‘Leave to remain’ is the term
used for a visa issued in the UK. Once your application is approved you will be issued with a
Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) which is a plastic, credit card sized visa.
Applicants are advised to refer to the Home Office comprehensive guidance found at:
https://www.gov.uk/tier-5-government-authorised-exchange/overview alongside this document.
You will be issued with a unique Certificate of Sponsorship number by the University of Oxford
Staff Immigration Team. You must then submit your Tier 5 (GAE) application within three
months from the date that the University issued the Certificate of Sponsorship, after which it will
automatically expire, or before your existing leave to remain expires, whichever is sooner.
Application Processing Times
There are two options when applying for Tier 5 (GAE) leave to remain; Standard postal and InPerson Appointment.
The Home Office will not provide progress updates on an application unless it has been
outstanding for more than six months. You and your dependants are strongly advised not to
make any travel plans until your applications have been approved by the Home Office.
Standard Application – 8 weeks (See our Tier 5 visa fees page:
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/personnel/permits/tier5/temporaryworkers/costandpaymentofapplicat
ions/)
In Person Appointment – 2 weeks (Costing an additional £400 per applicant)
If you have urgent travel plans, you (and your dependants, if applicable) may wish to make an
appointment to apply at a Premium Service Centres.
The nearest Centres to Oxford are Solihull (Birmingham) and Croydon (London).
You can book an appointment online by registering your details at:
https://www.gov.uk/ukvi-premium-service-centres/book-an-appointment
If you apply in-person, you should receive a decision on your application the same day.
However, your BRP will be sent to you within ten working days after your appointment.
If the booking system does not offer an appointment date and time that is convenient for you,
please contact the Staff Immigration Team as we may be able to book an appointment directly
with the Home Office on your behalf.
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Outline of Tier 5 Application Process
1. Staff Immigration Team issue a Tier 5 Certificate of Sponsorship via email.
2. You should complete a ‘Tier 5 Temporary Worker’ visa application form which can be
downloaded at;
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-to-extend-stay-in-uk-form-tier-5temporary-worker
For each dependant you should also complete an ‘Application form for Tier 1 or Tier 5
Dependants;
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-to-extend-stay-in-the-uk-as-tier1-or-5-dependant
Dependants are required to sign their own application form, except children under 18, in
which case the main applicant can sign.
3. If you would like the Staff Immigration Team to check a drafted application please contact
them by email or phone to arrange an appointment.
At this appointment the Team will check the application form and all supporting
documentation that is required for the application. They will work with you to resolve any
issues and confirm when it is ready to be submitted to the Home Office.
4. You should arrange for the completed form and all supporting documents, for example
passport, passport photograph (see guidance: https://www.gov.uk/photos-for-passports) and
any other listed documents), to be posted to the Home Office via recorded delivery, this can
generally be arranged at the Post Office. If you are attending an in-person appointment you
will take the application form(s) and all supporting documents with you on the day.
Please ensure you take copies of these documents before submitting them to the Home
Office.
5. The Home Office will write to you requesting you provide your biometric details at the Post
Office, unless you are attending an in-person appointment where you will submit these on
the day.
6. You and your dependants (if applicable) should submit your biometric details (fingerprints
and facial image) at the Post Office, taking the letter from the Home Office with you.
7. The Post Office charge a fee for each person enrolling their biometric information. There is
no need to book an appointment, this is a walk in service. This is the final stage of
completing the application so should be undertaken as soon as possible after receiving the
invite letter to avoid any delays.
8. NB If you do not submit your biometric information and required supporting documents, or
do not respond to a Home Office request to provide documents, your application will be
treated as invalid and you may have to leave the UK if your original visa has expired.
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9. The Home Office will receive the biometric details and will continue to consider your
application.
10. Your passport and supporting documents will be returned to the address provided on the
application form with a decision letter (the BRP will not be sent out with the decision letter).
11. The BRP will be sent by the Home Office to the address provided on the application form via
courier.
12. Please ensure you take your new BRP to your department/college Personnel Team to allow
them to undertake a repeat right to work check.
Dependants
If you have dependants in the UK they will not require a Certificate of Sponsorship, but they will
need to apply for an extension of their leave to remain in the UK.
Full Home Office guidance for Family members can be found here; https://www.gov.uk/tier-5government-authorised-exchange/family-members
Dependants normally apply at the same time as the main applicant, although this can be
submitted separately, as long as the application is made before the existing visa expires.
Where dependants are applying from within the UK separately from the main applicant each
dependant will need to submit their own separate online application;
Dependant partner - https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/product/pbs-dependant-partner
Dependant child - https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/product/pbs-dependant-child
Dependant children over the age of 16 (but under the age of 18) need to provide two of the
following documents to evidence they are not living an independent life:
 Bank statements
 Credit card bills
 Driving licence
 NHS registration document
 Letter from the dependant child’s current school, college or university confirming their
address. This must be on official headed paper and bearing the official stamp of the institution.
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SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
All applicants in general must submit the following original documents with their application:
 A valid passport
 All previous passports used to travel to, and remain in, the UK
 Current BRP / visa
 Police Registration Certificate (if applicable)
 Any change of name documentation (if applicable)
 Official record of any criminal convictions (if applicable)
 Two identical passport sized colour photographs, taken within the last month, with full name
printed on the back. Please ensure you read the photograph guidance at
https://www.gov.uk/photos-for-passports
Any applications which include dependants may additionally require
 Marriage or Civil Partnership Certificate (for married partners)
 Birth Certificate (for children under the age of 18)
 Evidence of the relationship to the main applicant (for un-married partners)
Evidence of sufficient maintenance funds:
The Certificate of Sponsorship may specify that the University of Oxford, as an A-rated
(Premium) Sponsor, is certifying maintenance and this will be stated at the top of the first page
of the Certificate and the bottom of the second page.
If this is not the case you will need to provide original personal bank/ building society statements
covering at least 90 consecutive days ending no more than 31 days before the date of the visa
application, showing your name, account number, date of the statement, financial institution’s
name and logo, transactions covering the past 90 days, and that the account balance has
always been at least £945 during this period. Full details on the acceptable documents can be
found in the Home Office guidance here.
If the Certificate of Sponsorship does not specify that the University of Oxford will support the
maintenance requirement for your dependant(s) you will need to provide evidence that the main
applicant or dependant has an extra £630 of funds for each dependant, and that these extra
funds have been present in the account for at least 90 consecutive days ending no more than
31 days before the date of the visa application.
Please note that even £1 under on 1 day means you will not meet the requirements.
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Switching from Tier 4 into Tier 5
Tier 4 student visa holders making an application to switch into Tier 5 must also submit;
 Either an original certificate of award, or an original academic reference, on headed paper,
from your institution, which clearly shows: Your full name, the title of the qualification/ award, the
course duration and date of course completion; the name of the awarding body.
 If you currently receive/ have received in the past 12 months, sponsorship for your studies in
the UK from the UK Government, your home Government or an international scholarship
agency, for the full cost of your tuition fees and living costs you must provide original written
confirmation from the funding body giving consent to the Tier 5 application.
Genuine Tier 5 (Temporary Worker) Test
The Home Office may conduct a "genuineness" test to your application in order to be satisfied
that you genuinely intend to undertake, and are capable of undertaking, the research for which
the Certificate of Sponsorship was assigned, and will not undertake employment in the UK.
In order to assess "genuineness" the Home Office may request additional information and
evidence and/or request that you attend an interview. The Home Office may ask questions to
establish your knowledge of the proposed research, relevant experience, and knowledge of
your UK Sponsor (i.e. the University of Oxford).
IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE
1.
The Staff Immigration Team cannot guarantee the successful outcome of any leave to
remain application as this decision is made by Home Office.
2.
Where possible, please ensure that your department submits your application to the Staff
Immigration Team, no later than 8 weeks before your visa expires to allow sufficient time
for the application to be checked by the Staff Immigration Team and any issues resolved.
3.
The Staff Immigration Team cannot guarantee to be able to check leave to remain
applications received later than three working days before your visa is due to expire. The
Staff Immigration Team will, where possible, work with you to ensure all is in order with the
application and supporting documents before you submit them to the Home Office.
4.
Applications are likely to be automatically rejected by the Home Office if they are
submitted with missing or incorrect documents.
5.
Please ensure that you have completed the latest version of the application form.
6.
All documents provided must be original and not copies.
7.
Any documents not in English must be accompanied by a fully certified translation.
8.
Bank statements must be dated no more than 31 days prior to the date of application.
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Should you have any queries regarding the requirements for Leave to Remain applications,
please do not hesitate to contact us.
Regards,
Staff Immigration Team
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/personnel/permits/
Solveig Alsaker, 01865 289912, [email protected]
Medical Sciences / Social Sciences / Colleges Q – W
David Richardson, 01865 289904, [email protected]
Humanities / MPLS / Colleges A–P
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