If you are a student hoping to study in the United Kingdom, now is the time to start applying for visas, as per the British High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis. In a post shared on social media, Mr Ellis has spoken about the high inflow of visa applications and urged students to apply at the earliest.
Stressing the need for correct documentation, Mr Ellis said, “Students and visas. The UK is an amazing place to go and study and that's why we are beating our own records for the number of student visas, which we have issued globally until June 2022.” Adding that India is the “number one source country of students coming to the UK,” Mr Ellis added, “So if you are going to study in the UK, please apply for your visa now.”
Stressing the need for the right documentation, he said, “Make sure you've included the right documentation. That is the offer letter from the university – the CAS, the TB certificate and your proof of funding.”
Mr Ellis has also introduced the concept of priority and super priority visas. He said, “If you want to, you can apply for the priority visa which gets you there with a turnaround of about five days or a super priority visa, even quicker than that. At this point, we are dealing with student visas in about 15 days,” adding that there is a huge demand and urging students to apply now.
The tweet attached to the video read, “There is a high demand — we recommend you apply for your visa as early as possible with the required documentation. Update for Indian students travelling to the UK. The UK has now made a priority and super priority visas available for students. There is a high demand — we recommend you apply for your visa as early as possible with the required documentation. Apply now.”
Earlier this month, the British High Commissioner to India addressed the delay in UK Visa approvals. Mr Ellis said, “Most of you are getting your visas to go to the UK within 15 working days. But there is a long tail of complex cases, which are taking much longer. I want to apologise to everyone who is getting affected by this and the distress which it gives you.”