Tier 4 status extension

[londonphd]

Hi,

I will have to extend my Tier 4 status by another year to complete my PhD. My current visa expires on 1 March 2016, and my current course ends on 1 November 2015. When is the earliest time to apply for extension given the dates above? I want to apply for extension as early as possible, preferably in September 2015, to minimise the hassle during the academic year, is it possible?

I have not spoken to the immigration adviser at the uni, but hope to do so sometime in August.

Many thanks in advance!

[sah10406]

When is the earliest time to apply for extension given the dates above?

The day your Tier 4 sponsor issues a CAS for the new period of study.

[aaliya1986]

what do you mean by hassle during the academic year?
applying for a visa will not take more than 2-3 hours. and these days the university sends almost all of the applications through the Batch scheme, so probably you will fill the online application under the supervision of the immigration adviser at the university.

moreover i also think and assume that first you will have to get the course extended from your research school, once they confirm that the course will finish a year later than planned initially, then you will have to apply for a cas from the designated department at the university,

once applied for the cas you will probably get the cas anytime within the 28 days of your visa expiry date and not before.

so if your visa expires 1 March 16, you will get the cas any day after 14th Feb 2016, and probably not before.

[londonphd]

Hi,

Thanks for your replies,
I was not aware of the transition to online application system when I made this post, the last time I applied for extension was three years ago and I have 4 dependants, thought would be a hassle with paperwork.

Anyway, thanks for the info. I should probably not worry about any hassle