Student visa rejected (on wrong grounds)

[maaria]

Hi again everybody.. i'm again stuck.

I enrolled on a HND course (which is a degree level course + i have many international student studying the same course with me) and applied for my student visa. It got rejected on the grounds that it was not a degree level course. The college has written to the home office explaining that it is and that they have many other students who are international. The letter i got says i can't appeal from UK according to section 82 of the 2002 Act. I'm partly in the wrong as i entered as a visitor and am trying to change my status... but i also have full intentions of studying so..?!

Some people (students) say I can. Some people are also saying that i should reapply for visa and this time send the letter from the college along with it stating that it is a degree level course (since nothing was stamped on my BNO passport). its another £250 but will it work? should i consult a lawyer here in London (will cost even more) or possibly go back and apply again (miss part of my course) which will be the most costly option.


Thanks in advance..
Maaria

P.S Mods/PPL.. i realise that this is an immigration board but this forum has been the most helpful in the past so please bear with my topic! thanks

[Wanderer]

Hi again everybody.. i'm again stuck.

I enrolled on a HND course (which is a degree level course + i have many international student studying the same course with me) and applied for my student visa. It got rejected on the grounds that it was not a degree level course. The college has written to the home office explaining that it is and that they have many other students who are international. The letter i got says i can't appeal from UK according to section 82 of the 2002 Act. I'm partly in the wrong as i entered as a visitor and am trying to change my status... but i also have full intentions of studying so..?!

Some people (students) say I can. Some people are also saying that i should reapply for visa and this time send the letter from the college along with it stating that it is a degree level course (since nothing was stamped on my BNO passport). its another £250 but will it work? should i consult a lawyer here in London (will cost even more) or possibly go back and apply again (miss part of my course) which will be the most costly option.


Thanks in advance..
Maaria

P.S Mods/PPL.. i realise that this is an immigration board but this forum has been the most helpful in the past so please bear with my topic! thanks

I don't think HND is a degree level course. I did HND and then degree afterwards. I'd say it's a course that can lead to a degree but certainly not degree-level in itself.

Steve

[Jeff Albright]

Does not sound as it is... Higher National Diploma is usually followed by BA or BSc. The two latter ones are degree courses but HND is probably a Diploma Course... Sorry if it is the case...
I know someone in the past who got an Entry Clearance as a Student for a HND. It was in 2001 but now they have changed the rules.

Can you try to apply for BA instead or maybe do your HND as a part of BA?

[John]

A quick Google search shows that a HND is not at degree level. However, does that matter? Many people get student visas to study in the UK at below degree level, for example, at a language college.

There are many foreign students, holding student visas, for example at the UK's largest specialist language school, the Brasshouse Centre here in Birmingham, and that does not offer degree courses.

But if a course is not at degree level there must be at least 15 hours tuition per week to qualify people for getting a student visa for that course.

[Jeff Albright]

Yes, looks like John is right.
The rules state that you cannot remain in the UK as a student for longer than 4 years on non-degree courses, which are shorter than 2 years each or you have broken off any longer than 2 year course before completion. So if the author has spent 4 years on non-degree short courses already, she will fall to be refused in-country unless she has been accepted for a degree course that is longer than 2 years.

Unless this is the case, it does appear as if the consideration of her application has not been carried out properly or she might have made an error in an application herself.

[Chess]

For Clarity HND stands for Higher National Diploma

[Jeff Albright]

For Clarity HND stands for Higher National Diploma

Okay but back in my home country, my certificate itself was called "Diploma" but I got a B.Sc (Hons) degree as a result of my 6 year undergraduate study.
So in other words, the certificate (the paper) is called "Diploma" and it states that I have completed the degree course and given the title of an Engineer-Technologist.

From what you say it appears to be different in the UK.

[JAJ]

For Clarity HND stands for Higher National Diploma

Okay but back in my home country, my certificate itself was called "Diploma" but I got a B.Sc (Hons) degree as a result of my 6 year undergraduate study.
So in other words, the certificate (the paper) is called "Diploma" and it states that I have completed the degree course and given the title of an Engineer-Technologist.

From what you say it appears to be different in the UK.

The term "Diploma" in other countries does sometimes refer to a degree level qualification. NARIC will provide information on equivalency if required.

[jjustyy]

For Clarity HND stands for Higher National Diploma

Okay but back in my home country, my certificate itself was called "Diploma" but I got a B.Sc (Hons) degree as a result of my 6 year undergraduate study.
So in other words, the certificate (the paper) is called "Diploma" and it states that I have completed the degree course and given the title of an Engineer-Technologist.

From what you say it appears to be different in the UK.

It is different here, diplomas are distinct from degrees. A HND can lead onto a undergraduate degree level qualification once complete and a PgDip (Post-graduate Diploma) can lead onto a Masters qualification. (Also, A Higher National Certificate (HNC) can lead onto a HND.)