Important new info from the Queens’ Tutorial Office about student Visa extensions…

It is planned that those making applications for student extensions from 25 November 2008 onwards (and their dependants) will be required to attend centres where their fingerprints and an image of their face will be taken, as part of the extension application process (for those making applications in person, this will be done when they attend to make their application, so they will not need to make a separate journey). A student’s extension will not be granted that day (the day that they give their fingerprints and facial image), but later, when an ‘identity card’ (generated by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) is posted out to them. Those who have applied by post will already at that stage have received their other documents (passport, etc) back from the Home Office, through the post.

In the run-up to implementing this new system, Home Office staff will be diverted away from processing applications, to be trained up on the new procedures. This includes staff working at the Student Batch Scheme. The training will come at the very busiest time of the year for processing student applications. There will then be even more impact on processing times once the new system comes into effect on 25 November. Although applications that are still under consideration at that point will not be subject to the new regime, they will be affected, because staff will be trying to get the new system operating properly for new applications, as well as continuing to process the old ones in the usual way. Staff in the Student Batch Scheme predict long delays, not only for the applications that they process, but those postal applications being processed in other parts of the Home Office too.

So please be aware that if they are making a postal application this October, delays should be expected, and failures on the part of the Home Office to meet target turnaround times. No one should make any travel plans until they have received their extension back from the Home Office. As we move further into the autumn period, those who apply in person will be the only ones who can be sure they will be able to travel at Christmas.