TRAVEL PLANNING
Passports and Visas
Documents required for admission to the United Kingdom
for the UMD Study in England Programme: you will need
a passport and an entry clearance visa.
This year, the British government has instituted
a policy whereby all students studying longer than
six months in the United Kingdom will be required
to get an Entry Clearance Visa in addition to their
passport. This is in the form of a stamp inside your
passport.
This means that after you receive your passport,
you must go through an additional application process.
The passport application process takes approximately
six weeks, and the additional Entry Clearance Visa
process about three weeks. Therefore, you must start
the passport application process NOW, and then quickly
follow it with the application for the Entry Clearance
Visa.
1. Applying
for a Passport:
Every participant must have a valid passport. If
you have a passport, check the expiration date to
be sure it is still valid. If you don’t have
a passport, you will need to get one. You can get
information on how to apply for a passport at the
International Education Office or check the website:
http://travel.state.gov/passport_obtain.html.
It takes about six weeks for a passport application
to be processed.
2. Applying for an Entry Clearance Visa
Entry Clearance is a document issued to travelers
who have been granted permission to enter the U.K.
It is in the form of a stamp placed in a passport
at the British Consulate Office in Chicago. The U.K.
decided to do this as part of the effort to prevent
certain passengers from entering and remaining in
the country using forged documents.
To apply, go to the main website for information
about the entry clearance visas:
http://www.britainusa.com/visas/guidance/Study_in_the_UK.asp
In order to apply for an Entry Clearance Visa to
Study in United Kingdom, you will need to complete
and send the VAF 1 Application Form to the British
Consulate in Chicago. This form is printed in this
handbook and is also available on the website above
(link : http://www.britainusa.com/visas/forms/VAF1.pdf)
You will also need to supply all of the following
in original form or as certified copies (certification
can be done through a notary public):
-
Your passport (note: it should
be the original document-a copy does not suffice)
-
Two photographs (passport-size)
-
A letter from the university,
college or school confirming your acceptance for
the course of study in the UK and a statement of
charges for the course (we will provide this to
you at orientation)
-
Your financial aid award statement
(if applicable) OR evidence of funds to cover expenses
for the programme, ii.e. banking statement
-
A cover letter explaining you
are applying for the Entry Clearance Visa. (Sample
letter on following page.)
-
The appropriate fee: This must
be in the form of a certified check or a money order
made out to the British Consulate-General. They
do not accept personal checks. You must
provide two separate checks, one for $63 to cover
the visa costs, and a separate check for $16 for
postage fees.
You must mail all these documents to:
The British Consulate General
The Wrigley Building
400 North Michigan Avenue
Suite 1300
Chicago, IL 60611
Because you are sending the consulate your passport
and all of these documents, we STRONGLY recommend
that you “overnight” your application
so you get a tracking number. The U.S. Post Office,
UPS, or Fed-Ex all offer this service, and all are
available at the UMD mailroom in the basement of the
Darland Administration Building. Applications are
normally processed within five working days. The consulate
does not answer phone calls about the status of your
application.
Once you have a passport and your entry clearance
visa, make several copies of the photo page. Give
three copies to Deb Good and one to your parents.
Keep a couple of copies for yourself. This will be
very handy if you are unlucky enough to lose your
passport.
You do not need a separate work permit in the UK.
There are, however, some restrictions on working as
an international student in the UK. Students may take
up employment in the UK while studying without obtaining
a Work Permit, subject to the following conditions:
-
a student may not work more than
20 hours a week in term time unless the placement
is a necessary adjunct to their studies and is undertaken
with the agreement of the educational establishment
he or she is attending;
-
a student may not engage in business,
self employment or the provision of services as
a professional sports person or entertainer; and
-
a student may not pursue a career
by filling a permanent full-time vacancy
Visas are not necessary for travel in England or
in western Europe. If you travel further afield, you
will want to check whether you will need a visa. You
can obtain visas in England, or, in some cases, on
entering the country in question. A good website for
official travel information is: http://travel.state.gov.
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