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Differentiation Arrangements

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Section 1: Purpose and Contents of this page:

This page has been created to provide guidance on the Differentiation Arrangements under the Student Route rules. The Differentiation Arrangements mean that some nationals are not required to provide certain documents with their initial application for a Student Visa.

Please ensure you have carefully read the guidance provided for your situation BEFORE you contact Student Immigration.


Section 2: Do the Differentiation Arrangements apply to me?

You can benefit from the Differentiation Arrangements when making your Student Visa application if:

  • You hold a passport which shows you are registered as a British National (Overseas), or which was issued by the competent authorities of Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, or Taiwan (which includes the number of the identification card issued by the competent authority of Taiwan); OR

  • You are a national of any of the following:

Australia

Austria

Bahrain

Barbados

Belgium

Botswana

Brazil

Brunei

Bulgaria

Cambodia

Canada

Chile

China

Croatia

Republic of Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

The Dominican Republic

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Iceland

Indonesia

Ireland

Italy

Japan

Kazakhstan

Kuwait

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malaysia

Malta

Mauritius

Mexico

Netherlands

New Zealand

Norway

Oman

Peru

Poland

Portugal

Qatar

Romania

Serbia

Singapore

Slovakia

Slovenia

South Korea

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Thailand

Tunisia

United Arab Emirates

United States of America

Section 3: What documents am I not required to submit with my visa application?

If you are applying under the Differentiation Arrangements and tick the relevant box on the application form to confirm this, you are not required to provide the following documents with your visa application:


  • Documents used to meet the Financial Requirement
  • Documents used by the University to assess academic ability (previous degree/qualification) and English Language ability, where this would have otherwise been required because you will be studying at below-degree level

Important

You must still prepare all of the evidence and ensure it is in the right format even though you are not submitting it with you application. This is because the caseworker is entitled to ask for the above documents as a "spot-check" during your application process.

If you cannot provide documents which meet the requirement upon request by the caseworker, or if you submit documents that you were not required to submit and these do not meet the requirements, your application will be refused.

Section 4: What documents am I still required to submit with my visa application?

If you are applying under the Differentiation Arrangements, you must still submit all other documents required for your visa application as normal, for example:

  • Current passport
  • Current Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) if applying from within the UK
  • TB certificate, if applying outside of the UK and you are resident in a country where this is required
  • ATAS certificate, if your course is ATAS registered and you are not exempt by nationality
  • Financial Sponsor's Consent Letter, if you completed a course in the UK in the last 12 months for which you were fully sponsored by a government or international scholarship agency
  • Parental Consent, if you are under the age of 18 on the date of application
  • English Translations, if any of the required documents are not in English or Welsh

The above list may not be exhaustive. Please read our guidance on applying for a student visa carefully for further details.

Section 5: How do the Differentiation Arrangements apply to Student Dependents?

Student Dependents will only benefit from the Differentiation Arrangements when making an application if:


  • They are applying at the same time as the student (using the same application form); AND

  • Both the dependent, and the student, hold a qualifying nationality

Please see our detailed guidance for Student Visa Dependent Partners and Children

Section 6: If you have further queries and useful links:

If, after reading the guidance above, and you are still unsure of what you should do next, please contact Student Immigration to discuss your situation via the following methods:




    Please click on the following links for more information


    University of Warwick:


    UK Government:


    Other contacts:

    Page Change Log:

    Page Audit Review:
    Previous Review Date Reviewed By Next Review Date
    25/May/2022 ISA: SM 25/May/2023
    Page Updates:
    Section Updated Sub Section Short summary of update Updated By Updated When
    All All Page Created ISA: SM 25/May/2022