The UK government have announced several changes to student visas and residence for international students. These include the reintroduction of priority processing for student visas, the removal of the requirement for police registration for international students, and plans to remove the requirement for biometric residence permits from 2025

• Priority Visa Services for new visit visa applications:

UKVI have now reintroduced Priority services for students.  Where available, new student customers will now have the option to select Priority (PV) and Super Priority (SPV) appointments as part of their online journey, which had been suspended several months ago. There is no reduction in the volume of PV and SPV appointments available but please note that PV and SPV services, must be purchased online during the appointment booking process and cannot be purchased in the Visa Application Centre or retrospectively.

• Police registration is no longer required from 4 August 2022

The UK government has announced that police registration within 7 days after arrival in the UK is no longer required from 4 August 2022.  The cancellation of the policy will provide convenience to overseas students.

• Cancellation of BRP card from 1 January 2025

BRP (Biometric Residence Permits) won’t be required from 1 January 2025.  UKVI will update information on how to prove immigration status in early 2024. However, BRP is still needed for entry into the UK this year.

Analysis

These three changes will all make coming to the UK more convenient for students coming to the country from abroad, as well as sending the message that the UK welcomes overseas students.

Sources

https://visa.vfsglobal.com/tto/en/gbr/news/important-changes-to-priority-visa-services-offered-by-ukvi

https://www.gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits/report-problem

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-registration