Relaxing of Tier 4 visa restrictions come as part of wider UK reforms for UK visas. Spearheaded by UK Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, significant changes to the Tier 1 exceptional talent visa, the introduction of a new start up visa and the removal of doctors and nurses from the Tier 2 Visa cap, have been some recent highlights from his time in office
As part of the Tier 4 visa shakeup, the Home Office added 11 nations to its ‘trusted’ list for the purpose of making the student visa application process much easier. These include countries like Bahrain, Cambodia, China, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Kuwait, Macau, Maldives, Mexico, Serbia and Thailand.
He (Javid) announced that for nationals of some countries the Tier 4 visa restrictions have been eased to simplify the application process so that International students who qualify, and are coming to the UK to study at the countries universities, will no longer have to prove they can speak fluent English or provide evidence that they have the funds to support themselves while in the UK .
These changes have been wildly welcomed by the Universities who have lobbied extensively for foreign student restrictions to be eased.