The basic steps for applying are: -

• Choosing your required programme
• Identifying universities
• Taking various required tests like IELTS, TOEFL, GMAT, etc.
• Arranging and preparing essays and recommendation letters.
• Applying for VISA after obtaining unconditional offer from the universities. .

• Immigration requirements: Student visas can be obtained from the offices of the British High Commission in Delhi and the British Deputy High Commissions in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. Students need to prove that they have an unconditional offer on a full time course, proof of accommodation, sufficient funds to cover the entire cost of studying and living in Britain and that they intend to return home on completion of their course.
• Documents that are required for a student visa: Completed visa application form (IM2A and IM2S) with two passport size photographs.
• Valid passport (in original).
• Visa Fee (non- refundable).
• Letter of unconditional acceptance from a UK institution for a full time course .
• Proof of funding (bank statement, details of securities held, chartered accountant's certification, I Tax clearance, letter from sponsor etc.)
• Attested copies of education certificates and English language test (IELTS) score sheet (if applicable).
• Proof of accommodation in the UK .

UK towns and cities have long experience of providing homes for students and there are many affordable, comfortable and safe places to live.

You should always try to arrange your long-term accommodation before you leave home. Your institution should be able to help you with this. Colleges have student advisers who can advise you on how to find accommodation and universities have accommodation officers.

When you accept a study place, you should receive a package of information, which will include accommodation information. Complete the accommodation application form and return it by the date stated. Even if residential accommodation is not available, there will be an accommodation advisory office which can help you find private accommodation.

College and university accommodation is also affordable: a room in a self-catering hall of residence or student apartment costs from £180 to £360 per month. Where meals are included you can expect to pay from £320 to £400 per month. In the traditional student residence, bathroom facilities are shared but an increasing number of universities and colleges now offer residences with rooms where you have your own private bathroom. You would pay slightly more for this option.

If you choose to rent accommodation in the private sector, the options are private hostels, lodgings, bed-sits or shared flats/houses. A lodging is where you rent a room in a private house. Your landlord/landlady would live in the same house, possibly with their family, and would prepare your meals for you. For hostel accommodation and lodgings where meals are included, you can expect to pay £300 to £400 per month. For a bed-sit or a room in a house or flat shared with other students, you would pay from £200 to £380 per month.

Course Fees (Pound Sterling): -

• Junior High Schools: £6,500 - £7,000 per year.
• High Schools: £7,000 - £7,500 per year.
• Undergraduate (Art): £12,000 - £14,000 per year.
• Undergraduate (Science): £14,000 - £15,000 per year.
• Postgraduate (Art): £12,000 - £15,000 per year.
• Postgraduate (Science): £12,000 - £15,000 per year.

Living Expenses (Pound Sterling): -

• Home stay: £60 - £100 per week.
• Dormitory (single w/o meal): £100 - £130 per week.
• Dormitory (shared w/o meal): £70 - £100 per week.
• Dormitory (shared with meals): £100 - £120 per week.
• Apartment (without meal): £120 - £200 per week.

Total Living Expenses (excluding course fees): -

• London: £7,500 per year.
• Other city in UK: £7,500 per year.
• Scotland: £5,500 per year.
• North Ireland: £5,000 per year.
• Wales: £5,000 per year.

How much you should expect to pay for your main needs: -

• Accommodation or rent: £160 to £350 per month .
• Heat and light (if not included): £20 to £40 per month.
• Food (if not included): £110 to £135 per month.
• North Ireland : £5,000 per year.
• Wales: £5,000 per year.

Other Average Costs: -

• Underwear, T-shirts: about £10 or less.
• Jeans: £40 approximately.
• Winter coats for men and women: £90 approximately.
• Textbooks approximately: £90 approximately.
• Winter coats for men and women: £252 per year.
• Childcare: £160 per month.
• Laundry: £12 per month.
• Personal hygiene, cosmetics: £9 to £12 per month.
• Hairdresser: £10 for men, £12 to £20 for women.
• Restaurant meal: £5 minimum, £12 average.
• Daily travel fares: £1 to £3 per day.

Advantages to Study in UK are: -

• Requires only 15 years of education for direct entry into postgraduate programme.
• International students studying at UK institutions are not required to obtain permission from the jobcentre to take spare time and vacation work.
• One centralized application form for six undergraduate courses and generally no application fee for postgraduate courses.
• In UK, most undergraduate degrees take only 3 years while postgraduate degrees take one year; you spend less time away from home and less money on course fees.
• Educational institutions are constantly monitored and reviewed to ensure that courses offered are of high quality.
• Qualifications from the UK are some of the most recognized and respected worldwide.
• There is a high success rate for international students in the UK education system.
• Health insurance is free to students who are studying in UK for 6 months of more.
• There are many routes into education in UK, so chances of accessing the British system are high.
• UK is the gateway to Europe, rich in history and has welcomed international students for hundreds of years.

Leaving home to study in a different country is always a big step. Fortunately, the UK has a long tradition of welcoming international students to its shores.

British schools, colleges and universities have developed world-class student services. These, along with the welfare services provided in the wider community, ensure quality support for international students.

Many schools, colleges and universities send a representative to meet new students at the nearest railway station and provide transport to the campus. Institutions also stage orientation programmes just before term starts to help new international students get familiar.

Once you have settled in, you will find that the support continues. Most schools, colleges and universities have special international student advisers to help with academic and personal concerns. International offices are open throughout the year and you can seek advice and information on any subject at all. These staff are there to make you feel welcome and to help you adjust to living in the UK.

At universities and many colleges, there are student counsellors available to advise on personal, financial, practical and health matters. Specialist careers advisers will discuss your career options with you and help you formulate practical plans. Most boarding schools, colleges and universities have professional health care staff on site to advise on your personal health matters.

Many UK universities and colleges have specialist international advisers whose job is to provide support for international students. The international office is the first point of contact for many international students. You can approach international officers for independent advice and information on almost anything, from accommodation to how to extend your permission to stay in the UK.

Many institutions also arrange orientation programmes for new international students at the beginning of the academic session. The duration and content of these programmes vary considerably; some last only 1 or 2 days and others a whole week. Typical elements include a tour of the campus, an overview of the facilities and how to use them, explanations of the institution's rules, help with registering for your course, an outline of teaching methods, discussion of important aspects of life in the UK and social events where you can meet staff and other students.

Most students on courses of more than 6 months will be given a passport stamp that allows them to work part-time during the term (up to 20 hours a week) and any number of hours during the vacations. For further information from UKCOSA about this topic, download the Guidance Note, 'Students and employment'.

The Rules state that applicants must be able to support themselves and any dependants without working. This means that while there is provision for students to take employment during vacations or spare time, no account may be taken of any prospective earnings from that employment in assessing the ability of a student to meet the maintenance requirement, except where the educational establishment at which the student has a place:

• Is a publicly funded institution of further or higher education which is itself providing and guaranteeing the employment, and has provided details of how much the applicant will earn .
• Is able to guarantee that there are jobs available and how much if anything the applicant will earn.

It may be possible for you to stay on in the UK for practical training or work experience. Under the 'Training and Work Experience Scheme', employers can apply for permits to employ a person in a particular post. It may also be possible to stay on in the UK under the 'Innovators Scheme'. Note however, that it is very difficult to stay on in the UK after your studies under the 'full work permit scheme'.

Some changes have been introduced that have made it easier for students to stay on in the UK to work. Subject to meeting the relevant criteria, students who have successfully completed a recognised degree course may be able to switch to work permit employment in the UK after completing their studies. An employer can apply for a work permit for such a student without the student having to return home first. You can find more information about the current position if you click on work permits- on the Home Office's website: www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk Special provisions have always applied to doctors, dentists and nurses and these will continue.

British universities and colleges are rarely able to offer scholarships for undergraduate studies, although some are available for exceptional students, especially for postgraduate courses in particular fields or for research. The awards guide "Study in Britain: a Guide to Scholarships and Fellowship" gives information about various scholarships available.

British students undergo thirteen years of pre-university education as opposed to twelve years in India. Outstanding marks from one of the central boards or their equivalent or the first year of an Indian degree programme are therefore usually required for direct entry into an undergraduate. For those who do not, as yet, have these qualifications, there is a range of access or foundation courses available. For direct entry into a postgraduate programme a good first class degree in a relevant subject is generally acceptable.

Check what your passport sticker (entry clearance or residence permit) says. If you are in the UK with student immigration permission and your passport sticker says "Work (and any changes) must be authorised" or "Able to work as authorised by the Secretary of State", you are allowed to work during your studies.

If your passport sticker says "No work", you must not work in the UK. This would be a breach of your immigration conditions, which is a criminal offence. If you are in the UK and you have entry clearance (a visa) that makes it clear you are here as a student but you have a "no work" condition, you can make an immigration application to change your condition to allow you to work. You should talk to your international student adviser about how to make such an application and how much it will cost. It is much cheaper and easier to ask for permission to work when you make your entry clearance application and to check your passport sticker before you travel to the UK.

If you are in the UK as a student visitor, you cannot change your immigration conditions in the UK to allow you to work. You would have to return to the country where you usually live and make an entry clearance application as a student, and you would have to meet all the requirements of the student Immigration Rules.

If you have student immigration permission that allows you to take employment, you can work up to 20 hours a week during term-time and full-time during your holidays, a work placement which is part of a sandwich course, or an internship.

You can do most kinds of work, but you must not engage in business, be self-employed, provide services as a professional sportsperson or entertainer, or pursue a career by filling a permanent full-time vacancy.

No. If you work more than 20 hours in any week in term-time (and you are not doing a work placement for your course or an internship), you are in breach of your immigration conditions even if you work under 20 hours in other weeks.

Usually, you must be able to pay your tuition fees and living costs without having to work in the UK. If you are making an immigration application to extend your stay in the UK, you can refer to your work and you will have to provide evidence of your wages, usually through wage slips, but it must be clear that you could afford to pay for your fees and living costs even if you did not work.

However, in two specific situations only, you can rely on your earnings in the UK to show that you have, or will have, enough money to support yourself.

• You are doing a sandwich course and your institution provides you with a letter that guarantees a work placement is available for you and states how much you will earn.
• You are studying at a publicly-funded institution of further or higher education (not a private college or university) and the institution can confirm in writing that it will offer you work and specify your hours and wages.

No. If you want to defer your studies for a year, you should leave the UK and come back when your studies start again. You can work full-time only in your holidays, when you have finished your studies, and if you are doing a sandwich course or an internship.

This depends on the amount of time you are given to study in the UK. If you are given permission to be in the UK for 12 months or more, then your spouse or civil partner or children who are in the UK with you should be given permission to work.

This depends on whether you meet the requirements for any of the schemes that the UK Government operates. At the moment the schemes that are most significant for students who have finished their studies are:

• Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) for those who have obtained a UK degree or Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma (or HND from a Scottish institution). This replaces the International Graduates Scheme and the Fresh Talent.
• Work Permit Scheme for jobs where no one in the resident labour market can be recruited, and occupations where there is a shortage of qualified workers.
• Training and Work Experience Scheme for work-based training for a professional or specialist qualification or work experience.
• Tier 1 (General) for those with degrees and work experience and prior earnings at a certain level. This replaces the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme.

Yes, but only your spouse or civil partner and your children. Your children must be under the age of 18 when they first enter the UK.

A civil partner is a same sex partner with whom you have a legally recognised relationship, including relationships registered in countries other than the UK.

Yes, but it is very important that you apply to enter the UK as a prospective student, and not as a visitor. You will be expected to provide evidence that you have made contact with institutions in the UK, for example letters inviting you for interviews in the UK. Prospective students can stay in the UK for up to six months to make arrangements for their studies. When you have enrolled at a college or university, you will need to extend your stay in the UK as a student. If you have not come to the UK with entry clearance in the immigration category of 'prospective student', you will not be able to do this in the UK and will have to return to your country to make this application.

The education departments of the UK Government, the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Assembly decide which categories of student must be charged the lower, 'home' fee. There are many different categories of 'home' fee payer, and the regulations can be quite complicated. We have produced a summary of these regulations for you.

It is possible to become a 'home' fee payer, even if you started your course as an 'overseas' fee payer. In all cases (see list below), you must meet any residence conditions at the start of your course. You might be able to change fee status if, for example, you become:

• An EU national or the family member of an EU national.
• An EEA or Swiss migrant worker or the family member of such a person.
• A refugee or person with Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave.
• The child of a Swiss national.
• The child of a Turkish worker in the UK.