UK extends visa priority to Chinese students

A British univeristy's employee talks to a Chinese stduent at an international education expo in Beijing on Oct 25,2014. [Photo/CFP]

Priority visa service provided by the United Kingdom in China will be expanded to include students applying for entry to the UK, officials announced Tuesday. Applicants can select priority visa service and will be informed about their visa status within five days.

The purpose of this service is to provide maximum flexibility and convenience to tier-4 applicants, that is, students. Chinese students can now choose to complete the visa application process within five working days at any of the 12 centers nationwide.

The UK has always offered multiple entries to students so that they can travel without hassle during the regular course length plus an extension of one or four months.

Over the past 12 months, by September 2014, students seeking visas to the UK grew four percent and student visitor visas grew five percent.

“We have expanded the scope of services in response to customer feedback,” said Dominique Hardy, a UK visa and immigration Asia-Pacific director.

About 135,000 Chinese students study in the UK.

"Providing fast visa services for students will be the beginning of their journey leading to the benefit of their English experience. I am very confident that it opens a door to students pursuing the high-quality experience in UK,” said Carma Elliot, culture and education minister-counselor at the British Embassy and director of the British Council in China.