You won’t require police registration to study in UK on new study visas

News Highlights: Police Registration Scheme dropped by UK Home Office

• The UK Home Office has dropped the Police Registration Scheme for international students arriving to study in UK.
• On August 4, 2022, this new measure came into implementation.
• International students who are going to the UK for the upcoming academic year won’t have to face the hassle of police verification.
• International students who received their UK study visa before the announcement was made may get their visas reissued.

The Police Registration Scheme under UK immigration rules have been dropped on August 4, 2022. This step of the process for international students willing to study in UK to obtain a UK study visa has been dropped.

So, now overseas students aren’t any more required to register their personal details with the UK’s local police force. The UK government’s website has archived an official police registration guide as the policy is no longer in force.

As per UK’s official notice, the new change is also applicable to international students presently studying in the UK who have filed their details with the police. It's also applicable to those who are bound by a condition to register with the UK local police to leave or remain in the UK.

The new step was widely welcomed as it was necessary to remove bureaucracies in the movement of students into the UK. Universities and international students were equivocally asking for the same for some time.

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The old system

Before the abolishment of the Police Registration Scheme, foreign nationals who want to stay in the UK for over 6 months had to register with the local police within 7 days of arriving in the country.

The students to whom this was applicable came from countries that were specifically listed as those obliged to follow this step. The order to follow this step typically applied to foreigners above 16 years of age and arrived in the UK with a processing fee. It was required for students were obliged to submit their details to the police station nearest to their location in the UK, in person. This was a complicated step for newcomers in the UK in the first week of their arrival.

Besides, it was also an administrative burden on international students. Backlogs in the number of appointments available with the local police were a big issue. This was an extra step in the process for international students as the information about the student was already recorded in the student visa application process.

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Clarity on the new system

As a student arriving in the UK from any of the 42 countries listed in Appendix 2, you can check the checklist to answer any doubts you might have regarding your UK immigration status after the policy change:

• Your BRP (Biometric Residence Permit), digital status, or visa won’t meet an amendment in case the requirement was printed on your document.
• In case you received a PRC (Police Registration Certificate), the Home Office mentions that you will have no requirement to retain the certificate. You won’t be asked to present it as proof with immigration officers any more from now.
• Any fee paid in the past for the registration won’t be refunded.
• In case you have booked a registration appointment, you won't anymore be required to pay any fees or proceed with it.
• In case you couldn’t register with the police in under 7 days of arrival in the UK before the new ruling, you are not expected to do so anymore. But the UKCISA (UK Council of International Student Affairs) has issued a caution that your previous breach may even now have an impact on your history of UK immigration or your future applications.

If you are willing to study in UK, talk to Y-Axis, the leading immigration and career consultant in the UAE.

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