WORK PLACEMENT AND VISA
ORIENTATION
Ithaca College London Center
Spring 2016
What’s in a name?
• If asked by an Immigration Officer at the UK
border about your programme of study, always
use the term ‘work placement’.
• In UK law, an ‘internship’ is a full-time, paid opportunity
to work for a firm as part of the firm’s normal
recruitment process. The intention is that the firm will
take you on if you successfully complete the internship.
• If asked about the amount of time you spend at your
placement, always say that it is less than 50% of the time
you are spending in the UK.
You need a visa if:
 You are a work placement student (intern).
 You are hoping to volunteer or undertake community service
while in the UK.
 You are hoping to get part-time work (very difficult)/or do work-
study at the London Center.
 If you plan on studying in the UK for more than 6 months i.e.
spending another semester at the London Center.
 You are a visa-national (if you do not hold a US or EU passport)
please contact the London Center to find out if you need a visa –
email iclondoncenter@ithaca.edu).
 If you have a European Union passport then you will NOT need a
visa. Email us to let us know what passport you hold and to check
that this does in fact mean that you do not need a visa.
More visa details…
 Please note that the cost of the visa is about $500 (this fluctuates
due to exchange rate).
 You will work closely with Caroline and other staff at the
London Center who will guide and support you through this
multi-stage process.You will be required to pass certain info on
to us as well as the UK consulate in order to get your visa.
 You MUST be very organized and be sure to read
everything about the visa process that is provided to
you promptly and thoroughly. There are many details, and
everything must be done precisely in order to obtain a visa.
 If you wait too long before applying, you will need to expedite the
process, which will incur additional costs of approx. $200 plus
additional worry & anxiety about having your visa in time!!
Your visa: Tier 4 (General) student visa
• To acquire the Tier 4 student visa you need:
(1) £1,265 ($1,933 as of 10/8) per calendar month you will be in London
(total of £5,060 or approx. $7,730) . These funds must be held in a personal or
joint bank account or parental account for each month & part month of your
stay in the UK.
(2) you must have this money held in the bank account a minimum of 28 days
before submission of the online visa application.
(3) Some students MAY be asked to submit ‘official’ documents to prove that
they meet the financial requirements. This can include bank statements, birth
certificate/court order and a letter of support from your parent/guardian.
Have these documents on hand in case you are asked to send them,
but do not send them if you are not asked for them.
(4) If you are a national of a non-majority English speaking country*, you may
also need to take a language test, and you will need to submit your results with
your application.
*check with the London Center asap if unsure (iclondoncenter@ithaca.edu)
Visa Process
1.
Hold your money for 28 days (if you have money in excess of tuition
through Financial Services, you may hold less or be able to skip this
step. Confirm with Caroline if you have an excess)
2.
Submit Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS) info online to ICLC
using e-form that will be sent to you (Caroline will send you the link
to the form soon, and then will send your CAS number)
3.
Complete online visa application, using the detailed template that you
will receive. This is where you pay for the visa, £ 322 or $500
[approx], and make your biometrics appointment.
4.
After submitting the online application, print out a copy of
it and sign it! You will need to take it with you when you go to your
biometrics appointment
5.
Attend biometrics appointment
6.
Send complete application and passport to British consulate within
two weeks of your biometrics appointment.
Immigration Flowchart for Students Coming to ICLC for
Spring 2016 Semester
Immigration Flowchart for Students Coming to ICLC for
Spring 2016 Semester
Option A
Students doing Work Placement (Internship) and/or Work Study and/or
Voluntary Work
Option B
Short-term Students [NOT doing Work Placement (Internship),
Work Study or Voluntary Work]
Submit passport details to your London Center online application.
Ensure it is the passport you will be travelling to London on.
For 28 days before submitting online visa application hold £5,060
(find official conversion rates at www.oanda.com) maintenance funds
continuously in your or your parent/guardian’s bank account (must be
able to prove relationship to parent or guardian). Begin holding the
money ASAP.
Submit online application no later than 18th November to be safe. BE SURE TO
PRINT AT LEAST TWO COPIES OF YOUR ONLINE APPLICATION, with the page
confirming your biometrics appointment. NOTE THE DATE AND TIME OF YOUR
BIOMETRICS APPOINTMENT
Attend Biometrics Appointment which you scheduled upon submission of your
online application. Take your passport, your printed online application, the
page confirming your appointment, and proof of funds to be safe
Receive Official Acceptance Letter
from IC
Receive Student Visitor Letter from
ICLC
Get official statement from your bank proving that you have access to
sufficient maintenance funds: £5,060 (find official conversion rates at
www.oanda.com)
Send everything to the UK Consulate ASAP! The Consulate must RECEIVE printed
application, passport and paperwork within 2 weeks of your Biometrics Appointment.
DON’T WAIT THE 2 WEEKS!!! Printed application including barcode stamped at biometrics
appointment; Proof of maintenance funds if asked or required; 2 photos (see guidance online
for rules); Your passport (NOT A COPY)
Ideally your application will be processed in about 10-15 working days (this varies seasonally)
Upon receipt of your passport check that you have been granted
your visa.
Show your passport AND VISA at immigration. You may also need
to show other documents (proof of finance, acceptance letter).
WELCOME TO LONDON!
Show your passport and student visitor letter at immigration.
You may also need to show other documents (proof of finance,
acceptance letter).
WELCOME TO LONDON!
What is 50-50 and what does it
mean for my work placement?
• The UK government defines ‘work placements’ as ‘work’, even if
unpaid.
• From 1 April 2009, to prevent illegal working, students will be
allowed to work for no more than 50% of their time in the UK,
i.e., term time. This averages to about 2 to 2.5 days per week.
• They must study at least 50% of their time in the UK.
• We will be strictly monitoring 50-50 as we have a duty to report
violations.
• PENALTIES for breaking 50-50: Student can be deported, IC
can lose its sponsor license.
What we require from you
• Clarity and some flexibility: we need to know what you want, and
back-ups if we cannot get what you want. While we try our best to get
your first choice, sometimes it is impossible. For example, the BBC is not
possible. So too are the Premiership football teams. Big name marketing
and advertising firms are also difficult as their HR departments often say
‘no’. The most successful placements are generally in smaller firms that
actually NEED the help.
• Patience: Students need to be patient. Some firms don’t know their
requirements for January 2016 until close to that time.
• Placements generally don’t begin until the 2nd or 3rd week of term. S
• You need to ‘give your placement a go’. Don’t expect to be the Chief
Executive’s personal assistant from the start. Placements take time to mature.
• Responsibility: We need you to act professionally and responsibly in
your placement. You represent, not only yourself, but Ithaca, and the US
as well.
Your Coordinator
• We assign you a ‘COORDINATOR’, several of whom are subject
specific.Your coordinator is your first point of contact. S/he will be
contacting you over the summer.
• Your coordinator will grade your work and set the academic portion
of your placement (journals, projects, presentations, etc.). They will
also contact your site supervisor and monitor your progress.
• In many cases they will find you a placement, but if you have your own
contacts and will be placing yourself, please notify the ICLC
(iclondoncenter@ithaca.edu) ASAP and keep staff informed of your
progress. You will need to explain the 50-50 rule to your placement
site, and staff will help you clarify it if needed.
• All of our coordinators work differently. Some may be in contact very
soon, some may not contact you until later in the semester.
Your Site Supervisor
• This is the person your coordinator has arranged your placement
through. They may be the person you meet at your interview on
site.
• Your supervisor may not be a person you work closely with on a
day to day basis.
• If you have any issues at your placement, try and resolve them
through your site supervisor first. If that doesn’t work, your next
point of contact should be your coordinator. Your final point of
contact for a resolution is Caroline or Thorunn at the London
Center.
The ICLC
• Staff assign students to coordinators after receipt of cover
letter, CV and online interest questionnaire
• Organize mandatory work placement orientation session
during the first week in London
• Meets students at the mid-term to check in, see how
placements are going, answer lingering questions, address
any issues which have arisen
• Monitor the number of days/hours worked each week by
the work placement student.
Our expectations
• Students adhere to 50-50. We now have a duty to report any
violations to the Immigration authorities – e.g., exceeding
number of work hours, taking a part-time job while doing a
placement, etc.
• Students take the placements seriously: This is the professional
job market, we have had ‘sackings’ in the last year.
• Students don’t get ‘placement jealousy’.
• Students are prepared to travel outside zones 1 and 2.
Difficult placement areas:
 Stage management, company management
 Set design, props and scene painting
 Costume design
 Performance
 Advertising
 Banking and finance
 On set film and TV production
 Newspaper journalism
 Football clubs
 Students interested in placements in these fields should also have backup
fields of interest. Please touch base with Caroline at
iclondoncenter@ithaca.edu if you have any questions about placements in
these fields.
Questions, Questions, Questions…
 General email inquiries should be sent to
iclondoncenter@ithaca.edu
 Join the Facebook group if you haven’t
already…it’s a great way to get to know other
students and to get responses from both
students and staff.
 Spring 2016 Ithaca College London Center