Visa sponsorship determines whether applicants are eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants with two or more applications can have a joint visa sponsorship for two applications. The Nationality and entry point calculation feature can set the visa sponsorship status of applications by evaluating the nationality of the applicant and the entry point of the application.
Visa sponsorship status
Applicants have a visa sponsorship status for their applications. However, for applications added without a visa sponsorship status, you can set the status manually or enable the Nationality and entry point calculation feature to set status automatically. Applicants with two or more applications can have a joint visa sponsorship for two applications. The visa sponsorship status indicates the following:
- Eligible
- Applicant requires a student visa and is eligible for visa sponsorship.
- Not eligible
- Applicant requires a student visa, but is not eligible for visa sponsorship.
- Not required
- Applicant does not require visa sponsorship. For example, the applicant's nationality means they don't need a student visa.
- Other visa
- Applicant already has another visa that allows them to study so does not require visa sponsorship.
- Query
- Applicant's visa sponsorship requirements are unknown and further investigation is required. That is, contact the applicant to check whether they need a student visa. For example, a Portuguese applicant may be exempt as they have indefinite leave to remain.
- Required
- Applicant requires a student visa and does not have another visa that allows them to study. Checks are needed to make sure that the applicant is eligible to be sponsored for a student visa.
Nationality and entry point calculation
Applications transferred through integrations may already have a visa sponsorship status set. For example, applications have a visa sponsorship status of Not required, Required, Query, or Other visa. However, for applications without a visa sponsorship status, you need to set the status.
You can choose to set the visa sponsorship status manually or automatically by enabling Nationality and entry point calculation. The Nationality and entry point calculation sets the visa sponsorship status by evaluating the nationality of the applicant and the entry point of the application when the application is received and after duplicate matching. If both the nationality and entry point require a visa, then the visa sponsorship status is set to Query. Otherwise, the status is set to Not required.
For applicants with dual nationality, if either of the nationalities does not require a visa and the entry point requires a visa, the visa sponsorship status is set to Not required.
For Nationality and entry point calculation to calculate the visa sponsorship status, the reference data Nationality and Entry point must have been set up with the option Is visa required set as appropriate. The Nationality and entry point calculation option is an admissions setting. You need the Admissions settings area permissions Immigration settings - Edit to set the option.
The visa sponsorship status is calculated only when applications are received and after duplicate matching. If the visa requirements for nationality or entry point change during processing, the status is not updated automatically. Admissions staff must manually review and update the visa sponsorship status if necessary.
Eligibility for visa sponsorship
For applications with the visa sponsorship status Query and Required, you need to establish whether the applicants are eligible for visa sponsorship. This can be done before or after making a decision.
Before making a decision
The image Before decision shows how to process applications, detailed below, with a visa sponsorship status Query and Required before making a decision on the applications.
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Nationality and entry point calculation sets the visa sponsorship status of applications in the New applications folder without a status to Query or Required.
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Workflows move the applications from the New applications folder as follows:
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Applications with the status Query move to the Immigration checks folder (go to step 3).
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Applications with the status Required to the folder Checks in progress folder (go to step 5).
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Workflows add clearance checks to applications in the Immigration checks folder to complete a questionnaire on immigration.
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Admissions staff review the questionnaire and set the visa sponsorship status as follows:
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Required: workflows move the applications to the Checks in progress folder (go to step 5).
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Not required: there is no need to establish eligibility.
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Admissions staff complete the checks, including checks that applications are eligible for visa sponsorship. Then, set the visa sponsorship status to Eligible or Not eligible as appropriate.
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Workflows move applications with the visa sponsorship status Eligible to the Ready for decision and decisions made on the applications. Then, applicants with offers can then accept or decline the offers.
After making a decision
The image After decision shows how to process applications, detailed below, with a visa sponsorship status Query and Required after making a decision on the applications.
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Nationality and entry point calculation sets the visa sponsorship status of applications in the New applications folder without a status to Query or Required.
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Workflows move the applications to the Ready for decision folder and admissions make decisions on the applications.
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Admissions staff review the applications and make offers and workflows move the application to the Offer made folder and add clearance checks for applicants to complete a questionnaire on their immigration status.
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Admissions staff review the questionnaire and set the visa sponsorship status as follows:
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Required: admissions staff then establish the applicant's eligibility of visa sponsorship .
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Not required: there is no need to establish eligibility.
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Applicants accept the offers and workflows move applications that are eligible with the visa sponsorship to the Awaiting visa sponsorship folder.
The processes detailed above use workflows to move applications to folders and to add clearance checks. For information on workflows, go to What is workflow? and the examples:
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How to move applications to folders that describes how to build a workflow that moves applications to folders.
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How to add clearance checks that describes how to build a workflow that adds clearance checks to international applications.