Year abroad - costs & Turing scheme

[annaspanner18]

Just looking for a sense check on what visa fees/process looks like for year abroad students (between yr 2 and yr 3).

Eldest doing Spanish as part of degree so year in Spain is mandatory. Uni has been less than helpful in providing full picture of costs (they estimated visa fee at £90, word from another recent applicant it was £398!). Add in health declaration certificate, criminal record check which both cost to get, paying for legalisation / translation of those for visa, and we're looking at about £900 before even thinking about flights and so on. (Thanks Brexit)

Unclear on how Turing programme
works - seems there may (or may not) be an award in January 🤷‍♀️.

Anyone been through this, does this all sound about right?

Just adding a few more points for info re my DD in case it helps anyone.

Her year abroad is mandatory as doing English & Spanish. She has to pay home uni £1600ish for this year. No fees to host uni in Spain.

Her SFE loan is higher this year (we assume due to year abroad, about £5400 vs £4700 she'd get normally due to our income)

Apparently year abroad can be work /study / British Council placement.

British Council can be in quite rural / backwater locations - financially more sensible, but hard to get and less enjoyable /immersive. Apparently it's also very difficult to get a work visa for Spain, anecdotally other students have secured work but then been unable to get a visa.

For her that means she’s studying. She needs to pass x number of uni credits for the year abroad - module choices are broad within humanities. Passing the modules is required to demonstrate competence & comprehension as all teaching is in Spanish.

Unclear if she can work on a student visa, there's been talk that she can work 20-30 hours a week? TBC. Hoping she can get some casual work to help the funds.

So far she has needed to spend/get for visa :
◦ a Police ACRO (£65) 2-4 weeks
◦ A medical cert of good health (get doctors record and scan to a private company who issue the cert) £60 - couple days
◦ Both above need legalising £150 1-2 weeks
◦ Both above need translating £150 1-2 weeks.

◦ Need to supply proof of means (show £6k available funds, can include student loan confirmation letter).

• Spanish visa fee £398 (appointment at visa office)

She needs to find her own accommodation. The uni has 10 students going to this host uni, they're in touch so they can help one another / possibly share. Most places want a month rent + a months deposit upfront.

Also there’s a risk assessment of some kind to get university insurance where she needs to provide overseas address at least 3 weeks before departure?

Basically lots of hoops to jump through in a specific order and consecutively. Get behind and you’re screwed. She’s been pretty on it but unlikely to get there before term starts mid September. Hence the thread!

Thanks @annaspanner18 - very useful.

@annaspanner18 apologies for the delay replying.

She was in a group 1 country and so had a higher grant of £380pm. Spain is a Group 2 country and the grant is £335pm.

She received £2394 in October and £1026 in July.

The risk assessment was crazy, probably because they just use the one form (for both academics and students), so you could be going to Colombia or Switzerland. Obviously, not the same risk levels!

Questions ranged from, ‘What would you do if the plane crashed/you were involved in a terrorist incident’, to, ‘How would you carry your suitcase to avoid injury/cross the road?’

Her risk assessment was returned twice -you really have to spell it out!

Eg ‘There are few terrorist attacks in my destination country but, should I be caught up in an incident, I would follow the instructions of the Police, or any other relevant authority figure eg the train guard.’

Having said that, we did buy a fire proof document wallet after completing the risk assessment 😆

@annaspanner18 I think a student visa for Spain can permit work as long as it’s compatible with studies and not main source of income. However if she must complete work for the Spanish uni, she needs to factor that in.

DD never lived with Brits abroad. Mainly because living with people who spoke French and Italian helped her French and Italian. All the uni courses were in the target languages but credits were from the work set by her uk uni (research) but attendance on the required courses abroad was compulsory, eg one was translation and that had to be passed.

Oftrn unis abroad don’t have accommodation for exchange students but a few do. Depends where you go. Student cities do have accommodation but don’t leave it too late.

DD was before visas. Brexit is a disaster.