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I graduated from high school two years ago. I took one short course with a short course visa (June 2016 -> august 2016 ) then a 9-month foundation course with a tier 4 ( September 2016 - April 2017 ) then another 2 stages of Short course with 2 short courses visa, each was three months. Stage 1(September 2017 - December 2017) Stage 2(January 2018 - March 2018). I left London on the 6th of March 2018.

The last time I was at the border they held me for quite a while and everything was complicated because they saw I’ve been taking many successful visits with student visas. They let me in the UK and the officer said that I was so lucky and I won’t be ever able to take another student visa. I’ve been taking all these courses because my aim is to get into art college in London, and I want to get my degree there, so I’ve been preparing my portfolio with these short courses.

All of that was a year and a half ago and now I want to take another short course in the UK. I don’t know what to do since the officer told me last time that I won’t be able to get another student visa again. All of that was almost two years ago and now there is another short course I would like to take. Will they refuse my entry clearance?

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    Is your name the same in both passports? Presumably also your date and place of birth? And you’ll have given biometrics previously?
    – Traveller
    Jul 9, 2019 at 21:08
  • "2 two short courses with short course visa, each was three months" you know you don't need a visa to study under 6 months as a US citizen? why didn't you just use your US passport gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y/usa/study/six_months_or_less
    – BritishSam
    Jul 10, 2019 at 14:30
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    Over what timeframe did you take the courses? The way you describe it, it sounds like you pretty much spent the best part of two years living in the UK with various study visas on an almost consecutive basis.
    – Traveller
    Jul 10, 2019 at 16:02

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Rule #1 of visa applications is don't lie on visa applications. The UK short-term study visa application asks whether you have been granted any UK visas in the past ten years; so even if you apply using your Jordanian passport, you will still be required to include the details of your past short-term study visas.

If you falsely answer "no" to that question, and your deception is detected (due to a biometric match, most likely), then you can end up with a ten-year ban on receiving a UK visa. This will, I assure you, make it difficult to study at St. Martins.

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  • It might be possible. If you've got the money for it, hire a reputable UK immigration lawyer.
    – phoog
    Jul 9, 2019 at 21:59
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    Since you have a US passport, can’t you augment your study portfolio at a US college of equivalent standing rather than jeopardise your long term hopes of a degree course at St Martins by trying for another short term U.K. study visa?
    – Traveller
    Jul 9, 2019 at 23:48
  • Whichever passport you use to apply, you’re still the same person. The UK Immigration Officer flagged that you did not meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules relating to short term study gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/… A57C. All applicants for entry clearance or leave to enter the UK as a short-term student must meet the following requirements: (iii) does not intend to study in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive periods as a short-term student
    – Traveller
    Jul 16, 2019 at 16:41
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The problem here is that it appears to UK immigration like you have been effectively living in the UK by taking multiple short term courses. This is explicitly not allowed, either on short term visas or on the terms of your visa-free access as a US citizen. Not only are you going to be disallowed from obtaining more short-term visas, you may be turned away at the border if you attempt to enter for any reason.

The only way round this is to spend a good amount of time outside the UK, to demonstrate that you are not attempting to live in the UK illegally. According to your revised history you spent almost two years continuously in the UK, but have been away from there for more than a year. The absence gives you reasonable hope that you might be granted another entry, but it is far from guaranteed. If you choose to apply again, make sure you leave reasonable gaps between visits. As a rule of thumb you should spend at least as much time outside the UK as in it, but even this does not guarantee there won't be problems. And remember that if have a record of being denied permission to enter this might well prevent you from studying at Saint Martins.

As @Traveller says, there are many reputable colleges in the US who will prepare you for admission to Central Saint Martins, and as you are a US citizen you do not need permission to attend. Take some courses from them instead. It will not be important to CSM that you take preparatory courses in the UK as opposed to elsewhere.

The question about the different passport is irrelevant. Restrictions apply to you, regardless of what passport you use.

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  • Thank you for your helpful information. Do I apply for an entry clearance and state everything that happened to me in the application? Or do I just apply without writing anything? Also, how do I know that they have a stop flag on my passport? When I entered last year she did not put me in a detention room, she made me sit in the border force area for a while and then came for a really short interview. They called the short course university as well.
    – user99995
    Jul 17, 2019 at 10:15
  • You are missing the point. If you keep doing this, you will eventually be denied entry and that will make it very hard to ever visit the UK again. If you really want to apply again be sure to give them all the information they ask for, but every time you do it you make your case worse. And there is no way of knowing if you have a 'stop flag' (and the 'flag' is on you, not your passport).
    – DJClayworth
    Jul 17, 2019 at 13:23

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