Self sponsoring! um not exactly but some sort of [unofficial advices collected from students]

Actually, there is no way better than the official way, however I have come across several student in UK who are getting education on their own. They have no resources from their home country nor they have been sponsored by any government or organization. They are self-sponsoring! They call it "own way/ your way". Being  a bright candidate they are selected for special grants/ awards/ bursary from university where they are enrolled. However they had started it with a low financial support. 

Many of you may be interested in knowing it. Well, it's not easy way, I must say! You need several skills to do it but you can do it, surely! but still you need some savings of around £500/= to start thinking about it.

You get admission in UK university/ college [get in touch with those who are already in UK) select the college or small institution rather than University that has very low Tuition fee and can be very easy to allow you to pay in instalments. The fees are also low in colleges as compared to universities. BUT if you get degree from any UK University there is an advantage (announced in 2005). You can get ONE YEAR WORK PERMIT IN UK. This means if you spent money for a year on education in UK, there will be a chance to get it back and then you can apply for Highly skilled Migrant program (HSMP) or meanwhile  you can hunt for PhD scholarship or new permanent job in UK.

You apply for Visa, You also need to arrange Bank Statements to prove that you can fund yourself or someone can sponsor you from anywhere in the world. This is very different that not many Sindhi students know! Thousands of overseas students from Punjab, Kashmir, India and rest of developing countries do it. You get a sponsoring letter from someone you know plus his/her bank statements [showing a regular transaction of about equivalent of £10,000 per month ...]. Remember that this is all for visa. However, you must arrange at least £500- £1000 for first instalment towards your admission/tuition fee expenses of university in united kingdom and ticket to UK as well. 

You must have excellent driving skills + International driving license [Pakistani national driving License will be known as international driving license in UK]. Please visit internet to get information about UK Driving License Test.

You must have Nursing experience, (midwifery course for girls is the best) a best option for your spouse or if you are female applicant. Other wise, you must have some skills that you can use in UK, [i.e.,  a Civil Engineer/ Builder (masonry)/ Plumber/ Carpenter/ Electrician/ Computer Technician etc]. You may be good in MATHS + PHYSICS so you can do some tuition work as well.

Once you get Admission letter from University or college (UK), go to visa office with all documents, Hopefully you will get visa. DON'T SAY TO THEM THAT YOU WILL SUPPORT YOURSELF UNLESS YOU HAVE SUFFICIENT FUNDS. (Sufficient funds include i) tuition fee (£1000-£10,000),  ii) living expenses (£300-£500 per month), iii) Other education, travel and miscellaneous (£50 per month). All these should be calculated for the entire duration of the course or degree. The amount shown in your (or your sponsor's) bank statement must be higher than calculated amount.

Arriving in UK, contact with University authorities and check the academic calendar [course details+ dates] and get enrolment. If you think the institute is expensive, then visit private colleges in London, Luton, Birmingham, Manchester etc and decide your cheapest option for your NEW admission. May be a diploma course [about £1000- £5000 with initial £500 payment will do!].

Getting enrolment letter, register with few job agencies that can provide you chance of part time work [it is LEGAL for student to work as part-time worker].

Getting a reasonable job requires your skills, however there are plenty of jobs available all the times. The good thing about the jobs is  that all the the jobs are jobs, no one is ashamed of his or her job even the sweepers, cleaners and admin assistants are treated equally! This is a system that Brits are admired most. any way!

Once you arrived in UK, all the options will be open to you!

BUT, before your arrival make sure to do some communication with Sindhi-students presently studying in UK. Living together, sharing house, food and utility bills reduce your expenses to about £100 a month where in most cases when you live alone may cost you £400 per month. If you don't know anyone, try internet search.....e-groups of msn, yahoo are the best sources! What? do you want addresses? O come on! you must do something yourself! don't expect every thing from me, Just kidding! Wish you all the best _Mrs B, Student.

However, more recently things have changed significantly as people from Eastern European countries have been allowed to come UK for settlement and work. This influx has potentially reduced the chances of our overseas students to do part-time work. It is therefore advised to learn useful skilled courses to get part-time jobs. (i.e. E-ticket reservation, issuing, e-postal, e-shopping, e- e- everything!). E-ticketing from PIA (Karachi, Sindh cost you about Rs;10,000 to 20,000 for a 2-3 weeks crash course). In addition, no sooner you arrive in UK you must also apply for the SIA (security Industry Authority) licence which will enable you to get speedy part time jobs as door supervisor, security and staff. Need more any help in this regard, please email to Sindh2UK to get low-cost courses information and time-saving tips to achieve this qualification.

This valuable page/ information has been gathered from students currently studying in UK. If you want to provide more information to make life simple and easy for new comers, please do send an email to Sindh2UK.