Visas

Visa requirements for Kazakhstan (Astana courses)

If you are planning to study in Astana, Kazakhstan, you will be required to have a one year, multiple entry C-9 Study visa. This is the standard study visa for students on exchange programmes. Though 90 day single entry visas are available, our programmes extend beyond this time frame.

In order to apply for a C-9 study visa in London, you must be a resident of the UK or hold settled status. If you do not, regardless of attending a UK university, you will need to apply for your visa in that country in which you are a resident.

To obtain a C-9 study visa, you will have to provide the Kazakh consulate in London with the following documents:

  1. Letter of invitation (LOI) from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan. This official document will be sent to you by Language Link. To obtain this letter, Language Link must provide the Ministry of Internal Affairs with a scanned copy of your passport details page and the following information:
    a. Your full name,
    b. citizenship,
    c. location of the consulate where you will be applying for your visa,
    d. home address,
    e. university attended, and
    f. course dates.
    Once this information has been submitted, it will take approximately two weeks to receive your letter of invitation. Please note, it is customary for the Ministry of Internal Affairs to combine all letters of invitation into one document which will be sent on to all students whose names appear on the LOI. You will receive your LOI by email.
  2. Completed application form. The downloadable form can be found by going to https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa-london/activities/5277?lang=en. Once there, click on
    ‘Consular Services for Foreign Citizens’, and then click on ‘Study Visa’ and finally on the ‘Fillable Visa Application Form’. The application form is in Kazakh and English. Be sure to complete it using block letters.
  3. One recent, colour passport sized picture of the applicant which should be attached to the marked space in the upper right-hand corner of the application form (size: 3.5cm x 4.5cm, Full face, no smiling, sunglasses; a hat/cap or other head covering should be removed unless worn for religious belief or ethnic background. Background: White or Grey).
  4. Passport valid for at least three months longer than the validity of the requested visa (with at least two blank pages).
  5. Visa fee which as of this writing (20/1/2023) is 170 GBP for a one year, multiple entry visa.

You do not need an appointment to drop off your completed application form and other supporting documents. The consulate in London is located at Kazakhstan House, 125 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5EA, United Kingdom. The entrance to the Consular Section is at the rear part of the building on Warwick House Street.

Documents can be dropped off from 9:30 to 12:30 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday. Once submitted visa processing time takes 5 business days. Documents can be collected from 16:00 to 17:00 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday. If you require visa assistance, you can contact the consulate during regular office hours by e-mail: consul@kazembassy.org.uk or by phone: +44 207 925 7532.

About the company where you will be studying Russian: You will be studying Russian in Astana, Kazakhstan. Your visa sponsor is VIKMO LLP which trades in Astana under the name Language Link Kazakhstan. Though your ‘temporary address’ is listed as Tengri Hotel, Atyrau, this is simply for convenience as there will be students who, wishing to rent apartments/ an AirBNB, have not yet done so.

Receiving institution: VIKMO LLP (Language Link Kazakhstan)
Coordinator’s name use: Timur Tatiyev
Telephone number use: +7 777 736 9931
Email: timtatiyev@gmail.com
Address: S. Balgymbayev str. 69, Atyrau
Telephone: +7 777 736 9931
Programme Coordinator: Timur Tatiyev (email: timtatiyev@gmail.com)
Academic director: Elena Kallo (email: e.kallo@languagelink.ee)

Visa requirements for Estonia (Tallinn course)

If you are planning to study in Tallinn, Estonia, then you should be aware of which countries and nationalities are required to have visas.

Nationals of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) and any third-country national holding a residence permit of a Schengen State do NOT need a visa to enter Estonia. The following countries are EU and EEA States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

If you are NOT a national from one of these countries e.g., US and UK citizens, then you will need to procure a long-stay D-visa. D-visas are issued for a period of stay of up to 365 days within twelve consecutive months and allows the holder of said visa to stay in other Schengen Member States for up to 90 days within a period of 180 days.

Previous to 3 January 2023, it was necessary for D-visa applicants to apply for their visas directly from the Estonian Consulate and necessitated a trip to London. To facilitate the issuance of Estonian visas, this is no longer necessary. As of 3 January 2023, all Estonian visa applications must be submitted at one of five VFS Global service centres located throughout the UK. Currently there are 5 VFS Global visa centres in the UK that accept Estonian visa applications (London, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Edinburgh).

The following webpages will prove useful:
https://visa.vfsglobal.com/one-pager/estonia/uk/english/ Once on the page, under ‘please select visa type’, click on ‘Long-stay (D)’ for an overview of visa requirements and eligibility. From this page you will be able to review ‘D-VISA Checklist-for-Studies’. For your convenience, this checklist includes the following:

  1. Valid travel document,
  2. Long-stay D-visa ONLINE application form,
  3. Recent colour passport photograph,
  4. Valid UK residence permit (applicable for non-British citizens),
  5. Valid health insurance policy,
  6. Proof of reserved flight ticket TO Estonia,
  7. Proof of accommodation (if staying in a homestay, this will be provided for you by the school),
  8. Recent, official and signed invitation letter from the school where you will be studying (this will be provided for you by the school),
  9. Confirmation letter from your university where you are studying attesting to your studies abroad (this is provided by your liaison officer),
  10. Proof of funds.

https://visa.vfsglobal.com/gbr/en/est This is the VFS Global homepage where you can complete your application form, book an appointment, and find a convenient centre. As noted above, each applicant is required to make a booking at one of the VFS visa centres via the VFS Global booking calendar. VFS agents will accept all the paperwork, take the biometrics, photo and payment.

The processing time for D-visas is up to 30 days. The Embassy keeps the applicant’s passport until a decision is made. The consular visa fee currently is 100 EUR. According to information received from VFS Global, VFS will also collect a service charge from the customer which at the time of writing (20/1/2023) is 10.35 GBP. That said, a recent applicant paid approximately 120 GBP for his visa.

Though the Estonian Consulate does not recommend it, it is also possible to apply for your Long-stay D-visa ‘after’ your arrival in Estonia. Several students found this to be particularly useful for them for various reasons: they needed their passports for other travel purposes, they were studying in another country during their first term e.g., France and Spain, where they could not apply for an Estonian visa, they simply didn’t have time to apply before their departure from the UK, etc.

To apply for your visa following your arrival in Estonia, it is necessary to book a long-stay visa appointment online at https://broneering.politsei.ee/ (please note: you can change the language on the top-right corner to English). All the service offices addresses and details can be found here:
https://www.politsei.ee/en/services/services.

About the company where you will be studying Russian: PINEGROUP or Partners in Education is an Estonia-based educational company that trades under the name Language Link Estonia (https://languagelink.ee). Though founded in 2017, PINEGROUP, in conjunction with its affiliate schools, has been successfully running their unique educational programmes since 1994. Language Link has been successfully partnering with RLUS UK since 2002.

Information for the application:
Company name: PINEGROUP OU
Address: Jahu tn 1-6, Tallinn, Estonia 10415
Telephone: +372 5341 7961
Director: Robert Jensky (email: r.jensky@languagelink.ee)
Academic director: Elena Kallo (email: e.kallo@languagelink.ee)
RLUS Rep: Anna Karboinova (email: a.karboinova@languagelink.ee)