Student Visa
Before applying for a Student visa, we recommend that you read the guidance provided by the QMUL Advice and Counselling Service to see all relevant guidance to the process.
Student visa holder responsibilities
If you are in the UK with Student (formerly Tier 4 Student) Immigration permission (sometimes referred to as a visa) it is very important that you are aware of the rules that you need to follow and the responsibilities that the university has as a Student Sponsor.
Please carefully read the categories displayed below covering areas of your responsibilities while a student visa holder with us, you are expected to comply with the conditions listed below.
Communication
You must check your university email account regularly and respond to any e-mails from the university promptly. If you fail to do this you may be deregistered from your programme.
You can forward your university e-mail account to a personal e-mail address if you find this easier to access.
Contact information
You must ensure that the university holds up to date contact details for you. You can check that your contact details are correct by visiting your 'My Details' section in MySIS.
Please make sure that the following details are always up-to-date and correct:
- Address in the UK
- Contact phone number
- Personal email address (alternative to QMUL email where possible)
Attendance and engagement
You must attend your lectures/classes/seminars and hand in work as outlined in your programme handbook. If you are not able to attend or engage with your studies you should inform your school or institute as soon as possible. If you are absent or unable to engage with your studies and you do not inform your school or institute, you may be de-registered from your programme and your immigration permission may be curtailed.
Your immigration permission and passport
- You must provide the university with a copy of your passport and immigration permission (documents vary and could be any one or combination of the following; stamp, visa sticker, biometric residence permit and or share code for eVisa verification) during enrolment and at any other point upon request
- You must inform the university if you obtain new immigration permission or if you become exempt from UK immigration control. You can do this by e-mailing a copy of your documents to immigrationcompliance@qmul.ac.uk or visiting the Student Enquiry Centre with your documents.
- You must leave the UK if you stop studying (for example if you interrupt your studies or have retake exams and will not be attending during the year). You can read more about this in the QMUL Advice and Counselling Service guide Visa implications to changes of your programme
- Biometric Residence Permit cards are no longer produced and previously had an expiry date of 31 December 2024. To demonstrate the validity of your visa beyond that date, you must provide a share code for us to verify your eVisa. Follow the instructions on the GOV.UK website and ensure you select ‘To prove my immigration status for anything else' when asked for the purpose for the code. It should begin with 'S' for our purposes and will be 9 characters long.
Conditions of your immigration permission
The conditions of your immigration permission will be printed on your immigration stamp, visa sticker, biometric residence permit or eVisa and/or will be listed in the email issued when your immigration permission was granted (referred to as UKVI Decision notice). You must make sure that you do not breach any of these conditions.
Your conditions will include:
- Prohibitions (things you must never do)
- Restrictions (things you can do, but only in certain circumstances)
- Requirements (things you must do)
For more information on the conditions that apply to your immigration permission, see this webpage from the UK Council for International Student Affairs.
Immigration application refusal
If your immigration application is refused, you must inform the university immediately. You can do this by emailing a copy of your refusal notice to immigrationcompliance@qmul.ac.uk or visiting the Student Enquiry Centre with your refusal notice. If your immigration application has been refused, you can find advice about what you need to do next on the QMUL Advice and Counselling Service website.
Requesting a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)
If you request a CAS from the university, you must provide accurate and complete information.
Queen Mary's responsibilities as a Student Sponsor
We conduct regular audits of immigration and identity records for all students. You may receive an email from the University's Immigration Compliance Team asking you to provide evidence that you hold valid immigration permission with conditions that do not restrict you from undertaking your programme of study or evidence that you are exempt from immigration control in the UK.
The UK Government requires the University to undertake the following responsibilities as a Student (formerly Tier 4 Student) Sponsor:
- Keep up-to-date copies of the passport and visa documents of all students with Student immigration permission*
- Ensure that we have up-to-date UK contact details for students who have Student immigration permission*
- Inform the UK Government of any students who fail to begin their programme of study.
- Inform the UK Government of any students who interrupt or withdraw from their programme or who will be resitting out of attendance.
- Issue Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) only for students who are eligible and able to study in the UK as per Student immigration rules.
- Inform the UK Government about any significant changes to a student's circumstances or programme of studies (e.g. if a student completes the programme early).
- Monitor the attendance and engagement of students who have Student immigration permission. The University's Immigration Compliance Team will check attendance throughout the year. If we do not have evidence that a student is regularly attending and engaging with their studies, the university will give a written warning. If a student's attendance and engagement doesn't improve satisfactorily following a warning, we will de-register the student and inform the UK Government.
* If you do not provide this information/these documents when we request them, your registration and enrolment may be terminated and you will cease to be a student. If you are unclear regarding any of the information above or in our requests, please contact immigrationcompliance@qmul.ac.uk.
Studying as a visitor
Studying with immigration permission as a visitor may be an option if you are only required to be in the UK for a short period, e.g. to undertake re-sit exams or to undertake a one-semester study abroad programme.
If your programme is longer than six months, we will not normally be able to allow you to study if you are in the UK with immigration permission as a visitor.
It is not possible to apply for immigration permission as a visitor from within the UK. To apply for this type of immigration permission, you will have to leave the UK and make an application at a Visa Application Centre. Non-visa nationals may be required to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in advance of travel to the UK and some may be granted immigration permission when entering the UK.
For more information, please read the guidance provided by the QMUL Advice and Counselling Service.