Your Student visa should normally cover the length of your course and include an additional post-study period after the course ends (this additional period is usually four months, provided that your degree course is at least twelve months long).
This will usually give you enough time to complete your studies and receive your results in the UK.
However, if you need to retake a module or resubmit coursework/resit an exam, the duration of your course and the date your results are published may change.
This may affect your Student visa as well as your eligibility for the Graduate Route visa.
Here are some examples of when you will need to think about your Student visa:
- You have failed a module. You will need to retake it at a later date.
- You were unwell during your exams; your mitigating circumstances claim was accepted, and you will need to sit exams at a later date.
- You will need to re-submit your dissertation.
- Your module status on SRS web states refer, defer or retake.
- You must retake a semester or a year.
If you can no longer complete your course before your current Student visa expiry date, you may need to extend your Student visa, and you must take action before your current Student visa expires.
You must not stay in the UK past your visa expiry date if you have not made an application to extend your current visa before it expires. It is not always possible to extend your visa in the UK.
It is important that you understand the academic advice you received. If you are not sure what is required of you academically, contact the Student Centre for further guidance.
Extending your Student visa
Here are some rules you should know about:
- A new CAS is mandatory for any Student visa application, including when extending your existing visa. You cannot re-use your old CAS for which your previous Student visa was granted.
- Visa Compliance is the only team at the University who can issue CAS.
- A CAS can only be issued to cover a period of mandatory timetabled attendance.
- It is your responsibility to request a CAS well in advance of your visa expiry date; a new CAS will not be given to you automatically, and late requests may not be processed.
- In some cases, students may not be eligible for a new CAS.
- If you are refused a CAS, you should seek advice about your options to complete your studies.
- Not everyone can submit their next Student visa application in the UK; sometimes, it is required that you apply again from your home country.
- If you are unable to resume your attendance for some time (for example, you have a semester or a year during which you have no timetabled attendance), your current Student Visa is likely to be curtailed (cut short).
There are several reasons why you may need to think about your Student visa. See some of the main reasons listed below.
There is usually no timetabled attendance required when retaking your dissertation/research project module. As a result, a new CAS may not be issued to cover the period when you are writing up your dissertation. You can stay in the UK whilst your Student visa is valid, however, you must leave the UK before your current visa expiry date or switch to another UK visa where relevant before it expires.
If your resubmission date is after your visa expires, you may have the option to submit your dissertation remotely, and you can discuss this with the Student Centre. If you will need to be in the UK to complete your dissertation, you can seek advice from Student Advice about applying for a Standard Visitor visa or what other options may be available to you. If your final results and award is not confirmed before your current Student visa expires, you will unfortunately not become eligible for the Graduate Route visa.
In some very limited cases, there may be timetabled attendance required as a part of your dissertation. If this is the case, submit a CAS request for a decision on whether you can obtain a CAS to extend your Student visa.
If you are a PhD student, the rules are different. Submit a CAS request for a decision on whether you can obtain a CAS for any extended write-up periods.
If you have timetabled attendance during your retake, you may be able to receive a CAS, which covers the semesters that you are required to attend. However, if your current Student visa already covers the period that you are required to attend your repeat module, your CAS request may be denied. The Visa Compliance team will be able to assess your individual circumstances – submit a CAS request for a decision on whether you can obtain a CAS for your repeat module.
Please note – if you have not been attending any timetabled classes in the semester before your module repeat starts, you will normally be asked to apply for a further grant of the Student visa from your home country (and not from the UK). For more information, see the below section: I am unable to resume my course for some time.
There is a maximum amount of time that an undergraduate student can study in the UK on a Student visa: the time limit is currently five years, although there are some exceptions. If this is not your first undergraduate course with a Student visa, or if you already extended your Student visa in the past, please visit our Student visa eligibility page to read more about time limits on study. Postgraduate courses are not currently subject to a time limit.
It is important to note that an extension to your Student visa does not in itself guarantee eligibility for the Graduate Route visa. To apply for this visa, you must meet all the eligibility requirements, including completing your repeat modules and receiving your final results before your new visa/ visa extension expires.
A CAS will not be issued to cover times when you do not have any timetabled attendance, for example, when you are preparing to resubmit outstanding assessments, writing up your dissertation, or if you have a period of non-attendance before your exam resits. If there is no timetabled attendance, the Visa Compliance team is not able to issue a CAS.
If you are a PhD student, the rules are different. Submit a CAS request for a decision on whether you can obtain a CAS for any extended write-up periods.
If you are not making another immigration application, you must leave the UK before your Student visa expires. You may be able to complete your course from overseas or return to the UK on a Standard Visitor visa if you have exams to sit.
If you have a valid Student visa but you are not attending your course for some time, for example, you interrupted your course, have gaps in timetabled attendance or have deferrals/referrals to complete, Student visa sponsorship may be withdrawn by the University, which is then reported to the Home Office. This may lead to your Student visa being curtailed/cancelled. Please see a later section on what to do if your visa is reported for non-attendance.
If you have not been in timetabled attendance for more than sixty days, you will normally be expected to leave the UK when you are not attending and before your curtailed/cancelled visa expires. In order to return to your studies once attendance resumes, you will need to request a new CAS (subject to eligibility) and apply for a new Student visa from your home country.
The University may require evidence that you have returned home before issuing a new CAS for a Student Visa. Always seek advice if you will not be attending timetabled classes for a period of time.
Here are some examples of when this scenario may apply to you:
- You deferred your modules and have no classes to attend for a period of time.
- You are a module retriever, but you only have timetabled attendance in semester one, and your student visa continues past semester one.
- You have to repeat a module in semester two, but you have no attendance in semester one.
- You have interrupted your studies.
- You are waiting for the outcome of an academic appeal.
If the University has reported you or will be reporting you to the Home Office, please make an appointment with Student Advice to discuss your options. If you leave the UK in the time between the University reporting you and your Student visa being curtailed or expiring, you should not expect that you can return to the UK on your current Student visa.
If you defer your modules with attendance and require more time on your Student visa to complete your course, you will normally need to request a new CAS, and you may be asked by the Visa Compliance team to apply for a new Student visa from outside the UK.
If as a result of deferring your modules, you have no timetabled attendance for over sixty days during term time, the sponsorship of your current Student visa may be withdrawn, which may result in your visa being curtailed (cut short). If you then have timetabled attendance on your deferred modules, you will need to obtain a new CAS and apply for a new Student visa from your home country in order to return to your course.
Please note: if you defer your dissertation module, you will not normally be able to receive a CAS which covers the dissertation write-up period. This is likely to affect your eligibility for the Graduate Route visa.
As you will not have timetabled attendance as a result of deferring your assessments, you will not be able to receive a new CAS and extend your Student visa for the period of your assessments. If your Student visa expires before the assessments take place, you may need to consider if you can complete your course remotely or whether you need to return to the UK on a Standard Visitor visa to take any exams.
If your award is not confirmed before your Student visa expires, you will unfortunately not become eligible for the Graduate Route visa.
I received a new CAS – what happens next?
Once you receive a new CAS, it is your responsibility to apply for your Student visa.
If you are applying after a more extended period of non-attendance during term time, you will normally be required to apply for your Student visa outside the UK.
If you are eligible to extend your Student visa in the UK, please make sure you submit your application before your current Student visa expires.
Please make sure that you have your documents ready and that you meet the financial requirement.
Your new Student visa should be valid until the CAS end date and an additional period of the same duration as with your previous visa.
Normally, this will be additional four months, although it will be shorter if your original course was under twelve months long. If you spot any errors, do discuss this with Student Advice.
What to do if your Student visa has been reported to the Home Office due to non-attendance
When you have an extended period of non-attendance during term time, including when you interrupt your studies or have a semester without timetabled attendance, the Visa Compliance team will normally withdraw the sponsorship of your Student visa.
Withdrawing the sponsorship means that the University informs the Home Office that you are no longer in attendance and, as a result, the Home Office is likely to curtail (cut short) your visa.
If this is the case, you will receive an email from the Visa Compliance team informing you that the sponsorship of your visa has been withdrawn. Following this, your visa is likely to be curtailed to sixty days (leaving you with sixty days to leave the UK or seek advice on how you can remain in the UK if you cannot leave). The Home Office will normally notify you via email or letter when they curtail your visa. However, you should not wait for this notification before taking further action. Instead, you should seek further advice on your options as soon as you are informed of the withdrawal of sponsorship by the University. Otherwise, you may unintentionally overstay your visa and there may be further complications.
If Visa Compliance withdraws the sponsorship of your visa whilst you are overseas, you should not attempt travelling back to the UK with your Student visa as you may be denied entry.
Please get in touch with Student Advice if the sponsorship of your visa has been withdrawn. We offer online appointments, so you can also speak to us if you are overseas.