During your studies

You must provide up-to-date details of the following:

Contact information:

• UK telephone number
• UK residential address
• email address

Immigration documents:

• Current passport
• Current visa

Evidence of a Student Visa application (if you are currently applying for a new student visa) e.g.:

• Copy of the Student Visa cover sheet and post office receipt as evidence that you posted the supporting documents on time.
• Copy of biometrics letter as evidence of your ongoing application.
• Copy of any letters from the Home Office regarding the progress of your Student Visa application.

Change of Circumstances:

• Any change in your circumstance so that we can advise you accordingly.

When you leave the UK:

• If you leave the UK during your studies (for example, for data collection purposes), please supply written permission from your supervisor for you to leave the UK and copies of your flight details.  You must provide an e-ticket and either boarding card or passport stamp to homeofficecompliance@salford.ac.uk

• When you leave the UK at the end of your course, please supply your flight details to the University.  You must provide an e-ticket and either boarding card or passport stamp to homeofficecompliance@salford.ac.uk

How you update us will depend upon what you are updating.  Please see below for more details:

Contact details:

• Update your contact details
• Remember, you will also need to tell the Home Office

Immigration documents and updates:

• Email us regarding any change in your immigration documentation and we will advise accordingly.

Change of circumstances:

• Email us regarding any change in your circumstances

Leaving the UK for a short trip or at the end of your course:

• Send a scanned copy of the required documents to homeofficecompliance@salford.ac.uk

If you are studying on a course below degree level then you can work a maximum of 10 hours per week. You have no restrictions on the amount of hours you can work during vacation periods.

Vacation periods vary depending on what course you are on and you therefore need to check when your University holidays are with your individual School(s).

Please note, reading weeks and time spent preparing for any reassessments is still classed as term time.

If you are studying on an undergraduate course then you can work a maximum of 20 hours per week. You have no restrictions on the amount of hours you can work during vacation periods.

Vacation periods vary depending on what course you are on and you therefore need to check when your University holidays are with your individual School.  

Please note, reading weeks and time spent preparing for any reassessments is still classed as term time.

If you are studying on a postgraduate taught course then you can work a maximum of 20 hours per week. You have no restrictions on the amount of hours you can work during vacation periods.

Vacation periods vary depending on what course you are on and you therefore need to check when your University holidays are with your individual School.

Please note, reading weeks and time spent preparing for any reassessments is still classed as term time.

If you are studying on a postgraduate research course, you are entitled to take up to six weeks’ holiday each year. During this time you are entitled to work full time. Any holiday you take where you plan to work needs to be agreed with your supervisor and recorded on your Research Supervision Record Form.

Preparing your documents

To ensure that you have no issue re-entering the UK, you should take with you written authority from your academic supervisor/personal tutor/programme leader.  This should also clearly state the dates of your intended trip.  You should carry this with you in your hand luggage so that you can show this to an immigration officer if necessary.  

Please note: If you have finished your studies and are leaving the UK but have time left on your Student Visa and intend to return for graduation, you should request a graduation letter. You should carry this with you in your hand luggage so that you can show this to an immigration officer if necessary.

Updating the University

If you are sponsored by the University on a Student Visa we need to be fully aware of your situation.  Once you have left the UK, you should provide flight details to the University.  You must provide an e-ticket and either boarding card or passport stamp to homeofficecompliance@salford.ac.uk.

Please note: You only need to send us flight details if you leave the UK during term time. For example, if you are an undergraduate student you do not need to send us this information for the Christmas, Easter and summer vacation periods.

When re-entering the UK, you should carry your written permission with you in your hand luggage so that you can show this to an immigration officer if necessary.

Updating the University

If you are sponsored by the University on a Student Visa we need to be fully aware of your situation.  Once you have returned to the UK, you should provide flight details to the University.  You must provide an e-ticket and either boarding card or passport stamp to homeofficecompliance@salford.ac.uk.

Please note: You only need to send us flight details if you leave the UK during term time. For example, if you are an undergraduate student you do not need to send us this information for the Christmas, Easter and summer vacation periods.

It may not always be possible for you to register on time for the course you have applied for and, in this case, you may wish to start your course on a different intake i.e. at a different point in the academic year. 

If you would like to join a later intake instead and you have received your CAS but not yet used it in a visa application, you will need to notify the Admissions Team. The University will then withdraw (cancel) the CAS. You will then need to apply for a new CAS number when you wish to take up your place on your course of study.  

If you would like to join a later intake of the course but you have already used your CAS in a visa application, we recommend you contact salford-cas@salford.ac.uk.

If you need to take a long term absence from your programme of study, (i.e. for an illness, a requirement to return home or pregnancy) it is advisable to officially interrupt your studies.  This is because it is unlikely that you will be able to complete your course within the time frame you had originally planned. Please see 'interrupting your studies' for further information.

Student Visa holders are allowed to repeat any part of their course where required.  However, under most circumstances, Student Visa holders may not repeat any part of their course more than twice. If you are required to repeat part of your course, there must be no more than 60 days between academic engagements.  Therefore if you are required to complete a re-assessment or a retake but this does not take place for some time, we may be required to withdraw sponsorship of your visa and you may be required to return home, depending on the time frame.

You can refer to this flowchart to help you understand what you need to do.

If, when completing a module for the first time, you do not pass part of the module or the full module, you may need to complete reassessments. For most courses, reassessments take place during the last two weeks of August. In most cases this will be during the summer vacation and you should be able to complete the reassessments under your existing visa.

If your course does not have a summer vacation, the reassessments may take place more than 60 days after your last academic engagement. If this is the case, the University is required to withdraw sponsorship of your Student Visa and you will be required to return home. In such instances, or where you will not have enough time left on your visa to complete any re-assessments, it is advisable to complete the re-assessments in your home country.  This is because you will not be able to meet the attendance requirements of your visa or any CAS that the University issues to you. If this applies to you, you can access more information regarding overseas reassessments.

You can refer to this flowchart to help you understand what you need to do.

In some instances, you may need a further repeat attempt on your course. If this is the case, you will be required to complete a retake of the module; you will be required to pay a tuition fee and to attend lectures and seminars as if you were completing the module for the first time.

If the module does not begin within 60 days of your last academic engagement, the University is required to withdraw sponsorship of your Student Visa and you will be required to return home. You will then need to request a CAS and submit a new visa application in line with your new programme end date.

Some University programmes offer a work- based placement, sandwich year or exchange programme as part of the course. Student Visa holders are able to complete a placement if it is an assessed and integral part of their course.  As your sponsor, the University will need to report the details of your placement to the Home Office and you must continue to comply with the University’s Engagement Monitoring policy.  

If you originally applied to study on a course without a placement but later change to the version of the course which includes a placement, your visa will not cover you for the duration.  Before you can transfer to the placement version of your programme, you must apply for a new Student Visa.  You can apply for this visa inside the UK but you must apply for this visa extension no more than three months before your placement begins.

If you suspend or ‘interrupt’ your studies for personal or academic reasons (e.g. for illness, financial reasons, pregnancy, maternity or paternity leave), the Home Office would normally expect you to return to your home country unless you are not medically able to do so. For example, in the case of pregnancy you may not be able to fly if you are in the late stages of pregnancy.

In most cases where you interrupt your studies, the University will be required to report the interruption to the Home Office who will then curtail (cut short) your visa. If you need to remain in the UK for reasons other than study during your interruption you should seek specialist advice from an immigration specialist. You can search for an appropriate immigration specialist here.

In the rare instance where an agreement is made with the University not to withdraw sponsorship of your visa during an interruption, you must finish your course within the time frames of your existing visa. The University will be unable to issue you with any further CAS for that course.

Please see the University's interruption policy for more information. This includes the process if you are studying on a Student Visa, which is basically:

1. Understand the visa implications of an interruption
2. Leave the UK
3. Provide proof you have left the UK
4. Request a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies to return to the UK
5. Apply for your visa
6. Re-register at the University of Salford

If you require a CAS to return from an interruption of study, you must ensure you request this in good time before returning to the University (usually three months in advance). You must also make sure that you have provided the University with evidence that you have returned home before applying for a CAS. Please access further information about the CAS and visa application process if this applies to you.

Student Visa holders are able to transfer to another course in exceptional circumstances and where genuine career aspirations can be demonstrated. All course changes have to be reported to the Home Office by the University so please contact homeofficecompliance@salford.ac.uk as soon as you think about changing your course.

You can also access our further guidance regarding transferring to another course if this applies to you.

Paying your tuition fees is an important condition of your offer from the University of Salford.  If you are sponsored under a Student Visa then you are issued a visa on the basis that you can pay your tuition fees and maintain yourself whilst in the UK.  If, for any reason, you do not pay off an outstanding tuition fee balance the University may revoke (temporarily cancel) your registration status pending payment of the outstanding amount. In these instances, the University is also required to withdraw sponsorship of any Student Visa you may hold and report this to the Home Office.

If you are able to resolve your tuition fee difficulties, then we may be able to reinstate you if the Home Office confirm that your visa has not yet been curtailed (cut short) by them and it has been less than 60 days since your last academic engagement. However, if it has been 60 days or more since your last academic engagement, you cannot have your registration reinstated on your current visa even if you pay your fees - this is a Home Office regulation. As such you will have to leave the UK to reapply for a new CAS and a new visa to return to your studies.

Sometimes it may be possible for you to complete your course early. If you complete your course more than a month earlier than the date indicated on your CAS, the University is required to withdraw sponsorship of your visa and the Home Office will curtail (cut short) the time you have on your visa in line with the date on which you completed.

Please note, completion is classed as the following:

• For Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught programmes of study: the date you submit your final piece of assessed work.
• For Postgraduate Research programmes of study: the date you are awarded your MPhil, PhD or relevant research qualification.

If you decide to leave the University and withdraw from your course you must let us know by contacting the University Home Office Compliance Team. If you are a Student Visa holder, once you have withdrawn from your course we will withdraw sponsorship of your Student Visa and the Home Office will curtail (cut short) the time you have left on your visa. 

There are various situations where the University will withdraw your registration record.  For example, your registration record will be withdrawn if you fail to register on time for each year of course or if the University has concerns surrounding your engagement.