Visa Conditions During your Studies

An important condition of your Student visa is that you maintain regular attendance on your programme of study and fulfil the academic requirements of your programme. This requirement is also laid out in the general student regulations.  UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) require the University to monitor attendance of all Student visa students. Poor attendance or failure to engage with your programme could lead to you being withdrawn from the University and your Student visa being curtailed.

We will also consider your engagement and performance on your course if you need to request an extension for your visa. If you have poor attendance and engagement, we may decide that we are not able to offer you continued visa sponsorship.

The Monitoring of Attendance and Engagement policy is explained in the International Student Engagement and Record Keeping Procedures 2024/25

Communications

You will always receive emails notifying you if your attendance is not satisfactory and offer you the opportunity to provide information to the team for us to help you. If you receive one of these emails is it is important that you read the information in it carefully and follow the advice given in the email.

This will include the reasons why we are reaching out to you and give you advice as to what to do if you are experiencing any difficulties which are affecting your ability to attend regularly. If you do have any ongoing health or personal problems that are impacting your studies it is important that you let us know so that you can be offered appropriate support.

We may send you an email asking for you to attend an interview with a member of the team. If you receive this email, please do not ignore it. Usually, this will be because you have missed too many classes without explaining why or obtaining authorisation for your absences. We will want to give you a chance to talk to us about the reasons why you are not attending and for us to explain the impact this may have on your time in the UK.

A Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) is a standard credit card-sized plastic document that contains a biometric chip. The card is evidence of the holder’s immigration status in the UK and stores biometric details (name, date and place of birth) and biometric information (facial image and fingerprints). A BRP is only issued to people coming to the UK for more than six months. The BRP is your visa and it is extremely important that you keep it safe as you will need it every time you leave and re-enter the UK.

If you are on a course that is fewer than six months in length, your full visa will be on a visa vignette in your passport and you will not receive a BRP.

Sometimes there are errors on your BRP so you should make sure you check it carefully as soon as you collect it from the Post Office. Both you and the University are responsible to report any errors to UKVI quickly so you must let us know when you come across an issue. UKVI will need to correct the error and issue you a new card.

Type of error and how to correct them

If you do come across any mistakes, we strongly recommend you discuss this with us in the first instance. We will help you make the correct type of application and follow up with UKVI on your behalf.

Work Rights

Tier 4/ Student visa holders studying on a full time course at London Met will have the right to work a maximum of 20 hours during term time and full time during established vacation periods.

Your BRP should state that you have work rights in the UK. If it doesn't, this is an error that needs correcting.

If you are studying in the UK on a  Student visa for part time study, you do not have any work rights in the UK at all. If your BRP states this, this is an error and will need reporting to UKVI.

Visa end date: post-study period

If your BRP states that your visa expires on a date earlier or later than you expected based on this table, then you may have an error that will need to be amended so you have the correct visa length.

Please note that BRPs are now being issued with a validity until 31 December 2024, as part of UKVI's initiative to digitise immigration status. This means that you will not need a BRP after 01 January 2025 and you will be able to prove your immigration status online.

You can refer to your Visa Decision Letter to ascertain the full length of your visa in the meantime. 

Personal details

If your name or date of birth is incorrect on the BRP, this is also important to correct as this is an official government document.

How to correct an error

Changing Modules

If you would like to change the modules of your course, you should first discuss this with your course leader and School Office.

With regards to your Student visa, if you will remain on the same credit load and therefore stay a full-time student, then it will not impact unless the changes mean that you are effectively changing your course, see below.

Failing a Module/ Reassessments

Sometimes things don't go as expected and you may fail a module on your course. Student visa holders are able to take reassessment opportunities if needed, according to the Student Regulations.

Generally, this isn't a problem and students can complete as expected.

Please note this can have a serious impact on your Student visa sponsorship. If you find yourself in a position where you are waiting to complete a reassessment and do not have any other modules registered, this means you are no longer in active study and attending, for example if you fail a pre-requisite module before a dissertation. Your enrolment status will change to Assessment Only and you are not required to attend classes. Due to this, students in this position may have their Student visa sponsorship withdrawn and may have to make arrangements to leave the UK while they wait for the next term. This is especially the case if you will be out of active study for more than 60 days in this position. You will then be issued a new CAS to make a new visa application to continue your course.

We strongly advise students in this position to make an appointment with our International Advice Service to talk about the immigration implications.

Change of Course

From a UKVI perspective changing a course is a big change of circumstances; changing your course, in some circumstances may mean that you have to apply for a new Student visa from outside the UK. The Sponsor document 2 confirms:

If your course change does not meet the above requirements, then you will need to apply for a new visa from overseas.

International students sponsored under the Student visa must seek advice from the International Advice Service before requesting a course change as it may have implications on your current visa.

Mitigating Circumstances

Sometimes it is necessary for students to seek mitigating circumstances for the submission of coursework or an assessment. London Met has clear guidelines around how you can go about requesting this.

Please bear in mind that depending on your situation, this may drastically impact on your visa and may mean that you will need to leave the UK while you wait to complete your assessment.

You should make an appointment to speak to an International Adviser before you submit your mitigation request so that you have all of the information you need to make the best decision for you.

Taking a Break

If your circumstances change and you decide that you will need to take a break from your studies, you should first review the information on the London Met web pages.

Leaving your course, even if only for one term, will mean that you are no longer an enrolled student and we will need to withdraw your visa sponsorship. This will mean that your Student visa will be curtailed.

If you are thinking about taking a break from studies, please make an appointment to speak to an International Adviser so we can support you and provide you with the advice you will need.

Suspension or Withdrawal from Your Course

There may be circumstances where you are suspended or withdrawn from your course.  This can be due to tuition fee debt, poor academic progress and engagement or administrative issues.

Suspension from your course may be temporary but could have a direct impact on your Student visa. If you are suspended, you will receive communication from the University to inform you why this is and what you need to do to rectify the situation.

These changes of enrolment status will need to be reported to UK Visas and Immigration and could have a lasting impact on your immigration status. Please ensure you reach out to the Compliance Team to discuss the situation.

If you fail one or more modules, the International Support and Compliance team is the only department in the university who can provide immigration advice and should be the first point of contact to discuss the potential implications if you cannot complete your course as planned. School staff will be able to help you with regards to options and each option may affect your Student visa so please make sure you seek advice as soon as you know you have failed a module.

Attempts: academic regulations state that if you fail a module's first attempt, you are able to try again in the re-assessment period with a capped grade. If you fail the reassessment you may be able to retake the module again. This retake means you will have to pay for the module again and your attendance will be monitored. In this case, you are studying the module again from the beginning and are not only resitting an assessment. If you fail the module again, you will be given a final re-assessment attempt, again with a capped grade. This fourth and final attempt would normally be on an assessment only basis which means the university may withdraw sponsorship of your visa if you don’t have engagement requirements.

If you are retaking a module with attendance and this is at the end of your course as per the CAS, then we may be able to offer a visa extension for you to complete the retake. This is only possible if you are retaking a module and not if you are choosing to complete a new optional module for the first time instead of the module you failed. If you choose to register a new optional module instead of the module you failed, then you can complete this if you have time on your visa but you may not be awarded in time to be eligible to apply for the Graduate Route (see below). The alternative is that you make a visa application from outside the UK to return to complete a module for the first time. 

Reassessment period: there is one reassessment period according to the university key dates which falls in July.

Reassessment on an assessment only basis: if you fail a module/year and you are enrolled on an assessment only basis, your student visa could be cancelled if there are no engagement requirements through the semester/year. 

Example

Assessment only module: if your failed module is registered on an assessment only basis and you don’t have other modules registered in that semester, the University must notify the Home Office of the withdrawal of sponsorship of your visa if you are not required to engage with your course for a period of 60 days or more (excluding vacation periods) This will result in the cancellation of your visa.

Assessment only year: the University must notify the Home Office the withdrawal of sponsorship of your visa If you are not required to engage with your course for a period of 60 days or more (excluding vacation periods) This will result in the cancellation of your visa.

Failing a module that is pre-requisite to progress to the dissertation: you will be given an opportunity to submit a reassessment in July. If the module is a pre-requisite to the dissertation, for example Research Methods, you won’t be permitted to start the dissertation until you pass this module which means that the end date of your course will be extended and not in all cases the university will issue a CAS to extend the visa. If the dissertation is submitted within the validity of the visa, the university won’t issue a CAS because your course is deemed to have been completed and the university cannot issue a CAS for the sole purpose of waiting for results.

Graduate visa eligibility if you fail modules/dissertation: If the end date of your course changes to a later date, you might not be eligible to apply for the Graduate visa if your visa expires before the awards board confirm the successful completion of your course.

Student visa holders should aim to complete the course within the CAS dates. The Home Office usually grants 2 or 4 months ‘wrap up’ period after the original course end date and in most cases the reassessment can be completed during this time without the need of a visa extension. If the course cannot be completed within the validity of the visa, the university will carry out some checks and will apply discretion to issue a new CAS for a new visa application.

Other resources:

Award publication dates

Academic regulations

Visa conditions during your studies

Graduate Route (Post-Study work)

UKCISA: Graduate Route

As a Student visa sponsor London Met is required to report to the Home Office if a student commences a work placement. The report will include information about the work placement employer, location, and duration. Student visa holders are permitted to undertake a full-time or part-time work placement as part of their course if it is integral and assessed, and not more than 50% of the length the course (unless it is a statutory legal requirement).

'Integral and assessed' means the work placement is part of the design of the programme and the student should not be able to achieve the award without undergoing the placement. The student may be asked to complete a minimum number of work placement hours to gain relevant industry experience and/ or produce a piece of assessed work based on the work placement.

If you would like to undertake relevant work experience while you are studying at LondonMet which is not integral and assessed as part of the programme, you can work part-time (no more than 20 hours per week) during term time and full-time during vacation period. We will consider this type of work experience 'extracurricular' therefore it must be completed within the allowance of your visa during term time.

If you have an integral and assessed work-based learning module as part of your course, you must liaise with the work learning practitioner to complete the paperwork and ensure that all the relevant health and safety checks are completed before you start. You must not start your integral and assessed work placement unless all the relevant checks have been completed.

From the time that you apply for your Student visa until the time you finish your studies, London Metropolitan University acts as your Student visa sponsor.  When we issue you with a CAS we are confirming to UK Visas and Immigration that we have offered you a place to study at London Met and we wish to act as your Student visa sponsor.  We continue to sponsor you throughout your studies, as long as you maintain regular attendance and comply by the conditions of your visa. 

There are certain circumstances in which we are required to withdraw your visa sponsorship. Please be aware that if you receive a warning that your visa sponsorship is at risk, you should take this seriously and follow the instructions in the email before the deadline given too you. The University is required to withdraw visa sponsorship within a short deadline, usually 10 working days, from your suspension or termination and it is your responsibility to provide the information requested before the deadline to avoid this happening.

Reasons for withdrawal of visa sponsorship are:

• You are suspended or terminated from your programme (this could be due to academic failure, non-payment of fees, unsatisfactory attendance or for disciplinary reasons)
• Your choose to withdraw from your programme for personal reasons
• You complete your programme earlier than the end date stated on your CAS - you must contact us to let us know so we can inform UKVI. This may impact when you can start working so it's important to let us know if you have completed early.
• You take a break in study 
• You are required to re-sit without attendance - known as being enrolled with Assessment Only status
• You are out of active participation for more than 60 days - this means you are not registered on any modules for longer than 60 days but you are still within the course dates as on your CAS
• You fail to register/ enrol at the beginning of the academic year
• You fail to re-register or re-enrol at the start of the next academic year - this includes module selection
• You move to a different immigration category (e.g. Spouse or dependant)
• You choose to change to the distance learning version of your programme, if applicable
• You fail to provide the University with your UK term time address, including UK phone number or copies of your visa documents or passport when asked

You can find more detail for some of these situations on the tabs above.

If we are required to withdraw immigration sponsorship, we will always contact you to let you know that we have done this, and to advise you on what you need to do.  If you have the right to make an academic appeal we will always try to wait until this process is finished before we withdraw immigration sponsorship. Sometimes, while you wait for the appeal process to complete, you will have missed too many classes and will not be able to continue in the current term. This means you will be put on a break in studies, your visa sponsorship will be withdrawn and you will be expected to make a new visa application, with a new CAS. Whether you can do this in the UK or not will depend on your circumstances so you will need to contact the Advice Service for help. Remember that some withdrawals are final, such as for non-attendance.

If we withdraw sponsorship of your Student/Tier 4 visa, UK Visas and Immigration will cancel your visa.  This means that the end date will be shortened to reflect the fact that you are no longer studying.  You will need to leave the UK or submit a new visa application within 60 days of the date that we withdraw immigration sponsorship.  UK Visas and Immigration should always contact you by email to confirm that they have curtailed your visa and to inform you of your new visa expiry date. It is your responsibility to ensure that you check your emails, including your spam or junk folders, so that you don't miss this important communication. 

Once your visa sponsorship has been withdrawn you should not leave the UK and attempt to re-enter, as your visa will be deemed to have expired at the point you leave the UK.

We understand that having your visa sponsorship withdrawn can be distressing or difficlt to understand and we hope that you will have reached out to the International Advice Service for information and advice before it happens. You may also wish to speak to an independent immigration adviser for help.