As a Tier 4 Sponsor we take our obligations on immigration compliance very seriously, the following information will explain the conditions of your visa that you must keep to and what The University of the Creative Arts must do to remain compliant with our Tier 4 Licence.
Your responsibilities
When you get your Tier 4 student visa, there are some conditions that you may have to meet, otherwise the UK Visas and Immigration office may withdraw your permission to stay.
It is important that you follow the immigration regulations during your stay in the UK. It is your responsibility to:
Registering with the police
You may have to register with the police. If so, you must do this within seven days of your arrival. You will be contacted in advance of your arrival with information on how to do this.
You must re-register with the police any time you change your permanent address or extend your visa.
You will need to register with the police if:
- Your visa is for longer than 6 months.
- You are 16 or older.
- You are from one of the following countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Palestine, Peru, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Yemen.
- You are in the UK and are changing to a visa which requires you to register.
You do not need to register if:
- You have dual nationality with a country that is not on the list above.
- You have permission to live permanently in the UK.
- You are a family member of an EEA citizen.
Registering costs £34, you will need to pay at the police station or at the organized registration session during your enrolment. When you register, you should take with you:
- Your passport.
- Two passport-sized colour photographs.
- Your biometric residence permit (BRP), if you have one.
- Details of your course and place of study.
If you do not register with the police, you could be fined £5,000 and put in prison for six months. Registering late can count against you next time you apply for a visa.
Study and attendance
The main reason for your stay in the UK is to study therefore we have a duty to monitor your study and attendance. It is very important that you attend all your classes and lectures and submit your coursework when it is due as any non attendance or non engagement with your course will need to be reported to the UKVI. Failure to attend at the expected levels could result in you being withdrawn from the course and your visa cancelled.
You are expected to:
- Attend all lectures, tutorials, seminars, projects, examinations and enrolment as scheduled for your course of study.
- Achieve an attendance level of at least 80% throughout your course.
- Arrive for classes on time and stay for the duration of the session.
- Tell the Campus Registry office (by email or written note) if you are not able to attend your class for any reason.
- Tell the Campus Registry office (by completing an ‘authorised absence’ form) if you are ill or have an accident or need to return home for an emergency - we may ask you to provide evidence of the reason for your absence, for example a letter from your doctor.
- Tell the Campus Registry office about any other reason you will be absent from a class.
We will grant compassionate leave where appropriate.
You are not allowed to take holidays during term time under any circumstances.
If you decide to leave your course early you must tell us immediately. If you are returning home or going to a different institution to study, please provide us with details so that we can notify the UK Visas and Immigration office.
You must provide us with the following before you can be fully enrolled on your course:
- A copy of your passport and visa.
- Up-to-date contact details in the UK – you can do this through the student portal (MyUCA).
You must also:
- Register for your course on time each academic year.
- Follow our procedures if you want to defer or suspend your studies or withdraw from your course.
- Return home if you defer or suspend your studies, withdraw from your course or your course is terminated.
- Act within the immigration rules if you change education provider – it is a criminal offence to register for studies at an institution other than the one shown on your visa. Students switching institutions need to make a new visa application as soon as a CAS is produced for them.
- Act within the immigration rules if you change your course to a shorter course. If you applied for your current visa using a CAS, we will report the change to the UK Visas and Immigration office.
If you do not keep to these conditions, you may be suspended or withdrawn from your course. You may also be breaking the terms of your visa.
Our duties
By law, we must report certain information to the UK Visas and Immigration office. This includes notifying them if:
- You do not enroll on your course before the last day of the enrolment period.
- You fail to attend a class or lecture, and we have not agreed to it.
- You do not submit work for a specific number of times, and we have not agreed to it.
- You defer, postpone or take a break from your studies for any reason.
- You change to a shorter course.
- You complete your studies early.
- You withdraw from your studies before you have finished your course.
The UK Visas and Immigration office can end your immigration permission to stay early if they are notified of one of these issues.
We will monitor your continued attendance on your course and if it is reported that you have missed multiple sessions we must withdraw our sponsorship and withdraw you from the course meaning you will have to return home immediately.
Find out more about these duties in Annex 1 of the UK Visas and Immigration office's Tier 4 Policy Guidance.
More information
You can find more information about the conditions of your student visa on the following web pages.
UK Council for International Student Affairs (Protecting Tier 4 status)
UK Visas & Immigration Tier 4 guidance