Student Services
Visa advice: Information for staff
The International Student Advice Team advises international students on visas and immigration before and during their time at Bath.
- Referring students to the International Student Advice Team
- Contacting the International Student Advice Team
- Attendance monitoring and Home Office compliance
- Visa letters and the Student Visitor Visa
- Doctorate Extension Scheme
Referring students to the International Student Advice Team
We strongly encourage members of staff to refer international students holding UK immigration permission to the International Student Advice Team for visa advice.
We are the nominated, trained student immigration advisers at the University and operate under the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner's Code of Standards. You may provide information, but it is important to recognise the difference between providing information and advice. Further information is available in the OISC Guidance on Competence.
Changes to studies
The consequences of changes to studies can be severe and have an impact on a student's immigration status. Students may need to leave the UK for example, or may exceed Home Office time limits for degree level study.
It is important that international students with immigration permission for the UK are referred to the International Student Advice Team if there are changes to their studies, for example:
- change of course
- repeating a year
- suspension from studies
- withdrawing from studies
- absence of longer than 14 days
Information for students (Changes to your studies)
Extending visas
If a student requires more time to complete their studies, and this will not exceed Home Office time limits, then the International Student Advice Team offer a Check and Send Service for Tier 4 student visas.
Information for students (Extending your visa)
Contacting the International Student Advice Team
international-student-advice@bath.ac.uk for advice relating to visas and any other issues affecting international students
We are based in 4 West, Student Services.
Information for students (contacting the International Student Advice Team)
Attendance monitoring and Home Office compliance
Please contact the Compliance Team for all attendance monitoring and Home Office compliance queries.
attendance-monitoring@bath.ac.uk for queries relating to attendance monitoring
Tier4@bath.ac.uk for queries relating to Tier 4 visas and Home Office requirements
Information for students and staff (compliance and attendance monitoring)
Visa letters and the Student Visitor Visa
- The majority of international students will hold a Tier 4 student visa for which Admissions (for applicants) or the International Student Advice Team (for current students) will provide a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS), which replaces the former 'Visa Letter'
- Student status letters must be provided by SREO - students request these through registration online
- We may need to advise a small number of students to obtain a Student Visitor Visa. For this visa, they will require a letter of acceptance from their department or faculty. If there is any doubt about whether the student should be applying for a Student Visitor Visa, please check with the International Student Advice Team.
- Important: students must have already formally applied, been accepted via the University's normal admissions procedures and be recorded on SAMIS
- The Home Office require the following information to be provided by the institution on official headed paper:
- name of the course
- duration of the course
- cost of the course (including accommodation if appropriate)
- Please use this Student Visitor Visa letter template to prepare letters. We are also happy to check letters and provide additional wording as appropriate if emailed to international-student-advice@bath.ac.uk
- Please note that the original letter must be used for the visa application so must be posted to the student
Information for UG students (Student Visitor Visas)
Information for PG students (Student Visitor Visas)
Doctorate Extension Scheme
This is a new scheme in force from 6 April 2013. It is designed to give PhD or other doctorate students an additional 12 months of Tier 4 (General) immigration permission in which to look for and start work in the UK.
Eligibility
In order to be able to apply students must:
- Be studying on a PhD or other doctoral course
- Be in the UK
- Have a current (unexpired) Tier 4 visa or student visa permission
- Have completed their viva but not yet had results confirmed at Board of Studies (referred to as ‘expected end date’ by the Home Office)
- Be within 60 days of their expected end date
- Meet general Tier 4 requirements
Tier 4 sponsor
As a Tier 4 Sponsor the University of Bath will be expected to monitor students who are granted permission to stay under this scheme. Students will be asked to sign a legal agreement to respond to 3 contact points and tell us if there has been a change in their circumstances. The University of Bath will report to the Home Office students who do not maintain contact or breach the conditions of their visa.
The process
- The Compliance Team in Student Records will be contacting students who have submitted their thesis to advise them to make contact with the International Student Advice Team in Student Services if they are interested in the scheme. It is, however, ultimately the student’s responsibility to seek advice and meet Home Office requirements
- It is recommended that the student seek advice as soon as possible following submission (unless their visa expires before that date)
- If you are aware that a student is due to submit, please ensure that they know about the Doctorate Extension Scheme and refer them to the International Student Advice Team and to our Visa Advice webpage for this scheme
- the International Student Advice Team will talk through best options, in liaison with Graduate Schools and the School of Management as necessary
- Once student is fully eligible to apply, student and the International Student Advice Team will sign a legal agreement, we will produce a CAS for the student and support them through the application process, sending their application on their behalf
- Visa returned directly to the International Student Advice Team, details are uploaded to SAMIS, student collects visa
- Once the visa has been granted, the International Student Advice Team will monitor the student through agreed contact points
- Changes and failure to respond to contact points will be reported to the Home Office as part of our sponsor license responsibilities.
What work can students do and when can they start?
The ‘expected end date’ stated on the CAS is the date of the Board of Studies or Chair’s Action. The student must have submitted their visa application before this date. It is from the expected end date, assuming that the student has passed and submitted an application to the Home Office, that they may begin to work as per the Doctorate Extension Scheme regulations. There are few restrictions bar working as a doctor or dentist in training or as a professional sportsperson or sports coach.
Information for students (Doctorate Extension Scheme)