Why you must have your passport checked

If you have been assessed as Overseas for fee purposes, you must show us documents that prove you can study in the UK before you can register on your course.

Your Admissions team may also contact you separately to ask that you show them your original qualifications or final transcripts, even if you have already provided copies by email.

If you have been assessed as having Home fee status, you should follow a separate process.

Upload copies of your documents before travelling

Before you come to the UK, you should upload scans of the following documents to Application Tracker.

If you gave your fingerprints and a photograph (biometric information) at a visa application centre, you will most likely be issued with a BRP or Biometric Residence Permit. You must upload:

• your valid passport
• the 90-day travel vignette in your passport
• the letter confirming you have been granted a Student visa

If you hold a biometric passport from an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland and you applied using the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app to scan your identity document on your phone, you will most likely be issued with an eVisa (digital immigration status currently sent via email from Home Office Atlas). You must upload:

• your valid passport / ID document
• your share code to prove your immigration status (valid for 30 days)

A comprehensive Gov.uk guide explains how you can view and prove your immigration status, update your details, what you should expect when crossing the UK border and how to get help accessing your immigration status.

Once you have uploaded your documents, we will contact you about the next steps.

If your fee status is Overseas but you are travelling on something other than a Student visa, we will contact you to tell you which documents to upload.

What is a passport check session

When you arrive in the UK, you must attend a passport check session, whether you have been granted a 90-day vignette (to collect a BRP) or an eVisa (digital immigration status). You will not be able to complete registration (or re-registration) and start (or resume) your course until you have attended your passport check session.

If you come to the UK before your Student visa has been granted, you will be travelling on the wrong immigration permission and you will not be allowed to start your course. You will need to leave the UK and come back once your Student visa has been approved. If you are not able to come back for the official start date of your course, you will not be allowed to start studying and you will need to liaise with your department to agree on a later start date, if this is possible. Therefore, please do not travel to the UK until after your visa has been granted. Please also ensure you do not travel to the UK until after the start date of your visa.

A passport check session is a 10-minute session with the Student Immigration Service who will check your original passport. Please wear your facemask when attending your passport check session.

You will also need to provide evidence of your date of entry into the UK, either as the dated stamp on your entry vignette (if your passport was checked at border control) or by providing evidence of your flight booking (if you used the eGates). If you are expecting to receive a BRP from the University of Bath, we will give it to you at the session (if we have received it). If you asked for your BRP to be made available at the Post Office, you will need to collect your BRP first and bring it with you to your passport check session.

Collect your BRP

• If you need to collect a biometric residence permit (BRP) and have chosen to collect it from the University, you will be able to collect your BRP during your passport check session.

• If you did not choose to collect your BRP from the University (and did not specify an alternate location), your BRP delivery will default to the local Post Office in Bath, which is located on the first floor of WHSmith. You will need to attend the Post Office (with your passport) to collect it. As soon as you have collected your BRP, you will need to bring a copy of it to the Student Immigration Service.

Times and locations of passport check sessions

Passport Checks sessions take place in Wessex House 8.16 between 10:00 and 16:00 from Monday to Friday.

You do not need to book an appointment and can just turn up during these times.

The sooner you complete your passport checks, the sooner you can (re-)register on time and start your course.

New arrivals - starting in October 2023

Until Friday 15 September, please come to Wessex House 8.16 between 10:00 and 16:00 from Monday to Friday. From Monday 18 September, Passport Checks will be held in a different venue on campus. Details will follow closer to the time.

What to do if UKVI has your documents

If UKVI is still processing your visa application and has your passport, visa and qualifications documents, you must provide us with the evidence of this application.

You must show evidence of your application and provide an electronic copy of it. This could be:

• a letter from UKVI confirming they have received your application
• a letter from UKVI asking you to make an appointment to give your biometric data
• the Document Checklist from the online visa application
• confirmation from the Student Immigration Service that they have checked your visa application and helped you send it

You may not be allowed to start your course until you have a visa for the University of Bath.

If you have a visa for another institution, you must apply to UKVI for a visa for the University of Bath before you can register.