To Stay or Not to Stay

Non-enrolment or late enrolment

Your Student sponsor college or university must report to the Home Office if you do not enrol at the point you are expected to. Therefore, if you know you will need to enrol late, it is very important to check with your Student sponsor whether this is acceptable, and to check what will be your final deadline for enrolling. If you miss the final deadline for enrolling, and your Student sponsor reports this to the Home Office, then your immigration permission will be curtailed.

A deferral of studies or a period of intermission is likely to have serious implications for a student visa.

Undergraduate and taught postgraduate students
An undergraduate student who makes a successful application to the Applications Committee for a deferral in study is normally given leave for a complete academic year. On approval of this deferral (disregarding of terms) the University is required to cease visa sponsorship by notifying the Home Office of this change in circumstances. The Home Office will subsequently curtail the visa to 60 days. Once return to study has been approved by the Applications Committee, the University is able to issue the student with a new CAS in order to make a fresh visa application from overseas to cover the remainder of the course.

Postgraduate research students
For postgraduate research students, the implications of intermission, medical or non-medical, on a Tier 4 visa will depend on the length of time the intermission has been approved for:

• If an intermission is granted for more than 60 days, the University is required to cease visa sponsorship and notify the Home Office of this change in circumstances. The Home Office will subsequently curtail the visa to 60 days. The University will be able to re-sponsor and issue a new CAS to support a fresh visa application to return to studies at the end of the intermission period, subject to approval of return if required.
• For a period of intermission of up to 60 days, the University is able to continue visa sponsorship providing the student can still complete their course within the validity of their existing visa. If the sponsored student does not return to studies after this intermission, the University is required to cease sponsorship in line with the above.
• In exceptional circumstances, such as serious illness, injury or maternity / paternity leave, visa sponsorship can be continued during a period of intermission providing the student can still complete their course within their existing visa expiry. The maximum period of continued sponsorship would be four months. The University would determine if circumstances are considered to be exceptional as this extended sponsorship during a period of intermission must be justified. Any previous intermission will be taken into account when considering whether visa sponsorship can be continued.

Visa sponsorship cannot be continued for any period of intermission approved for the purpose of either an internship or to study a course, regardless of the duration.

If you have been issued with a CAS number and decide to defer the start of your course to a later term or the following year, you need to agree this with your college or department and inform the Student Visa Compliance team as soon as possible as we must notify the Home Office that you will not be arriving.

If you have not applied for a visa yet, your current CAS number will be cancelled and you will need a new CAS number to apply for a visa in due course.

If you have obtained a visa using your CAS number and decide to defer, your deferral will be reported to the Home Office and you will not be able to use your visa to enter the UK. You will then need to obtain a new CAS number and apply for a new visa in good time before your new start date.

If you decide to defer the start of your course of study, you must inform the International Student Support & UKVI Compliance team immediately at visasupport@bradford.ac.uk. We will update your record and report this to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).

If you have already been issued with a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS):

• and have obtained a visa, your deferral will be reported to UKVI and you will not be able to enter the UK. You will need to apply for a new CAS before the new start date of your course;
• and have not yet applied for a visa, your CAS will be withdrawn and you will need to apply for a new CAS before the new start date of your course.

mellowfellow wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 02, 2021 10:33 pm

Being a first time traveller, was not aware of certain protocols and to keep the school abreast of goings on, out of the country. The false assumption that she'd arrive whenever a visa is issued, enrol and life goes on. Alas!

If the student’s visa application takes too long to be processed, or their flight is delayed, and they miss their start date as recorded on the CAS, UOI’s compliance team will have to withdraw sponsorship. It’s a breach of the sponsor duties if they don’t.

You must:
• Report it to us within 10 working days of the enrolment period ending, including the reasons for non-enrolment, for example;

• a) they missed their flight;
• b) they decided not to come to the UK;
• c) they delayed their enrolment;
• d) they are doing a course with a different sponsor; or
• e) we have refused them permission to come to, or stay in, the UK.

If we have refused a student permission to come to, or stay in, the UK, you do not need to report the non-enrolment as soon as you become aware of the refusal. The time-limit is still 10 working days from the date the enrolment period ends.

Case Study 5 – Student is delayed
Q. We have a prospective student who is unexpectedly delayed. They have provided a new date of arrival which we are happy to agree and set a revised enrolment date. How do we tell you this?
A. You need to access your SMS account and select the category ‘student is delayed’ and then ‘student enrolment is delayed; new date provided’, entering the new date in the free text field.

mellowfellow wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 02, 2021 10:33 pm

Being a first time traveller, was not aware of certain protocols and to keep the school abreast of goings on, out of the country. The false assumption that she'd arrive whenever a visa is issued, enrol and life goes on.