Visa compliance

Visa application

When you have received your CAS statement you can apply for a Tier 4 visa. If you need assistance with your application, email immigration@hull.ac.uk and we'll be happy to help.

Visa application refusal 

If your visa application is refused, you should inform us as soon as possible by emailing your visa refusal letter to vct@hull.ac.uk. To make this process as quick as possible, please provide all the information that we request. Further information on visa application problems can is available here.

Biometric residence permit 

Your Tier 4 visa will be a biometric residence permit, also known as a BRP.

When you apply for your visa, we recommend that you choose to collect it from the University. Enter the University's ACL code - 2HE437 - in the ‘alternative collections’ field.

To enrol at the University, you must bring:

• Your passport

• Contact details, including your term-time address, UK telephone number and personal email address

• Academic qualifications (if you have been asked to provide them)

• Visa/biometric residence permit (BRP)

If you are collecting your BRP from the University, please bring your visa application decision letter. If you are collecting your BRP from the Post Office, please collect it before you come to enrol on your course.

Your visa requires you to study full time at the University of Hull.

You should make sure that you attend all lectures, seminars, tutorials and group work projects.

As a Tier 4 Sponsor, we are required to report the following to UK Visas and Immigration.

• If you do not enrol for your course. It is your responsibility to complete the enrolment each year of your programme of study.

• If you do not attend your course. We monitor your attendance and engagement. We have to inform the Home Office of any student who is not attending and engaging at a satisfactory level.

• If you take an agreed break from your studies (suspension of study). We withdraw Tier 4 sponsorship when your request to study is approved and processed. To resume your studies, you should email vct@hull.ac.uk.

In any of these cases, Tier 4 sponsorship will be withdrawn. UK Visas and Immigration will contact you about your visa and give you a date when you must leave the UK.

Changing your course

If you decide to change to another course, you should complete a Change of Programme of Study form. 

Withdrawing from your course or suspending studies

If you are thinking of withdrawing from your course for whatever reason, please contact immigration@hull.ac.uk.

If you withdraw, you will need to provide us with a copy of your flight booking confirmation to confirm you are leaving (or have left) the UK.

If you suspend your studies, you must still leave the UK as your Tier 4 sponsorship will be withdrawn. You will need to apply for a new Tier 4 visa when you are due to return to resume your course.

Resits and repeat years 

If you need to resit an exam, or to repeat a full year of your course, you should email immigration@hull.ac.uk. If your visa does not cover the period of your resit period or repeat year, you will need a new CAS statement. 

Academic extensions 

If you are a postgraduate taught student (level 7) or a postgraduate research student (level 8) and are unable to complete your course within the time period stated in the course regulations, you should request an academic extension. Postgraduate taught students should complete this form and Postgraduate research students should contact the Doctoral College. You will need to provide evidence to explain why you have been unable to complete your course in time.

If you are granted an extension but your visa is due to expire before you complete your studies, you should contact immigration@hull.ac.uk to confirm whether we can continue to sponsor you as a Tier 4 student.

You can work a restricted number of hours while in the UK. This will be either 10 or 20 hours per week during term-time, depending on your course. Voluntary work, internships and work placements count towards your working hour limit.

Although you can work, remember that your Tier 4 visa is for full-time study in the UK. Make sure that your work does not affect your studies or prevent you from attending teaching events.

During the University’s published holiday periods, the restriction on the hours you can work does not apply. Check the key dates before you increase your working hours. If you are a postgraduate student, trimester 3 (June–September) is not a holiday period and you cannot increase your working hours.

Some people may need to register with the police when they arrive in the UK. This will be stated on your entry clearance vignette or on your application approval letter.

You can register your details with Humberside Police online. You will need to make an appointment to collect and pay for your certificate. 

You can update an existing police registration certificate on the Humberside Police website. If you have any questions, you can contact the police by email.

Further information on police registration is available here.

The University has to ensure that you have permission to study in the UK before you can enrol on your course.

To prove that you are eligible to study, we keep some information for the duration of your studies:

• visa – including entry clearance vignette and Biometric Residence Permit (BRP)

• passport

• contact details – including UK address, UK telephone number and personal email address

• ATAS certificate (if applicable).

If you update your visa or passport, it is important that you take your new documents to the AskHU desk in Student Central.

It is your responsibility to your contact information up to date. If any of your details change during your stay in the UK, you can update them using MyAdmin.

If you get a new passport while you are in the UK, you must bring it to Student Central (1st floor) to be scanned. You will also need to notify the Home Office of this using the Migrant Change of Circumstances form.