As a Student Visa Sponsor, we take our obligations on immigration compliance very seriously.
The following section will explain the requirement of your visa and what the University for the Creative Arts must do to remain compliant with their Student Visa Sponsorship Licence.
Your responsibilities
When you get your student visa, there are some conditions that you have to meet, otherwise the UK Visas and Immigration (UKIV) 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:
If you make any changes to your name, address, contact numbers, email addresses or other personal information, it is your responsibility to update details held by the university on MyUCA within 5 working days.
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Failure to attend at the expected levels could result in you being withdrawn from the course and your visa cancelled.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 a minimum attendance level of at least 50% throughout your course.
- Arrive for classes on time and stay for the duration of the session.
- Advise Campus Life (by email or in writing) if you are not able to attend your class for any reason.
- Advise Campus Life (by completing an ‘authorised absence’ form) if you are ill, 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.
- You must follow university regulation for authorised absence requests
- Advise Campus Life about any other reason you will be absent from a class.
- UCA will grant compassionate leave where appropriate and within the Engagement and Attendance regulations.
You will not be authorised to take holidays during term time under any circumstances.
If you decide to leave your course early you must tell us immediately. If you leave the United Kingdom return home you must provide evidence to UCA (boarding pass or passport stamp), or if you go to a different institution to study, please provide us with details so that we can notify the UKVI.
You must provide us with the following before you can be fully enrolled on your course:
- Your passport. This will be scanned by UCA staff during the physical enrolment process and returned to you immediately.
- Evidence of entry into the United Kingdom. This might be a stamp in your passport, your boarding pass/ticket, or a copy of your flight itinerary.
- You need to provide a share code that starts with an S. This will allow UCA staff to generate the requisite eVisa for your student record.
- Up-to-date contact details in the UK. You can do this through MyUCA.
You must also:
- Enrol onto each academic year of your course;
- Follow UCA procedures if you want to defer/suspend your studies or withdraw from your course;
- Return home if you defer/suspend your studies, withdraw from your course or your course is terminated;
- Act within the immigration rules if you change institutions. 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 assigned to 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 UKVI;
- Ensure you do not work more than the maximum hours as detailed on your student permission UKVI decision letter.
Please note: If you break these conditions, you may be suspended or withdrawn from your course. You may also be breaking the terms of your visa, this may lead to your visa sponsorship being withdrawn.
Our duties
By law, we must report certain information to the UK Visas and Immigration office (UKVI) relating to your student visa permissions. This includes, but is not limited to, notifying them if:
- You do not enrol on your course before the last day of the enrolment period.
- You fail to attend a class or lecture, and UCA have not authorised it.
- You do not submit work for a specific number of times, and this has not been agreed by UCA.
- 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 VI 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 and not engaged with the university, we must withdraw our sponsorship, withdraw you from the course and you will have to return home immediately.