When will I be reported as eligible for my Graduate visa?
In summary: The University will report eligible students after your final results have been formally confirmed by the School Assessment Board. Please note, if you have debt to the University, the Visa and Compliance team will not notify the Home Office about your successful course completion. This means you will be unable to apply for your Graduate visa. Please also note that if you did not achieve your intended award, or if your Student visa has expired or been curtailed, you will not be eligible for the Graduate visa.
In more detail: The UK’s Visa regulations state that the University is not permitted to report students to the Home Office as being eligible for the Graduate visa until after the University has formally confirmed their final result.
Any marks you see on Moodle are provisional, and final marks are confirmed at the School Assessment Board once all assessments have been completed. After the School Assessment Board has taken place, the Assessment team will notify the Visa team of all final awards that were agreed at that Board.
The Visa team will begin reporting students who are eligible for the Graduate visa as soon as they receive this confirmation from the Assessment team. Student visa holders will be contacted via email when this has happened.
Can my visa be reported earlier?
In summary: This is not possible, as we are not permitted to report students as having successfully completed their programme until this is formally confirmed by the School Assessment Board.
In more detail: There is no way for any team at the University to expedite the process of award confirmation or reporting to the Home Office. All procedures are followed as standard for all students, however students whose visas are expiring earlier will be prioritised. In all cases, all relevant reporting to the Home Office will be done before all students’ visas expire.
Students have up until the expiry date of their Student visa to apply for the Graduate visa. As long as your Student visa is valid at the time of applying for the Graduate visa, your immigration status is protected while you wait for the outcome of your Graduate visa application. You should not leave the UK while you wait for the new visa application to be processed – if you do, the application will be cancelled.
What if I am not eligible for the Graduate visa?
You will not be eligible for a Graduate visa if:
you are not awarded the qualification stated on your CAS,
your Student visa is no longer valid,
you are no longer in the UK, or
you have an outstanding debt to the University which you do not clear before your Student visa expires. This includes unpaid accommodation fees.
Please note, if you clear an outstanding debt shortly before your visa expires, this may impact the University’s ability to report you to the UKVI in time for you to apply for a Graduate visa.
The University will not report you to the Home Office if you are not eligible to apply for the Graduate visa. If you are not eligible, you must make plans to leave the UK on or before the date on which your Student visa expires.
If you seek to return to the UK in the future you will not be able to do so via the Graduate route. If you believe that you are eligible to extend your stay in the UK via a different visa route you should seek independent immigration advice – this is not something the University can advise you on.