Coming to the UK

Before you travel, make sure you are prepared for your arrival and know what to expect. You must have valid UK immigration permission in place and carry all required documents in your hand luggage. The Home Office recommend that travel is only booked once you have been granted your visa.

We recommend you read the guidance from the following sources to help you prepare:

Government – travelling to the UK
UKCISA preparing for your arrival and what you can’t bring into the UK
British Council
Our Welcome information for new students

When can I come to the UK?

You must make sure you have valid UK immigration permission that allows you to study your course with us and must bring the correct documentation you will require to prove it.

When you have been granted your Student visa you must check it and arrange for any corrections to be made before you travel. Your visa will have a valid from date, you can travel to the UK from the date it is valid. If you have made an application for a Student visa but do not have the outcome, you must not travel to the UK.

If your course has already started, you must only travel to the UK if you have completed your online registration and can arrive by the latest accept date on your CAS. Read the section below if you can’t arrive in time to start your course.

If you have been issued with an entry clearance vignette (sticker) that is valid for 90 days - you must arrive in the UK during its validity, you must not attempt to enter the UK before the date it is valid from or after the date it expires. If you can’t arrive by the day the vignette expires, provided you are able to arrive in time to start your course, you will need to apply for a new entry clearance vignette from overseas. You will have a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) to collect as soon as you arrive in the UK and will have chosen a collection location when you applied for your visa. If you are required to self-isolate, you can collect your BRP once that period has passed. Read our BRP page for more information.

If you have been issued with an entry clearance vignette (sticker) that is valid for more than 90 days - you should be studying a course, or part of a longer course, of up to 6 months duration only and should arrive by the course start date. If you are studying with us for more than 6 months and your entry clearance vignette is for longer than 6 months this will have been issued incorrectly and you should contact our International Services team for advice attaching a copy of the vignette.

If you have been issued with digital immigration status and do not have a physical document (an entry clearance vignette/BRP) - Digital immigration status is only issued to some nationals with certain types of visa, this includes some EEA/Swiss nationals issued with a Student visa. You must not travel to the UK before the date your visa is valid from as you would be entered as a visitor and cannot study a full-time course that is longer than 6 months in duration. If you have a Student visa and have digital immigration status, you will not be issued with a BRP.

Read our Student route outcome information to find out more about the length of immigration permission and conditions you should have been given and what to do if anything is incorrect.

If you are awaiting the outcome of an EU Settlement application, please do not travel if you do not have a Certificate of Application or you are granted settled or pre-settled status.

If you were living in the UK by 23:00 31 December 2020 and applied to the EUSS by 30 June 2021 - you are advised not to travel outside the UK/into the UK until you are in possession of a Certificate of Application, confirming you have made a valid in-time application to the scheme. If travel before then is necessary, you may experience delays at the border whilst your application is confirmed. In such cases, where it can be confirmed that the pending application has been made by an EEA citizen or their family member, who was resident in the UK by the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020, they will be granted entry into the UK. Whilst your application is pending you are covered by The Citizens’ Rights (Application Deadline and Temporary Protection) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020. If you do not have a Certificate of Application, we will need your consent to contact the Home Office for confirmation of your right to study.

If you were living in the UK by 23:00 31 December 2020 and applied to the EUSS after the 30 June 2021 deadline – you must not travel outside the UK/into the UK until you are in possession of a Certificate of Application, confirming you have made a valid application to the scheme. You may also be asked to provide evidence that you were resident in the UK by the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020 in order to be granted entry into the UK. if you apply/applied after the deadline of the 30th June 2021, you are not covered by The Citizens’ Rights (Application Deadline and Temporary Protection) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020. This means you require a Certificate of Application to travel and prove any rights you may have in the UK whilst your application is pending. You will not be able to study with us in the UK if you do not have a Certificate of Application or proof of your settled/pre-settled status.

Arriving at the UK border

When you arrive at the UK border you will need various documents, including:

Your passport, that should be valid for the duration of your stay in the UK. If your visa/entry clearance is a sticker in an old passport you must bring both passports. If you do not have your old passport you will need to transfer your visa to a new passport before you can travel.
Your immigration documents that are valid for entry to study on the date you arrive.
The supporting documents you required in order to apply for your immigration permission.
If you are a non-visa national seeking entry at the border to study for up to 6 months as a Standard Visitor, you must bring documents that show you meet all the requirements and read our guidance below.

Problems at the border

If there is a problem when you try to enter the UK and UK Border Force need to contact the University, they can do so as follows:

Send an 'urgent' email to the International Services team. This is the quickest way to contact us.
If the Border Force officer insists on telephoning the University, they will need to contact our Student Services Hub during opening hours by calling +44 (0)1206 874000 (for all campuses), in the first instance. Our SSH advisers will not be able to answer queries from UK Border Force or the Home Office but can pass the details onto the International Services team immediately.

The SSH telephone lines are open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm in term time and 10am to 4pm in vacations, except for public holidays and during the University Christmas closure period.

The International Services team office hours are Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, except for public holidays and during the University Christmas closure period. If we are contacted outside these hours, we will deal with the enquiry the next working day.

Before a response can be sent, our International Services team will need to verify that the contact has come from UK Border Force and check University records, in some cases it may be necessary to liaise with other departments. We will always prioritise these enquiries and respond to UK Border Force as soon as we have all the information required.

If you are allowed to enter the UK but restrictions or conditions have been imposed by UK Border Force, you should email the International Services team immediately for urgent advice.