Changes during your studies includes, but is not limited to, the following circumstances:
If any of these changes occur there could be implications to your Student immigration permission and tuition fee liability. It is also important to consider how these changes may affect your return to your studies, so please read this guidance carefully.
If you are still unsure of anything, after reading the information, then please contact a Welfare Adviser for further advice.
Changing your programme could impact your Student immigration permission, you might need to return home to make a new application. Please read this information carefully to understand the requirements.
If you wish to change the programme you have an offer for, you should first contact the Admissions Office and explain the course you wish to switch to. You must be able to satisfy the offer conditions of the new course.
If you wish to change your programme offer, it is highly advisable to do this before requesting your CAS. If you have changed your programme, and have already requested a CAS but have not yet verified its details, you should make sure your course details are correct during the verification process.
Before you apply for your visa
If you have already received your CAS, you should contact the CAS Admissions Team (cas-admissions@qmul.ac.uk) to see if a new CAS is required or if the University can report the programme change to UKVI and you can keep the same CAS.
If you have applied for your Student visa
Please contact the Admissions Team at cas-admissions@qmul.ac.uk to explain your programme change, what stage in the visa application process you are at or if you have been granted your visa.
Depending on the programme change, Queen Mary may be able report the change to UKVI and allow you to continue with the same CAS. If this cannot be done you may be asked to re-apply for a new Student visa, using a new CAS, if you wish to continue with the programme change.
If you are required to re-apply for new Student visa , if the previous visa has been granted, UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) will not issue you a refund of your previous visa application fees.
Please refer to our transferring course guidance for information about how to transfer to a new programme of study.
You may be able to study the new course on your existing visa if:
You will likely need to apply for a new Student visa if you do not meet the above requirements, however particular processes are in place for those adding placement or study abroad years and medical students intercalating. Please see the further guidance on this page for more information.
If you are making a new Student visa application you must meet the academic progression requirements, or be exempted from them, to be allowed to apply for your visa from the UK. You will need to check that any changes to your studies would still be within the time limit cap.
Once your programme transfer has been processed you will be notified if you require a new visa and be instructed to request a new CAS if you do.
If you are sponsored by your government or other organisation, check that they will continue to fund you for your new programme of study. If not, you will need to find an alternative financial sponsor or other funds.
If your current programme, or the programme you are transferring to, requires ATAS clearance you may need to be granted a new ATAS certificate before the transfer can be processed.
If you would like to add a year abroad or placement to your programme, you will be exempted from meeting the academic progression requirement, as such, you are permitted to make the visa extension in the UK. To start the process, check out our changing your programme information, discuss your intentions with your school and complete the course change form. Once the change is approved, our Immigration Compliance Team will prompt you to submit a CAS request to extend your Student visa. You can apply for your new Student immigration permission either before, after or during the work placement/study abroad.
If you decide to cut your programme short, you will likely finish your course a year earlier than what your visa was granted for. When you are awarded, at the end of your final year, it is likely you will be reported as “completing earlier than expected”.
Completing earlier than expected will likely result in your visa sponsorship being withdrawn. This could have significant implications if you have international travel plans near the date you will be awarded. Please read the visa sponsorship withdrawal and visa cancellation guidance on this webpage
Whether your intercalated degree is at Queen Mary or at another Student visa sponsor, as long as you have enough immigration permission to undertake the intercalation, you do not need to make a new Student visa application before you start the intercalation. Queen Mary will notify the Home Office about the change to your studies. If you are intercalating at a different institution, that institution will be responsible for notifying UKVI of any relevant changes during that period, until you return to Queen Mary. When you need to extend your stay to complete your studies, you can make this application in the UK. You can choose to make this application before or after the intercalation. If you decided to make an immigration application before the intercalation Queen Mary would not be able to issue a CAS until the change of programme form has been processed.
If you apply for your Student immigration permission from the UK before you undertake the intercalated year, you should be automatically issued with a refund for any overlapping periods of Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) which you pay.
If you need more time to complete your PhD, including if your viva or submission of your corrections is after your Student visa expiry, Queen Mary can issue you a new CAS so that you can apply to extend your Student visa. You should meet the requirements to apply for your visa from the UK.
If you need ATAS clearance for your research, you will likely need to apply for a new ATAS certificate before a new CAS can be issued. Please read the following guidance on acquiring new ATAS clearance and requesting a CAS.
Depending on when you complete your PhD, it is possible that you could be processed as “completing earlier than expected” if your award date is recorded as being more than 2 weeks before the course end date on your most recent CAS.
A PhD student’s award should be processed at the next exam board, after their final thesis has been deposited at the library.
Completing earlier than expected will likely result in your visa sponsorship being withdrawn. This could have significant implications if you have international travel plans near the date you will be awarded. Please read the visa sponsorship withdrawal and visa cancellation guidance on this webpage.
If you are a PGR student and your School and the Research Degrees Office (RDO) agree that you can conduct your research overseas, and you will still complete your programme in the time scheduled, then you can ask them to liaise with the Immigration Compliance Team to confirm that you will still be studying during this time.
If the period of research overseas is approved, then the Immigration Compliance Team will report this as a change of study location to UK Visas and Immigration, and your existing student visa should remain unaffected. During this period, you will need to maintain regular contact with your supervisor and fulfil any requirements stipulated by the Research Degrees Office.
The UK government has legislation about the export of technologies and knowledge. Check with your supervisor if there are any additional requirements or stipulations in order for you to undertake your studies overseas.
If the period of research overseas is not agreed, or afterwards you require time out of your studies, you may consider an interruption of studies which you should discuss with your School and the RDO in the first instance. In this case, please see the section of these webpages on interrupting your studies.
Normally if you interrupt your studies for more than 60 days your visa sponsorship will likely be withdrawn. Upon returning to your studies, you would need to apply for a new CAS and Student visa.
See the further guidance on this webpage, for the impacts of visa sponsorship withdrawal and visa cancellation.
In exceptional circumstances Postgraduate research students may be allowed to interrupt for more than 60 days, check if you meet the criteria.
If you withdraw from your studies your visa sponsorship will very likely be withdrawn also.
See the further guidance on this webpage, for the impacts of visa sponsorship withdrawal and cancellation.
If you are taking a re-assessment in August, before progressing onto your next academic year, your visa sponsorship will not be immediately affected.
If you progress onto your next academic year your visa sponsorship will continue as normal.
If you fail to progress onto the next academic year, however, you may need to interrupt, withdraw or re-sit out of attendance. These may affect your visa sponsorship. See the further guidance on this webpage, for the impacts of visa sponsorship withdrawal and cancellation
If you have not passed enough modules to progress into the next academic year of your course, you will normally be required to re-sit failed modules at the next available opportunity.
Impact on current Student visa
If you are re-sitting out of attendance your visa sponsorship will likely be withdrawn as you will not currently be studying.
If your re-assessment is after the end date of your course, your visa sponsorship should not need to be withdrawn.
Visa for re-assessment
For most Undergraduate and Taught postgraduate courses there are two exam periods in the academic year. Exams are normally held in January and May. The late re-sit option in August remains in place.
(Please note that the two exam periods do not apply to MBBS/BDS, some programmes taught outside of the UK, programmes with a January or April start date and some distance learning programmes).
If your re-assessment takes place within one of these defined exam periods it will be possible for Queen Mary to consider a CAS request from you, so that you can apply for a Student visa for the assessment period.
Please see the CAS request page for information on requesting a CAS and deadline dates by which you should make the CAS request by.
Alternatively, you could follow the Visitor route to attend your re-assessments. You will not however be eligible to apply to switch to a Student visa while in the UK as a Visitor. Depending on your circumstances this may be a cheaper and more suitable option than applying for a Student visa for your re-assessment periods.
Our guides for Visitor permission explain how to apply and which documents you will need to support your application.
If your re-assessment is within a defined examination period, Queen Mary can consider a new CAS request from you to allow you to apply for a new Student visa or extend your current one.
If you are applying to extend your Student visa you should meet the requirements to apply for your visa from the UK, but only if your current visa end date is not more than 28 days before your assessment period. If you cannot apply to extend your Student visa from the UK, and do not intend to apply to switch to an alternative visa, then you will need to leave the UK by your current visa end date and return with a new visa for your assessment period.
If you can complete your re-assessment on your current visa you are not required to extend your visa, but be aware your award result may not be available before your current visa expires. This is relevant if you hope to apply for the Graduate visa, as to be eligible you must still have a Student visa when your award is confirmed, and your successful completion is reported to UKVI. You may wish to extend your Student visa for the re-assessment period, granting you a visa that should be valid until 4-months after the assessment period, which should give enough time for you to reported as eligible for the Graduate visa. Please see the Graduate visa guidance page for more information eligibility and processes.
If your re-assessment is after your visa expiry date but you do not require a Student visa, such as if you do not intend to apply for the Graduate visa, then it would be possible to use the Visitor route to return to the UK. Our guides for Visitor permission explain how to apply and which documents you will need to support your application.
Re-taking a period of study in attendance is offered in extremely limited circumstances. Students are expected to interrupt their studies if they are not fit to engage with their studies effectively.
However, if you have an extenuating circumstances claim approved by Queen Mary, you might be granted a re-take in attendance as part of your claim.
If you are granted a re-take in attendance, you must make sure that you have enough funding for this, as you will usually have to pay tuition fees and living costs for the extra period of time.
Medical and Dental students are usually required to re-take the whole academic year in attendance if they have interrupted their studies or need to re-sit exams.
You must make sure that you have sufficient funds to pay for your tuition fees and maintenance costs for your extra period of study.
If Queen Mary withdraws sponsorship of your visa this will be reported to UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) and your visa will be subject to cancellation. If Queen Mary is required to do this, it must be done within 10 working days to the change of study being processed.
Your visa could also be cancelled for other reasons not related to your studies, such as breaching the conditions of your visa or receiving a criminal conviction.
Queen Mary cannot say when UKVI will take action to cancel your visa, following your visa sponsorship being withdrawn. It may be done immediately, in a few weeks, months or even never.
When UKVI do take action to cancel your visa they should write to you, likely via email, to give you notice of this action and inform you of what your new visa end date will be. Your visa will likely be cancelled to one of the following:
As the notice of cancellation can be missed, it is advisable to act quickly after you are notified your visa sponsorship has been withdrawn. Overstaying a visa, even by accident, is a criminal offence and can lead to future UK visa refusals.
Your visa will still be subject to cancellation, as your visa sponsorship will be withdrawn, but you should still receive the same “wrap up” period that you received when your visa was first issued. For example, if you originally had a 4-month wrap-up period when your visa is cancelled it should be cancelled to 4-months from your new course end date.
Do note that if your visa is cancelled when you are outside the UK, or you leave the UK after your visa is cancelled, your visa will end with immediate effect.
Until UKVI take any action to cancel your visa, your visa remains the same following visa sponsorship withdrawal. Once UKVI do cancel your visa, you can continue living in the UK, on the same conditions of the visa (e.g. permission to work), until at least its new end date.
If you wish to remain in the UK longer you will need to make a valid visa application, in a visa route you are eligible for, before the new end date of your cancelled visa. Do be aware, however, that if you have not completed your course many visa routes will restrict you from applying in the UK.
Cancellations cannot normally be appealed but if you think the cancellation action is incorrect, or you have compelling reasons (e.g. serious health condition) preventing you from leaving the UK, it is advisable to seek specialist immigration advice as soon as possible.
If you do not intend to continue living in the UK, you should arrange to leave the UK before the new end date of your visa.
Once you have left the UK it is likely you will not be able to return unless with new visa permission. Even if UKVI had not yet taken action to cancel your visa, Border Force Officers are able to see your sponsorship has been withdrawn and may take action to cancel your visa at the border.
If you are returning to your studies, for which Queen Mary withdrew visa sponsorship for, it may be possible for the sponsorship withdrawal notification to be reversed if your Student visa has not yet been cancelled by UKVI.
If you have not received notification of your visa cancellation and are returning to your studies, please contact the Immigration Compliance Team (immigrationcompliance@qmul.ac.uk) to see if this is possible.