Student Visa Responsibilities
As of the 5th October 2020 the Tier 4 visa route has been replaced by a new visa route called “Student Visa” for new applicants. If you hold a Tier 4 visa this still remains valid and you remain in the UK under the same visa conditions as before. If you have concerns or need advice, please contact advice@kcl.ac.uk.
King’s College London holds a Tier 4 licence issued by UKVI that allows us to bring overseas students into the UK to study with us. For us to maintain and keep our licence we have to make sure that we meet the UKVI’s rules and regulations surrounding Student VIsas.
When a student is issued with a Student Visa they also have to make sure they meet the rules and requirements related to their visa to enable them to maintain their visa and remain in the UK.
Below is a list of the responsibilities and conditions that need to be met by both King’s College and students. For more information or for any queries please contact visa compliance at visa-reg@kcl.ac.uk
Documents
You are required to provide King’s with the following documents:
- Your immigration documents
- ATAS certificate (if required)
- Documents used to obtain your offer – certificates etc.
If any of you documents change over the course of your studies you are required to provide King’s with up to date copies.
Contact details
You must keep your contact details up to date with both King’s College and UKVI.
Change of personal details
You should inform the university and the UKVI of any of changes to your personal details that may affect your visa status. These include changes to your name, nationality, gender etc.
Significant change in circumstances
King’s is required to report any significant changes in your studies to UKVI. If any of the following are applicable to you during your studies you must let King’s know straight away:
- Change in programme at King’s
- Change in study location
- The length of programme becomes shorter
- You will complete a work placement
For further information about change of circumstances please see our guidance Change of Circumstances.
Withdrawals and interruptions
If you withdraw or interrupt King’s will be required to report this to UKVI and withdraw sponsorship of you. UKVI will then curtail (shorten) their visa.
You will be expected to leave the UK following any withdrawals or interruptions.
For further guidance on withdrawals and interruptions, please contact us
Change of immigration status
If you change your immigration status to another category you should inform King’s straight away. We are required to report this to UKVI.
Attendance and engagement
To comply with the UKVI regulations, we keep a record of Student Visa/Tier 4 visa holders attendance and report any issues of consistent non-attendance to the UKVI which will result in your visa sponsorship being cancelled. You need to ensure your attendance and engagement is not falling below certain standards.
Please refer to Tier 4 visa compliance page for more information regarding how our monitoring system works.
Police Registration
Some students are required to register with the police as a condition of their visa. For more information about this please see our web pages.
Working
The regulations surrounding what work you can do on a Tier 4 or Student Visa are very strict, and the penalties for breaching these rules, even accidentally, are severe. You can find guidance on working on your Studnet Visa/Tier 4 visa on our Working in the UK page. If you are unsure of how many hours you can do, or what type of work you can do, contact an International Adviser before starting work.