Academic progress must be shown for international students undertaking further studies in the UK. All proposed studies must be completed within permitted UKVI time limits.*
Applicants and higher level studies – Academic progress is usually demonstrated by moving up a level on the RQF/CEFR scale (e.g. Foundation to UG degree, UG degree to PGT degree). The Home Office requires full qualifications to be successfully completed (or highly likely to be completed). This means that the full qualification must be completed rather than parts of the qualification. Further investigation of individual cases will be required if progress is not being demonstrated in this way to establish if a CAS can be issued.
Applicants and same level studies (successfully completed) - Applicants seeking to undertake a subsequent course at the same RQF/CEFR level as their previous course which they successfully completed must provide a strong and valid academic justification for repeating studies at the same level. Cases will be considered by the Head of Direct or UCAS/UTT Admissions in liaison with the University's Visas and Immigration Senior Manager where necessary and will only be accepted for the purpose of issuing a CAS if it is clear that the new course is related to the previous course, (e.g. connected to the previous course, part of the same subject group or involves deeper specialisation) or the student's previous and new course combined, support the student's genuine career aspirations.
Applicants and same level studies (failed) Where applicants have taken a previous course at the same level on the RQF scale as the new course for which they are applying, but they failed all or part of the first course or were downgraded to receive a lower qualification than that which was aimed for (e.g. starting an MSc/MA and leaving with a PG certificate or diploma) a CAS should not be issued.
Applicants and same level studies (incomplete but successful to date) Where applicants have withdrawn having successfully completed more than 33% of their original course a CAS should not be issued. Where applicants have withdrawn having successfully completed 33% or less of their original course a CAS should not normally be issued unless there is evidence (retained as part of the Admissions file) that the applicant is outside the UK and a strong and compelling case can be made to justify issuing a CAS in these circumstances. Any CAS issued must note that the visa application will be made overseas. Cases will be considered by the Head of Direct or UCAS/UTT Admissions in liaison with the University's Visas and Immigration Senior Manager where necessary.
Failure to disclose previous studies on an application may lead to any CAS which has been assigned being withdrawn.
Applicants and lower level studies – Where applicants are going backwards in terms of academic progression according to the RQF/CEFR scales a CAS must not be issued.
Current students and resits/repeats - Current students undertaking re-sit examinations or repeating certain elements of their studies in attendance can be regarded as making progress and may be eligible for a CAS if their attendance is academically necessary, they had good attendance on the course to date, they have EC evidence and they can complete the course within UKVI time limits for studying in the UK. Where one or more of these requirements is not met a CAS will not be issued. Students with a status of 'resit in attendance' will be required to attend all failed modules where the modules are running.
The length of time permitted for a re-sit in attendance/repeat of studies should not exceed the period originally allowed by the University for that element of the studies (e.g. 12 months for writing up a PhD thesis). These time limits are based upon an expectation of sufficient academic progress being made during time spent in the UK.
Students will only be granted one resit with attendance/repeat of studies period under immigration sponsorship (e.g. 12 months for an extension to the thesis pending period ideally approved in 6 month blocks).
Where students are unable to study on a full time basis for health reasons but remain in the UK on a student visa, this time will count towards the University's maximum permitted time for immigration sponsorship. However, if students leave the UK, the time spent overseas will not count towards the University's maximum permitted time for immigration sponsorship.
If extra time is approved by an academic school, the University will only act as an immigration sponsor for the student to remain in the UK for the length of time originally allowed for that element of the studies and this will be counted backwards from the new expected completion date.
For PhD students undertaking an additional period of registered study or thesis pending, we will not be able to act as an immigration sponsor beyond 24 months unless and until the student submits their thesis and needs to be in the UK to attend the viva. Where corrections are required we will act as an immigration sponsor for the student to remain in the UK to complete the corrections up to a maximum period of 12 months. If a student requests an extension to their post-viva correction period, the repeat period of study should not exceed that which was originally permitted for that element of the PhD. We will not act as an immigration sponsor beyond this. Any time spent overseas will not be discounted from the 12 month period and we will not extend immigration sponsorship for extensions to resubmission.
Current students moving to the UK campus from UNNC or UNMC - Where a student's course is terminated at the overseas campus either on academic, disciplinary or immigration grounds, we will not act as an immigration sponsor for study at the UK campus.
Voluntary Course Transfers:
Current students and course transfer requests (successful completion to date/higher level studies) - Transfers on to courses at a higher level on the RQF/CEFR scale can be approved (subject to ATAS requirements/sponsor approval, UKVI time limits and consideration of the link between the previous course successfully completed in the UK and the new course as appropriate). If the new course cannot be completed within the duration of the existing visa a CAS can be issued and the student will, in most cases, need to make a new visa application at time the transfer is implemented. Advice will be given by the Visa and Immigration team on the required timing of the application and whether the new visa application can be made in the UK or if it must be made overseas, according to the Immigration Rules.
Current students and course transfer requests (successful completion to date/same level studies with progression) - Transfers on to the next stage of a same level course on the RQF/CEFR scale can be approved (subject to ATAS requirements/sponsor approval, UKVI time limits and consideration of the link between the previous course successfully completed in the UK and the new course as appropriate). Where the change relates to the course title only (within the same academic school) and does not impact on dates/duration/course level or ATAS, the transfer can be approved without any need for a new visa application to be made. If the new course cannot be completed within the duration of the existing visa, a CAS can be issued and the student will, in most cases, need to make a new visa application at time the transfer is implemented. Advice will be given by the Visa and Immigration team on the required timing of the application and whether the new visa application can be made in the UK or if it must be made overseas, according to the Immigration Rules.
Current students and course transfer requests (successful completion to date/same level studies - backward transfers/transfers onto a previous or earlier stage of a same level course on the RQF/CEFR scale) – Where students request to transfer having successfully completed or attempted more than 33% of their original course the transfer should not be approved. Where students request to transfer on to an earlier stage of a same level course having successfully completed 33% or less of their original course the transfer can be approved (subject to ATAS requirements/sponsor approval, UKVI time limits and consideration of the link between the previous course successfully completed in the UK and the new course as appropriate). If the new course cannot be completed within the duration of the existing visa a CAS can be issued but the student will need to apply for a new visa from overseas.
Current students and course transfer requests (successful completion to date/lower level studies) – Transfers on to a course that is at lower level on the RQF/CEFR scale (e.g., MEng to BEng/PhD to MPhil) can be approved, however, unless the transfer is to the lower level of an integrated course and can be completed on the existing visa, a new visa application from overseas at the time the transfer is implemented will be required. Advice will be given by the Visa and Immigration team at the time of any transfer request.
Current students and course transfer requests (failed or downgraded (including ordinary degree)/backward transfers) – Where students request to transfer having failed all or part of the first course or having been downgraded to a lower qualification/ordinary degree the transfer should not be approved.
Involuntary Course Transfers:
Current students and course transfer recommendations - Course transfers following exam board recommendations may involve students downgrading from one qualification to another that is lower on the RQF/CEFR scale (e.g. MEng to BEng/ PhD to MPhil). These requests will be automatically processed but may have immigration implications and students are advised to contact the Visa and Immigration team for advice. The student may need to make a new visa application from overseas at the time the transfer is implemented regardless of whether the course can be completed within the existing visa, and should seek guidance from the Visa and Immigration team.
|