Student Visa Services

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Coronavirus (COVID-19): advice for international students

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted visas and international travel, as well as how the University operates in general.

Latest updates

Covid-19 Immigration Update from the UK Government

  • If your country has introduced travel restrictions or you are required to self-isolate and are therefore unable to leave the UK before your visa expires, you may now be able to extend your leave by contacting the Coronavirus Immigration Team (CIT). 
  • This is subject to certain eligibility criteria. Details of the criteria are available on Coronavirus (COVID-19): advice for UK visa applicants and temporary UK residents.

All students

I am worried about the disruption to my studies and what this means for my visa.

As long as you are engaging with your studies, your visa will not be affected even if you are studyingg remotely from outside the UK. There is a limited number of programmes that require in-person attendance listed here.

If you choose to suspend your studies, please read our advice on what this means for your visa and note that all study on Student visa is currently subject to time limits.

If you are considering suspension, it is recommended that you discuss how it may affect your future visa options with a Student Visa Adviser. Contact our Student Visa Advisers. When you are ready to return or if you are required to undertake a supplementary year in attendance in the UK, our team of Student Visa Advisers will support and advise you about obtaining a new visa to return to the UK. Contact our Student Visa Advisers.

For students and applicants who are currently in the UK

I cannot leave the UK before my visa expiry date because of the travel restrictions - what can I do?

The UKVI acknowledge that some students may now not be able to leave the UK in time because of the current lockdown and associated travel restrictions. The latest information on exceptional immigration provision concerning this can be found on this government webpage. 

If you are still studying and need to extend your UK visa for a longer period of time, please see the next FAQ.  
 

I am in the UK, still studying and my visa is expiring soon - can I extend it?

If you have recently been issued a CAS, as long as you submit the online application form and pay all the visa fees before the expiry date of your current visa, you will be considered to have made an in-time application, even if you may have to wait a bit longer than usual to complete biometrics. This means that you should legally be allowed to be in the UK while your application is being decided. You are normally expected to attend upload your documents to the Sopra Steria portal and book an in-person appointment to submit your biometric information. Recently there has been an arrangement in place where some students were invited to re-use previous biometrics and submit photo via an app. This is a temporary arrangement and it is unclear how long it will last: once you submit your application you should make sure to check your email and await instructions.
 
If you are a continuing student who needs to make an application to extend your visa to continue on the same course, please get in touch with us at student-visa-advice@bristol.ac.uk to request the CAS and receive tailored advice in due course.

If you are an applicant starting a new course with us (even where you have completed another course with us in the past), your CAS will be issued by the relevant Admissions team after they have issued your unconditional offer of study. In the meantime you can read about the Student visa requirements here and contact us if you have any questions.

Can I travel in and out of the UK?

On 4th January 2021, the UK government announced a UK-wide lockdown that will last until at least mid-February 2021. The government's expectation is that students who are on campus do not travel overseas unless absolutely necessary for the duration of the lockdown. This expectation is outlined in this government document. The University has had to adjust its policies in line with the government's guidance and the key message on this University webpage is not to travel to or from campus while the lockdown is in place. If you are at a risk of overstaying your visa or want to leave the UK for good, this may change matters - please contact student-visa-advice@bristol.ac.uk for advice as soon as possible. 

Outside of a lockdown scenario, unless you are studying one of the courses that require in-person attendance, you can leave the UK and study remotely for all of 2020/21 academic year. As long as it is possible for you continue to engage with your studies remotely, your Tier 4/Student visa should not be affected and you should be able to resume your studies in the UK once you are able to come back. 

If you have a valid visa, the University will need to know where you are: if you leave the UK you need to advise us of this using the Location of study form. 

We may send any important communications about your visa to both your university and your home email address, so you should make sure that your contact details are up to date. Please check that your "home" email address is different from your university email address and is your current email address which you can access regularly. To do this please log in at https://www.bris.ac.uk/studentinfo/ and click on the 'update' button. Please also use this link to ensure that your address is also up to date. 

I need to apply for ATAS or have an outstanding ATAS application – will this be affected by the outbreak?

Students studying certain programmes require ATAS clearance. Due to the pandemic ATAS was closed to new applicants for several weeks, but the applications reopened on 1 June 2020. You may potentially still encounter some delays: please make sure you apply in good time as you will need an ATAS certificate to both secure a visa and start your course. Please visit their ATAS webpage for further updates. 

If you are already in the UK and were hoping to start your UoB course soon, please note that unfortunately you will not be able to start without a valid ATAS certificate.

My Police Registration certificate is out of date or I still have not received one - will this be an issue?

You can read about the current status of police registration on the Avon and Somerset Police website. Please check the site regularly. This temporary situation will not affect students’ registration or visa conditions. 

You will not need to present the police registration when you leave the UK or when you return. It is however a Student visa requirement for some nationalities to register with police. If this applies to you, you should make every effort to update it once you have returned to the UK and the relevant offices have reopened. You may need to include a brief explanation note if you need to present the Police Registration certificate as part of your visa extension application in the UK and the details on it are out-of-date. We can advise you about this further if you contact us on student-visa-advice@bristol.ac.uk

For students and applicants currently outside the UK

I need to make a new application to come back from suspension and I am overseas - what do I do?

If the University previously suspended your studies due to the social distancing measures making it impossible to study your programme, please get in touch with us to check whether your visa was curtailed or not and where you may be able to make your application. 
 
Ordinarily, in order to return to the UK and continue with your course, you will need to apply for a new visa from overseas. Because your previous visa would have been curtailed due to suspension (for suspensions longer than 60 days), you will not be able to travel back to the UK on your old visa and will have to apply for a new visa from your home country. You would usually need to wait until your new visa is granted before you can return to the UK. 
 
Under normal circumstances we would issue a new CAS allowing you to return to the UK as your old CAS is no longer valid. The University has temporarily switched to blended (online with some face-to-face elements) learning and assessment and remote study should be possible for most programmes for the remainder of the 2020/21 academic year. Some courses can only be studied on campus - please view this page for study mode information for all programmes. If you are wish to/required to be in the UK, please contact Student Visa Advisers to check if you would be eligible for a new CAS. 
 
On 4th January 2021, the UK government announced a UK-wide lockdown that will last until at least mid-February 2021. The government's expectation is that students who are not already on campus do not travel back to University campuses for the duration of the lockdown. This expectation is outlined in this government document. The programmes that can only delivered in person would be exempt from this. The University has had to adjust its policies in line with the government's guidance and the key message on this University webpage is not to travel on campus from abroad or other UK locations unless you are studying on one of the exempt programmes. This means that as a general rule we are temporarily unable to issue CAS. This will be reviewed as the government guidance is revised later this year. 

I am currently overseas, and I was due to start studies at the University of Bristol soon - what should I do now?

On 4th January 2021, the UK government announced a UK-wide lockdown that will last until at least mid-February 2021. The government's expectation is that students who are not already on campus do not travel back to University campuses for the duration of the lockdown. This expectation is outlined in this government document. The programmes that can only delivered in person would be exempt from this. The University has had to adjust its policies in line with the government's guidance and the key message on this University webpage is not to travel on campus from abroad or other UK locations unless you are studying on one of the exempt programmes. This means that as a general rule we are temporarily unable to issue CAS. This will be reviewed as the government guidance is revised later this year. 
 
As the teaching and assessment in 2020/21 is a combination of online and face-to-face activities, unless you will be studying one of the programmes listed as 'in person attendance' here, you should be able to commence your studies remotely if you are unable/unwilling to get a visa to come to the UK. 
 
Please also note that although many overseas visa centres have reopened now, some remain closed until further notice: this is something that would normally depend on the local situation in that country. You will need to check the status of your nearest visa centre in order to determine if it would be possible to apply for a new Tier 4 visa at this time. You can check the status following the links below:

o   TLS Contact if you’re in Europe, Africa and parts of the Middle East

o   VFS Global for all other countries

 

I need to apply for ATAS or have an outstanding ATAS application – is this affected by the outbreak?

Students studying certain programmes require ATAS clearance. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak the Foreign and Commonwealth and Developement Office was not accepting any new applications for several weeks in the summer but seem to have resumed. Some level of backlog delays are stilll likely, so please allow extra time. If you are coming to the UK to study a course that requires ATAS clearance, please make sure you apply for ATAS in good time as you will need the certificate in order to secure a visa. Please visit their ATAS webpage for further updates. 
 
If you are overseas and were hoping to start the course remotely in the first instance, please get in touch with Student Visa Services for further advice. 

What happens to my Student visa if I can’t return to the UK until later on in the 2020/21 academic year? 

If you are unable to return to the UK we will look to ensure that you can continue to access online teaching and assessment. As long as you continue to engage with your studies your Student visa shouldn’t be affected and you should be able to resume your studies in the UK once you are able  to come back to the UK to study. At the moment UKVI are exceptionally permitting Universities to continue sponsoring students who are studying via Distance Learning in the 2020/21 academic year.

We will send any important communications about your visa to both your university and your home email address, so you should make sure that your contact details are up to date. Please check that your "home" email address is different from your university email address and is your current email address which you can access regularly. To do this please log in to StudentInfo and select the 'update' button.

If you are considering other options, such as suspension or withdrawal, please read our information about how any changes to your course will affect your visa, and contact our Student Visa Advisers. if you have any questions.

Do I need to request a change in study location if am outside the UK?

Normally, if a student will be studying outside the UK for more than 60 days (excluding holiday period), and it is agreed that you can continue your studies remotely during this time, the University reports a change in your study location to the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). This is to notify them that we, as your Tier 4 sponsor, are aware that you are temporarily studying outside the UK.

At the moment it is not required to report a change in study location. We will update this section once a new guidance is released.

Will I need to self-isolate upon arrival in the UK?

On 8th June 2020 the UK Government introduced additional measures for those arriving in the UK from overseas. Please visit these Government webpages ahead of your arrival date to make sure you review the current information and take appropriate action in timely manner. There is also important information about arriving in the UK here. 

Do I need a negative COVID-19 test result to enter the UK?

From 8th January 2021 you must have a negative COVID-19 test result in order to enter the UK. Please see this government webpage for further information.

I will start my studies remotely in the autumn 2020 and will arrive in the UK later - when should I apply for my visa?

The University has been issuing CASs with course start date of 28/09/20 as this is when most courses officially started, but they should have a latest acceptance date of 1st February 2021 for arrival in the UK as it should be possible to start the majority of the courses remotely in the first instance. The programmes that are exceptions to this arrangement are listed here. This means that by default the CASs that were issued in the summer/autumn 2020 can be used for visa applications to travel into the UK at the latest, 1st February. If you are planning to arrive considerably later on in the 2020/21 academic year or in September 2021, you may need to request a new CAS as CAS's are only valid for visa application purposes for 6 months. If your visa application date still falls within the 6 months' CAS validity window but you will be arriving after 1 February, we may be able to amend your existing CAS.  
 
There are implications to consider when deciding when to make your visa application. When applying for a visa outside the UK you will need to state your anticipated date of arrival in the UK on the application form. You should not apply any earlier than 6 months before the course start date as per CAS. Although it is unclear if the planned arrival date can be used in lieu of a course start date this academic year, if you are applying after the official course start date we recommend applying no earlier than the recommended number of months before the planned arrival date. Please also see the above paragraph for information on CAS implications.   
 
We appreciate that in the current circumstances plans can change, so if you have obtained a visa and an entry vignette but need to change your arrival date to later than 1st February 2021 and your entry vignette will expire by the time you arrive, please contact us for up-to-date advice.
 
On 04/01/2021, the UK government announced a UK-wide lockdown that will last until at least mid-February 2021. The government's expectation is that students who are not already on campus do not travel back to University campuses for the duration of the lockdown. This expectation is outlined in this government document. The programmes that can only delivered in person would be exempt from this. The University has had to adjust its policies in line with the government's guidance and the key message on this University webpage is not to travel on campus from abroad or other UK locations unless you are studying on one of the exempt programmes.

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