Course changes can affect your Student visa and may require you to apply for new ATAS clearance and/or a new Student visa before you can change programmes.

You must check with your Academic School whether your new course requires ATAS clearance. This is required for certain science or engineering postgraduate-level courses, or for integrated masters courses (e.g. MEng). If you do require ATAS clearance you must apply for an ATAS certificate and have received this before you can start studying your new course.

You need to read the information in our course change guide to check if you need to apply for a new visa before you can change your course. 

If your situation requires that you apply for a new Student visa then you should check if you can apply in the UK. If you must return home, you should contact your School administrator to confirm the dates you can do this. Students are advised to apply for this as soon as possible because visa application fees are only likely to increase each year and the immigration rules may change in the future.

The University is required to report to UKVI that we are no longer sponsoring your Student visa if you interrupt your studies for more than 60 days unless you are a research student who has requested an interruption for maternity leave. This report will start the curtailment (cancellation) of your visa. 

Once an interruption has been confirmed by the University, you will receive an email from the Student Immigration Team confirming a report has been submitted to UKVI. Once the report has been submitted:

• you no longer have the right to work in the UK;  
• anyone who is dependent on your Student visa will also lose the conditions of their visa and will need to return home with you;
• your reason for being in the UK (study) no longer exists - you should not plan to stay in the UK for more than 60 days after the date you receive the email confirming our report to UKVI;
• you should not travel out of the UK and then attempt to return on your Student visa. 

UKVI should email you to confirm your new visa expiry date, which is usually 60 days from the date of the letter or email. As you may miss your curtailment notice, you should plan to leave the UK as soon as possible once you have started your interruption. You should also be aware that time spent in the UK waiting for your visa to be curtailed still counts towards UKVI's time limits of study in the UK.

If you are receiving NHS treatment, you should be aware that your entitlement to access such treatment will end when your visa expires. If you are not able to travel, you will need to contact an immigration solicitor to find out if you would be eligible to submit an FLR (HRO) application for leave to remain in the UK outside the immigration rules. As part of this application, you will have to make an Immigration Healthcare Surcharge payment which will give you access to NHS treatment on the same basis as you have as a Student visa holder. We recommend that you seek advice from a solicitor to assist with your FLR (HRO) application. Guidance on how to choose a solicitor is available from the Law Society. Please note that if you are granted leave outside the immigration rules you cannot then switch into the student route from inside the UK. 

When you are planning to return to your studies, you must contact us to confirm your situation before you return. If you have not obtained immigration permission in another category that permits study (e.g. FLR (HRO)) you will need to make a new Student visa application from your home country before resuming your course.

You are entitled to take a study break of up to 12 months following the birth of your baby. However, as there is no specific "maternity leave" provision with a Student visa, the length of leave that you take may have implications on your visa.

Students on taught programmes

We can maintain sponsorship of your Student visa for a period of maternity leave taken in the UK that does not exceed 60 days of term-time absence.

Depending on the timing of your absence in the academic year and the nature of your course, there may be a delay in you being able to rejoin your programme for programme timetabling reasons. While we would expect to be able to maintain your visa sponsorship over the normal vacation periods for your programme, we will not be able to maintain visa sponsorship for term-time absence beyond 60 days where you are simply waiting to resume your programme.

We strongly advise that you contact the Student Immigration Team to discuss your situation. This is particularly important because the length of your maternity leave may mean that you and any dependants need to leave the UK. As the UKVI has severely restricted the circumstances in which taught students can bring dependants to the UK, it is important to understand the visa implications of your situation so that you can plan accordingly.

Students on research programmes

We can maintain sponsorship of your Student visa for a period of maternity leave taken in the UK or overseas that does not exceed 4 months.

Given the individually distinct nature of research degrees, it is expected that your interactions and milestones on returning to study will be adjusted to accommodate this leave. Further, the use of the 4 month ‘wrap-up’ period that the UKVI has already added to your visa duration should mean that your visa is still of sufficient duration to cover your programme.

If you plan to take a period of maternity leave that is longer than 4 months, you should contact the Student Immigration Team for advice.

Paternity Leave and the Impact on Your Student Visa

A total of two weeks paternity leave may be taken at any time during a partner’s pregnancy or within three months following birth. There is no specific "paternity leave" provision with a Student visa, however a short absence would not generally have visa implications unless it impacted your assessment and progression. We recommend that you contact your Doctoral Academy Support Hub in the first instance to discuss the timing and potential impact on your programme of any planned absence.

The visa implications depend on whether you are resitting exams without attending classes or repeating part of your course with attendance.

Resitting exams without attendance

If you are required to resit exams without attendance, the University must report this to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). We will email you when we have made the report and explain what happens next.

UKVI will shorten (curtail) your Student visa and contact you with a new visa expiry date. This is usually 60 days after UKVI makes its decision. You must leave the UK before your new visa expiry date.

If you need to return to the UK for your resit exams, the type of visa you need will depend on when you are expected to resume your studies.

If you will return to regular study within 60 days of your resit exams

For example, if you have resit exams in August and are expected to resume attending your course in September, you may be eligible for a new Student visa covering both your exams and the rest of your course.

You will need to:

• Contact your academic School to request a new Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS).

• Apply for your new Student visa from outside the UK, usually around 2-3 months before your resit exams.

If you do not pass your resit exams and cannot continue your course as planned, the Student Immigration Team will report this to UKVI. We will email you when the report has been made. UKVI will then shorten your visa and notify you of your new expiry date.

If you will not return to regular study within 60 days of your resit exams

For example, if you have resit exams in January but will not resume your course until September, you cannot obtain a Student visa to cover both periods.

Instead, you will need to:

• Apply for a Standard Visitor visa or an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), depending on your nationality, to return to the UK for your exams.

• Leave the UK after your exams.

• If you pass your exams and are permitted to resume your course, request a new CAS from your academic School and apply for a new Student visa from outside the UK before returning to your studies.

Repeating modules or an academic year with attendance

If you are repeating modules or a full academic year with attendance, you can normally continue studying in the UK using your current Student visa.

However, you may need to extend your visa if repeating your studies means you will finish your course later than originally planned.

You can apply to extend your Student visa from within the UK during the final three months of your current visa. You will need to contact your academic School to request a new CAS for your visa application.

Masters students needing an extension

If you need more time in the UK to complete your Masters course, you should contact your school's programme team to ask whether a continuer CAS can be issued to enable you to apply for a new visa. If your school agree that you have an academic need to be in attendance, and that you will continue to receive academic supervision, then you may be eligible for a CAS to apply for a new Student visa. However, if you are not repeating any course modules you will not eligible to apply from within the UK and must return home before your current visa expires and apply for a new Student visa to return. See our guidance on applying from outside the UK. 

If your school does not agree there is an academic basis for a new CAS to be issued but you want to return to the UK (e.g. to attend graduation), then the Standard Visitor visa or ETA route should be suitable for you. Please be aware though that in this situation, you will not be eligible for the Graduate visa after completing your course as you will not have a valid Student visa.

If you are planning to undertake a placement, study abroad or fieldwork away from campus as part of your course, you need to confirm with your School or Doctoral Academy (DA) that you are academically eligible to do so and obtain formal approval through the University's My Placement system. Requests should be submitted well in advance of the start date of the proposed activity. Postgraduate Researchers (PGRs) must ensure that any off-campus academic activity is formally authorised and recorded by the DA and is not simply agreed informally with a supervisor. 

You should not make any travel arrangements or begin a placement, study abroad or fieldwork until your request has been formally approved by your School or DA. 

Provided you are eligible to undertake the activity, it has been approved and recorded in My Placement, and you have confirmed the full address or addresses where you will be based and the duration of the activity, the Student Immigration Team will notify UKVI of the temporary change to your study location. Your Student visa should not be affected by the approved activity. 

If your itinerary changes from what was originally approved, you must inform your School or DA so that your record can be updated and the Student Immigration Team can notify the Home Office of the change.

You should also ensure that your address details in MyManchester are kept up to date, including where you will be living during any placement or study-abroad period.

If you complete your course more than a month earlier than expected the University will report this to UKVI. The report is based on the expected course end date on the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) that you used to apply for your current Student visa.

You will be emailed by the Student Immigration Team once we have notified UKVI that you have completed your course early. Depending on how much time is left on your visa, UKVI may curtail your visa and contact you with a new expiry date. If you completed your course and achieved the qualification for which your CAS was issued then you should still have a 4-month period of leave after your actual course completion date. We would therefore advise that you leave the UK or switch to a different immigration category within four months of the date of our report.

You should regularly check your emails for UKVI's curtailment notice. You cannot travel back to the UK on your Student visa once it is curtailed, even if the expiry date is still in the future.

If you decide to defer the start of your course to the next academic year then you need to inform both the Student Immigration Team and your School/Department.

If you have not used your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) to apply for a visa then your CAS will be withdrawn and you will receive a new CAS in the future to apply for a visa based on your deferred course start date.

If you have already applied for a visa using your CAS the University will inform UKVI of your deferral. Your Student visa will be cancelled and you will not be able to use it to travel to the UK. You will need to request a new CAS and apply for a new visa within 3 months of your deferred course start date. In such circumstances, you will unfortunately not be eligible for a refund of your visa application fee or Immigration Health Surcharge.

If you leave or are withdrawn from your course then the University is required to report this to UKVI and you will be emailed by the Student Immigration Team once this has been done. UKVI will then curtail (shorten) your Student visa and email you a curtailment notice confirming a new visa expiry date which replaces your original one. Your visa should be curtailed within 60 days but the process can take longer.

You will need to leave the UK or make an alternative valid visa application before your curtailed visa expiry date. Your visa is likely to be curtailed within a few weeks of your being reported so the safest option is for you to leave the UK or make an valid visa application (where you are eligible) within 60 days of the date we email you to confirm that we have informed UKVI of your withdrawal.

As your work rights are connected to your status as an active full-time student, you no longer have the right to work once your withdrawal is reported to UKVI so you must stop working immediately and refrain from carrying out any further work whilst you are still in the UK.