Student visa holders are required to attend and engage with their course in order to maintain their Student visa and remain registered on their programme. The conditions of your visa do not permit you to study your programme entirely online and so you must attend your course's in-person teaching and supervisory sessions.
Prolonged periods of non-attendance without sufficient justification confirmed with your school or department can result in the withdrawal of sponsorship for your Student visa and your withdrawal from your course.
Term-time Attendance
For taught students, term-time is set out on the Key Dates page of the The University's website. It also includes the summer period for postgraduate students who will be working on their dissertation. With the exception of the arrangement for single-year PGTs for the summer as detailed below though, taught students are expected to be studying on campus during term-time and should restrict travelling to the holiday periods. This is to ensure that you protect your Student visa status and also maintain your eligibility to apply for the Graduate route, upon the successful completion of your course.
For research students, the standard University vacation periods do not apply. You will only be considered outside of term-time when you make use of the 8 weeks of vacation you are permitted to take each academic year as approved by your supervisor and recorded by your Doctoral Academy.
It is compulsory for all undergraduate and postgraduate students to record their in-person attendance at taught activities on campus using SEAtS.
Students who do not have the option to use SEAtS to check-in need to speak to your School Attendance Team to confirm the alternative arrangements for monitoring your in-person attendance.
As part of a more flexible approach to attendance over the Summer, Student visa holders studying a one-year masters programme are required to complete the checkpoints set out below. This includes confirming where you will be studying from during the Summer via an online web form and attending two in-person check-ins, one during the assessment period and the other during the dissertation submission period.
To maintain your Student visa sponsorship and eligibility for the Graduate route, you must complete all three checkpoints detailed below within the specified timeframes:
First Checkpoint (In-person check-in): 28/05/25 > 04/06/25
You will need to check in at the hub specified to you by your school or the front desk of the Main Library between 28th May and 4th June to verify that you are still in the UK.
This check-in is necessary to adhere to UKVI guidance, which requires Students route visa holders to be physically present during assessment periods, regardless of whether assessments are conducted online.
Second Checkpoint (Study location web form submission): 05/06/25 > 07/07/25
An online web form will be made available for you to complete and confirm your primary study location for the Summer. This form will be made available from 5th June and must be submitted by 7th July, even if you plan to remain in Manchester. A link to the form will be posted here once the submission window opens.
If you move somewhere that is more than a reasonable commutable distance away from Manchester, The Student Immigration Team will notify UKVI of this change. This report will not impact your Student visa status or eligibility for the Graduate route.
Important: Completion of the webform does not represent authorisation for you to study outside the UK. Travel arrangements away from campus must still be authorised by your supervisor/school before you complete the webform.
Third Checkpoint (In-person check-in): 25/08/25 > 05/09/25
You will need to check in again at the hub specified to you by your school or the front desk of the Main Library between 25th August and 5th September to confirm you are still in the UK for the submission of your dissertation.
Early Submissions: You will still need to physically attend the final check-in even if you submit your dissertation earlier in August. If you submit your final assessment before August, you will be considered to have completed your studies early. In this case, we are required to notify UKVI and withdraw sponsorship for your Student visa. You should only submit your final assessment early if you plan to leave and complete outside the UK and are willing to give up both your Student visa and eligibility for the Graduate route.
Failure to complete one or more of these checkpoints may result in the withdrawal of your Student visa sponsorship unless you provide valid evidence of exceptional circumstances, such as hospitalization. This may lead to the curtailment of your visa by UKVI, ineligibility to apply for the Graduate route visa, and the need to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation or Standard Visitor Visa if you wish to attend your graduation ceremony.
I have already booked travel during the 1st checkpoint period. Can I check in before or after I return?
The checkpoints have been set up to meet UKVI requirements and the period PGT students are required to check in cannot be amended or extended. If you have already booked travel which will prevent you from checking in during the specified dates, you will need to change your arrangements so that you can still physically check in.
How many times am I required to check in during the 1st and 3rd checkpoint periods?
Students are only required to attend one physical check in at their designated hub or the Main Library during each of the week-long checkpoint periods.
Why do I need to return to the UK to check in and submit my dissertation in the UK?
Current UKVI requirements indicate that Student visa holders must still be in physical attendance during assessment periods, even if the assessment itself can be done online. As such, although students are permitted, with the relevant authorisation from their school, to leave the UK to work on their dissertations outside the UK during the summer, you are required return to submit your final assessment and physically check in on campus.
What if I do not plan to return to the UK and will complete my dissertation from outside the UK?
If your intention is to leave the UK and complete entirely remotely without returning to the UK, and this has been permitted by your supervisor and school, then you will need to inform the Student Immigration Team. We will report to UKVI that you have left the UK to complete remotely and withdraw sponsorship for your Student visa, resulting in it's curtailment (shortening) and early expiry. You should only leave the UK with no intention to return if you are happy to give up your Student visa sponsorship and eligibility for the Graduate route. You will also still need to complete any relevant checkpoints prior to the date of your final departure from the UK.
Why will my Student visa be reported if I submit my dissertation earlier than August?
Your Student visa has been issued to you to enable you to study the course as set out on your CAS and the Student Immigration Team are required to inform UKVI of any instances where students complete their studies early and no longer meet the conditions of their Student visa as a result. This notification represents the withdrawal of sponsorship for your Student visa and will result in the curtailment (shortening) of your Student visa's expiry. We strongly advise against submitting early unless you are happy to give up your Student visa sponsorship and eligibility for the Graduate route. If you do still choose to submit earlier than August then you will need to apply for a new visa to return and attend your graduation ceremony.
Other programmes not covered by the checkpoint arrangement above include the following:
If you are studying without any in-person sessions (classes, labs etc) and you are not carrying out fieldwork or a placement that has been formally approved by your School, then you will need to physically check in at the front desk of the Main Library once every two weeks until your final submission deadline (or extended deadline, if you have been granted an extension).
You cannot send someone else to check-in for you - if you cannot come to campus, you must contact your School to register your absence.
Taking leave / holiday
Up to 14 days: No authorisation required, as long as you can continue to meet the check-in requirements.
More than 14 days: You can request an authorised absence for any of the reasons below – contact your School Student Attendance team with leave dates and evidence. If you take this leave without School authorisation, it could impact your current student visa and your eligibility for a graduate route visa (meaning you could only return to the UK on a visitor visa).
|
Leave reason |
Evidence required (must be in English or with translation) |
|---|---|
|
Seeking urgent medical treatment |
Medical letter |
|
Bereavement / funeral |
Order of service OR letter from parent / guardian OR death certificate |
|
Family member illness |
Letter from parent / family member OR medical letter |
|
Need to renew passport or other official document(s) |
Copy of passport or other document to be renewed |
|
Fieldwork or data collection trip |
Approval from Ethics Review Manager system |
You should only submit your final assessment early if you are planning to leave the UK and are happy to return in future on a visitor visa (e.g. for graduation).
Early submission will end your current student visa and make you ineligible for the graduate route visa, due to recent changes in the UK visa system.
Contact your School if you do decide to submit early - you will be exempted from check-ins after submission.
(University Switchboard)
+44 (0) 161 306 6000
The University of Manchester
Oxford Road
Manchester
M13 9PL
