Student Visa Attendance and Engagement

If you are a one year or final-year postgraduate taught (PGT) student holding a Student visa and will be working on your dissertation or final project over the summer, you must complete one in-person check-in during July.

You can choose any date between 1 July and 31 July that is convenient for you. You only need to check in once, and no appointment is required.

Please attend either:

• the Hub specified by your School; or

• the Main Library front desk.

This check-in forms part of the University's engagement monitoring during the summer dissertation/project period and supports our responsibilities to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).

Please bring your University ID card with you when you attend.

Check-in locations and opening hours

• School Hubs: Monday-Friday, 10.00am-4.00pm

• Main Library front desk: Monday-Friday, 8.00am-8.00pm; Saturday-Sunday, 9.00am-5.00pm

Requests for late check-ins will generally not be considered. However, if you experience serious or unforeseeable circumstances that prevent you from attending the in-person check-in and have a significant negative effect on your academic progression, you may submit a formal Mitigating Circumstances application. This application must still meet the grounds for mitigation as detailed in the University’s Policy on Mitigating Circumstances and Extension Requests. Please note that routine non-attendance, personal travel arrangements, or other commitments will not be considered through this process.  It is recommended that you discuss your situation with your School before submitting a Mitigating Circumstances application.

If you do not complete this check‑in within the specified timeframe, the University will be unable to confirm your eligibility to apply for a Graduate visa upon completion of your course. It is strongly recommended that you arrange to attend the check‑in as early as possible within the available window.

Students undertaking fieldwork over the summer must have this formally approved by their School via My Placement so that we can report a change of study location and exempt you from the check-in requirement.

You remain responsible for meeting all programme engagement requirements and for complying with the conditions of your Student visa. The University will be required to withdraw visa sponsorship where required work is not submitted by the published deadline, and no approved Mitigating Circumstances application is in place.

Early Submissions: For one-year Master's students who started in September 2025, the standard final submission date is in the first week of September. You should not submit your final assessment more than one week before the final submission date. Submitting before 24 August may have unintended immigration consequences.

If your course has a non-standard final submission deadline please contact the Student Immigration Team for advice.

Impact of early completion: If you submit your final assessment before 24 August, you will be considered to have completed your studies early. In these circumstances, the University is required to report your early completion to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and withdraw sponsorship of your Student visa.

Please be aware that we cannot guarantee that your final results will be released before UKVI takes action to curtail your visa. If your Student visa is curtailed before you receive your final results, this will affect your eligibility for the Graduate visa, as you must hold a valid Student visa at the time your final results are confirmed and when you submit your Graduate visa application.

Please refer to the section below for answers to some frequently asked questions about the arrangements set out above. 

Can I leave the UK during the summer dissertation / project period?

You may travel during the summer period, provided you are still able to attend the mandatory July in‑person check‑in and meet any additional in‑person attendance, engagement, or assessment requirements specified by your programme. Outside of these required activities, on‑campus attendance over the summer period will not be routinely monitored.

You will be responsible for ensuring that any travel plans do not interfere with your academic obligations or any programme‑specific requirements.

What if I plan to leave the UK and complete my dissertation from outside the UK? 

If you do not attend a July in-person check-in, we will assume that you have left the UK and are completing your studies remotely with no intention of returning. In these circumstances, the University will be required to report this change to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and withdraw sponsorship of your Student visa. This will result in your visa being curtailed (shortened) and expiring earlier than originally granted.

You should be aware that the withdrawal of Student visa sponsorship may also affect your eligibility for the Graduate route, as you must hold a valid Student visa when your final results are confirmed and when you apply for the Graduate visa. If you wish to maintain your Student visa sponsorship, you must attend one of the July in-person check-ins.

I have already booked travel during the checkpoint period. Can I check in before or after I return? 

The July check-in period has been scheduled over the broadest possible timeframe to provide students with flexibility while still meeting the University's Student visa sponsorship requirements. As a result, we are unable to offer alternative check-in dates before or after the published period.

If you have booked travel that will prevent you from attending during the check-in period, you will need to amend your travel arrangements to ensure that you can attend an in-person check-in and maintain your Student visa sponsorship.

However, if your Student visa is no longer required for your future plans, for example, if you are completing an internship in your home country and do not intend to return to the UK or apply for the Graduate visa, then you may decide not to attend the check-in. In this case, the University will withdraw sponsorship of your Student visa

Why will my Student visa be affected if I submit my dissertation/final project earlier than 24 August?

Your Student visa was issued based on the course dates in your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS). If you submit your dissertation or final project before 24 August, you will be considered to have completed your studies earlier than expected.

The University is required to report early course completion to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). Once this has been reported, the University must withdraw sponsorship of your Student visa. UKVI may then curtail (shorten) your visa, resulting in an earlier expiry date.

Early completion can also affect your eligibility for the Graduate visa. To apply for the Graduate route, you must hold a valid Student visa when your final results are confirmed and when you submit your Graduate visa application. We cannot guarantee that your final results will be issued before any visa curtailment action is taken by UKVI.

For these reasons, we strongly advise against submitting your dissertation or final project before 24 August unless you understand and accept the potential impact on your Student visa sponsorship and Graduate route eligibility. 

If you do still choose to submit your dissertation / final project earlier than 24 August, unless you have switched into another visa category (e.g. Work), you will need to apply for a new visa to return and attend your graduation ceremony. 

Important Note: If the final submission date given to you by your School/faculty is before 24 August, then your programme may be non standard and you should contact Student Immigration Team for advice

If you are studying without any in-person sessions (such as classes or labs) where attendance is recorded, and you are not undertaking fieldwork or a placement that has been formally approved by your School and reported to the Home Office, you must physically check in at the Main Library front desk once every two weeks, in addition to any other checks set  by your School (e.g. monthly meetings with your supervisor).

This arrangement includes:

• Second year MBA students
• Single-year masters students who have been granted an extension or resubmission for their dissertation.

In the case of the programmes above, you will need to continue to undertake these checks until your final submission deadline (or extended deadline, if you have been granted an extension).

You'll be able to check in at the Main Library with your student ID card Monday to Friday 9am-5pm.

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).

Early submission

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. 

The University has recently introduced a new process allowing PGRs who have formally entered Submission Pending to complete their write-up from outside the UK while keeping their Student visa, provided this request is confirmed with your Doctoral Academy and you intend to return before your current visa expiry.

If you plan to spend any part of the Submission Pending period outside the UK, you must request this through My Placement. You will need to confirm the full address you will be writing up from and provide your expected return date so this can be recorded. If your plans will involve you leaving the UK for more than 4 weeks, the University will also notify UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) of a temporary change of study location. If your location changes, or if you decide to stay outside the UK for a longer or shorter period than originally planned, you must inform your Doctoral Academy so that your record can be updated accordingly.

The University cannot continue to maintain sponsorship where a student leaves the UK without prior confirmation, so it's important that you request this through My Placement before making any arrangements to leave. Requests to write-up remotely should be submitted at least 6 weeks before you plan to leave the UK and should be discussed with your supervisor first.

No new CAS will be issued to obtain a Student visa to cover periods spent outside the UK during Submission Pending. However, where required, a new CAS may be issued to enable a PGR to return to the UK for their viva and/or to complete their corrections.

Student visa holders who have been granted permission to submit late (i.e. after their submission deadline) or who have been examined and are completing corrections must remain in the UK and continue attending and engaging with their programme until their final thesis submission is approved, or until our sponsorship of their visa ends, whichever comes first. There is no requirement for PGRs to stay in Manchester once they have submitted their thesis and are awaiting their viva. However, if a viva is set to take place in person, PGRs will need to return to Manchester for this.

There is further guidance available in the PGR Submission Pending Policy. 

What if I plan to leave the UK and complete my PhD entirely remotely?

If your intention is to leave and complete your studies remotely, the University will not be able to maintain sponsorship for your Student visa, even if this has been permitted by your supervisor and school. In this case, you must notify the Student Immigration Team once you have left the UK. We will then report to UKVI that we have ceased sponsorship of your Student visa and they will take curtailment action against your visa, resulting in its early cancellation. This means that you will not be permitted to return to the UK on your Student visa and will instead need to apply for a new visa to return to the UK.