UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) require St Mary’s University to perform study checks on all students who are not British, Irish, or a national from Channel Islands or Isle of Man.
Retaining evidence of study checks proves that each student has the right to study within the UK at St Mary’s University.
Depending on your visa type and the immigration permission that you hold, different immigration documents will need to be presented before, during and after you have enrolled on your course. All required documents will need to be assessed by the UKVI Compliance and Immigration team (visa team) to ensure you can remain enrolled for the duration of your studies.
If your visa permission is expiring before your course ends, it is very important that you apply for a new grant of permission before your current visa expires or you will become an overstayer. If your visa has expired and your course has not ended, your enrolment status may be temporarily or permanently withdrawn and you may not be able to finish your course.
If you update your immigration status during your studies, you can upload your new immigration status via the student portal in the ‘manage my documents’ section.
You must keep all of your immigration documents in a safe place, for example you should not carry your passport with you wherever you go. You must ensure that all necessary immigration documents are up to date. Please read the UKVI regulations to find out more.
Arrival Information: Important tips
You should not to enter the UK unless you have been granted the correct immigration permission. This is due to the complications and additional cost that can arise if you enter the UK too early.
Please do not enter the UK as a visitor if you have applied for a student visa and your visa has not yet been granted. If you have applied for a student visa, you cannot enter the UK until after the decision has been made on your student visa application. The Home Office will notify you via email or letter that your application has been successful.
You are at risk of having to leave the UK if you enter as a visitor before your student visa has been granted. You will need to re-enter after your student leave has been granted to validate the new status. The immigration rules do not permit for you to enter the UK as a visitor and switch to the student visa route inside the UK. You will not be fully enrolled until the visa team has checked your student visa status.
If you have waited for longer than 8 weeks and you have not received any confirmation from the Home Office that a decision has been made on your application, then please contact your visa office directly.
You can pay a higher visa application cost (if applicable) for a faster decision. This does not always guarantee a faster decision if there are any complications with your visa application or if there are visa processing delays.
Travel
Please do not book flights or any form of travel ticket until you have been granted the correct grant of immigration permission, as you may need to re-book your tickets if your visa is not granted in time.
Please check your visa details once granted as any errors with your visa will need to be reported to the Home Office and amended accordingly.
Nationals of: Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and the United States of America and EEA states and Switzerland can use the e-Gates to enter the UK.
If you use the e-Gates you are unlikely to receive a date stamp of arrival in your passport. Please keep your proof of entry to the UK you will be asked for this evidence as part of your enrolment.
Read UKCISA information for arrival in the UK
Enrolment explained
Please read about the immigration documents that are required to present during the enrolment period depending on your:
- Nationality
- Visa Category, and
- Immigration permission.
Not every visa applicant is granted with the same immigration documents so please ensure you have everything you need.
You must be able to access all of your documents and have them saved in a suitable file to ensure your enrolment can be completed without interruption.
Enrolment stages
Applicants applying for Student visas, will have been assigned a CAS number via the International Admissions team and invited via email from the Registry team to complete online enrolment tasks.
Occurs when applicants have completed online enrolment tasks.
In the majority of cases from overseas and are awaiting caseworker decisions on Student visa applications. Due to visa delays for whatever reason, it is not guaranteed that applicants who have completed online enrolment tasks will arrive inside the UK in-time for latest course start dates.
PE status is a holding enrolment position. International students must have arrived inside the UK and completed a face-face identification check with the visa team before enrolment status is updated to
Current. Those who have not arrived inside the UK by the latest course start dates will have their enrolment status ‘withdrawn’.
The student visa team will update a student record to Current status once in-person identification checks are complete.
The visa team will check and record all necessary immigration documents. Arrival dates are checked to ensure international students have entered the UK after leave was granted and with the correct immigration permission.
Read the SMU student visa attendance and engagement policy
Immigration documents explained
EEA and EU nationals do not receive Entry Clearance Vignettes inside their passports or Biometric Residence Permits (BRP’s).
Until 1st January 2025, most international Student Route Visa applicants will receive an Entry Clearance Vignette inside their passport. If you are granted an Entry Clearance Vignette you will also require an eVisa. After 1st January 2025, Entry Clearance Vignette’s will be discontinued and only eVisa’s will be granted by the Home Office.
Entry Clearance Vignettes are only valid for 3 months, which will give you plenty of time to arrive inside the UK before your course starts. You will be able to enter the UK up to one month before your course start date. Please ensure you enter the UK after the ‘valid from’ date stated on your vignette and not before to ensure you validate your visa correctly.
On entry to the UK, your vignette should be date stamped by an entry clearance officer, please check the date stamp to ensure it has the correct date.
You may be able to enter the UK via an e-Gate according to your nationality. If you enter via an e-Gate, please retain your boarding pass as proof of your entry date to the UK. Your arrival date must be recorded against your student record.
Until 1st January 2025, most international Student Route Visa applicants with receive a BRP after arrival to the UK. If you are granted a BRP, you will also require an eVisa. After 1st January 2025, BRP’s will be discontinued and only eVisa’s will be granted by the Home Office.
When you apply for your Student Route Visa, you can arrange to have your BRP delivered to St Mary’s University or a local Post Office.
We recommend that you request for delivery of the BRP to St Mary’s University. Please select “Collect from an Alternative Location” St Mary’s ACL code is 2HE952 - St Mary’s address will be displayed.
If your BRP has arrived at the university, the visa team will email you to collect your BRP after you have arrived in the UK. There can be delays at the BRP distribution centre up to 4-6 weeks and the delivery courier service is not always reliable. We will endeavour to help you to locate any BRP’s that do arrive on-time.
If you choose to have your BRP delivered to a local Post Office, you must visit the Registry department located in the main campus, the J Building first floor with your BRP and your passport once collected from the Post Office.
Unless you visit Registry for your identification check, your enrolment status with remain as Provisionally Enrolled (PE) and you will not have full access to all university systems.
If you have a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) that expires on 31 December 2024, or you will be receiving a BRP after your arrival to the UK; the Home Office will email you instructions about how to create a UKVI account and access your eVisa before the expiry date of your BRP.
If you have already been contacted to create an account, either by email or in a decision letter, you can follow the instructions to create a UKVI account.
If you’re an international student who used the UK Immigration: ID check app, you should have been granted an eVisa also called digital visa status. This is your visa status online.
When you complete online enrolment, you must provide the visa team with your share code to access to your digital visa status: For more information about eVisa requirements and share codes please find out more.
Tip
When generating a share code, you should be given a list of options to choose from: ‘Right to Rent’, ‘Right to Work’ or ‘Something Else’. When generating a code to share with the university, please select the option for ‘Something Else’.
Your share code will expire after 30 days and you will need to request another one if it expires if the visa team have not checked your share code in-time.
During the enrolment stage you are required to present:
- Your passport (original).
- Your entry clearance vignette (inside your passport, not issued for all visa applicants).
- Your share code (email). You must generate this yourself, not issued for all visa applicants e.g. Standard Visitors).
- The visa letter showing your grant of status from UKVI (This is usually emailed to you after your visa application has been processed Or as a paper copy).
- Your boarding pass, eticket or stamp inside your passport to prove the date you entered the UK.
- Your BRP (only if collected from a Post Office inside the UK or another UK address if you have previous leave to remain previously studied inside the UK.).
If you plan on studying in the UK for one semester and do not wish to find employment or complete a work placement as part of your course, then you will be able to arrive, study and stay in the UK for up to 6 months on a standard visitor visa. You must carry your offer letter from St Mary’s with you when you travel to show at the border if asked about the purpose of your travel.
You will need to apply for a visa before travelling.
Check now
The visa team must retain copies of your permission to enter the UK during the enrolment period. You will require a date stamp inside your passport on arrival to the UK. Please ensure your passport has been stamped with the correct date.
Some Non-visa nationals (including EU/EEA nationals)
You will not need to apply for a visa before travelling.
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You can enter the UK via the e-Gates. You will not receive a visa stamp, please keep hold of your arrival documents. (Boarding pass, etickets). You will automatically obtain 6 months permission to enter the UK as a ‘Standard Visitor’ and the visa team will request details of your arrival during the enrolment period.
Nationals of: Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and the United States of America and EEA states and Switzerland can use the e-Gates.
Other Non-visa nationals (not listed above)
You will not need to apply for a visa before travelling.
Check now
You will require a stamp inside your passport on arrival to the UK. Please request a stamp at the border if you are not offered one. The visa team will retain copies of your immigration permission during the enrolment period.
During enrolment you are required to present:
- Your passport (original).
- The Entry Clearance visitor vignette inside your passport (if you are a visa national).
- If your passport was not stamped because you entered the UK through an e-Gate, your boarding pass, eticket or stamp inside your passport to prove the date you entered the UK.