Changes to your study

As a student you may experience various changes in circumstances during your study at the University, which may have an impact on your Student visa. As your visa sponsor the University is required to report these changes to the Home Office. It is therefore important that you follow the advice provided in the sections below.

If you have any questions, please attend one of the weekly Immigration Drop-in Sessions or contact the Immigration & Compliance team so we can advise you further.

Repeating or re-sitting without attendance

As per the Home Office’s student visa regulations, the University must withdraw visa sponsorship of students from whom we do not require continued participation for a period of more than 60 days of the next academic period. In view of this if any of the following examples apply to you, your academic school will inform the Immigration & Compliance team who will withdraw your student visa sponsorship with the Home Office and notify you by email.

Your mode of study is online-only with no timetabled sessions on campus.
You are required to repeat / re-sit modules or submit coursework without attendance or with a gap of more than 60 days before your next required attendance on campus.
You have deferred your study following an appeal of Chair’s action and are not required to attend on campus for a period of more than 60 days.
You have failed your work placement and therefore unable to progress onto the next stage of the course, however the repeat placement will not run until the next academic year, next term or with a gap of more than 60 days.
You have completed an exam, and do not have any timetabled sessions in Semester 1 (September to December). Your next timetabled sessions will start in Semester 2 (January to April).
You do not have any timetabled sessions in Semester 2 (January to April); however, you have a re-sit exam in July.

Following the University’s report, the Home Office will curtail (shorten) your visa. You must return to your home country after your last campus engagement, or within 60 days of receiving the email notification from the Immigration & Compliance team.

You must not use your student visa to re-enter the UK. Instead, you will need to apply for a new student visa in your home country. You must contact the Immigration & Compliance team at least two months before you are due to return to your study so we can advise you on your visa options.

Changing your course (or course transfer)

Changing your course is likely to have an impact on your student visa as the Home Office only permits some course transfers on your current student visa. If your course change doesn’t meet the Home Office regulations, you will be required to apply for a new student visa in your home country before you can start the new course.

Changing course is a two-part process where the academic decision is made by your school and the visa compliance related advice is provided by the Immigration & Compliance team. You must therefore contact your school with a request to change your course and if it is agreed that this is permitted under the Home Office regulations, the Immigration & Compliance team will inform the Home Office.
Further information regarding changing courses is available in our Factsheet - Changing Course with a Student Visa (Adobe PDF).

Interrupting your study

If you need an extended break in your study e.g. a gap year (due to a change in your personal circumstances or for academic reasons), which the University cannot approve under the authorised absence policy, you will be expected to interrupt or suspend your study.

During the period of interruption, you will be required to leave the UK. Once your study is interrupted, the Immigration & Compliance team will withdraw your student visa sponsorship with the Home Office and notify you by email. Following our report, the Home Office will curtail (shorten) your visa. You must not wait for the Home Office’s curtailment notification and make plans to leave the UK within 60 days of your interruption of study.

When you are ready to return to study and your academic school has approved your request to resume, you must apply for a new CAS by contacting the Immigration & Compliance team to apply for a new Student visa in your country.

Please note the Home Office does not provide refunds for the remaining period of the Immigration Health Surcharge in the event of a curtailed visa. You will therefore need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge again as part of your new student visa application. See UKVI’s advice on refunds.

Further information on interruption on study is available on the Registry website.

Withdrawal from studies

If you are considering a withdrawal from your course or a decision is made by the University to withdraw you, the Immigration & Compliance team will also withdraw your student visa sponsorship with the Home Office and notify you by email. Following our report, the Home Office will curtail (shorten) your visa. You must not wait for the Home Office’s curtailment notification and make plans to leave the UK within 60 days of your withdrawal of study.

Further information on withdrawals is available on the Registry website.

Finishing your course early

If you finish your course earlier than expected, the University is obliged to report this to the Home Office. You will receive an email when the Immigration & Compliance team has notified the Home Office of your new course end date.

For example, if your visa included a 6 or 12-month work placement, but you complete your course without the placement, you will be considered an early finisher.

Depending on the amount of time left on your current visa, the Home Office will curtail (shorten) your current visa. You will be required to either leave the UK or apply for a visa in a different category usually within 4 months of the new course end date. Similarly, should you decide to apply for further study in the UK at a higher level, you must make a new student visa application on a new CAS within 4 months of your new course completion date.

As for applying for the Graduate visa, should you wish to travel outside the UK, you must do so when you have been granted a Graduate visa and not before. This is as if you leave the UK and the UKVI curtail your visa whilst you’re overseas, your student visa will end immediately, and you will not be permitted to re-enter the UK on the same visa. Unfortunately, this also means you will miss the opportunity of applying for the Graduate visa as you can only apply in the UK and whilst Student visa is still valid.

Changing your mode of study

If you are in the UK on a Student visa studying a full-time course and wish to change your registration to part-time, external or distance learning student, or as a research student you have decided to finish writing up your thesis remotely, you will have to finish the remainder of your course from your home country. You should discuss this with your academic school in the first instance. Once your mode of study has formally changed to part-time/external, your academic school will inform the Immigration & Compliance team who will withdraw your student visa sponsorship with the Home Office and notify you by email. Following our report, the Home Office will curtail (shorten) your visa.

As a part-time distance learning student you may be able to visit the University (usually once a year) on a Standard Visitor Visa.

Academic extensions – Research students

As a Student visa holder if you require additional time to complete your research course (MRes, MPhil, DBA or PhD etc.), you can apply for an academic extension with the help of your school’s PGR student support team.

If the length of your academic extension will take you beyond the expiry of your visa, and you are academically required to continue in the UK, you will have to extend your student visa in the UK at your own expense prior to the expiry of your current visa. Please note the Immigration & Compliance team may not be able to approve multiple visa extensions as it doesn't show academic progression as per the Home Office's visa regulations.

You must contact the Immigration & Compliance team at least three months ahead of your visa expiring to start the visa extension process. If your course is subject to ATAS Clearance, you will need to obtain a fresh ATAS certificate for visa extension.

Changing institutions - Moving from Huddersfield

If you are planning to leave the University of Huddersfield to start a new course at another UK institution, you will need to withdraw from your course at the University of Huddersfield and apply for a new Student visa using a CAS issued by the UK institution that you will be moving to. If you are leaving Huddersfield midway during your course, it is likely that you will be required to apply for a new visa from your home country. You must seek immigration advice on this from the institution that you’re planning to move to.

As your current sponsor, once your withdrawal is finalised, the Immigration & Compliance team will withdraw your student visa sponsorship with the Home Office who will curtail (shorten) your current visa.

Changes of address and contact details

If you have changed your address in the UK, mobile number, or personal email, you must also update these on MyHud via the “My Details” section. You can also change these details via iPoint in Student Central.

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Changes to your study