Changes to your studies

Changes to your studies can impact your visa. Explore the types of changes you need to be aware of, such as:

course transfers
work placements
completing your course early
course withdrawals or taking time out
resubmitting or repeating study.

Course transfers

Your Student Route visa is issued for you to study the course listed on your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS).

Once you begin your course, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) has rules about changing courses. Course transfer requests are also subject to approval by UAL course teams.

You won’t need to apply for a new visa for your new UAL course if all the following conditions are true:

The new course is at degree level or above
The new course is not at a lower level than your current course
You can complete your new course within the duration of your current visa
The new course is related to the previous course for which you were granted a Student Route or Tier 4 visa
The previous course and the new course in combination support your genuine career aspirations.

If your new course is shorter than your previous course, UKVI will shorten your visa. You can expect your new visa to expire at your new course end plus the extra time at the end of a course.

4 extra months for courses 12 months or longer
2 extra months for courses 6 to 12 months.

If you don’t meet all these conditions, you’ll need to apply for a new Student Route visa from your home country before you can start your new course. You must still meet conditions 4 and 5 above as well as the visa time limits on studying in the UK.

Time limits for Tier 4/Student Route visas

There’s a limit on the number of years you can spend studying on a Tier 4/Student Route visa. We’ll check that you have enough time left available to you to complete your new course when you return to study.

If studying a new course would put you over the limit, we may advise against it.

Work Placements

Adding a work placement year

If you decide to take a work placement year, also known as the Diploma in Professional Studies (DPS), you may need to extend your visa. For example, if your visa was granted for a 3-year course, your course will now be 4 years if you add a DPS year.

You can apply for your new visa after your DPS year.

Whatever the length of the DPS at your College, you must continue doing your DPS for a whole academic year to keep your Tier 4/Student Route visa.

Removing a work placement year

A DPS year may have been included in the overall time you need to complete your course and counted on your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS). If you later choose not to complete the DPS year, then your course will be shorter.

For example, your visa was granted for a 4-year course including a DPS year. If you choose not to complete the DPS year, your new course length will be 3 years. If this applies to you, see 'Completing your course early’ below.

Completing your course early

If you complete your course earlier than the date listed on your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS):

we’ll report this to UKVI and confirm this to you by email.
UKVI will shorten your visa. You can expect your new visa to expire at your new course end date, plus the usual extra time granted at the end of your course.
the usual time is 4 extra months for courses 12 months or longer, or 2 extra months for courses 6 to 12 months.

If your visa is shortened and you leave the Common Travel Area during the time left on it, your immigration permission will end. You’ll need to apply for a new visa to return to the UK. If you try to return on your Tier 4/Student Route visa you’ll be refused entry.

The Common Travel Area includes the UK, Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.

Withdrawals and taking time out

If you’re thinking of withdrawing from your course or taking time out, you should talk to a Student Adviser to understand how this will affect your visa. Use other UAL student services to help you find support and resources to stay on your course.

Read the Student Guide to Requesting time out (PDF 250KB) and make an appointment to speak to your Course Leader to discuss your request.

There’s a time limit on the number of years you can spend studying on a Tier 4/Student Route visa. We’ll check that you have enough time left available to complete your course when you return to study. If taking time out would put you over the limit, we may advise against it.

If your time out is approved

If you are withdrawn or your time out is approved:

UAL will report this to UKVI, who will cancel your visa and inform you by email
you must leave the UK within 60 days of taking time out or withdrawing
the time already spent on your Tier 4/Student Route visa may count towards the time limits on how long you can study on a Student Route visa in future.

Planning for your return to study

While you’re taking time out:

you’ll be contacted by the Immigration Compliance team to confirm your return to study. They’ll tell you how to apply for a new CAS, if you’re eligible.
keep any evidence that shows you left the UK within 60 days.
you’ll need to apply for a new visa before returning to the UK to resume your studies.

If you're a UAL student returning to the same course, we'll contact you at least 3 months before you're due to resume your course. If you think you need a new CAS but haven't received an invitation by early summer, email the Immigration Compliance team CASrequest@arts.ac.uk.

We’ll only issue a new CAS if you have paid any outstanding tuition fee debt and your engagement has been good, subject to any authorised absence.

We may not issue a CAS for other reasons. Read the full UAL CAS policy (PDF 784KB) for full information.

Contact the Student Advice Service for advice about submitting a new visa application, including checking your supporting documents.

Repeating study, retakes and resubmissions

If you have to resubmit work at the end of the summer, your results are usually available in September.

Check your assessment brief when your end of year exam board results will be published. You can also contact your Programme Administration team.

If you fail your resubmission:

you may not be able to resume your studies next academic year as expected.
you may need to repeat a unit during part of the next academic year. If you are required to retake a unit, you will not be able to progress onto the next year of your course whilst you retake units.
if you have previously repeated units and fail a resubmission, the exam board may decide you can no longer continue your course.

Find more information about assessment, including failure and retrieval (PDF 578KB).

Contact the Student Advice Service as soon as you receive your results and they will explain what this means for your visa. Think carefully before committing to travel or accommodation arrangements when you’re required to resubmit work, in case you fail and are required to retake units.

Visa considerations when you repeat study

If you need to repeat part of your studies, you may need to apply for a new Student Route visa or a Standard Visitor visa to be able to return to the UK. We’ll tell you the available options based on your circumstances and the dates of your repeat period of study.

UAL must stop sponsoring you if:

there’s a gap of more than 60 days before your repeat study begins (excluding days outside official term dates), or
your repeat study will end part-way through the academic year and there’s a gap of more than 60 days before you can progress to the next year of your course (excluding days outside official term dates).

If UAL stops sponsoring you, we’ll inform UKVI and your visa will be cancelled. You must then leave the UK within 60 days of the date we email you to confirm this. This is because we can’t predict the exact date that UKVI will cancel your visa.

You’ll need a new visa to return to the UK.