Your responsibilities as a Student visa holder

You must register at Brunel University London before the deadline that you will be given in your registration instructions. The University is obliged to notify UKVI of any sponsored students who do not register before the deadline.

A Student visa is only valid for the full-time course of study at the institution that it was issued for. If your visa has been issued for Brunel University London (using the CAS you were assigned), you must only study at Brunel University on that course.

The only exception to this is that you may be allowed to study informal, vocational short courses alongside your main course. For example, this may be an evening class in art or languages. This is called 'supplementary study' by UKVI. This must not interfere with your main course here at Brunel University.

Depending on your nationality, you may be required to register with the police when you arrive in the UK. It will be clearly printed on your visa if this is required and you must register within seven days of entering the UK. You will also need to register with the police if you extend your permission to stay as a Student (and therefore receive a new visa). You will need to go to the Overseas Visitors Registration Office (OVRO) to register. This is based in Central London:

Overseas Visitors Records Office
323, Borough High Street
London
SE1 1JL

Please visit the Metropolitan Police website for further details of how to register with the police, including travel instructions to get to OVRO. You will receive a Police Registration Certificate, which you must keep safe as it will be required if you need to make another Student visa application. If any of the details on your certificate change (for example your home address), you will need to get this updated. This can be done at a local police station.

All students at Brunel University London are expected to attend all lectures and classes and complete all academic requirements for the course, such as coursework and exams. This applies especially to sponsored students because the University must inform UKVI of any students who fail to engage with their course of study. Your academic department monitor your attendance on your course using contact points that you will need to meet. You must ensure that you attend all of the required contact points as part of your programme i.e. lectures, seminars and exams.

If this is not possible for any reason, for example if you are suffering from ill health or you need to temporarily withdraw from your course, you must contact your academic department immediately. 

For much of the 2020/21 academic year, many academic events will be held online due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As a sponsored student, you will still need to engage with these, even though you may not be on campus or even in the UK. 

The  University  is  required  to  notify  UKVI  when a sponsored student  is  no  longer studying, whether a permanent withdrawal or a temporary leave of absence (abeyance). The University will be obliged to withdraw sponsorship of your visa if you fully withdraw from the University, take a period of abeyance of more than two months or if the abeyance will extend your course end date beyond the expiry date of your current visa. If  you  stop  studying  you are  generally expected to  leave  the  UK as soon as possible and, in such a situation, you would be advised to do so. In cases of abeyance where visa sponsorship is withdrawn, you would be required to make a new Student visa application when you are able to resume studying.  

Working alongside studying is a good way for all students to help support themselves financially, provided it does not interfere with the academic requirements of the course. It also provides useful working experience that will be of benefit when looking for employment after graduation. However, as a sponsored student, you must remember that there will be restrictions on the number of hours you can work per week. This will be stated on your visa.

Please also note that Student visa holders are not allowed to undertake certain types of work that are prohibited in the UK immigration rules. This includes:

• Employment as a doctor or dentist in training
• Employment as a professional entertainer
• Employment as a professional sportsperson, including a sports coach
• Any form of self-employment or business activity (i.e. setting up a business in the UK)
• A permanent full-time job

 'Self-employment' would include work undertaken through an employer that asks you to work for them as a 'contractor'. This may be the case with some online delivery companies, so please check this carefully before agreeing to do this.

Unpaid, voluntary work would also be included in the in the hourly restrictions as indicated on your visa. If you withdraw from your course or take a temporary period of absence, you would also no longer be allowed to work in the UK.

You will be given further details about your 'Rights to Work' after you register at the University. The University is obliged to inform UKVI of any students found to have breached the working conditions of their Student visa, as it is regarded as a criminal offence in the UK. This may lead to the University deciding to withdraw a student's visa sponsorship and exclusion.

If you will be living in privately rented accommodation (excluding halls of residence or accommodation owned and managed by Brunel University London), your landlord will have an obligation to check that you have a valid visa to remain in the UK. Therefore, you may be asked to show your current visa (or other suitable immigration documents) to your landlord, especially when you renew any tenancy agreements or you move to a new place. Please do not be alarmed if your landlord asks to see a your visa as they are only following their legal obligations. Please note that this will apply to any other temporary migrants over the age of 18 who are living in the property, such as family members. 

It is a criminal offence to remain in the UK after your visa has expired. This is called 'overstaying'. This is unless you have applied to extend your permission to stay as a Student (or applied under another immigration category) before your visa expired. Unless you are in a position to make a permission to stay application before your visa expires, you should leave the UK before the expiry date.

You would not be allowed to either register at Brunel University, or remain enrolled on your course, if you are an overstayer. Furthermore, overstaying in the UK can have serious repercussions for any future UK visa applications that you may choose to make. Depending on the circumstances and how long you overstay, you may even be banned from applying for a UK visa, at least for a certain period of time.