What to do when your Student visa is due to expire

If your current visa gives you enough time to complete your course and you do not intend to do any further study or stay in the UK for any other reason, you should schedule your travel arrangements to leave the UK before your current student visa expires.

If your current visa does not give you enough time to complete your course (for example, if you have been referred in a module or need more time for your PhD), you will need to make a visa extension application. Please contact Student Immigration Advice to find out how you can do this. Make sure you start your application at least one month before your visa expires.

If you are currently studying on a course that requires an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate, you will need to apply for a new certificate and receive it before submitting any new visa application. This also applies if you are changing to another visa category (e.g., Skilled Worker) and wish to remain studying. ATAS applications take at least 30 working days (6 full weeks) to process and there is no ‘fast track’ service. You should submit your ATAS application as early as possible. You cannot submit a new visa application if you do not have the new ATAS issued and you may be interrupted from your course until the ATAS is approved.

If you have applied to extend your visa yourself, you need to provide evidence of the application to Student Immigration Advice.

If you are currently studying on a course that requires an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate, you will need to apply for a new certificate and receive it before submitting any new visa application. This also applies if you are changing to another visa category (e.g., Skilled Worker) and wish to remain studying. ATAS applications take at least 30 working days (6 full weeks) to process and there is no ‘fast track’ service. You should submit your ATAS application as early as possible. You cannot submit a new visa application if you do not have the new ATAS issued and you may be interrupted from your course until the ATAS is approved.

Please contact us to discuss various options. We cannot offer specific advice on visas for after your studies and may need to refer you to an independent immigration advisor. However, we can certainly provide some guidance.

If you want to study another course, you will need to apply for a new visa before the new course starts. If the course will be at the University of Plymouth, we recommend that you contact Student Immigration Advice for help preparing for your visa application. The team will tell you whether you can make the new application from within the UK or from overseas. If your new course will be with another university, you must contact them directly for immigration advice.

Please contact UKVI Reporting at ukvi-reporting@plymouth.ac.uk and provide a copy of evidence showing that you have left the country, such as a flight ticket. 

You have received an email from us because the visa we have on record for you is expiring. Please provide us with evidence that you have left the UK, or let us know that you intend to leave. Distance learning students will not be withdrawn from their programmes once their visas expire, but please remember that each time you enter the UK, you will need to complete a Right to Study check by emailing ukvi-reporting@plymouth.ac.uk.