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Your Legal Responsibilities Under Tier 4

As a student at UEL you will be expected to:

• Complete your enrolment and register for modules on arrival at UEL;
• Complete any re-enrolment as required within the necessary time period;
• Provide your original passport, visa and other relevant documents relating to your visa to UEL international Office;
• Promptly notify and provide UEL International Office of any updates to your passport and/or visa including changes to immigration category or an unsuccessful application. Failure to do so could result in your exclusion.
• Endeavour to complete your course within the earliest time period.
  Study full-time on all required modules as part-time study is not permitted under Tier 4 unless you are required to do re-sits or re-takes; 
• Attend all scheduled classes, meetings with tutors, dissertation meetings with supervisor and any other arranged sessions, in line with UEL’s Attendance Policy. Failure to do so will result in your withdrawal from your course and would be reported to UKBA in line with our sponsor licence compliance responsibilities. If you are de-registered from a module which results in your status changing to part-time, you are likely to be withdrawn from the whole programme and this would be reported to UKBA;
• Not take a break from studies unless there are exceptional reasons, for example, a serious illness or a forced break due to UEL’s academic regulations, which has to be agreed in advance with your School supported with appropriate evidence. You would be required to return to your home country during the break period;
• Work only as permitted by UKBA. You can only work full-time during official vacation periods. Official vacation periods may vary for re-sit students and students doing their dissertation during the summer period, so check first;
• Keep up-to-date with tuition fee payments. If changes to your personal circumstances mean you are unable to pay your tuition fees, you make need to take an exceptional break from studies and provide evidence you have returned to your home country.  If you are excluded from the University for tuition fee debt, you will no longer be able to sponsor you under Tier 4 and UKBA will notified accordingly;
• If you need to renew your visa, you must apply to do so before your current visa expires. The University is unlikely to be able to sponsor students who overstay on their visa and will exclude students who do not provide evidence of valid leave to remain in the UK;
• Keep your contact details up to date on UEL Direct, including changes of address and telephone number and email address;
• If you are required to register with the police, you must do so within 7 days and update your certificate if you change address, get a new passport or visa, change course or change place of study;
• Notify UKBA of any significant changes to your circumstances using the ‘Migrant change of circumstances’ form, for example, your contact details;
• Provide information to the UEL International Compliance team if requested to do so – we may need to contact you during your studies for additional information or documentation;
• Seek help early from the ISA team if your circumstances are likely to change which may affect your studies and visa in the UK;
• Ensure that you are fully aware of the responsibilities of your Tier 4 student visa and  comply with any future Government changes to Tier 4, as any breach could have a serious impact on your studies and your continued stay in the UK;
• Adhere to any new procedures implemented by UEL in relation to Tier 4 student visa compliance. 

For tips on how to protect your Tier 4 visa status, please read the UKCISA information sheet.

Please note that the UEL International Compliance team and the International Students Advice (ISA) team may contact you via email with important information relating to your visa. It is your responsibility to check your UEL email account on a regular basis.

UEL's Legal Responsibilities Under Tier 4

UEL as your Tier 4 sponsor has a number of compliance responsibilities in line with our UKBA sponsor licence. We are required to:

• Keep a copy of your passport, visa and/or UK Biometric Residence Permit. 
• Inform UKBA if you fail to enrol by our enrolment deadline.
• Record and monitor your attendance and inform UKBA if you are withdrawn from studies owing to not meeting the University’s attendance requirements.
• Inform UKBA if you are on a break from studies for any reason. This means we stop sponsoring you during this break period and you will be required to apply for a new Tier 4 student visa outside of the UK. Breaks are normally only allowed for exceptional reasons, agreed with your School in advance and supported by verifiable evidence.
• Inform UKBA if your visa is refused.
• Inform UKBA if your circumstances change, for example, if your course of study changes or becomes shorter.  
• Inform UKBA if we have evidence that you are breaking the conditions of your visa.