Immigration Conditions

Your attendance will be monitored based on your timetabled lessons and tap in in the classroom. All students are required to tap in using their student ID card before start of their sessions. This should be no longer than 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after the beginning of the session. 

If you forget your student ID card or forget to tap in, please notify the lecturer before or after the session and they can update your attendance immediately in the attendance monitoring system called TDS. If you forget to do so on the day, you can also email the lecture to confirm your attendance and inform the visa team at visa@derby.ac.uk to update your attendance retrospectively. 

TDS system works mainly as a tool to monitor your attend and is also available for you to see your overall attendance or report your absence. Please find further information in your Udo app, tile “MyAttendance” or find the online guide here: MyAttendance Guide.

Based on the UKVI Guidance about your attendance and Student Participation Policy, we will monitor your attendance and contact you in case of absence.

If you cannot attend your timetabled lessons or you know you will not attend in future, you are expected to report the absence using the MyAttendance tile in UDo app. Your absence can be approved if you provide relevant medical evidence.

If you do not attend for:

• One week of your timetabled lesson, you will receive a notification about your absence.
• Two weeks of your timetabled lesson, you will receive a notification about your absence and will be contacted by the attendance monitoring team within the International Student Hub (visa@derby.ac.uk) to contact them and explain your absence. Any evidence relevant to your absence should be provided.
• Three weeks of your timetabled lesson, you will receive a notification about your absence and will be contacted by the attendance monitoring team within the International Student Hub (visa@derby.ac.uk) to contact them and explain your absence. Also, a W14 Notice of Intended Withdrawal would be issued and you would be expected to take steps to re-engage with your course. Any evidence relevant to your absence should be provided.

If you do not engage with the international student hub after the continuous absence, you will be in risk of being withdrawn from your course. 

Any longer absences limitating your studies and regular attendance may be considered for an Authorised Break from Studies. This break allows students to pause your studies for up to one academic year and resume to complete the studies. However, this break means that the student's visa would be cancelled and you would have to return to your home country or switch do a different visa type. You can find more information on the following page under D12 section: Enrolment and Registration for Taught Programs.

There are a few specific criteria for a specific international students on a student visa related to their attendance.

• Foundation Year Students should reach to aim attendance at least 85%. If your attendance drops below 70% of attendance for three consecutive months within the academic year, you will be contacted by the International Student team and re-engagement plan will be used to help the student to achieve the required attendance level. If your attendance would not improve, you would be issued a W14 Notice of Intended Withdrawal and you would be in a risk of being withdrawn due to lack of engagement.
• Postgraduate Research Students have a specific criteria for their attendance, please refer to the postgraduate research regulations. 

You might be invited to meet  after receiving the W14 notice of intended withdrawal due to your non-attendance with the International Student Hub. During this meeting, we will consider some of the following:

• Any circumstances that led to the lack of engagement
• Illness, injury or hospitalisation with a medical evidence
• Your future actions that should be taken to improve attendance and prevent future absence

After you commit to the re-engagement plan, your attendance will remain monitored and your profile will be reviewed to ensure your regular attendance.

If your attendance does not improve or you do not engage with your studies, you still could be in a risk of being withdrawn.

If you withdraw from your course, either by your choice or the decision of the University, your withdrawal will be reported to UKVI, who will then begin the process to cancel your visa. UKVI will send you a letter to confirm that your visa has been shortened to expire in 60 days, and you will have to return to your home country regardless of how much time you originally had left on your visa. The University will send you an email to confirm that you have been reported. The University will recommend that you make arrangements to leave as soon as possible. We will recommend that you make those arrangements and leave the UK within 60 days from when the report has been made and you have been notified by us.

If you wish to take a leave of absence or an Authorised Break from Studies (ABS) due to personal, financial, or academic reasons, then this will also be reported to UKVI. Similar to a withdrawal, you must return to your home country as your visa will be shortened so as to expire within 60 days. The University will send you an email to confirm that you have been reported. The University will recommend that you make arrangements to leave as soon as possible. We will recommend that you make those arrangements and leave the UK within 60 days from when the report has been made and you have been notified by us.

The University will provide another CAS closer to your expected return on the course to allow you to apply for another visa. You will need to get in contact with the Visa team at visa@derby.ac.uk to start the process for obtaining another CAS.

• Early completion: If you complete your course earlier than the date that was originally given in your CAS, this will have to be reported to UKVI as well. Your visa will be shortened to expire two months (if your course was less than 12 months long) or four months (if your course is 12 months or longer) after your course's new end date. This means that you will still get the ‘wrap-up period’ that you are entitled to. You will be emailed to confirm that you have been reported to UKVI. The official date of your course completion will be stated in the email that you will receive as a guide on how we establish your new expiry date. You will also be informed when Visa Team reported your completion to UKVI, if applicable, so you can apply for the Graduate route if you wish to do so
• Completion on or after the expected date of completion: When you complete your studies on or after the date given in your CAS, you will receive an email to inform you of your course completion and that the Visa Team reported your completion to UKVI, if applicable, so you can apply for the Graduate route if you wish to do so
• Graduate Route and other routes that you may want to consider after your course finished: To extend your stay in the UK, you may apply for a Graduate Route visa, Skilled Worker Visa, or any other type of visa you may be eligible for. If you wish to extend your stay in the UK, you must apply for a new visa before the expiry date of your Student Visa or any other category of visa you are studying on. You will not be eligible to apply if you are awarded a lower qualification unless the lower qualification is a full degree(e.g. Bachelor's Degree). For example, you will not be eligible if you finish your course with a PG Cert., PG Diploma or PG Award upon course completion

Your visa will state how many hours you can work each week. You can work whilst on a Student Visa as well as study, although the maximum hours you are allowed to work depends on the level of study you choose to take:

• Bachelor’s degree and above: you are allowed up to 20 hours per week
• Courses below degree level (e.g. International Foundation Programme): you can work up to 10 hours per week

Find more guidance on work conditions for overseas students

Student visa holders can work full time during the University Christmas and Easter holiday periods, the dates of which can be found in the and confirmed to you with a confirmation letter once you are enrolled.

Undergraduate students may also work during the summer holiday period, subject to you having successfully completed your academic study at that point in time and obtaining a letter from your College Student Centre to confirm your term dates. Postgraduate students do not have a summer break.

Students who have completed their studies at the University of Derby will require a letter from their College Student Centre to confirm they have successfully completed their course of study before they can exceed their restricted working hours.

If you are a postgraduate research (PGR) student, you must have the written permission of your Director of Studies before engaging with any work.

Students who are on a compulsory work placement as part of their courses can work full-time hours on placement. If you are studying on a Short-term Study or Standard Visitor visa you cannot work at all.

To enrol on your course you must provide the following documents as evidence of your right to study in the UK:

• The front and back of your biometric residence permit (BRP).
• The photo page of your passport.
• Any current or previous UK-issued visas (called a vignette) stamped inside your passport.
• Evidence that you have submitted a visa application (such as the online Document Checklist).

In addition to the above documents you must also:

• Enrol for your course on time when appropriate, including re-enrolment for additional studies.
• Attend all classes and any other academic engagements, notifying your tutors/supervisors if you are going to be absent.
• Make satisfactory academic progress on your course, meeting all scheduled deadlines.
• Seek permission if you require authorised absence for a short-period due to personal reasons.
• Ensure that your contact details with the University of Derby and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) are up to date. You can access the online UKVI form to update your details.
• Contact visa@derby.ac.uk if there are changes in your course status. For example, if you will be withdrawing, deferring your studies or changing course. This does not apply to those who do not possess a Student visa.
• Ensure that you do not overstay your visa and where necessary, submit a new visa application before your current visa expires if you are eligible to do so.

Student visa holders – Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I complete my course early, withdraw or take a break from studies?

The University must inform UKVI of any changes. If you defer your studies or withdraw your visa will no longer be valid and you will need to arrange to leave the UK. If you finish early, your visa will expire early as well. You will be informed of this if it applies to you.

Can I work whilst studying at the University?

Your visa will state how many hours you can work each week. You can work whilst on a Student visa as well as study, although the maximum hours you are allowed to work depends on the level of study you choose to take:

• Bachelors degree and above, you are allowed up to 20 hours per week.
• Courses below degree level (e.g. International Foundation Programme) can work up to 10 hours per week.

Student visa holders can work full time during the University Christmas and Easter holiday periods, the dates of which can be found in the University calendar and confirmed to you with a confirmation letter once you are enrolled.

Undergraduate students may also work during the summer holiday period, subject to you having successfully completed your academic study at that point in time and obtaining a letter from your College Student Centre to confirm your term dates. Postgraduate students do not have a summer break.

Students who have completed their study at the University of Derby will require a letter from their College Student Centre to confirm they have successfully completed their course of study before they can exceed their restricted working hours.

If you are a postgraduate research (PGR) student you must have the written permission of your Director of Studies before engaging with any work.

Students who are on a compulsory work placement as part of their course can work full time hours on a placement. If you are studying on a Short-term Study or Standard Visitor visa you cannot work at all.

Will I be able to extend my visa in the UK?

In most cases you can extend your visa in the UK, so long as you are continuing to actively study current course or have completed your course and will be studying a new course. In all cases you must meet the necessary visa requirements. If you have no studies to undertake or there is a gap in your studies of more than 60 days, then you may not be able to extend your visa and could be required to return to your home country to apply for a visa from there.

I have more questions, where can I get help?

Check the visa and immigration information and the Student visa guidance. You can also email visa@derby.ac.uk if you have any further questions.