UKVI reporting and curtailment of student permission
Guidance on when the University of Edinburgh is required to withdraw sponsorship of your Student visa, how this affects your permission to be in the UK, and what action you need to take.
The University of Edinburgh sponsors your Tier 4/Student visa. Your visa was issued to you on the basis that you would be a full-time student on a programme of studies throughout the course dates stated on the CAS that was used to apply for the visa. In certain situations, the University is legally obliged to inform UKVI (UK Visas & Immigration) that sponsorship of a Student visa is withdrawn.
This includes the following circumstances:
- You do not enrol for your programme
- You withdraw from your programme
- You interrupt your studies for more than 60 days
- You are changing your programme of study and need to apply for a new student visa
- You have broken the conditions of your Student immigration permission
- You complete your studies more than 60 days early
- Other significant changes to your circumstances, such as but not limited to, a change of where you study
For more information, please see our webpage
It is important to let the Student Immigration Service know if you are thinking of changing your study plans. We will be able to advise you of your options and what impact this may have on your visa.
The University of Edinburgh will send an electronic report to UKVI. The report means that the University will stop sponsoring your immigration permission. You will receive an email to inform you when the report has been sent to UKVI. This is usually done within 10 working days of your student record being updated to reflect your change of circumstances.
Following the report made by the University, UKVI will decide what action to take.
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If you have less than 60 days remaining on your visa, it is likely that UKVI will take no action.
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If you have more than 60 days remaining, you should expect UKVI to curtail (shorten) your visa.
If you have completed your studies early and the duration of your original programme is 12 months or more, you should expect that your visa will be curtailed to 4 months after your programme end date, or 60 days from the date UKVI contact you (whichever is the later).
If UKVI suspect that you have breached the conditions of your immigration permission, you should expect that your visa will be curtailed immediately.
In all other circumstances, you should expect that UKVI will curtail your visa to 60 days from the date they contact you.
We do not know how long it will take for UKVI to curtail your immigration permission. They could make a decision on the day that the University withdraws sponsorship, or it could take several months.
The University does not receive notification of your new visa end date. When the University of Edinburgh sends the report to UKVI, it will include your term-time contact address, phone number and e-mail address. UKVI will normally notify you by email if your visa has been curtailed, but you may also receive a letter if they hold a UK address for you. This notification will advise you of your new visa expiry date.
It is important that you keep UKVI updated with your contact details after the University has withdrawn sponsorship of your visa. You can do this on their website:
https://www.gov.uk/change-circumstances-visa-brp
Please note that the curtailment notice issued by UKVI will still apply regardless of whether or not you receive it. To avoid the risk of overstaying, we would advise you to leave the UK, or apply for alternative immigration permission (if you are eligible to do so), within 60 days of the University advising you that sponsorship of your visa has been withdrawn.
Whilst you are inside the UK, you will still have legal permission to stay here after the University withdraws sponsorship of your visa, until the date UKVI curtail your visa to. All of your existing visa conditions will continue to apply until UKVI tell you otherwise.
If you paid the Immigration Health Surcharge as part of your Student visa application, you will continue to be eligible for NHS treatment until the date which your immigration permission is curtailed to by UKVI, or the date you leave the UK, whichever is sooner.
If you have already left the UK (even temporarily), the curtailment notice issued by UKVI will take immediate effect and you should not attempt to re-enter the UK using your Student visa.
You will need to apply for a new visa if you wish to return to the UK.
The visa of any dependants in the UK as "Tier 4/Student Dependants" is linked to your visa. Any visa curtailment or cancellation also affects their visa. UKVI will write to your dependants separately to inform them of any curtailment action that applies to them.