We have provided a lot of information on our webpages and if you have any questions we hope you can find the answer by reading the information below and following relevant links. However, if you are unable to find the information you need, please email studentvisas@hsu.ac.uk – and we will do our best to help.
If you require immigration permission to study in the UK you must have valid immigration permission throughout your course, and abide by the immigration rules that are relevant to you.
Introduction
Health Sciences University holds a Student sponsor licence allowing us to provide immigration sponsorship to eligible students. To maintain our licence we must comply with the UKVI Student Sponsor Guidance. This includes holding up to date and accurate immigration documents and contact details for you and monitoring your engagement with your course.
If you are sponsored by HSU on a Student visa, you have an important part to play in helping us to continue our sponsorship of your visa. If we cannot comply with our duties we may need to consider withdrawing your immigration sponsorship so it’s important that you help us by responding to communications, providing the information we ask for, and maintaining high levels of engagement with your course as detailed in the Academic Engagement Policy.
Right to Study
As a Student sponsor, we must ensure that all students at Health Sciences University have the Right to Study in the UK for the duration of their course. You may be asked to provide a share code or electronic copies of documents during the Admissions process, and you will be asked to bring any original documents with you when you come to your enrolment event.
As a Student visa holder, your visa should cover your course duration plus some addition time on the end of your visa, informally called your ‘wrap up’ period.
If, at any time during your course you are issued with a new CAS to apply for a new visa, e.g. in any of the following circumstances:
- you transfer to a course of longer duration
- you are returning from a study break
- you need a new visa to complete your course
You must provide us with your new share code before you resume your studies.
If you renew or replace any immigration documents, i.e. your passport or visa, or if you switch into another type of immigration permission during your studies, please contact studentvisas@hsu.ac.uk.
Share Code
To generate a free Right to Study share code, you must use the UK government’s View and Prove service.
View and Prove your Immigration Status
The type of share code you generate to prove your Right to Study is different to a Right to Work share code. Make sure you have generated a Right to Study share code that begins with an ‘S’. Each share code is only valid for 30 days. You may need to generate a new share code if the previous one is about to expire.
If you are not a UK or Irish citizen, we must see original copies of your immigration documents and take a copy of them for our records. As part of our Admissions and Enrolment process we will check that your immigration permission allows you to study with us in the UK. If your immigration permission expires before the end of your course, you must provide us with evidence that you have applied for new or extended immigration permission before the expiry of your existing permission.
Once you have your new permissions, you should provide us with your Right to Study share code for our records. If we cannot confirm that you have ongoing valid immigration permission that allows you to study with us, we may suspend your enrolment until we can confirm your status.
Studying with a Student Visa
Your Responsibilities and Immigration Conditions 
When you have been issued with a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from Health Sciences University we become your immigration sponsor and this means you have additional responsibilities to us and the Home Office throughout your course.
Make sure you understand what you must do to maintain your UK immigration status so you can complete your studies as planned. Read all our immigration and visas guidance and the UKCISA guidance about protecting your Student immigration status.
If you do not comply with the conditions of your visa, whether intentionally or unintentionally, you may be in breach of your conditions and there could be very serious consequences for you, your current UK immigration status, and any future immigration applications. You will also put the University’s Student Sponsor Licence at risk and may not be able to complete your course. If you are concerned that you may have breached your visa conditions, you should seek advice from an immigration law specialist as soon as possible.
Study Location
Your immigration sponsorship requires you be in the UK with the primary intention to study; therefore, you must live within a commutable distance of the University and attend all elements of your course in-person where your sessions are timetabled on campus.
Engagement with your Course
As well as progressing academically, it is important that you attend, engage and complete any assessments for your course. The Academic Engagement Policy details the level of engagement you must maintain, the support available if you are struggling and the consequences of non-engagement.
Absence from your Course
If you are going to be absent from your course, missing timetabled sessions or other commitments, you must inform the University in line with the instructions detailed in the Academic Engagement Policy.
Returning to the UK for Graduation
Depending on when you complete your course your existing Student visa may be valid for long enough to allow you to remain in the UK and attend your Graduation ceremony. If your Student visa expires before Graduation, and if you have not been granted new immigration permission, for example under the Graduate route, you will need to return for Graduation under the Visitor visa route.
Working in the UK
Working in the UK during your studies
Your right to work conditions while you are studying with us in the UK will depend upon the type of immigration permission you have. Your immigration documents will state the work conditions that apply to you.
If you are a European national with settled or pre-settled status in the UK, you can work freely.
If you have a Student visa you should have a visa condition that allows you to work in the UK while you are studying, however the number of hours you can work are limited so you must check your digital status for details of the maximum number of hours and ensure you do not exceed this. The type of work you can do is also limited and it is your responsibility to read and understand the rules so that you don’t breach the work condition of your visa. We recommend that you read the UKCISA Student work page for more information. Breaching your visa conditions is a criminal offence and we want to support you in making sure you understand the limitations.
If the number of work hours listed on your visa document is incorrect, you must take action to report the error and can only work the number of hours stated on your document until the error has been corrected and your document re-issued.
Work Placements for Student visa holders:
Many courses at Health Sciences University require you to undertake placements as part of your course. The University must ensure that the placement is an integral and assessed element of your course.
We must report the details of your placement to the Home Office, so that they know any work you are doing at the location reported is part of your course.
Your placement can be paid or unpaid and you are not restricted in the number of hours you can work on placement, as long as the total placement length does not exceed 50% of your total course length.
Your usual work condition applies alongside your placement so if you have part-time work this can continue as long as you stay within the restricted hours of the work condition.
Working in the UK after your studies:
Working in the UK after your studies:
It may be possible for you to apply for a different form of immigration permission which will allow you to remain the UK and seek work once you have completed your course at Health Sciences University.
Graduate route:
The most popular option for those holding a Student visa is the Graduate route. This route allows eligible students to apply for a post study work visa, currently granting them an additional two years to remain in the UK following successful completion of their course. The length of the Graduate route visa is reducing to 18 months for students applying after 1st January 2027. PhD students are granted three years on the Graduate route.
When you have successfully completed the course for which your CAS was issued, and if you meet the qualification and study in the UK requirements for the Graduate route, we will automatically inform the Home Office. You should not submit your Graduate route application until you have received confirmation from us that we have reported your successful completion to the Home Office.
As with all immigration related matters there are rules around eligibility for the Graduate route. It’s important you understand and abide by the criteria if you are hoping to apply for a Graduate visa. There is a lot of guidance available:
UKCISA guidance:
Home Office rules and guidance:
- The Graduate route: information for international students
- Fact Sheet: Graduate immigration route
Change in Circumstance
If you are studying on a Student visa and want to transfer to a different course, you must discuss this with course leaders, but also you must seek approval from the Student visas team as not all transfers are possible in line with the immigration rules and some may have consequences for your visa.
If you have taken a study break, we will have most likely had to cease sponsorship of your Student visa. Therefore, you will most likely need to apply for a new Student visa to return to study. You must contact us 2 months prior to your return to arrange a new Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) statement for your new visa application.
Extending your course end date
If your course end date is extended, for example as a result of needing to undertake reassessment, and if you will not be able to complete your course before your current Student visa expires, contact us for more information about whether you are eligible to apply for a new visa to remain in the UK with immigration sponsorship under the Student route, or if there are alternative options.
Completing your course early
If you complete your course earlier than expected please let us know because we may need to report your early completion to the Home Office.
Join our vibrant international student community
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