Visa sponsorship and compliance

By enrolling/re-enrolling at SOAS, students sponsored for their Student visa are required to adhere confirm to the following visa conditions and responsibilities for the duration of their studies at SOAS.

• Provide SOAS with copies of your current passport, immigration documents including share code to evidence your digital immigration status during enrolment/re-enrolment . If you have a pending visa application made inside the UK you will need to evidence this.
• Inform SOAS if you obtain a new passport, or immigration document confirming your UK immigration status or if there are any significant changes to your personal details such as a name change, your address and contact details. Upload new immigration documents, share code and personal details to the MySOAS portal.. Students should be based in London or within a reasonable traveling distance of the SOAS campus during term time. 
• Enrol for your course on time when appropriate, including re-enrolment if continuing your studies into the next academic period
• Attend all classes and any other academic engagements, notifying your academic department/academic advisor 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 from your course/the UK for a short period due to personal reasons
• Only work the number of hours permitted by your Student visa noting that Masters students are considered to be in term time during the summer period.
• Ensure that your contact and personal details held in your UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) are up to date such as name, gender, nationality and passport details. 

For further information please visit our Visas and Immigration page. Please also refer to some useful guidance from UKCISA on Protecting your Student status.

As your visa sponsor SOAS is required to ensure the following:

• We hold a current UK term-time address and telephone number for all Student visa holders
• Students enrolled with pending visa applications keep us updated with the progress of that application
• Students attend as appropriate and are engaged with their studies – failure to do so may result in your withdrawal from the programme and subsequent withdrawal of our sponsorship

In limited circumstances students may be able to apply for an additional CAS to extend their studies. Please raise a query on the MySOAS portal with the Student Visa Compliance team to discuss the circumstances before the expiry of a current visa.

Immigration document checks

You may be contacted using your SOAS email address during the year to check the details we currently hold about you are correct. If details change during the year, you can update us at any time using the MySOAS portal.

If we sponsor you for your Student Visa , we will ask you to verify your immigration status at various points during your studies with us. Please make sure you respond if we get in touch or your visa sponsorship may be withdrawn.

Graduate Route visas: If you are currently on a Graduate route visa, you are not permitted to study with a Student Sponsor on a course which would meet the requirements of the student route. While your Student Route application is pending, the conditions of your Graduate Route remain in place and SOAS is not permitted to enrol you until your Student route visa is approved, and you have provided us with evidence of this.