'Entry stamp' is the name given to a date stamp placed in your passport by UK Border Control when you arrive in the UK, after receiving your visa from outside of the UK.

If you have a temporary travel visa or visa vignette (sticker) inside your passport, the immigration official at the airport will stamp it with the date you entered the UK.

This then 'activates' your visa and ensures that Home Office UKVI record the date, location and the type of visa you used to enter the UK.

The only exception is if you are an eligible e-Gate user and have entered the UK via e-Gate (i.e., without seeing a Border Force official), see 'Entering the UK via an e-Gate' section below for further information.

You must travel within the validity of your visa, AND your 'entry stamp' must show an arrival date which is on or before the latest start date as stated on your CAS (the enrolment and physical arrival deadline).

Example of an entry stamp endorsement on a temporary travel visa vignette for student visa holders

You must check that the immigration official endorses your visa with a stamp on arrival as this forms part of your immigration permission to enter the UK (exceptions apply if you entered via an e-GateLink opens in a new window).

Border officials should not endorse a visa vignette with an entry stamp before the visa is valid, e.g. before the start date of the temporary travel visa or visa vignette. They may instead offer to stamp the page opposite if you are eligible to enter with a different type of leave (for example, a Standard Visitor Visa to allow you to travel in the UK for a few weeks. You will then need to leave the UK and re-enter within the validity of your visa vignette to activate that visa).

If you enter the UK before the start date of your student visa/ temporary travel/visa vignette and it is not stamped by Border Control (or, if you have entered by e-Gate and are unable to provide evidence of travel which is within the validity of your temporary travel visa/visa vignette), you will be asked to exit and re-enter the UK before you will be permitted to enrol on your course. We therefore advise against attempting to enter the UK before the start date of your study visa.

If you are a non-visa nationalLink opens in a new window seeking entry to the UK as a Standard Visitor on arrival, the immigration official will endorse your passport with an entry stamp which confirms the date and port of arrival; this is the start date of your six month Visitor visa.

If travelling via Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands (known collectively as the Common Travel Area, or CTA) you will find that your student visa will not be stamped on arrival to the UK; instead you will receive a date stamp on another page in your passport.

Students who need immigration permission to study in the UK must provide the University with copies of their passport and visa(s) as part of the online registration (enrolment) process. This includes a copy of the entry stamp. As this is something which you receive on entry to the UK you cannot provide this in advance of your travel. However, you can access the enrolment dashboardLink opens in a new window after you have arrived and upload your entry stamp before you attend an in person 'right to study' visa check.

If you do not have an entry stamp because you entered the UK via the Common Travel Area (CTA), please upload the date stamp you did receive along with your boarding pass which confirms the date of arrival in the UK.

If you do not have an entry stamp because you entered the UK via an e-Gate, please upload evidence of travel such as your travel ticket/booking or boarding pass which confirms the date of your arrival in the UK.

If you applied for a visa from inside the UK ('Leave to Remain') you will not have a visa vignette or entry stamp inside your passport.

Nationals of an EU/EEA countryLink opens in a new window, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore or South Korea will be able to enter the UK using the eGate systemLink opens in a new window.

Entering via an e-Gate means that your visa will not be endorsed with an entry stamp as the port is unmanned by Border Force staff.

If you chose to use an e-Gate then you will be required to upload your travel ticket/booking or boarding pass in place of an entry stamp as evidence of your arrival in the UK.