• The Immigration Service team offers a free face-to-face advice service to all currently enrolled students and some unconditional offer holders
• Our international student advisers are qualified and experienced; they will advise on your options and check through your visa application and supporting documentation
• We can write supporting letters to explain any anomalies in your application
• We can liaise with our UKVI Account Manager on your behalf should there be any concerns about your application
• If you would like to use this service you should book an appointment to see a trained international student adviser
• Please note that during the peak months of August and September we can only offer face to face appointments (subject to availability) to unconditional offer-holders NOT applying under the 'Tier 4 Pilot Scheme' and who are NOT a low risk national ; currently enrolled students whose visas will expire within the next 45 days; PhD students eligible for the Doctorate Extension Scheme

You will need to attend appointments in person and collect your new visa in person, so make sure that travelling to campus is not an issue for you, especially if you don't live nearby.

We advise that you complete the required online application form and gather your supporting documents before making an appointment to see an adviser (see further guidance here) who will check through the application and supporting documents for you.

After submitting your visa application online we will assist you in uploading the required supporting documents and booking an appointment at a UKVI service centre. At this appointment you will have your biometric data collected and your original supporting documents will be checked against the information uploaded with your visa application.

Once your application has been considered by a UKVI caseworker you will receive an email notifying you of their decision. Your BRP(s) will then be posted to the correspondence address used in the application; if you chose our office address, your BRP will be delivered to us and we will notify you by email once we have received it. This would usually be within 5 - 7 working days after the decision was made on the application.

You will provide your biometric data (fingerprints and photograph) at the UKVI service centre. This will be at the same appointment which you will book (online) as a part of your Tier 4 application. You no longer need to book a separate appointment at a post office to do this.

For Tier 4 (General) visa applications submitted within the UK, the UKVI published service standard states that they aim to deal with the majority of straightforward cases within 8 weeks from the date of online submission. Please refer to the UKVI Service Standard for further details. In our experience, the UKVI is usually able to process a standard application within 8 weeks but there is no guarantee. For more details click here. If your application is more complex or the caseworker requests additional checks or information in order to make a decision, it may take longer than the advertised service standard.

The Tier 4 Policy Guidance paragraph 199 states 'The money you show... for studying and living in the UK... must continue to be available to you after your application is made, except for any money you have to pay for course fees and living costs. For example, you should retain the full amount of money you have shown us in your bank account, minus the balance you have paid for your course fees.'

We would therefore recommend that you retain the required amount of money in your bank account until you receive a decision on your visa application (this is especially important in case your visa application is refused and you need access to funds to make a new application straight away). If you do need to use the money towards living costs or tuition fees we advise that you keep receipts of these payments in case the UKVI request this evidence whilst considering your application.

Your BRP will be dispatched via a courier company authorised by the Home Office and will require a signature on delivery.

If you gave our office address as your correspondence address in the visa application, your new BRP card will be posted to our reception. In this case, you do not need to worry about whether someone is at home to sign for the post as we are authorised to do this on behalf of our students. We will notify you by email when your BRP card has arrived so that you can collect it. Sometimes the UKVI sends the BRP card to your home address. If this happens and you are not at home to take delivery, please get in touch with us via our contact form so that we can check for you.