This page has been created to give guidance for students considering changing their location of study.

Please ensure you have carefully read the guidance provided for your situation BEFORE you contact Student Immigration.

If students primary site of study is the University of Warwick, then they will be expected to be based here for the duration of their course.

There are, however, some circumstances when students may be permitted to be based at another location, either inside the UK or overseas, while continuing to engage with their course of study. These include, but are not limited to:

• Study undertaken at an overseas institution as part of an in integrated Year Abroad
• A work placement or year in industry undertaken as part of a four year Undergraduate degree
• To conduct fieldwork or data collection
• Data collection undertaken overseas as part of an ongoing PhD
• Remote submission of dissertation

The University is obliged to inform Home Office UKVI of any change in your circumstances if you hold a Student Visa sponsored by us and have completed all the visa checks at the start of your course (i.e., you are fully enrolled).

During your studies, if your primary site of study changes for a period of three months or longer, then we must notify the Home Office of your new study location.

A copy of this report will be sent to the email address(es) we have for you on record. Always ensure that your contact details are up to date so that you do not miss important notifications of reports sent to the Home Office concerning your study status.

If your primary site of study will change for up to, or fewer than three months, this will not be reported to the Home Office. However, if a Change of Study Location originally fewer than three months duration is extended to be more than three months in total, this will be reported to the Home Office retrospectively.

During a Change of Study Location you are expected to remain engaged with your studies and to continue to progress academically. You must also satisfy any engagement monitoring requirements, such as meetings (possibly virtual) or the submission of work.

If you are undertaking a period of Study Abroad then this will usually be managed by your host institution.

If your Change of Study Location is to undertake a work placement then your employer/work placement provider will monitor your attendance and report back to the University.

A Change in Study Location alone will not normally affect your UK immigration permission but if you do not engage as expected, your academic progress is not satisfactory or you fail to return from a Change of a Study Location as expected, then your department may recommend that you be withdrawn from the course and that would impact your Student Visa.

You should also be aware that while a Change of Study location will not affect your Student Visa, your eligibility for the post-study Graduate Work Route visa could be compromised if you spend too much time outside the UK; for more information, please click here.

If you are changing your study location because you are starting a work placement which is an integral and assessed part of your course, your Academic Department will inform Student Records and a report will be made to the UKVI.

You will be notified by email within 24 hours of this report being made.

Your engagement will continue to be monitored by your work placement provider throughout this period.

If you are changing your study location because you are undertaking a study placement (e.g. as part of a year abroad) either the Student Mobility Team will make the report to the UKVI of the placement (if they are the ones organising your placement); or, if the placement is not organised by the Student Mobility Team, your academic department should inform Student Records who will make the report to the UKVI.

You will be notified by email within 24 hours of this report being made.

Your engagement will continue to be monitored throughout this period.

If you are unable to attend your work placement or study placement for any reason, please contact your department immediately to seek advice about your options.

The Change of Study Location process is managed by your Department and Student Records. The Immigration Service are not involved in the process at all.

To request a Change of Study Location, you must:

• Discuss your request with your Department

They will advise you if they agree to support your Change of Study Location and explain what your next steps will be.

• Understand the implication of change of study location on your future plans, for example, your eligibility for Graduate Route visa - for more information on this, click here

If a Change of Study Location is agreed:

Please note, the COSL requests are for students who wish to return to the UK and must not be used for remote completion Confirming that you will complete your studies remotely (warwick.ac.uk).

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If the COSL will be less than 3 months in duration

• COSL request end date must not exceed student’s expected course end date.
• COSL requests must be carefully reviewed and approved with pedagogical consideration.
• The duration of the COSL will be noted internally by the academic department.
• Student’s academic engagement will need to continue and be reflected remotely via monitoring points.

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If the COSL is for up to three months or longer (up to a maximum of 12-months for PGR students):

• Departments must ensure COSL requests beyond three months does not exceed student’s expected course end date.
• Departments must report the change of study location when the student leaves the University and upon their return. There are two online forms for the student/department to complete.

• A form to report that a student has changed their study location.
• A form to report the student has returned to Warwick University.
• The forms are available via Student Records Online.

• Departments do not need to make another report, confirming when the student has returned to the university if the student is returning after their expected course end date to utilise the wrap-up period and/or be eligible for the graduate route visa.
• Student must keep the department updated on their circumstances at all times whilst on Change of Study Location.
• Student’s academic engagement will need to continue and be reflected remotely via monitoring points.

• Please note that there is a maximum time limit of 12-months for a Change of Study Location for PGR student who would ordinarily be based at the University (for example they are not on a joint partnership programme which requires them to study for a period of time at a partner institution). If an extension is required beyond the 12 months a new COSL needs to be considered by the Academic Department.

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Please note: Where a student originally requests a COSL with an overall duration of less than 3 months but since then extends their CoSL, resulting in an overall duration of more than 3 months?

• Where a Change of Study Location is being extended subsequently and therefore goes beyond 3 months, this means that at the point the period of COSL goes beyond 3 months, the Academic Department should submit a COSL form to Student Records with the overall duration of the COSL and the specific dates - actual / original start date and the new end date.

• If you are a UG or PGT student who no longer has any exams / work to submit AND/OR your department are able to support you taking exams from your home country (e.g., exam regulations allow it, and you are aware of the risks of unreliable internet connection etc.), your department can authorise a COSL once teaching in Term 3 is finished.
• However if your department feel that you will be disadvantaged by taking online exams from your home country then they will decline the request.
• Student’s academic engagement will need to continue and be reflected remotely via monitoring points.
• COSL within 3 months does not need to be reported to the UKVI hence the departments will need to keep a local record of this.

If your query relates to the academic impact of a Change of Study Location, or, the actual process of a Change of Study Location:

• Contact your Department in the first instance.
• See the guidance from Student Records:

University of Warwick | Student Records | Change in Study Location

If your query relates to the immigration impact of a Change of Study Location which is not covered by this webpage:

• Click on the following link and submit the online form:

University of Warwick | SO: Immigration & Compliance | Contact form

Please click on the following links for more information

University of Warwick:

• • Warwick | Student Immigration | I am a Student | Visa Portal | Right to Study / Visa that allow study at Warwick

UK Government:

• • GOV.UK | Find an immigration adviser

Other contacts:

• • Central England Law Centre
  • UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA)
  • Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA)
  • The Law Society