University Responsibilities

The University has the following responsibilities and duties decided by the government, which we are required to comply with in order to retain our Student Visa Sponsor Status and continue to invite international students to study at Warwick:

• To ensure that those students who require immigration permission to study in the UK have such permission.
• To keep copies of the current passport and evidence of visa or immigration permission for all students subject to immigration control in the UK. This includes keeping an electronic copy of a digital status where appropriate.
• To keep up-to-date contact details for our international students (and to keep a record of any changes of address).
• To check the enrolment of our students and to report any failure to enrol to the Home Office.
• To monitor students’ engagement and progression and report to the Home Office any failure to meet the University’s requirements for progression and engagement as set out in the university regulation on student registration, attendance and progression.
• To monitor changes of status and to report deferrals, suspensions, withdrawals and course terminations to the Home Office.
• To notify the Home Office of any significant changes in your circumstances (such as the change of course or the successful completion of your course where this is earlier than expected).
• To report any breach of visa conditions to the UKVI.

Attendance Monitoring

Why do I have to attend sessions?

Attending all your sessions, including lectures, seminars and tutorials, will give you the best chance of success and help you to achieve higher grades.

Why does my attendance have to be monitored?

Engagement monitoring happens for all students at the University of Warwick. Read the Reg. 36 Student Registration, Attendance and Progress to learn moreLink opens in a new window. It is also important that, as an international student, you comply with the UK immigration regulations during your registration at the university.

Part of these regulations is that you will need to attend ‘monitoring points’ across the year. Further information on these points can be gained from your academic department and will also be set out in your course handbook.

How will I be monitored?

The academic department that oversees your course will set a number of evenly spaced monitoring points for all students through the course of the academic year. The frequency of these will depend on whether you are an undergraduate, postgraduate taught or postgraduate research student. For further information regarding this, please contact your academic department who will be able to advise you of what your monitoring points will be. Examples of these might include but are not restricted to:

• Attendance at lectures
• Attendance at seminars and tutorials
• Attendance at lab sessions
• Attendance at supervisions
• Attendance at meetings with a project supervisor
• Attendance at taught research skills sessions for research students

What happens if I don’t attend sessions?

If you miss any of your monitoring points, you will receive an automated email. Your academic department will also receive one.

If you miss 3 consecutive monitoring points (2 for research students), your academic department will contact you to try and find out the reason for the absence if you have not been in contact with them as we as a university have a duty of care to make sure you are alright.

If you miss 6 or more monitoring points (3 for research students), you will be again contacted by your academic department for the same reason as above. This is at a more serious stage as you would not be showing that you are engaging with your studies in a meaningful way.

What will happen if I don’t respond to my academic department?

If the academic department doesn’t hear from you, and you have missed 6 or more monitoring points (3 for research students) they will refer your case on to the Student Visa Advice Service. At this point, the university may have to withdraw sponsorship of your visa as you would not be complying with your Student Visa responsibilities.

I have a valid reason for not being able to attend. What now?

We understand that there will be times when you are simply not able to attend a session, for whatever reason. We recommend that you keep in regular contact with your course tutors/supervisors. If you know that you will not be able to make a specific class, make sure you contact them so that they can update the system to reflect this, even if it is after the class has happened.

UKVI Reporting and Curtailment of Student Permission

What is curtailment?

Curtailment of permission means that the expiry date of your Student Visa is cut short (brought forward) by the Home Office, effectively giving you a new, earlier visa end date.

Once curtailment action has been taken it is not usually possible to reverse.

When might the Home Office take curtailment action?

Curtailment action is taken by the Home Office when they deem that is no longer appropriate for an individual to hold UK Student immigration permission. This is usually the result of the University making an official report to the Home Office UKVI, against a specific CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) number which has been used to apply for a Student Visa.

As a sponsor of your Student Visa, we are obliged to make reports regarding any change of circumstances affecting our students.

The Home Office may also use its own discretion to curtail a Student Visa where it considers that:

• you made 'false representations' or did not 'disclose material facts' in order to obtain leave to enter/remain in the UK
• you have not complied with the conditions of your leave (e.g. you have worked more than the number of hours permitted)
• you no longer meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules under which you were granted leave
• you have not maintained and accommodated yourself and any dependants without claiming public funds
• it is not desirable to let you remain in the UK because of your character, conduct or associations (usually connected with a criminal offence or a connection with terrorist groups)
• you are a danger to national security

Which reports made to the UKVI by the University will result in the curtailment of my visa?

The following activity, when reported to the Home Office UKVI, would normally trigger curtailment action:

• Early Completion of a course of study
• Permanent withdrawal from your course of study
• Temporary withdrawal from your course of study
• 'Resit without Residence' status
• Failure to enrol (start) on a course
• Re-starting on a different course

How will I know if my Student Visa has been curtailed?

If the university makes any kind of report regarding your circumstances to the UKVI, you will automatically be sent a copy of this report to the email address we have for you on record.

The UKVI will normally notify you by email if your visa has been curtailed but you may also receive a letter if they hold information about your UK address. This postal or email notification, or its attachment, will let you know what your new visa expiry date is.

Please be aware that the Home Office deems a curtailment notice as having been served as soon as the email/letter is sent, regardless of whether it reaches the recipient, therefore you should assume that curtailment action may be taken at any point following the date of our email notification to you.

Once you have left the UK following our report you should not attempt to re-enter the UK on your Student Visa.

What should I do if a report has been made that could trigger curtailment action?

The University cannot predict when the UKVI will take curtailment action and we do not receive notification of curtailments, so the safest option is for you to leave the UK or switch visa category within 60 days of the date of our report to the Home Office.