When You Have Your Visa

It is very important that you keep your BRP card as safe as possible, as replacing your BRP card if it is lost or stolen is time consuming and expensive.  

Whilst you are in the UK, make sure you keep your BRP card with your passport in a safe place at home.  You can take a photograph of your BRP on your phone, rather than carrying your BRP card in your bag or in a purse or wallet.  While travelling, make sure your travel documents and anything else that would be difficult to replace are kept very safe. 

If you do lose or have your BRP card or passport stolen, it is important that you contact Student Life as soon as possible.  You can find further information on our ‘Lost Documents’ page.

One of the requirements of your visa is to keep UEA, the Home Office and the police (if you are required to register with the police) informed of any changes to your personal details.

UEA

Please make sure UEA have a copy of your current passport and visa. You can inform us that you have a new passport or visa by emailing us. You must also keep all of your contact information up to date on e:Vision. You can contact your School if you need help with this.

If you change your name, gender or nationality, please contact Student Life, as well as your School to update your information.  You may need to send us additional documents to verify the change.
 

Home Office

If your personal details change since your BRP card was issued, you will need to update the Home Office by completing a Change of Circumstances form.

You would need to use this form if any of the following apply:

• You have a new passport
• You have criminal convictions
• Your dependants’ details have changed
• You have changed your personal details

If you have a BRP, you would need to apply for a replacement BRP within 3 months if any of the following have changed:

• You have changed your name (for example, you got married)
• You have changed your gender
• You have changed your nationality
• You have changed your appearance
• You have changed your date of birth

You can be fined up to £1,000 or have your stay shortened if you do not apply within 3 months.

Student Life can help you with this process.
 

Police Registration

If you have to register with the police, you have to keep all of your details up-to-date with them too. If your personal details – such as Name, UK Address, Passport or BRP Card - have changed, please contact the Foreign Nationals Police Registration service at Norfolk Police.

Some students were previously required to register with the police as a condition of their visa. Police Registration ended on 4th August 2022 and students no longer need to register with the police as a condition of their visa.

You can find further information about police registration no longer being required and what you might need to consider here, under Student Conditions.

UEA sponsors your Tier 4 or Student visa from the time that you submit your visa application until your visa expires. UEA will sponsor you throughout your studies provided you comply with the conditions of your visa by having good attendance, keeping your contact details up to date and informing us of any changes.
 
In certain circumstances, UEA is required to withdraw our sponsorship.  These include:

• You fail to register at the beginning of your course
• You are required to withdraw from your course (this could be due to academic failure, unsatisfactory attendance or for disciplinary reasons)
• You have to defer studies (even with authorised absence) for longer than 60 days
• You decide to withdraw from your course
• You complete your course earlier that the end date stated on your CAS
• You take an interruption of studies
• You move to a different immigration category

 
If UEA withdraw sponsorship, we will always contact you to let you know that we have done this and to provide you with further advice. After UEA withdraw sponsorship of your Tier 4 or Student visa, UKVI will be informed that you are no longer a current student at UEA and they will curtail (shorten) your visa. You must make sure you leave the UK as soon as possible, as you will no longer have a valid visa to stay in the UK. Returning home promptly will help protect your immigration status for the future.

If you wish to return to UEA, you will have to apply for a new visa in your home country before you are able to return to the UK to continue studying again.

Please contact Student Life if you have any questions or uncertainties.

When you get your visa, you must make sure you check it thoroughly for any errors.  You should also check your visa end dates are correct.

• If you applied for a visa in the UK, you can find information about what you need to check, including visa end dates, on the UKCISA website under ‘Biometric Residence Permit (BRP)’.  
• If you applied for your visa outside the UK, you can find information about what you need to check, including visa end dates, on the UKCISA website under ‘When your visa is issued’.

If you find an error on your BRP card or you are not sure if your BRP is correct, it is important you contact Student Life for assistance.  We can let you know what to do next and help you to report this.

It is important that you report any BRP errors quickly, otherwise you may need to apply and pay for a replacement. You can find further information on the Gov UK website. If you need to apply for an administrative review there is a fee, but this fee will be refunded if UKVI agree there is a mistake on your BRP.

You are advised not to leave the UK between reporting an error and receiving a corrected BRP.

If you studying at UEA on immigration bail, it is important that you let the university know by emailing us. Once we are aware that you are on immigration bail, we will arrange a meeting with you a minimum of once every three months to see how you are getting on with your course, to conduct a general welfare check, to discuss options for support and to see if you have had any updates about your case.

As your immigration sponsors, the University also needs to make sure that you are still able to study and can comply with any conditions to your bail. A Student Life International Adviser will meet with you regularly to support you and check with any conditions you have been given. Please make sure you bring your latest letter from UKVI with you to your meetings.

The Citizen’s Advice Bureau also has information on immigration and how to get legal advice for your case.

Throughout your time at UEA you are expected to be aware of and comply with the UK immigration rules and the expectations of the university.  We have written some key points below to help you ensure you do not have any problems with your visa or immigration while in the UK. You must:

• Collect your BRP within 10 days of arriving in the UK, either from UEA or the local post office.  Your pickup location is on your decision letter.
• Adhere to UEA’s General Regulations.
• Attend and engage with all teaching events and ensure you report any absences on your e:Vision account.  
• Attend all UEA visa checks, including presenting your visa and passport documents to Student Visa Compliance or at registration for scanning.  These are mandatory checks of your documentation and form part of your engagement with the University.
• Update your personal details with UEA and UKVI.  You must email student.visacompliance@uea.ac.uk if you get any new or updated documents.
• Ensure you are aware of the conditions of working on a Student visa. Your course and/or School may have additional recommendations to consider as you balance your studies and any work so please ensure that you are aware of these before making any work commitments.
• If you are studying here on a Visitor visa, it is important you are aware of the activities that are not allowed on your visa type.  You can find a list of prohibited activities in the Visitor Visa Appendix.
• Ensure you have checked whether you need to register with the police (please note this service is currently suspended due to Covid-19 and you will be unable to register.  We will email all students once these appointments are available again).
• Report any lost or stolen BRP cards to the UEA Student Life team. We will help you to apply for a new one.
• Ensure you are aware of any visa implications as a result of a break in studies (eg. withdrawal, early completion, suspension, interruption of studies, etc.).
• Ensure you leave the UK (or apply for another visa) before your current visa expires.
• Ensure you are aware that there are time limits for some courses if you are on a Student visa.
• Ensure you are aware of any visa implications as a result of changing your course. 
• Ensure you do not attempt to apply for ‘public funds’, including welfare and local authority housing benefits.
• Ensure you let us know about any criminal investigation you are part of, especially if you are arrested.
• Register with a GP (Doctor) and, if needed, get a TB screening.  You can further information on the University Medical Centre website.

If you are unsure of anything or have any questions, please contact us.

Sometimes criminals can specifically target international students. They may call or email or contact via social media pretending to be from a legitimate organisation (such as the UK Home Office, or an education agent). They usually demand money (calling it a "fine" for a non-existent immigration problem) and claim that if you do not pay them quickly, there will be serious consequences (for example, deportation or cancelling your visa). Some of these scams will seem very convincing and realistic and it can be frightening.

In 2019 there were reports of Chinese students being targeted by fraudsters using WeChat and mobile contacts. Students are contacted on their mobile phone by people claiming to represent their bank, the embassy, police or other reputable agency and are told they owe funds immediately, often being offered preferential exchange rates on currency conversions.

How to avoid scams

• If you’re contacted by someone and it seems unusual, unexpected or just odd, please end the call/communication. If in doubt – stop.
• If the person who is contacting you is genuine they will be happy for you to check this and then get back to them.
• Legitimate visa officers will only meet you at their offices and will never contact you to ask for money.
• Don’t give your bank account details to anyone unless you know and trust them.
• If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be very cautious of unsolicited offers of easy money.
• Research any company that makes you a job offer and make sure their contact details (address, landline phone number, email address and website) are genuine.
• Take extra care with job offers from people or companies overseas as it will be harder for you to find out if they are legitimate.
• Watch for ads that are written in poor English, with grammatical errors and spelling mistakes.

You should then contact Student Life so we can offer you advice on what to do next.