Arriving in the UK and enrolment

Once the Home Office has finished assessing your visa application, your passport will be returned to you with a decision letter.

If your application is successful, your passport will contain a 30 Day Visa (vignette). This visa is an entry permit so that you can travel to the UK and collect your Biometric Residence Permit (see the section Arriving in the UK).

You should check that the following information is correct on the visa:

• Valid from date (up to one month before the CAS start date)
• Valid until date (30 days from the 'valid from' date)
• Type = STUDENT
• Your name, passport number and date of birth
• The sponsor licence number is for The University of Law

If any of the information on the visa is incorrect and/or any of your documents are not returned, please contact the centre where you made your visa application immediately.

The decision letter will tell you which type of visa you have been issued and the location of the post office where you must collect your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) within 10 days of arriving in the UK. You must bring the letter with you to the UK to collect your BRP.

If you have chosen to have your BRP delivered to your campus (London Bloomsbury & Moorgate students only) this will be confirmed on the decision letter. Your BRP will be given to you at pre- enrolment by the Student Information Service at your campus.

You must travel to and enter the UK during the validity period of your 30 Day Visa. If you attempt to enter the UK before the valid from date on your visa, you will most likely be refused entry. If you are allowed to enter it will be as a Visitor and you will be unable to enrol at the University, as your Student leave will not have been activated.

Visa refusals

If your visa application is refused, please email International Student Advice immediately. We can then advise you further on your options, including if you are eligible for an administrative review of the Home Office’s decision. Please include in your email a copy of all of the pages of the refusal notice you will receive from the Home Office. You must notify the University if your application is refused, even if you decide to seek advice from a third party such as an agent or solicitor. You must not apply for an administrative review until you have notified the University.

Late arrivals and withdrawals

International students are expected to arrive in time to attend pre-enrolment and the first day of their teaching for their course. Late arrivals after the course start date on your CAS are in most cases not permitted.

If you are delayed due to extenuating circumstances and will be arriving late for your course, it is very important that you email our Visa Compliance Team. We will then review your request and advise you whether a late arrival is permitted.

If a late arrival is permitted, we will notify the Home Office that you will be arriving late for your course, but still attending.

If you decide to not attend your course at The University of Law, it is very important that you notify us by emailing our Visa Compliance Team so that we can report this to the Home Office. Failure to do this may affect you applying for a visa in the future or travelling to the UK.

The Home Office has published a document with useful advice for students travelling to the UK which can be found on this webpage. It includes information on customs and restricted items.

Collecting your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP)

Anyone who applies for a visa outside the UK which is longer than 6 months is issued with a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). The BRP is similar in size to a credit card with a chip. It has the holder’s photo, immigration status and conditions whilst they are in the UK.

London Bloomsbury and Moorgate Students

Your BRP will be delivered to the University before your arrival and you will collect it when you attend pre-enrolment. You will receive further details about pre-enrolment from your campus before the start of your course.

You will need to enter a specific code on your online visa application so that your BRP is delivered to your campus. You will receive this code and instructions with your CAS statement.

Students studying at campuses outside London

You must collect your BRP from an allocated post office within 10 days of your arrival in the UK. The address of your allocated post office will be printed on the decision letter you received when your passport was returned by the visa application centre. You will need to bring the letter and your passport to the post office to collect your BRP.

If you have any problems collecting your BRP, you could contact the Home Office by completing the form on this page.

When you collect your BRP, you should check the following information is correct:

• Your name and date of birth
• Type of permit states STUDENT
• Valid until date is correct – this will be 2 months after your course end date for BPC, GDL, LPC and Master's Degrees students and 4 months after your course end date for BA and LLB students
• WORK 20 HRS MAX IN TERM-TIME is printed on the BRP

If there are any errors on your BRP, you should contact the Home Office within 10 days of collecting it by completing the form on this page.  It is your responsibility to notify the Home Office of any errors on your BRP.  Further guidance on BRPs can be found on this webpage.

The Home Office requires education providers to check the Right to Study for all students before they can start their course. International students sponsored by The University of Law must attend pre-enrolment to provide evidence they can study in the UK before proceeding to formal enrolment.

You will receive an email from your campus with details of the date and time for pre-enrolment. Attendance is mandatory and you must attend your allocated session unless there are exceptional circumstances.

You must bring the following original documents to pre-enrolment:

• Passport
• Biometric Residence Permit
• Evidence for all of the qualifications listed on your CAS. We can only accept a degree certificate or original transcript (N.B. BPTC and LPC students must provide an original transcript for their Qualifying Law Degree)
• Proof of English language (if this was a condition of your offer)

Failure to bring all of these documents to pre-enrolment will mean that you cannot proceed to formal enrolment or attend any learning sessions on your course.

If you cannot attend your allocated session or have any questions about pre-enrolment, please contact the Student Information Team at your campus who will provide you with further guidance.