Transferring your course could affect your immigration status.  This is because your CAS and subsequent visa were issued to study the course stated in your CAS email.  Therefore, the UKVI only permit some transfers on your current visa. You are required to have a transfer form signed by a Student Visa Adviser to confirm visa implications before starting your new course. This is because:

• you may be required to apply for a new Student visa before starting the new course. For some course transfers this visa application must be made in your home country
• if you start the new course and the transfer is not allowed on your current Student this is a breach of your immigration study condition
• if you start the new course and stop attending your original course you may find it is too late to return to your original course

Transfers and your current Student visa

You are allowed to transfer courses on your current Student visa if:

1. Your current visa is long enough to complete the new course AND
2. Your new course is at degree level or above AND
3. Your new course is not at a lower level than your current course AND
4. Your new course is the same area of study as your current course AND
5. You can complete the new course within the UKVI study time limits OR
6. You are adding a study abroad or work placement year to your course, this is because the rules allow you to apply for a new visa in the UK or outside the UK, before or after the additional year  

If you do not meet the above requirements:

1. You must apply for a new Student visa before starting the new course
2. You will be required to apply for the new Student visa in your home country if you:
   • transfer to a new course and your current visa is not long enough to cover this (unless you are upgrading as part of an integrated course e.g. BEng to MEng, or you are adding a study abroad or work placement year to your course) OR
   • transfer to a new course that is in a different area of study from your original course
3. If your transfer requires you to apply for a new Student visa in your home country you will only be able to transfer course mid academic year if your programme permits it, otherwise you will have to wait until the end of the academic year to allow time to secure the new Student visa overseas, please read below for further details

For a new Student visa you will need a new CAS and will need to meet the visa requirements again.  Please contact us to request a new CAS.

Timings of transfers

Course transfers can take place at the following times:

• Start of the academic year
  • if you are allowed to transfer course with your current Student visa OR
  • if you transfer to a course where you can apply for a new Student visa within the UK OR
  • if you transfer to a course where you need to apply for a new Student visa outside the UK and can apply for a new Student visa overseas in time to return for the start of term
• Mid-academic year
  • if you are allowed to transfer course with your current Student visa OR
  • if you transfer to a course where you can apply for a new Student visa within the UK OR
  • if you transfer to a course where you need to apply for a new Student visa outside the UK and your academic programme could allow a gap in studies to do this e.g. postgraduate research programme
• End of the academic year
  • any transfers
  • if your transfer requires you to apply for a new Student visa from your home country the advisers will state on your transfer form that the transfer should be processed at the end of the academic year so you can travel home during the summer vacation and apply for a new visa before starting the new course without disrupting your studies

Upgrading your course

This refers to cases when you are transferring from the lower level (e.g. BEng or BSc) to the higher level of an integrated Masters course (e.g. MEng or MSci), or from an integrated Masters to a PhD programme.  Please note an integrated PhD programme is where there is an integrated taught component normally with a taught Master of Science (MSc) or taught Master of Research (MRes) as an exit award.

You will need to apply for a new visa at the point of transfer as your course will be longer.

You may be able to apply for the new visa in the UK if it is an integrated programme e.g. BEng to MEng.  Please be aware that a Masters by Research (MScR) is not considered to be integrated with a PhD because it is a separate degree. Students can transfer between an MScR and a PhD but they are not formally integrated so transferring between the two would require a new visa application overseas.

Please contact us if you have any questions. 

Downgrading your course

This refers to cases when you are transferring from the higher level of an integrated Masters (e.g. MEng or MSci) to the lower level (BEng or BSc) course, or an integrated PhD programme.  Please note an integrated PhD programme is where there is an integrated taught component normally with a taught Master of Science (MSc) or taught Master of Research (MRes) as an exit award.

You are not required to apply for a new visa at the point of transfer, but instead may complete the lower level programme on your current Student visa. The visa will be curtailed to 4 months at the point of the lower level award being made, as the lower level course takes less time than the visa was originally granted for. During these 4 months you should be able to stay in the UK and retain your Student visa conditions if you are here when the report is made. Your remaining leave may lapse if you are outside the UK during that time or leave the UK in that period of 4 months.

If you are downgrading to an MPhil or MScR from a PhD, this is not an integrated programme so you will be required to apply for a new visa at the point of transfer and will need to make the new visa application overseas.  Alternatively, you could downgrade at the end of studies and exit with the lower level award so you will not be required to apply for a new visa.  However, if you do this you will not be eligible for the Graduate route visa as you will not be completing the course you had a CAS for and the transfer does not meet one of the exceptions for continued eligibility as it is not an integrated course.  If you wish to apply for the Graduate route visa you will need to secure a new Student visa before completing your course.

Please contact us if you have any questions. 

EU, EEA and Swiss students

If you started your current course before 1 July 2021 or if you have transferred from a course that began before 1 July 2021 (without suspending your studies), it is assumed that you will hold a status under the EU Settlement Scheme. You would therefore not need to get a Student Visa Adviser's signature on this form before it can be processed by the Faculty Office. Please refer to our Brexit webpage for information on how to maintain your status under the EUSS and continue to be eligible to live and study in the UK. You are welcome to contact us for advice if you have any doubts.