Your responsibilities

We have listed your responsibilities in our Student visa essential information page.

Read it carefully to ensure you understand our responsibilities as Student visa sponsor and your responsibilities as a Student visa holder.

You can also find out more in our Statement of Service. 

Our responsibilities to you

We (the University of Bristol) are your Student visa sponsor (see the UKVI register of Student visa sponsors) and must fulfil a number of UKVI obligations for sponsors in order for us to sponsor you to study here.

• We are required to ensure you are engaged with your studies. We will use information about your attendance to monitor this, which will be collected by your School. This will be done on a monthly basis and will include information about your lecture, seminar or tutorial attendance, submission of work, exam attendance, tutorials, or contact with your supervisor or other staff, as well as your engagement with online learning resources. The information we use will usually relate to the standard attendance requirements of your course. 

• If we have any concerns about your level of engagement with your studies, you will be asked to meet with your Faculty Education Manager (or equivalent) to discuss any problems you may be having. This process is designed to be supportive to you and your studies. We will assist you in obtaining the relevant support as necessary.  

• If our concerns are not addressed, or you do not meet with us when requested, or you have missed too much to continue your course, there may be implications for your visa status. In certain cases, we may be required by UKVI to withdraw sponsorship of your visa if we cannot satisfy ourselves that you are appropriately engaged with your study.  

• We are also required to report to UKVI any changes in your circumstances as outlined in the previous section. Some of these changes mean your visa will be curtailed (cancelled). We are required to report within 10 days of the change; we will usually email you 24 hours before making the report. 

• We are required to report if we have reason to believe you are breaching the conditions of your Student visa, including if you do not comply with the working conditions of your visa.  

• We are also required to hold copies of your most recent visas and passports, so please ensure you contact us if you change your passport or visa (including if you switch to a different immigration category). Please check our website for what to do if you lose your passport or visa. 

• Finally, we are required to maintain up to date records of your contact details, including term time address and telephone numbers. Please ensure you keep your details up to date. 

Engagement in and support during your studies 

We monitor attendance and engagement for all students and if you have a Student visa, we are required to monitor your engagement with your course to comply with our Home Office sponsor licence responsibilities 

Academic activities that are monitored include: 

• Attending required lectures, seminars, or tutorials
• Undertaking required laboratory work
• Undertaking research or fieldwork
• Submitting essays, assignments and attending  

How engagement monitoring works 

If you have missed teaching and learning activities without seeking permission or providing a good reason to your School, a member of staff will contact you to ask why you have been missing academic activities and see if you need support to resume your studies. You will also receive an automatic email from the Student Visas team regarding your absence. 

It is very important that you respond to any attempts to contact you by your School, so that we can support you to resume your studies or tell you about the implications for your visa if you continue to not attend academic activities. 

Failure to engage in your course 

If you fail to engage in your course or be absent from studies without permission for an extended period of time, we may be required to inform UK Visas and Immigration. This can result in your visa being cancelled. 

Support with engagement monitoring issues 

Our aim is to provide you with academic and pastoral support so that you can complete your studies successfully. If you are experiencing any difficulties, you should speak with your supervisor or personal tutor as soon as possible so that they can help you resolve any issues. 

We have a team of trained student immigration advisers who you can contact for help with any queries regarding your Student visa: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/directory/visas/contacts/ 

For further information, please see the UKVI government guidance website.

Tuition fee debt

Please be aware that if you are hoping to apply for the Graduate route visa, the University cannot report you as successfully completed if you have a tuition fee debt because you will not have been awarded your degree.  Please ensure that any debt is fully paid by the end of your studies if you hope to apply for the Graduate route visa.  The University is required to report your successful completion to the UKVI before you apply for the Gradaute route visa, please see our Graduate route webpage for full details.