The International Office
Advice online
Extending your visa/leave to remain in the UK
The International Office will:
- offer you advice relating to extending your leave to remain
- provide you with an application pack
- check your application form and documents
- send your application to the Home Office through a Home Office student scheme
- return your passport to you.
Please read the guidelines below to help you make your application.
Does your visa expire in October 2008? You will need to attend a workshop - more information.
Guidelines
These guidelines are for applications within the UK. If you are applying from your home country, you will require form VAF(3), available on the UKvisas website, and you should check with your British mission about processing times. The application fee will be approximately £99. The documents you require will, however, be the same as from applying within the UK (see below).
When should I apply to extend my leave to remain?
- You can apply up until the day before the last date of your leave to remain/visa. However, it is a good idea to send your application to the Home Office around 5 weeks before your present leave/visa is due to expire. Once posted to the Home Office, it does not matter if your visa has expired.
- You can apply as soon as you have all your documents ready.
- If you apply late you will be classed as an 'overstayer' and you might be automatically refused even if you sent the application just one day late.
- If you do not have all your documents ready before the expiry date, it is still very important to send the application (you may be able to send the documents at a later date).
| It is very important that you send your application on time! |
Where can I get an application form?
You can collect an application pack from the International Office, Wessex House 2.15a, or download one of the following application forms:
- If you wish to extend as a student, to write up your thesis or to resit an exam, you will need to complete this FLR(S). For an example of how you should complete this form see the notice-board outside WH2.15. Please make sure you have the most up to date form.
- If you wish to extend to attend your Graduation Ceremony or to travel after your studies, you will need to extend as a visitor and you will need to complete an FLR(O) form.
Please note that it is illegal for visitors to work in the UK. Visitors also will have to return home to change back to student status).
If you are changing your immigration category, please check with the International Office which form you require.
How long will it take to process my application?
Processing time is normally 4 weeks, but it can take longer if extra checks are required or in busy periods. You will need to consider this if you are planning to travel and make your application early. We will contact you by email as soon as we receive your passport.
If I am living in University accommodation, which address is safest to have my passport returned to?
If you are sending your application through the International Office, your passport must be returned to the International Office address (we can stamp this in your form). Your passport will then be returned to the International Office who will contact you by email as soon as it arrives.
Documents Required
Application Fee This is £295. The International Office can only accept postal orders or cheques (postal orders are available from the Post Office and will cost around £12.70 to purchase). You will need to make them payable to 'Home Office Leave to Remain' . If you are sending your application yourself then you can pay by cheque, postal order and also by credit/debit card.
Your unexpired passport
Two passport sized photographs with your name written on the back
A 'To whom it may concern' letter, stating that you are a student of the University, your completion date, and the date of your graduation ceremony. This can be obtained by logging into www.bath.ac.uk/registration-on-line
Proof of Attendance and Progress This covers Section 4 of the form. If you have just commenced a course here at Bath you will need to provide results from the previous course that you studied and/or a letter of attendance stating where you were studying. Alternatively you can get the institution to complete section 4.5 and stamp it with their official stamp. If you have already been studying in Bath you will need to provide a transcript of results for the previous year or, for research students, a letter from your department stating that your progress is satisfactory.
Financial Proof showing that you have enough finances to cover your tuition fees and living expenses. This can be in the form of your last 3 months of bank statements (if you are self-funding), or, if your parents/family are supporting you, you will need their last 3 months of bank statements or a letter from their employer stating what they earn and that the job is of a permanent nature, plus a letter from them stating how much they are able to give you each month/year (click here for a template). If you are sponsored, you will need to provide an up to date letter from your sponsor. All documents need to be originals. If you don't have your original bank statments, most banks will print them for you if you go into the bank - if they do this, make sure that they stamp them as well.
Your Police Registration Certificate, if you are required to register with the police (this will be stated on your last period of leave in your passport). Please make sure it has your current address on it.
Important Visa Information for International Postgraduate Students:
Academic Technology Approval Scheme
If you hold a student visa and are applying to renew it you need to be aware of a new scheme which requires some students to get an ATAS certificate & student status letter before their visa application is submitted. Please see www.fco.gov.uk/atas for more information.
The scheme applies to University of Bath students studying postgraduate programmes in research within the Faculties of Science, Engineering and Design or the School for Health but also will affect some students on taught masters programmes within the Department of Mechanical Engineering. You do NOT need an ATAS certificate if you are WRITING UP your thesis only.
If you are renewing your visa shortly and you belong to these categories, please come and see us in the International Office before you renew your visa as you will need an ATAS student status letter from us.
The Home Office only accepts original documents. Photocopies or faxes are unacceptable. Please remember to photocopy your passport and any other documents you consider important for your records. If you are sending the application yourself then remember to send your application by recorded delivery/special delivery and keep the receipt in a safe place.
I need to extend urgently so that I can travel - can I apply in person?
Yes. It is also possible to extend your leave in person by attending a Public Enquiry Office (PEO). This will cost you £500 (instead of £295 by post) and will involve travelling to the PEO. Most students go to the PEO in Croydon (south east London), but there is also one in Birmingham. You will need to make an appointment. Please see the Home Office website for details of how to book an appointment and how to find the PEO.
We have just been informed that the Home Office only allows people with less than 6 weeks left of their student visa to apply in person. If you have more than 6 weeks left, we advise you to apply by post.
Students who apply to extend their student visas in person at the Home Office in Croydon only will now have to register their biometric details at the same time. This means that a record of your fingerprints and a photograph of your face, as well as personal information, will be stored in a Home Office database. More information can be found here.
You are likely to get your application processed on the same day. However, this is not guaranteed, especially if your application is incomplete. You are strongly advised to bring your application in to be checked by an adviser during a drop-in advice session before attending your appointment.