The College of Law - International Visa Office Process Manual

Process Manual

Processes and Procedures for

International (Non-EEA) Tier-4

Sponsored Students

Carol Witts

Student Support & Records Manager

Student & Registry Services

June 2013

Last updated: February 2012

/ Tier-4 Processes & Procedures

Table of Contents

Issuing a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)

a)Pre-Sessional Courses

b)Main Degree

c)For an extension / new visa during the course

Visa Advice and Assistance

Verification of Visa and Student’s identity on arrival at SOAS

Supplementary Study at SOAS

Monitoring Student’s attendance

Re-Registration

Changes to Student’s Programme of Study

Home Office requests for information

Use of the SMS

Appendices

Appendix ASOAS Tier-4 Officers and their roles

Last updated cw16 / June 2013Page 1 of 20

/ Tier-4 Processes & Procedures

Issuing a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)

Pre-Sessional Courses

The issuing of a Confirmation of Acceptance for Students (CAS) for students attending a Pre-Sessional Course is carried out by the Level 1 User in IFCELS (currently DL).

Information to be verified:

Before a CAS is issued, the following information must be obtained and verified:

Status of offer for Main Degree (if applicable)

If the student has an unconditional offer for their main degree at SOAS, which will follow on directly from the Pre-Sessional Course, they can be issued with a CAS to cover both the Pre-Sessional Course and the Main Degree.

Such CAS’s should be issued by Admissions only.

Status of offer for Pre-Sessional Course

The student must have an unconditional offer for the Pre-Sessional Course and unless they also have an unconditional offer for their Main Degree (see above point), they can only be issued with a CAS for the Pre-Sessional Course.

Current Passport
Before a CAS can be issued a copy of their current Passport must be seen, which must be valid. A copy should be taken of the photo page
Current Visa
If the student is currently in the UK, they must already have a visa, which must be seen. If they currently hold a Tier-4 visa on sponsorship by another institution, they will be able to commence the programme with us, but only if they have applied for a new visa before their current visa expires.

If the student is not currently in the UK, a copy must be seen of any previous visas they have held

If they hold a different type of visa, a check must be made as to whether they are permitted to study on that visa – if so, and the visa extends long enough, a CAS may not be necessary.

A copy must be taken of their current visa.

English Language competency
To attend a pre-sessional course, students must have reached an English Language competency of level B1 on the CEFR.

They must therefore provide evidence of this by means of an English language test. Expected academic results are not acceptable.

Academic Progression
Before we issue a CAS a check must be made on what study they have had in the UK previously. In most cases a CAS will only be issued where the student is studying with us on a programme which is at a higher level than their last programme studied in the UK (progression).

In exceptional circumstances, a CAS may be issued to a student who is studying at the same level as previous study in the UK (this must be fully explained on the Home Office Sponsor Management System (SMS)). It is very unusual to issue a CAS to a student who will be studying on a level lower to that previously studied in the UK.

Length of Study in the UK
Students are only permitted to study in the UK for a limited number of years. The maximum number of years is as follows:

Study at below NQF level 6 – maximum of 3 years since the age of 18

Study at NQF level 6 or above – maximum of 5 years – there are exemptions to this and the current Home Office guidance must be checked for the current limitations and exemptions. (see also

Before a CAS is issued, a check must be made on the number of years the student has previously studied in the UK and add on the length of study they will have with SOAS on their Pre-Sessional and Main Degree programmes. If this exceeds the maximum number of years permitted by the Home Office, a CAS cannot be issued.

Information to be entered onto Home Office SMS

Full information must be entered onto the SMS and must be carefully checked before submission.

Information to be entered onto UNIT-e

Once a CAS has been issued, information must be entered onto UNIT-e, ensuring that the CAS number is shown against the Programme of Study Aim (POSA).

Documentation to be sent to the student

Once the information has been recorded on UNIT-e, the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies must be provided to the student to enable them to make their visa application. If the CAS has been issued using the Bulk Upload facility, there is a report that can be run to produce this information in a format that can be sent to the student.

If the CAS has been issued manually, there is the ability to print off the CAS once it has been issued – by printing to .pdf, the document can be saved and then emailed to the student.

It is important that the CAS information sent to the student is NOT re-typed, as it is very easy to make a mistake and the student must have exactly the same information as has been entered onto the SMS, otherwise their visa will be refused.

Students should be provided with contact details for the International Student & Welfare Advisor who can provide advice and assistance in their visa application.

Issuing a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)

Main Degree

The issuing of a Confirmation of Acceptance for Students (CAS) for students who will be attending an Undergraduate or Postgraduate Taught programme is carried out by the Admissions Team.

For students who will be attending a Postgraduate Research programme, the CAS is issued by the Research Admissions Team (in Registry).

Information to be verified:

Before a CAS is issued, the following information must be obtained and verified:

Status of offer

The student must have an unconditional offer for their Degree programme.

Current Passport
Before a CAS can be issued a copy of their current Passport must be seen, which must be valid. A copy should be taken of the photo page
Current Visa
If the student is currently in the UK, they must already have a visa, which must be seen. If they currently hold a Tier-4 visa on sponsorship by another institution, they will be able to commence the programme with us, but only if they have applied for a new visa before their current visa expires.

If the student is not currently in the UK, a copy must be seen of any previous visas they have held

If they hold a different type of visa, a check must be made as to whether they are permitted to study on that visa – if so, and the visa extends long enough, a CAS may not be necessary.

A copy must be taken of their current visa.

English Language competency
To attend a Degree course with us, students must have reached an English Language competency of B2 on the CEFR.

They must therefore provide evidence of this by means of an English language test, unless we have assessed this in another way. Evidence must be kept on how we have assessed the language competency.

Academic Progression
Before we issue a CAS a check must be made on what study they have had in the UK previously. In most cases we can only issue a CAS where the student is studying with us on a programme which is at a higher level than their last programme studied in the UK (progression).

In exceptional circumstances, we may issue a CAS to a student who is studying at the same level as previous study in the UK (this must be fully explained on the Home Office SMS). It is very unusual to issue a CAS to a student who will be studying on a level lower to that previously studied in the UK.

Length of Study in the UK
Students are only permitted to study in the UK for a limited number of years. The maximum number of years is as follows:

Study at below NQF level 6 – maximum of 3 years since the age of 18

Study at NQF level 6 or above – maximum of 5 years – there are exemptions to this and the current Home Office guidance must be checked for the current limitations and exemptions. (see also

Information to be entered onto Home Office SMS

Full information must be entered onto the SMS and must be carefully checked before submission.

Information to be entered onto UNIT-e

Once a CAS has been issued, information must be entered onto UNIT-e, ensuring that the CAS number is shown against the Programme of Study Aim (POSA).

Documentation to be sent to the student

If the CAS has been issued manually, there is the ability to print off the CAS once it has been issued – by printing to .pdf, the document can be saved and then emailed to the student.

Students should be provided with contact details for the International Student & Welfare Advisor who can provide advice and assistance in their visa application.

Issuing a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)

For an extension / new visa during the course

The issuing of a Confirmation of Acceptance for Students (CAS) for current students whose visa has expired during their studies is carried out by the Student Support & Records Team in the Registry.

Information to be verified:

Before a CAS is issued, the following information must be verified (should be held in the student’s file and copies of ID taken from enrolment of that year):

Current Passport
Before a CAS can be issued a copy of their current Passport must be seen, which must be valid. A copy should be held already with the ID copies taken at enrolment, but must be verified.
Current Visa
As the student is currently studying with us; they must already have a visa, which must be seen. They must apply for a new visa before their current visa expires; otherwise they risk being classed as an Overstayer by the Home Office. Once a student is an overstayer, it is probable that future visa applications will be refused.

If they currently hold a Tier-4 visa on sponsorship by another institution, the case should be referred to the Student Support & Records Manager before any further action is taken

A copy of the visa should be held already with the ID copies taken at enrolment, but must be verified.

English Language competency
To attend a Degree course with us, students must have reached an English Language competency of B2 on the CEFR.

They must therefore provide evidence of this by means of an English language test, unless we have assessed this in another way. Evidence must be kept on how we have assessed the language competency.

Academic Progression
The Academic Progression verification will have been made before any original CAS was made and details will be in the Student’s file.

However, if they commenced their course on a different type of visa and this is the first CAS we are being asked to issue, a check must be made on what study they have had in the UK previously. In most cases we can only issue a CAS where the student is studying with us on a programme which is at a higher level than their last programme studied in the UK (progression).

Length of Study in the UK
Students are only permitted to study in the UK for a limited number of years. The maximum number of years is as follows:

Study at below NQF level 6 – maximum of 3 years since the age of 18

Study at NQF level 6 or above – maximum of 5 years – there are exemptions to this and the current Home Office guidance must be checked for the current limitations and exemptions. (see also

Again, this check will have been made before any original CAS was issued and the details will be in the Student’s file.

If the student commenced their course on a different type of visa and this is the first CAS we are being asked to issue, a check must be made on the number of years the student has previously studied in the UK and add on the length of study they will have with SOAS on their Pre-Sessional and Main Degree programmes. If this exceeds the maximum number of years permitted by the Home Office, a CAS cannot be issued.

Information to be entered onto Home Office SMS

Full information must be entered onto the SMS and must be carefully checked before submission.

Information to be entered onto UNIT-e

Once a CAS has been issued, information must be entered onto UNIT-e, ensuring that the CAS number is shown against the Programme of Study Aim (POSA).

Documentation to be sent to the student

Once the information has been recorded on UNIT-e, the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies must be provided to the student to enable them to make their visa application.

The CAS should be printed off (print to .pdf) from the Home Office SMS and email to the student.

Students should be provided with contact details for the International Student & Welfare Advisor who can provide advice and assistance in their visa application.

Visa Advice and Assistance

The only member of SOAS staff who is permitted to give Visa and Immigration advice is John Hitchman (International Student & Welfare Advisor).

Students, who are uncertain of their visa requirements, need advice on any part of making their visa application, or who want their application checked prior to submission must be referred to John, who will make an appointment to meet with the student.

Any staff who have queries can also raise these with John, but his priority is to provide advice and assistance to the students.

If there is any uncertainty on whether it is permitted to issue a CAS, or there is a need for someone else to verify documentation provided in advance of the CAS being issued can contact Carol Witts in the Registry who is the Key Contact for the Home Office and has Tier-4 compliance responsibilities for the School.

Verification of Visa and Student’s identity on arrival at SOAS

New Students

When students arrive at SOAS for their formal enrolment, they are required to provide their passport and visa for verification purposes.

The enrolment staff will take a copy of the appropriate pages of these documents and will date and sign them to show when verified. These copies are kept by the Registry for use as required.

Students who do not show these documents will not be enrolled onto their programme.

In some instances, students may be in the process of applying for their visa – full information is provided to them on the Welcome Week webpages on what they should keep in the way of evidence to bring with them to enrolment. They are required to provide a photocopy of their passport and evidence that they have made a visa application (showing what type of visa and the sponsor of SOAS). If this is seen the student is enrolled as a Time-limited enrolment and will be contacted by the Student Support & Records Manager on a regular basis to ascertain the progress with their visa application. Once the visa has been granted the students present the visa to the Registry staff.

Students whose visa expires before the end of the course will be contacted at least 3 months before the expiry date to remind them that they need to make a visa application.

Details of the visa are recorded on UNIT-e.