Visas and Immigration arrival information

Before you travel 

If you require a Student visa, you need to apply for this before you travel to the UK. Applying for a Student visa can be a complicated process, so please make sure you read our online information and guide here.

By now you will hopefully have received your CAS document from us and have submitted your Student visa application. Please remember, you must not travel to the UK until your visa has been granted. It’s not possible to travel to the UK as a visitor and then apply for or receive your visa when you’re here, even if you don’t usually need to apply for a visa to travel to the UK. 

You may see references about applying for a Student visa inside the UK on the UK Visas & Immigration website. However, this is only possible in certain circumstances where eligibility requirements are met and where this has also been confirmed by the University.

Your visa to enter the UK 

The type of visa you receive from UK Visas & Immigration depends on how and where you apply for your visa. You will not get a choice between visa types and you will only receive a physical visa or a digital one, not both. 

Passport visa vignette  

You will usually receive a sticker in your passport (known as a Vignette), which gives you 90 days to enter the UK. You can use the Vignette to enter the UK and then collect your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) from inside the UK after you arrive. 

Digital visa 

Some students will receive their entire visa as a ‘digital visa’. This can be viewed online and will show the dates you can enter on your Student visa. You must make sure you don’t enter the UK before your visa start date. You will be sent an email by UK Visas & Immigration to inform you of when your visa has been granted and what your visa dates are. Students who have digital status will not receive a Vignette in their passport or a Biometric Residence Permit. 

When you arrive in the UK, you will need to pass through UK Border Controls. It's important that you don't attempt to enter the UK before your Student visa start date. You will usually need to speak to a Border Control Officer to receive a stamp in your passport at the airport, port, or train station when you first arrive. 

Students from the EU, EEA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, and United States of America who already have their Student visa can enter the UK using eGates. If you enter via an eGate, you will not receive an entry stamp in your passport, confirming the date you entered the UK. We will need to see evidence of the date you entered the UK, such as a flight boarding pass or confirmed ticket. 

You must not travel to the UK before your Student visa commences, even if you can usually travel to the UK without a visa. If you enter the UK before the start date of your Student visa, then you will be granted entry as a Visitor. If this happens, you will need to leave and re-enter the UK within the validity of your visa and you will not be able to start your studies at Regent’s until you do. 

Collecting your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP)  

This section doesn't apply to those with a Digital Student Visa. 

You'll need to collect your Biometric Residence Permit from the University or the Post Office stated on your Student visa decision letter. You should collect your BRP as soon as possible, as they will only be held for collection for a short period of time. You'll need to collect this in person and must have your passport with you to do so. The University will also need to see the BRP, so please ensure you bring this in for us to see at registration during Welcome Week. 

If you have any difficulties collecting your BRP, then please contact our Student Immigration team at visas@regents.ac.uk. 

Police Registration 

UK Visas & Immigration have now ended all Police Registration requirements. You will not need to register with the police, even if your visa decision letter, vignette, or BRP states this. 

Documents 

You may be asked to provide documents to the University in line with UK Visas and Immigration requirements. 

You will receive an email from the Admissions team setting out which documents you need to provide and when. You may also receive further correspondence from the Visas team regarding this. Please ensure you reply promptly to these emails. 

If you have questions regarding specific document requirements, please contact the Admissions team at admit@regents.ac.uk.   

Your contact details 

You need to make sure we always have your current address, email, and telephone number. This is a UK Government requirement and key for us to communicate important information to you about your visa. If your details should change while you're a student at Regent's, you must update us and UK Visas & Immigration as soon as you can. 

If you hold status under the EU Settlement Scheme we will need to verify this online as part of your enrolment check. Please use the following UK Visas & Immigration service up to 30 days before you enrol as a student at Regent’s. This service can be used even if you’re still waiting for your EU Settlement Scheme application to be decided. Please send us your code along with your Student ID to visadocuments@regents.ac.uk.  

If you don’t hold status under the scheme you will need to apply for a Student visa. Please get in touch with the CAS team via cas@regents.ac.uk to start this process. 

Regent's University London
Inner Circle, Regent's Park
London
NW1 4NS 
United Kingdom 

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