Visas and immigration

International students

It is important you fully understand the immigration requirements if you want to attend university in the UK. As a Manchester Met student, you will receive all the support you need to ensure your visa application goes smoothly.

The first step is to check whether you need a visa. You will find these pages helpful whether you are still deciding which course to study at Manchester Met or if you’ve received an offer from us and are ready to make your plans to travel to the UK. Please make sure you revisit these pages from time to time throughout the application process. 

Do I need to apply for a visa?

You need to apply for a visa to study in the UK unless one of the following applies:

  • you are a British citizen
  • you are a citizen of a European Economic Area (EEA) member state or Switzerland and have pre-settled or settled status
  • you have a visa to stay in the UK for another purpose that allows you to study, such as a Dependant visa where you are the husband/wife/partner/child of someone in the UK

If you do not fall into one of the above categories, you will need to apply for a UK Student visa.

Which visa do I need?

Depending on your circumstances, you will need to apply for one of the following visas:

Student visa

Students who are studying full time on a full degree programme, International Foundation year or a pre-sessional English programme should apply for this visa. It permits some students using this visa to bring dependents to the UK with them. Please see the UK Council for International Student Affairs for more information. Please be aware that the University does not issue CAS for students studying part-time.

For courses starting in or after January 2024, only postgraduate research students will be eligible to have student visa dependants. For further information please see UKCISA’s helpful website here.

If you have interrupted your studies through a suspension you may still be eligible to have dependants. If this could be you please email an enquiry to immigration@mmu.ac.uk providing your University ID number. 

Visiting visa

Students can use the visit route for courses of study that last no longer than six months, for example for returning to resit exams or to undertake an exchange or a distance learning course.

Please note, we advise students not to use an electronic gate at the airport and instead speak to a Border Officer if they are applying for their visa at the UK border. 

Short-term study visa

Students taking an English language course that is between 6-11 months long can apply for a short-term study visa.

When should I apply?

Before you can apply for a student visa to study in the UK, you must first have an unconditional offer to study. This means you must apply for your place at Manchester Met before you apply for a visa. There might also be additional documents you need from us to support your visa application, such as a CAS number or a short-term study letter. 

You can find full guidance on how to complete a successful visa application on our how to apply pages

Who can I contact?

For guidance while making your visa application, we recommend you contact our Immigration Advice team via Immigration@mmu.ac.uk. For any specific queries about your visa application, you will need to provide your University ID number and screenshots of the question on the application.

We also operate a face-to-face Immigration advice service for students already on campus within the Business School Student Hub every Tuesday & Thursday. Students can drop in between 10:00am and 3:00pm on these days. Any Immigration advice-related appointments requested for outside of these hours should be made by clicking here.

Consent form

If we need to contact UKVI about your record, please ensure the following consent form is completed and sent to us first.

What is expected of me?

Although we will support you, you will be responsible for submitting your own application. 

You are also responsible for keeping your immigration permission in the UK in date and for either applying for a new visa or returning home before your current immigration expires. You must keep records of the documents you submit to UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI), and the documents you receive from them. 

Your visa, your responsibility

Important information on what we expect from you, and what you can expect from us, while you are enrolled at Manchester Met.

Visiting Manchester Metropolitan before the start of your course

If you want to visit the University from your country of residence before the start of your course, you will need to apply for a Standard Visitor visa. This is separate to your study visa and won’t allow you to stay in the UK to study. You must go back home and re-enter the UK with your Student visa before your course starts.

A Standard Visitor visa should be used if you want to visit Manchester Metropolitan because:  

  • You want to attend an open day in person
  • You want to visit the campus to make a decision on your offer

If you have already applied to study with us, use your offer letter from Manchester Metropolitan as part of your Visit visa application. This will help show that you intend to visit the University to make a decision to study in the UK. 

UKVI also assesses any visiting application based on your intention to return home. We recommend you provide details of your travel plans or a travel itinerary with your immigration application. 

Confidentiality

The Immigration Team provides a confidential advice service and any information it receives will not be disclosed to others outside the University. The only exceptions to this rule are:

  • where you have given your explicit consent to disclose information to others
  • where you, or others, are considered by us to be in danger
  • if the provision of such information is required by the law
  • to meet compliance obligations for immigration authorities or the police under the Points Based System or Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) inspection 

Please be aware that our immigration advisers are employees of the University and information provided to us that could jeopardise the University’s Student Visa sponsor licence will be passed to our Visa Compliance Team.

Regulation of immigration advice

Immigration advice in the UK is regulated by the OISC and anyone providing immigration advice or services must comply with the OISC’s Code of Standards. Manchester Met also complies with the UKCISA Code of Practice.

The Immigration Team is authorised to give immigration advice to students of Manchester Metropolitan and their family members and seeks to provide a fair and honest advisory service. Our advisers work within their level of competency, if your situation is complex we may advise you to seek the help of a solicitor.

If you have a complaint about the service we provide please raise it with us and we will aim to resolve the complaint directly. If we cannot resolve your complaint, you should follow Manchester Metropolitan’s complaints procedure.

If necessary, you can also register your complaint with the OISC:
The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner, 5th floor, 21 Bloomsbury Street, London WC1B 3HF