Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught students
If you complete your course earlier than the course completion date, as seen on your current and valid CAS issued by the University of Kent, we will withdraw sponsorship and your Student visa will be curtailed in due course by UKVI.
This may be the case if you have transferred to a course of a shorter duration than the course your original CAS was issued for. This means your new completion date will be a year earlier than the original date and we are required to notify UKVI of this.
UKVI will usually still afford you the 4 month wrap up period, which means your new visa expiry date is 4 months after your new completion date. We do not handle curtailments therefore we cannot assist in obtaining confirmation of the new visa expiry date. UKVI will contact you directly.
However, if you are already outside the Common Travel Area (UK, Ireland and Channel Islands), or you leave the CTA before your visa expires, your Student visa will lapse, and you will not be able to re-enter the UK.
Postgraduate Research students
If you are a Postgraduate Research student, your CAS will state that your course is four years. The minimum registration period for a PhD is three years, during which you may or may not submit your thesis. If you submit your thesis by the end of the minimum registration period, we will withdraw sponsorship of your Student visa and it will be curtailed whilst still affording you the four month wrap up period.
Your School will inform the Student Immigration Compliance Team (SICT) when you have submitted your thesis and when your viva exam is due to take place. When your course is completed, SICT will check your immigration permission and if it warrants an early completion. You will be contacted by email if further information is required and before any action is taken.
Post study period
UKVI will contact you to confirm that you will be allowed to remain in the UK for a 'wrap up period' which will be the same length as the additional time given after your original course end date on your current visa.
For example, if you were originally given a visa for the duration of your programme, plus an additional period of four months after the end of your programme, you will be allowed to remain in the UK for four months after your early course completion date.
UKVI will email you to confirm this and the exact date by which you should leave the UK, if you have not done so already. You will receive an email from the Student Immigration Compliance Team to confirm these arrangements.
| Duration of course | Leave granted after completion |
|---|---|
| 12 months | 4 months |
| 6-12 months | 2 months |
| Pre-sessional (less than 6 months) | 1 month |
| Less than 6 months | 7 days |