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You’ll get a biometric residence permit (BRP) as part of your visa application.

This will include your name, date and place of birth, fingerprints, a photo, your immigration status and any conditions of your stay.

ºÚÁϳԹÏCampus Only - When you complete your visa application form, please state you wish to collect your visa from an 'Alternative Collection Location' (ACL) and enter this ACL code: 2HE479. 

If you are collecting your BRP card from the University you will receive an email when your BRP card is available for collection. You will be able to collect your BRP card during the in-person ID Check part of Registration, you will receive further information about booking this by email.

If you chose the Post Office for the delivery of your BRP card please follow the instructions for collection on your visa decision letter.

London Campus Only - You will need to collect your BRP card from the local Post Office:

Walthamstow Post Office 
240 Hoe Street
London
E17 3AX

EEA nationals who have used the UK Immigration: ID check app will receive your visa as a .

Your BRP card may not be immediately available for collection as there can sometimes be production delays. If this is the case the Post Office will let you know when your BRP card is likely to be delivered to them.

If you are collecting your BRP card from the University you will receive an email when your BRP card is available for collection. You will be able to collect your BRP card during the in-person ID Check part of Registration, you will receive further information about booking this by email

If you are asked by one of the bodies below to prove your visa status you should show them the confirmation that your visa has been issued to you which will usually be sent to you as an email along with your passport and ask them to follow the processes described below.

Employers

Your prospective employer needs to use the . Once the request is received UKVI will confirm your right to work directly to the employer. 

Landlords

Ask your landlord to use the . Once the request is received UKVI will confirm your right to rent directly to the landlord.

Registering with a GP or accessing NHS services

Anyone can register with a GP surgery If you are asked by the NHS, you can advise them that you are waiting for the delivery of your BRP card. If the NHS wishes to confirm your status, they should contact Status Verification, Enquiries and Checking (SVEC) at UKVI.

Opening a bank account

The decision to open a bank account is a decision for the bank in question. The absence of a BRP should not impact on your ability to open a bank account but you should check the exact requirements for opening an account with your chosen bank.

From time to time, there may be an error with your visa. The problem is not always the same, and so getting it corrected is dependent on the type of error that has occurred.

Please check the details on your BRP card carefully. The most common errors are:

• Incorrect length of leave
• Incorrect working conditions
• Incorrect spelling of name

It is important that this is corrected as soon as possible, UKVI must be notified of errors within 10 days of receipt of the BRP.

Please visit the International Student Advisers in University House so they can guide you through the correction process. 

Further information on how to correct errors, please visit the .

You can  without having to apply for a new BRP.

You must  immediately (within 3 months of the change), and pay a fee, if any of the following change:

• name (for example if you’ve got married)
• nationality
• facial appearance
• date of birth (for example if it was wrong)
• gender

You must report any other changes to the details you gave in your visa application on the .

If you lost your BRP outside the UK you will need to follow the steps below:

Report it by following the .

Get evidence such as a police report for loss or theft

Apply online for a 

Fee: £154

For 'category of application', select 'A replacement biometric residence permit (BRP) visa'.

You do not need to provide a CAS, but a Confirmation of Studies letter from your Student View.

Once you have used the single-entry visa to replace the BRP to enter the UK, you will need to apply within 1 month of your return to the UK for a .

If you lost your BRP in the UK you will need to follow these steps:

If your BRP was valid for three months or more you can report the loss or theft of your BRP and replace it in one combined .

You must follow this process as soon as possible after the loss or theft of your BRP and have reported the loss or theft to the police. You must do this within three months of the loss or theft.

You must apply for a replacement if you have more than three months' permission remaining. If you do not do this you may receive a fine, have your visa cancelled, and/or any future immigration applications you make to come to the UK may be affected.

If you have less than three months' permission remaining you should either apply for further immigration permission, if you are eligible or leave the UK before your permission expires.

If the BRP was valid for less than three months you do not have to replace it but you should still report the loss.

You will not need a BRP from 1 January 2025. You’ll be able to prove your immigration status online, without a BRP.

You do not need to tell UKVI if your BRP expires on 31 December 2024 but your visa allows you to stay longer.

You need to create a UKVI account so that you will be able to access your .

For more information visit the University  webpage.

You will still need to carry your BRP card when you travel until the end of 2024.

Yes, you can defer your studies but you will need to apply for a new visa to cover that course and you will need to make the visa application for the deferred course back in your home country.

You will need to inform the Global Admissions team if you wish to defer.

First you will need to contact your current Course Leader, and also the Course Leader of the course you want to change to. Both course leaders must agree that the transfer is the right move academically and that you can transfer to the new course at that time.

Your visa conditions may not allow you to make the change you request. 

To find out whether your change of course is allowed for your Student Visa, email registration@port.ac.uk 

You must seek guidance on your visa conditions from the International Student Advice team, email international.student.adviser@port.ac.uk

Depending on your change of course request, you may be required to leave the UK to make a new visa application before you can start the course and you may need to suspend your studies to do this.

If you are thinking about suspending your studies, you should discuss this with your Personal Tutor, Course Leader or another member of faculty staff as soon as possible. Getting advice and support is important. You must seek advice from the International Student Advice team.

If your suspension is approved, you will need to leave the UK and return to your home country whilst you are on your study break. 

The University will report your suspension of studies to UKVI and UKVI will cancel your visa.

Before you return to study, you will need to request a new CAS and make a new visa application outside the UK to return from your study break.

Withdrawal may be the first option you think about when facing difficulties with your studies. There are other options that the University may be able to help you with to overcome such difficulties without the need for you to leave.

You could also ask about suspending your studies or transferring to another course. If you are considering leaving the University, contact your Personal Tutor, Course Leader or another member of faculty staff to discuss your options. You should also seek advice about how this will affect you from the International Student Advice team by contacting international.student.adviser@port.ac.uk

If you withdraw from your studies, you will need to leave the UK. 

The University will report that you are no longer studying at the University to UKVI and they will cancel your visa.

UKVI removed the requirement to register with the Police on 1 August 2022.

You are no longer required to Register with the Police as a condition of your visa.

You no longer need to update your Police Registration Certificate and should follow the information in the ‘I have a BRP card and my personal details have changed, what should I do?’ FAQ

You do not need to retain your Police registration Certificate and will not require it for future visa applications.

Information about is available on the gov.uk website.

Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme

UKVI has announced that you will be able to apply to extend existing permission under all of the Ukraine Scheme routes from January 2025. The extension will be for a period of 18 months. You will be able to apply 3 months before your existing visa expires.
 

UKVI have confirmed that you will be able to apply to extend your existing permission (visa) under all of the Ukraine Scheme routes from January 2025. The extension will be for a period of 18 months. You will be able to apply 3 months before your existing visa expires. Further information will be available shortly.

Further information for Ukrainian students can be found on the .

The Hong Kong BN(O) visa became available on 31 January 2021. 

This visa allows you to live, work and study in the UK.

You can apply for a BNO visa if you’re a British national (Overseas) and you are 18 or older.

Your permanent home must be in Hong Kong if you’re applying from outside the UK, or in the UK or Hong Kong if you’re applying in the UK.

You can find out more information about this visa on the .

No, being born in the UK does not automatically make a baby a British citizen. Babies must have a parent with British citizenship or settled status in the UK in order to be born British.

You can have dependants with you in the UK if:

1. You are sponsored by your Government and your course is full-time and at least six months; OR
2. You are doing a postgraduate research level full-time course of 9 months or longer 

If you are applying for a visa for a new course that starts on or after 1 January 2024, you can only have dependants in the UK if your course is a PhD or a research-based higher degree. Taught postgraduate courses will not be eligible. Please check with us if you are not sure about the type of course you will be studying.

• Your husband or wife
• Your civil partner
• Your unmarried partner (you need prove that you have been in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for a period of at least two years before you make your immigration application)
• Your child (aged under 18)

Your relationship with your spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner must be genuine and subsisting.

Further information about dependants can be found on the .

If you are applying for a visa for a new course that starts on or after 1 January 2024, you can only have dependants in the UK if your course is a PhD or a research-based higher degree.

If you are planning to study a taught postgraduate course and are not sponsored by your government you will not be eligible. Please check with us if you are not sure about the type of course you will be studying.

If you need to apply for a new visa in your home country to continue your current course after an interruption, and are on a taught postgraduate course that started before 1 January 2024, please contact the International Student Advice team for further information.

You should update your UKVI account if you’ve changed your:

• mobile phone number
• email address
• name
• identity document, such as your passport or national identity card
• home address
• postal address

You will have a UKVI account if you’ve applied for either:

• the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) or
• for a visa and used the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app to scan your identity document on your phone

If you went to an appointment at a visa application centre when you applied for your visa there’s a different way to .

If you receive an unexpected email, telephone call or letter from someone who claims to be from UKVI (the Home Office), it may be a scam. They will never contact you to ask for money or your personal details. Please do not give details or money to people claiming to be UKVI (Home Office). Information about how to avoid scams and fraud and what to do if you think you have been contacted this way can be found on the .