Taking an intermission
The University's guide page details what an intermission is. As a Student visa holder, it is a condition of your visa that you are registered and actively engaging in a full time course at the University of Kent. Therefore, if you decide to take a break from your studies, you must inform your Division's Student Support team and fill in an intermission form. As your Student sponsor, we are required to report such changes in your study to the Home Office.
Before deciding to temporarily suspend your studies (by taking an intermission) we encourage you to seek immigration advice from the Kent Union Advice Centre and support from your Division's Student Support team as this decision could have consequences for your future plans. There is a maximum number of years you can spend in the UK studying on a Student visa, therefore any temporary suspensions to your studies that will result in you taking longer than planned to obtain your qualification must be considered very carefully.
Intermission of more than 60 days
Any student can apply for an intermission of more than 60 days. If you choose to intermit for more than 60 days for either personal, medical or financial reasons, we will:
- Make a report to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) of this within 10 working days
- No longer continue sponsoring you and you will be required to return to your home country*.
UKVI will curtail your visa and you will be required to leave the UK within 60 days of the report that we made.
* Sponsors are not permitted to continue sponsorship for intermissions of more than 60 days unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Before you return to resume your studies, you will need to obtain a new CAS and apply for a new visa. If you have been intermitting as part of a support to study process (ie for medical reasons), you will need to provide medical evidence that you are fit to return to your studies.
If you intermitted for financial reasons, you will not receive a CAS whilst there is an outstanding debt on your account.
Intermission of less than 60 days
An intermission of less than 60 days is not possible for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught students, and is only applicable for Postgraduate Research students.
If you choose to temporarily suspend your studies for personal, medical or financial reasons for less than 60 days, we may be able to continue sponsoring you providing you will still be able to complete your course within the existing duration of your visa.
Please contact Division's Student Support team and the Student Immigration Compliance Team as soon as you start to consider taking a intermission so that we can best support and guide you through the process.
We will assess your intermission request and give you more information about the implications it may have on your Student visa status.
Your Division will to contact you during your intermission to confirm your return to study, and you need to inform us of your intention to return from intermission before your stipulated return date. It is very important that you respond to any correspondence from the University so that we are aware of your intentions.
If at any point you decide to extend your intermission, which would result in the total intermission being longer than 60 days, then the University will withdraw your Student visa sponsorship and will report to UKVI that you are deferring your studies. You will need to make arrangements to leave the UK within 60 days of the report that we made.
Before you return to resume your studies, you will need to obtain a new CAS and apply for a new visa. If you have been intermitting as part of a support to study process (ie for medical reasons), you will need to provide medical evidence that you are fit to return to your studies.
If you intermitted for financial reasons, you will not receive a CAS whilst there is an outstanding debt on your account.
Working whilst intermitting, resitting or withdrawn
If you are not attending your course because you are intermitting, resitting out of attendance, or you have withdrawn, the University will withdraw sponsorship of your visa. This means you will have to stop working before your visa curtailment date which will be communicated to you directly by UKVI.
If you remain in the UK after your visa is curtailed, you will be classed as an "overstayer", which can have serious consequences for your UK immigration history. If you do this and continue to work, you risk the following:
- refusal of immigration applications
- removal from the UK
- being banned from returning to the UK for a certain period.
You will receive an email notification from the Student Immigration Compliance Team that we have reported these changes to your visa to the Home Office.
Withdrawing from your studies
The University's guide page details information on withdrawing.
If you decide to withdraw from your course (whether voluntarily or you are required to do so by the University) we will report to the Home Office that you have withdrawn from your studies. The Student Immigration Compliance Team will email you once they have made this report.
You should make arrangements to the leave the UK as soon as possible after you have been withdrawn from the University of Kent, regardless of the expiry date on your visa.
Following the report, the UKVI will take action to curtail (shorten) your visa and will notify you of your visa's new expiry date (usually within 60 days of the report). We cannot advise on when exactly your visa will be curtailed, however, UKCISA provides more information on length of curtailment periods.
Therefore, once your Student sponsorship is withdrawn you should make immediate arrangements to leave the UK. If you have already left the UK, curtailment would take immediate effect and therefore you would not be able to return to the UK using the same visa.