Search site

Useful links

Link to Leeds Global Community

International Student Office

“I want to thank for all the help provided. Without the advice of the International Student Office the admendment for my visa would not have been possbile.” Lina, Colombia

Entry Clearance Correction Scheme

Sometimes the UK Border Agency (UKBA) makes mistakes when issuing Tier 4 student visas overseas. For example you might not have the correct length of visa or your visa could be endorsed with the wrong working restrictions. If your Tier 4 visa is incorrect, you can apply to have it corrected free of charge in the UK. This does not apply to student visitor visas or mistakes made by the UKBA in the UK.

Incorrect expiry dates

Check the expiry date of your visa. You should have been granted a visa for the following lengths of time:

Main course of study

Length of course - 12 months or more
Visa start date - Up to one month before the start date of the course
Length of stay allowed - The full length of the course plus four months after the end of the course

Length of course - Six months or more, but less than 12 months
Visa start date - Up to one month before the start date of the course
Length of stay allowed - The full length of the course plus two months after the end of the course

Length of course  - Less than six months
Visa start date - Up to seven days before the start date of the course
Length of stay allowed - The full length of the course plus seven days after the end of the course

Please note that the duration of your visa may be different if you need to come to the UK for a pre-sessional language course before your main course of study.

Student Visitor visas are for a maximum of 6 months regardless of how long your course is unless you have applied for an 11 month Student Visitor visa for English language study.

Incorrect working restrictions

The number of hours per week that you are allowed to work depends on when you made your last immigration application and the type of course you are studying. There are different rules for working in term time and during vacations.

Academic terms 2012-2013 are:

Term 1 24 Sept 2012- 7 December 2012
Term 2 7 January 2013 - 15 March 2013
Term 3 15 April 2013 - 14 June 2013

Check the UKCISA information sheet “Working during your studies” for more details of the number of hours you are allowed to work.

How do I apply to have my visa corrected?

Bring your visa to the International Student Office drop-in service for us to look at. If we think the visa is incorrect, we will complete a short form and submit it to the UKBA.

What happens next?

After we send the form to UKBA, they will contact the embassy that issued your visa. The embassy will review your application and investigate whether a mistake has been made. They will then contact the UKBA in the UK with their response. UKBA will contact us and we will contact you via your university email account. This process could take up to 3 months depending on how busy UKBA or the embassy are. You should therefore come to see us as soon as you notice the mistake so that we have enough time for the application to be made and decided.

If the embassy agree that a mistake has been made, we will send your passport, Police Registration Certificate and 2 passport photographs to UKBA who will place a new visa stamp in your passport.  When you receive your new visa, you should take this to Student Services in the Marjorie & Arnold Ziff Building and they will take a copy. If you have a Police Registration Certificate, you should also take your new visa to the police station so they can update your certificate.