Student Visa Advice service

Find out about the Student Visa Advice team, including what areas we cover, what kinds of help we can offer to international students, how you can contact us, and the terms and conditions of our service.

Who are the Student Visa Advice team?

The Student Visa Advice team provides free advice on immigration rules and requirements to current and prospective international students, and recent graduates, of the University of Leeds.

The below section ‘What we can help with’ explains what types of immigration and visa issues we can assist with.

We are the only team within the University of Leeds who are authorised to provide immigration advice to students. You should not seek immigration advice from other University staff or fellow students. 

Our team consists of the following people:

  • Student Visa Advice Manager – Sean Thornton
  • Student Visa Advisors – Tanya Todman, Ting Chen, and Calum Roberts
  • Student Visa Advice Administrator – Ruixin Luo

What we can help with

Our advisers can give immigration advice in the following areas: 

  • Student visa route, including Dependants 
  • Visitor route (where visit is for the purpose of studying in the UK) 
  • Graduate visa route 

In the above immigration routes, we can assist with the following types of issues (the below list is not exhaustive): 

Our advisers cannot assist with queries relating to non-study related immigration routes, such as Work visas, Asylum, Settlement or British Citizenship. 

If your immigration query is outside of our remit, or if it is too complex for our advisers to deal with, we will tell you and will provide you with details of alternative sources of help. 

How our advice is regulated

The provision of immigration advice and services in the UK is regulated by Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner’s (OISC). Higher Education Institutions are exempt from registration with the OISC but not from its regulation. 

We are exempt from the requirement to register with the OISC by a Ministerial Order made under section 84(4)(d) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (Part V Exemption: Educational Institutions and Health Sector Bodies) Order 2001). 

Our advisers have the necessary training and competency to offer immigration advice to people applying for, or who have been granted, entry clearance or permission to enter or stay in the UK for the purposes of studying in UK, and to their eligible family members seeking to accompany or join them. 

Confidentiality Policy

The OISC Code of Standards requires us to maintain the confidentiality of anyone using our service. 

The Student Visa Advice team is committed to supporting our international students and to maintaining the confidentiality and privacy of all who access our service. 

We will only share or discuss personal information outside of the Student Visa Advice service without obtaining your consent in the following circumstances: 

  • if we have genuine concerns about your safety or the safety of others; or
  • if we have a legal obligation to share the information, including the obligations imposed on the University of Leeds by the Home Office as a condition of our Student sponsor licence. 

For example, if we become aware that your student status has changed, or if you have breached the conditions of your Student visa, we may be required to pass this information on to the University's immigration compliance team who have a duty to report student information to the Home Office. Find more information about your visa conditions and the responsibilities of the University of Leeds as a Student sponsor.

We will always take steps to inform you, and explain any implications, before we share information with the Home Office that may have negative consequences for your Student visa or immigration status in the UK. 

If it is necessary to resolve your query, we may need to share some details with other University of Leeds staff, such as your school or faculty, the records team, or the immigration compliance team. In these circumstances we will only share information about your query with other teams within the University if it is necessary to understand or resolve your query.  

Records of your query and the advice we provide will be retained confidentially by Student Visa Advice for a period of 6 years before being destroyed. Our records are stored securely in line with data protection legislation. You are entitled to request a copy of your records. We aim to respond within 5 working days of receiving a request. 

For more information about data protection at the University of Leeds, please see the Student Privacy Notice.

What you can expect from us

You can expect all members of staff in the Student Visa Advice team to: 

  • Treat you with honesty and integrity, and without prejudice 
  • Act in good faith and with fairness, consideration and impartiality 
  • Act in the best interests of our students, while respecting institutional policies, statutory and legal requirements (including our obligations as a Student visa sponsor) and the legitimate interests of any financial sponsors 
  • Provide our advice to you in writing 
  • Provide you with the information you need to make informed decisions 
  • Keep you informed of progress on your query and any action that we have taken on your behalf 
  • Never charge you for our advice 
  • Never support or encourage illegal actions 
  • Follow the the standards of conduct set by the OISC Code of Standards and the UKCISA (UK Council for International Student Affairs) Code of Ethics. 

We do not have control over UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) processing times or decision making. We cannot take responsibility for any actions or decisions made by UKVI or the Home Office. 

Our advice is provided in good faith based on what you tell us and our knowledge of the UK immigration rules. However, we cannot take responsibility for the outcome of any application you make based on our advice, and we cannot offer financial compensation for any fees paid in connection with immigration applications or appeals. Your immigration status is your own responsibility. 

We reserve the right to refuse to assist with an immigration case or provide advice where we have grounds for believing that you have not been honest with us, or if you behave inappropriately or fail to treat our staff with courtesy or respect. 

University of Leeds staff and students are all expected to comply with the University’s Policy on Dignity and Mutual Respect (PDF).

Visas and Immigration information available on our website

Before contacting us, please check if you can find the answer to your query on the University website. We have several different webpages relating to visas and immigration that you can find below:

How to get in touch with the Student Visa Advice team

The best way to get in touch with us is by sending us an email at StudentVisaAdvice@leeds.ac.uk. 

When contacting us, please provide your University of Leeds student ID number and as much information as you can about your query. Please be open and honest about your circumstances as the quality and accuracy of the advice you receive will depend on the information you give us. 

If you are contacting us about a time-sensitive matter (for example your visa is about to expire, or you have received a visa refusal), please contact us as soon as possible before the deadline so that we have time to provide you with any necessary advice. 

Our advisers are available for online and in-person appointments. If you would like a meeting with one of our advisers, please let us know by sending us an email.  

The Student Visa Advice team is located at Beech Grove House on campus (opposite the LUU building). We cannot guarantee that an adviser will be available if you drop in, so if your issue is not urgent, please contact us by email or book an appointment first. 

Feedback and complaints

We are committed to providing a high-quality service. When something goes wrong, please tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards. 

If you have concerns or are dissatisfied with our service, please let us know in the first instance. You can contact us by email or you can complete our Feedback form. 

If you remain dissatisfied with our response, or if you feel unable to resolve your complaint directly with us, you can put your concerns in writing to the Head of Student Cases. You can find the Student Complaint Form and view the full Student Complaints Procedure at: Student complaints | Secretariat (leeds.ac.uk).

If you prefer, or if you are not satisfied with the outcome of a complaint you have made to the University, you can also complain directly to the OISC. You can find full details of how to submit a complaint to the OISC at: Find an immigration adviser: Complain about an adviser - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).