Work placements and extending your visa

As part of your course, you might choose to do a work placement. Find out more about what you are allowed to do and whether you will need to extend your visa.

International students on a Student visa

Course-related work placements

You must meet the following criteria:

You must be studying a course at degree level or above.
The work placement must be approved by the University and it must be an integral and assessed part of your course.
The length of time you spend on a work placement must not exceed half the total length of the course you are taking in the UK.

You can work full time on your work placement if it is an integral and assessed part of your course in addition to the 20 hours per week permitted on your student visa.

You can decide to do a work placement after your course has started. You should contact your school’s employability team who can help you add a work placement to your course.

Extending your visa

If you add a work placement year after your course has started, your existing visa will no longer cover the full length of your course and you will need to make a further visa application to allow time to complete your studies.

If you have any questions or concerns about making your visa application, then please email the Student Visa Advice team at studentvisaadvice@leeds.ac.uk.

When you should extend your visa

You can make the visa application within the 3 months before the start of your placement, or within the 3 months before you start the following academic year of studies. It must be submitted either side of the placement year. Your placement provider may insist that you apply before starting work with them so you should check their specific requirements.

You cannot submit your visa application if you have already started your placement. The majority of students apply after their have completed their work placement.

How and where to apply

You apply to extend your visa on the GOV.UK website. You can apply from within the UK or from overseas.

If you apply from outside the UK, the UK Visas and Immigration service will keep your passport while they process your application. If you apply from within the UK, you can keep your passport but you can not travel internationally until you receive your new visa.

Costs

The costs and processing times vary depending on where you apply:

Outside the UK: £490 (3 weeks UKVI processing)
Inside the UK: £490 (8 weeks UKVI processing).

You will also need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge for the full period covered by your new visa at £776 per year (+ an additional £388 for the 4 months wrap-up period after your course end date).

There may be options to speed the processing at additional cost and some visa application centres charge for appointments and premium services.

You can read a full list of current UKVI fees on the GOV.UK website.

Getting a new Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)

You will need a new Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from the University to extend your visa. You will need to complete a CAS Request Form (Word doc) and email the completed CAS form to cas@leeds.ac.uk. The Student Visa Advice team may request to see certain documentation, to make sure your application meets the Immigration Rules before we issue a new CAS.

5-year course limit

Student Visa holders are only permitted to study for a maximum of 5 years at degree level (RQF Level 6). If the addition of an industrial placement to your course takes you over the 5-year limit you will not be permitted to go on placement. For more information on time limits see the Student visa time limits page.