Home / New Student Induction /
Jump to menu

International students

This page contains information specifically for international students.  Please also view the other pages on the Student Induction site for general information including the requirements for your enrolment.

Pre-Arrival Advice

The Pre-Arrival Advice website is designed especially for new international students and you should be able to find the answers to most- if not all- of your questions, as well as useful information that you may not have even thought about at this stage.

The website is separated into the following sections for ease of use:

  • starting preparations
  • one month to go
  • one week to go
  • on arrival
  • useful information.

We hope that you find this website helpful. If you still have any questions after having read the information on the Pre-Arrival Advice website, then please feel free to contact the International Office and they will be more than happy to help.

International Student Welcome Programme

The International Student Welcome Programme introduced new students to living and studying in the UK and, specifically, at Queen Mary, University of London. It was open to all international students and was free to attend.  Workshops and presentations were run with lots of useful information- from registering with the Police, immigration advice and banking, to where to buy food, keeping fit and finding part-time work.

The International Student Welcome Programme took place Monday 19– Wednesday 21 September 2011 in the mornings, and there was also be special social events taking place including a boat trip on the River Thames and a London Panoramic bus tour.

Further information about the welcome programme can be found under the "One month to go" section on the Pre-Arrival Advice website.

This year we made recordings of the workshops and presentations.  Please see the Welcome Programme 2011 web page on the Advice and Counselling website to view these recordings.

Advice for students with Tier 4 (General) Student immigration permission

If you have Tier 4 (General) Student immigration permission, you should do the following to protect your immigration permission:

Enrol

If you do not enrol as expected, Queen Mary is required to report this to the UK Border Agency. If we report that you have not enrolled as expected, the UK Border Agency may cut-short or cancel your immigration permission and you may be required to leave the UK or prevented from entering the UK if you are not already here.

If you are unable to enrol as expected, please inform the Academic Registry as soon as possible.

Students arriving late

Sometimes students are unable to travel to the UK in time for the start of their course. There could be a number of reasons why this might happen. For example, you might not get your visa in time if you apply shortly before you need to travel and there is a delay in processing your application. You might be delayed for another reason, for example bad weather or personal difficulties.

Before travelling to the UK, you should contact the International Office to see if Queen Mary will allow you to enrol late.

Warning: If Queen Mary will not allow you to enrol late, you should not travel to the UK as you will not be allowed to enrol. We will notify the UK Border Agency that you will not be allowed to enrol.

For more information about arriving late, see the section “My course is starting shortly, but I am not able to travel to the UK in time. What should I do?” on page 29 of the Advice and Counselling Service guide Applying for Tier 4 (General) Student immigration permission.

Register with the police

If your immigration sticker, stamp or ID card states that you must register with the police you will need to visit the Overseas Visitors Records Office. For more information see Arrival: Step Nine on the Pre-Arrival Advice website.

Engage with your studies

Like all student, you are expected to engage with your studies. If you do not engage with your studies (for example: failing to attend lectures, tutorials, labs, exams or not submitting work when you are expected), your academic department may de-register you.

If this happens, Queen Mary is required to report your de-registration to the UK Border Agency. If we report that you have been de-registered, the UK Border Agency may cut-short or cancel your immigration permission and you may be required to leave the UK.

Ensure that Queen Mary has up-to-date details

If any of your details change you should make sure that you inform the Academic Registry or Student Office (if you are an undergraduate medical or dental student) as soon as possible.

  • You can notify us of changes to your address or other contact details by visiting MySIS.
  • If you are granted new immigration permission, you should take your passport with your new sticker, stamp or ID card to the Academic Registry (Queens’ Building, Room CB05) or, for undergraduate medical or dental students, the Student Office (Garrod Building, Turner Street, Whitechapel)
  •  Make sure that your study details on MySIS are correct. For example: if there is a change in your studies (eg you switch to a sandwich course, you interrupt your studies, or you are required to sit exams or coursework out of attendance) you should make sure that this is detailed in on your MySIS profile.

Please note that Queen Mary is required to report significant changes to your course to the UK Border Agency. For more information see the Advice and Counselling Service guide Resitting, interrupting or leaving your course - a guide for international students.

You can find more information about protecting your immigration permission in the UKCISA information sheet Protecting your immigration status.

If you need further guidance or assistance regarding immigration permission, visit the Advice and Counselling Service website.

The Advice and Counselling Service website contains lots of useful information and guidance and, if you need further help, you can contact their Welfare Advisers who are specialist immigration advisers.

Bookmark and Share