Resitting or resubmission - student visa
Resits, Resubmission, Viva
Although the Board of Examiners may have given you options under the Rules of Assessment, some options are not always an option for sponsored student who would need to apply for further Student immigration permission due to academic failure.
There are a maximum number of years you can spend in the UK studying at undergraduate degree level so, any changes to your studies that will result in you spending longer than planned obtaining your qualification must be considered very carefully.
If you have a Tier 4 or Student visa, the University is required to report changes in your studies to the Home Office. The University is only able to sponsor you for the periods that you are required to be in attendance in the UK. You should leave the UK when you are not required to attend and will usually have to apply for a new visa before you return.
Resitting exams (out of residence)
Students who are offered resits out of residence will not be required to attend until the first exam in the summer term of the next academic year. You should leave the UK during this period. If you have a valid student visa it will be curtailed (cut short) by the Home Office and won't be valid for travel back to the UK.
Most students will need to apply for entry clearance overseas to return to the UK to take their resit exam(s). If your studies will have finished once you have taken your exam(s) you could apply to return to the UK as a Standard Visitor provided you can meet all the Home Office requirements. Standard Visitors cannot work or apply to extend their visa from within the UK. Non-visa nationals can apply for entry as a Standard Visitor at the UK border. Further information is available in our 'applying for a visa' section.
The University does not sponsor students under Student route when they are only required to resit exams. If your resits are to be held inside the UK and there are reasons why you would like to apply for a Student visa to return to the UK to take your resit exams, you should contact the International Services Team to ask if it would be possible for us to sponsor you to apply for a Student visa.
Repeating the year or repeating modules part-time
It's not always possible for you to take these options if they're offered to you by the Board of Examiners. This is because of the Student Immigration Rules regarding the maximum length of time you can spend studying in the UK either below degree level or at undergraduate degree level.
If you're not required to attend in all three terms, we can't sponsor you for the periods you're not required to attend. If you only need to attend for up to
six months you may have to return as a
short-term student.
If you have been offered repeat the year or modules part-time in all three terms and your
current Student visa is not long enough to cover the extended course duration, please contact the International Services Team immediately to request a CAS.
If you're eligible for a CAS you should make your Student application before you return for
the next academic year. If you're repeating during that year you should be able to make the
application in the UK. However, you may choose to make the application overseas.
If you are unsure what you should do and want advice about your choices, seek advice from the
International Services Team by completing our online enquiry form.
Resubmission of dissertation – Postgraduate taught students
Postgraduate taught students who are offered the opportunity to resubmit
their dissertation are not required to be present at the University and can submit
online. Therefore, if your Student visa expires before you are due to submit your
dissertation, the University will not able to sponsor you to extend your visa.
If you need to be in the UK to work on and submit your dissertation and you would like to apply for further Student immigration permission, you should contact the International Services Team to ask if it would be possible for us to sponsor you to apply for a Student visa.
Attending your Viva Voce – PhD students
If your student visa expires before you have attended your Viva and finished your PhD and you would like to apply for further Student immigration permission, please contact the
International Services Team to request a CAS.
Other changes to your course
Further advice and guidance
If you require further guidance you can contact specialist advisers in our International Services Team.