Students Staff

Application to resit exams abroad

Students from outside the UK who have resit exams in September may be permitted to sit them at an approved overseas venue in their country of residence instead of returning to the University of Essex. Permission to take an exam overseas is at the discretion of the relevant academic department(s) and the Exams Office – it is not an automatic right. If overseas arrangements cannot be made for any reason, the student will need to return to the University for their resit exams.

For further details please read the University's policy on Overseas Examinations.

  • Eligibility for overseas exams

    Overseas exams are not available in all countries and not all students and modules are eligible. Examples of students that are not eligible are:

    • International Diploma students. This is because taking exams overseas makes it more difficult to obtain a visa before the start of the EBS course in October. Please contact our Essex Pathways Department for further details.
    • Candidates taking an exam that requires the use of a computer, regardless of whether the facilities exist at the overseas venue. This is because there is no technical support and the Exams Office cannot verify the integrity of the machine being used.
    • Candidates with individual exam arrangements, such as extra time, rest breaks, adapted furniture, or use of a computer, reader or scribe. This is because we cannot guarantee that the overseas venues can provide the same level of support offered on campus.
    • Candidates residing in a country where there is no exams service for UK universities operated by the British Council or other authorised providers. In these cases, candidates may choose to travel to a country where the service is available, instead of returning to the UK.
    • Candidates residing in countries where the time difference is more than five hours behind or more than eight hours ahead of the UK. This is because it is physically impossible for students in these countries to take an exam during British Council opening hours at the same time as candidates in the UK. It may be possible to make special arrangements for a student if they are the only candidate resitting an exam – please contact the Exams Office to confirm.
    • Candidates travelling or taking holidays abroad. This is not a valid reason for taking exams overseas.

  • Approved locations for overseas exams



  • Departments offering overseas resits



  • Overseas exam fees

    University of Essex overseas exam fee

    Students will be charged £150 if arrangements are made for them to sit one or more exams overseas. This fee covers all exams in the September resit period of the current academic year. The fee includes the module reassessment fee of £50 per module where it would usually apply – if this has already been paid, it will be deducted from the balance outstanding.

    The fee can be paid online via a dedicated link, which will be sent to successful applicants by email on 2 August. The charge should be paid by 12 August. If the charge is not paid by that date, it will be added to the student's University account as a debt. Students in debt may still take their exams overseas, but they will not be able to register for the next stage of their course or graduate until the balance is cleared.

    Overseas venue fee

    In addition to the University’s overseas exam fee, the overseas venue will charge the candidate a separate fee for their invigilation and courier costs. The fee varies by country and city and must be paid directly to the organisation hosting the overseas exam (usually the British Council).

    The overseas venue will provide details of the charge and how and when it should be paid. Overseas venues will not normally allow a candidate to sit an exam until their fee has been paid.

    If a candidate encounters difficulties in contacting the overseas venue to arrange the payment, they should notify the University Exams Office. The University will not pay the fee on the student’s behalf.

    Please note that both fees will apply in full regardless of whether the exam is a resit or an uncapped first-sit.

Deadline for receipt of applications

Wednesday 24 July 2024. Late applications will not be considered.

Application form

You must enter all the details requested and you will receive confirmation once you submit the form (please keep this for your information). All fields marked with a * are compulsory.

Application form
First name(s)*
Family name*
Essex email address*

Please provide your registration number from your student ID card.This should be at least 7 characters long.
Registration number*

Please provide the module code(s) for the exam you want to resit abroad.
Module code(s) eg. LW101-4-FY*

Institution details:
Please select from the drop down menu the British Council you will be sitting your examinations with.
Choose one of the following options*
Location*

Declaration:
I understand that if I subsequently decide to return to Essex to sit my examinations, I must email exams@essex.ac.uk to cancel my arrangements no later than three weeks before the first day of the Resit exam period. If I do not inform the Exams Office I will still be required to pay the full overseas examination fee.

Important: please only submit this form once.

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