1. Visas and Immigration Student Advice Service – VISAS Team
Tier 4 Compliance
© Visa and Immigration Student Advice Service, University of Southampton 06/04/16

2. UKVI and the Home Office
UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI, formerly UKBA) are a part of the Home Office
Tier 4 visa policy is written into UK Immigration Law and the rules and regulations must be followed by all Tier 4 students and Tier 4 sponsors
Tier 4 rules and regulations change very frequently as the Government continually updates Immigration Law
Immigration is always on the agenda!

3. Immigration rules change at least 3 times per year
Immigration rules change at least 3 times per year. As changes frequently occur this means we often have to update and amend our existing Tier 4 Compliance policies.
We must ensure our knowledge is up to date at all times
It is illegal for anyone to provide visa advice without regulated immigration accreditation ( Office of the Immigration Service Commissioner)

4. We are a Tier 4 Sponsor
UK Visas & Immigration require educational institutions to apply for a Tier 4 Sponsor Licence in order to sponsor students from outside the EEA to study under Tier 4
The Tier 4 Sponsor Licence enables the University to issue a CAS (Certificate of Acceptance for Study) number for the student to use to apply for a Tier 4 visa
Our Tier 4 Sponsor Licence has to be renewed each year and the Licence can be revoked if the University is found to be in breach of UKVI rules

5. Our obligations as a Tier 4 Sponsor
We must record all visas (or equivalent permission to remain in the UK) and passports for all non-EEA students at the University, regardless of length or mode of study
We must see students in person for registration and can only accept original documents, copies are unacceptable to UKVI due to the possibility of fraud
We must report to UKVI if students do not comply with Tier 4 Regulations or the Immigration Rules

6. Tier 4 Attendance
We must monitor Attendance of all Tier 4 visa holders to ensure that they are actively participating in their programmes
This includes making sure that students are not absent during term-time without prior authorisation
UG students can have holidays during Christmas, Easter and Summer vacations
PGT (1 year master’s) students can have holidays during Christmas and Easter vacations but do not have a summer break as they should be working on their dissertations

7. PGR students can have 26 working days annual leave exclusive of public holidays and University closure days (with these additional days the total annual leave allowance is 8 weeks)
Visa Compliance uses SUMMS, an in-house Attendance Monitoring system that tracks electronic usage across the University (it is unable to see personal data such as s)
SUMMS can be used to check the last time a student engaged with some of the University’s electronic systems

8. All Tier 4 students must access the following systems at least once per week for their attendance to be logged, on campus systems are preferred:
Using Student ID Card for Door Entry, the Library or Printer Access
Logging in to a University PC
Logging in to Blackboard (not )
Logging in to the Eduroam Wireless System
Logging in to E-Assignment (UG and PGT)
Logging in to PGR Tracker (PGR)
Logging in to the Remote Study Form (PGR)

9. If a student is absent for three, four or five weeks then they will receive an from Visa Compliance
The will either ask them to log on to systems or to contact Visa Compliance immediately
After six weeks of no response from the student, Visa Compliance will look at removing sponsorship of the student’s Tier 4 visa, unless there have been extenuating circumstances

10. Removal of Tier 4 Sponsorship
We report to UKVI when we remove our sponsorship of a Tier 4 visa and are expected to do this within 10 days of the student’s change of status, i.e. they have suspended study
We do this by logging on to the UKVI system – we must give the date of sponsorship removal, the reason for the action and the student’s contact details
Once sponsorship has been removed we send out an to the student notifying them that their Tier 4 leave (visa) has been curtailed and they have 60 days in which to leave the UK (or before their visa expiry date if it is less than 60 days)

11. The exception is for students who have successfully completed their programmes (of at least one year in length) before the Programme End Date on their CAS, in these cases Tier 4 leave is curtailed to 120 days
We may remove Tier 4 Sponsorship for the following reasons: a student fails to turn up for their programme/does not enrol, defers, suspends, repeats externally, withdraws, completes early, transfers to another institution, is not meeting attendance requirements, changes their immigration status or study mode, or is non- compliant with immigration rules

12. UKVI Audits
UK Visas & Immigration carry out audits of all Tier 4 Sponsors, University of Southampton has not yet had an audit!
If UKVI found us to be in breach we could potentially lose our Tier 4 Sponsor Licence, this would mean:
All Tier 4 Students would have to find another Sponsor (Higher Educational Institution)
All Staff on a Tier 2 visa would have to find alternative employment (our Tier 4 Sponsor Licence is attached to our Tier 2 Licence, which is managed by HR)

13. Financial loss for the University of approximately 85 million pounds +
Possible loss of jobs due to severe cut in revenue
Severe reputation damage to the University
Will harm Southampton’s economy locally
We don’t want this to happen!
We need your help in retaining our Tier 4 Sponsor Licence, as long as we co-operate and work together we can ensure that we catch problems in good time and provide an excellent service for our International students

14. Contact us Please remember we are here to help 
For general Visa Compliance queries for both staff and students, new and continuing student registration appointments for all non-EEA nationalities:
For all authorised absence, PGR annual leave and attendance queries:
Team extension number: 28181

15. Visa Advice for staff only: vgt@soton.ac.uk
SharePoint group: Visa and Immigration Student Advice Service (VISAS Team) – all members of staff are members of the group
Webpages: immigration/index.page

16. Visa Advice for students: visa@soton.ac.uk
Drop in every Tuesday and Thursday 9-11am in Student Services Centre
Phone SSC for triage and appointments or book appointment in person at SSC main desk
FAQs and web enquiry form: immigration/visas-enquiry-form.page

17. Formally UK Border Agency
Hampshire Constabulary Nationality Department . Police Registration
UK Council for International Student Affairs
Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner

18. Any Questions?
Please use the dd month yyyy format for the date for example 11 January The main title can be one or two lines long.