Student Visas is available to offer immigration information and advice in a professional, friendly and confidential manner. We are happy to offer guidance to prospective and current students, as well as recent graduates. 

Our Student Visa Advisers will always do everything possible to assist you to achieve the best possible outcome to your immigration situation, but must also act within the bounds and in the interests of the University’s sponsor licence. Advice offered is correct at the point it is offered, but Advisers have no control over when advice provided may no longer be valid due to immigration regulations and policy changes implemented by the Government. Immigration regulations and policy change often and with little or no notice. You should always check that any advice offered by the Student Visa Advisers in the past is still valid prior to taking any action. 

Please note that the Student Visa Advisers are the only members of the University that are legally permitted to offer you immigration advice.

We offer comprehensive guidance with the following visas:

1. Student visa
2. Dependant of a Student
3. Standard Visitor Visa
4. Graduate Route 

We can also help you with:

1. Making a Student visa application either inside or outside the UK. 
2. Switching to Student visa from other visa categories
3. Employment regulations during studies
4. Visa application refusals
5. Impact on your Student visa where studies are interrupted by suspension, withdrawal or change of course
6. Compliance with and protection of your Student visa status
7. Errors in personal details or length of leave granted

Accessing our help

• Drop-in sessions are available online via zoom.
• You can ask us a question online
• Where your situation requires more time, we will schedule an appointment for you (currently this will be online)
• We always aim to prioritise urgent cases, though you may have to wait longer during busier periods

What to do next

• Seek advice early as we cannot guarantee support for last minute applications
• Provide all requested information and documentation. Visa applications and enquiries often have strict timeframes. Failure to meet a deadline could adversely affect your outcome
• Ensure all information provided is truthful and accurate
• Take full responsibility for your visa by upholding your obligations
• Check whether advice you received in the past remains valid as immigration policy and regulations are subject to change by the UK government
• Keep up to date with UK immigration legislation. UKCISA and UKVI are useful sources

About our Student Visa Advisers

• We are legally permitted to offer you immigration advice and do so in accordance with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner’s Guidelines, as well as the UK Council for International Student Affairs’ (UKCISA) Code of Ethics
• Please note that our team’s support is offered in the form of guidance, not legal advice
• We cannot guarantee UKVI outcomes, nor can we influence UKVI’s decisions
• We will treat all your information as confidential, in accordance with Data Protection regulations. It will only ever be shared in exceptional circumstances, where the law requires us to do so

If you have any comments or complaints about our service, please email student-visa-advice@bristol.ac.uk. If you are not happy with how your comments or complaints have been handled by our team, information about the University complaints procedure can be found here. You also have a right to complain to the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner. 

Please see our Education and Student Experience Division Confidentiality Statement here