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Your Student visa

Find out about your Student visa and how to use it. 

This page provides information on: 

Please note: UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) are updating their immigration system and transitioning from physical documents such as BRPs to online immigration status (eVisas). Watch the gov.uk video about 'what is an eVisa' for more information.

This is the reason that current BRPs are short dated to expire 31 December 2024, even if your immigration permission goes beyond this date. If you have a BRP which expires 31 December 2024 you must take action before your BRP expiry date to apply for an eVisa, so you can continue to evidence your immigration permission after 31 December 2024. This is vitally important for your right to study, right to rent and work in the UK. It is also important for re-entering the UK after your BRP expiry date.

How to apply for an eVisa

If you are a new Student applying for a visa from overseas, you should check your visa decision letter for details on how to access your eVisa and create a UKVI account if necessary. More information on receiving your Student visa and entering the UK can be found on making a Student visa application outside the UK.

If you are a current student with a BRP, you will need to create a UKVI account using your BRP and transfer your Student visa from a physical BRP to an eVisa.

You can follow the instructions on the UKVI website for how to do this or watch a video on the gov.uk website about 'how to create a UKVI account and access your eVisa'.

Make sure you have the following information prepared:

  • date of birth
  • BRP number
  • passport details
  • access to email address and phone number
  • access to a smart phone.

If you have any questions on the process, contact an International Advisor. You can also contact UKVI via the eVisa online chat or the UKVI Contact Centre if you are experiencing technical issues. There are also services in place, via the UKVI Contact Centre, to enable status to be verified in alternative ways on an emergency basis if a customer is not able to create their account immediately.

You can also get help via Assisted Digital support if you don’t have access to the internet or smartphone of have additional needs.

Important: After you have created a UKVI account and now have an eVisa you must still carry your BRP with you when travelling until its expiry date. You may need to show it to a UK Border Force Officer or to the airline that you are travelling with. UKVI also recommends everyone keeps their BRP even when it is expired. Using an expired BRP as part of a future application for further permission might mean you do not need to re-enrol your fingerprints.

Updating your UKVI account 

Once you have created your UKVI account you will be able to view the details of your eVisa online, for example your type of permission, when it expires and your conditions of stay in the UK.  You can update your personal information in your UKVI account, such as your contact details, and add your passport as an identity document.  

Your eVisa will need to be linked to your passport in your UKVI account. You must keep your passport or ID card details up to date in your UKVI account and tell UKVI about any changes, so that your immigration status can be easily identified at the UK border.

Travelling with an eVisa

For the latest information on entering the UK with an eVisa, you must check the UK government page, which will be regularly updated.

It is important you sign in to your UKVI account before you travel to check that your eVisa is linked to your current passport or travel document. You should also get a share code to prove your immigration status as your carrier may ask to see it.  A share code is valid for 90 days.

If you’ve told UKVI you have a new passport and you’re still waiting for confirmation that your UKVI account has been updated, you should also carry your old document with you, if possible, to avoid unnecessary delays at the border. Watch a gov.uk video on how to travel with your eVisa.

How to evidence your Student visa 

There may be times during your studies where you need to show your immigration status, this will be to the University itself during registration and at other times when asked, to employers or landlords and property agencies. 

Immigration Status (and right to study)

Your immigration status and the right to study can be shown through either a BRP or the view and prove immigration service. Read more about the registration process and the documents required.

If you are required to use the view and prove service, you have to log in with your UKVI account details, and request a share code. Share codes produced through this service will begin with the letter S.

Right to work or rent

It is a requirement that employers, landlords and property agents check your immigration permissions before they employ or make you a tenant.

If you have a BRP or an eVisa, this can be done through obtaining a share code. You need to complete an online form: right to work or right to rent. You will need to use the information from the identity or travel document you applied for your Student visa with, for example, your passport. This will then produce a share code which begins with the letter W/R respectively. Employers cannot accept share codes produced for another purpose.

Important: Employers, landlords and property agents cannot use your BRP as evidence of your immigration permission.

There are some circumstances where students will not be able to obtain a share code. If you are in this situation, your employer, landlord or property agent should use the employer checking service/right to rent check, an employer will require your consent to use this service.

To prove your right to rent, you can also use a combination of 2 documents on this list on the government website.

If you have an error on your Student visa

You must check your Student visa carefully when you receive it. You can do this by using the view and prove your immigration status service to check your immigration status is displaying correctly and you have permission to travel to the UK. 

If any of the details are incorrect, you must report an error with your eVisa. You can use the service to report errors with any of the following:

  • name
  • sponsor reference – University of Sussex
  • photo
  • National Insurance number (you will only have one of these if you have previously worked in the UK)
  • visa restrictions - these say what you can and cannot do in the UK. This includes work conditions. Students studying at degree level or above should have permission to work 20 hours per week in term time
  • immigration status – your visa type should be Student. This also includes if you have problems seeing your eVisa or the status being shown
  • valid until date (visa expiry date). See our information on receiving your visa for details on how long your Student visa should last.

Student visa conditions

The Student visa conditions are the rules that you must follow while you are inside the UK and on a Student visa. You can find a list of conditions as well as our responsibilities as a Student visa sponsor on the Student Hub: Your visa responsibilities. 

One of the most important conditions are those around working while studying. It is important that you keep a copy of the UKVI decision letter you receive when your Student visa was issued, as this will list the conditions of your visa, including your work conditions.

It is your responsibility to know, understand and comply with your Student visa conditions.

Your healthcare entitlements

During your Student visa application, you would have had to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), this is a charge so that while you are in the UK you have access to the National Health Service (NHS) similar to any other resident in the UK. You can choose to have private medical insurance on top of this but the IHS must be paid as part of your visa application.

If you are an EU student with an EHIC

Many EU students will have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). If you have an EHIC you may be eligible to claim a refund for the IHS, however, this does come with risks and does affect your ability to work and receive healthcare.

If you have claimed a refund for the IHS and are working, you are unable to access healthcare through the NHS with your EHIC as working in the UK nullifies your EHIC entitlements.

See our Student Hub web pages on health and welfare for more information on healthcare entitlements.

See more from Visas and immigration