External Students

If your progression decision or appeal outcome confirms that you may enrol as an external student, you will need to complete the external student enrolment process. 

Students on the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (LPC) do not need to complete this process but will be automatically enrolled by the School of Law. 

Students on healthcare related programmes should check with the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science (Assessment-FMHLS@swansea.ac.uk) who will confirm whether they need to complete the external candidate enrolment process

Overseas students holding a Student Route Visa will be reported to the UKVI and will normally be required to return to their home country before being permitted to enrol. Students who are beyond their CAS course end date and are seeking to enrol in Swansea during the wrap up period of their visa should present in person to complete a right to study check with the Visa Compliance Team. Overseas students whose Student visa has been curtailed, and who have been required to return home, should contact Visa Compliance (VISA Compliance via Student Service Centre) who will be able to provide advice about applying for a Standard Visitor visa to return to Swansea.

What does it mean to be an external student?

An external student is permitted to undertake a further assessment opportunity, usually as a final opportunity. There is no access to nor an attendance requirement to repeated/additional teaching as the student is expected to rely on the notes that they hold already. Further information on what an external student can access is below.

External enrolment fees for the 2026/27 academic session are as follows (this covers examinations and other coursework/assessments). There is a fee per 10 credits for each module that has been awarded as an option.

Important: Funding for External Registration is not available through Student Finance bodies such as Student Finance Wales. Students will therefore need to explore alternative payment methods in advance of the registration deadline. 

Who needs to register and when?

To allow sufficient time for academic and professional service staff to source assessments, external students are required to apply, pay and register by the published deadline below.

If you have modules across two assessment periods, you should regard the earliest date as your deadline.

Most students who receive the opportunity to attempt assessments as External students are required to follow the enrolment process below.

The exceptions are;

• Students on the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (LPC) do not need to complete this process but will be automatically enrolled by the School of Law.
• Students on healthcare related programmes should check with the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science Assessment team via the Student Service Centre who will confirm whether they need to complete the external candidate enrolment process
  
  

What does being an external student mean for being a Student Route visa holder?

Overseas students holding a Student Route Visa will be reported to the UKVI and will normally be required to return to their home country before being permitted to enrol. Students who are beyond their CAS course end date and are seeking to enrol in Swansea during the wrap up period of their visa should present in person to complete a right to study check with the Visa Compliance Team. Overseas students whose Student visa has been curtailed, and who have been required to return home, should contact Visa Compliance via the Student Service Centre who will be able to provide advice about applying for a Standard Visitor visa to return to Swansea.

Information on External Students and the impact on Graduate Route eligibility can be found here.

What happens after I register?

You will receive an email to confirm that you are registered. If the assessment is an exam that takes place within an university assessment period (e.g. January), please refer to your Intranet profile for the time and location following the publication of the exam timetable. For all other assessments, please contact the assessments teams via the Student Service Centre for confirmation of your submission date.

Enrolment Process

The external student/candidate enrolment process is as follows:

1. Students must complete the online External Student Registration Form. The application will be reviewed by several teams.
2. Students must complete the form in good time to allow for consideration of the application and make payment before the published deadline.
3. Non-UK/Irish students may be contacted by Visa Compliance that you have left the UK or present for an in person right to study check
4. If your application has been approved, you will receive an invitation to make payment by email. If your application needs revision or rejected, you receive an email to explain and provide further information. There is no need for students to contact the Education Journeys team before this point as we will be in touch directly when the registration form has been approved.
5. The fees can be paid through “Financial Transactions” tab (highly recommended) in your intranet profile or over the phone/in person with Hwb. Instructions will be issued by email.
6. After students have completed their payment, Student Records to complete your enrolment as an external candidate. Students will then be able to view their exam timetable via their student intranet profile. 

    

Eligibility

Students who are required to repeat the level of study can only apply to repeat failed modules as internal candidates. The exceptions are Taught Postgraduate, GDL and some Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science students, who may apply to repeat modules as External Candidates. In addition, a student may be awarded the opportunity to enrol as an external student due to exceptional circumstances (i.e. as an outcome of an Academic Appeal).

It is a student’s responsibility to register by the published deadline to undertake assessments as an external candidate to ensure that it is possible to sit the relevant modules (i.e. that the modules concerned are still available and that the content hasn’t changed). To achieve the best outcomes, students are encouraged to undertake the assessment at the earliest opportunity following completion of the learning.

External candidates:

• Should ensure in collaboration with the module convenor that they have sufficient notes for revision to enable them to sit examinations and/or submit coursework in the academic year;
• Must, if appropriate, ensure that they have the correct visa in place to attend any exams or assessments. For further details regarding visa contact Visa Compliance via the Student Service Centre.

External students can: 

• Access content on Canvas (provided the external student has a full Swansea University IT account).
• Use University computing facilities (provided the external student has a full Swansea University IT account). Specialist computer facilities will require approval from the module convenor.
• Access the University Library (provided the external student has a full Swansea University IT account).
• Seek support and help from the Students Union Advice Centre.
• Access advice and guidance from Student Life support services.
• Access support from Wellbeing and Disability to discuss needs and liaise with support services external to the university (however access to the more therapeutic services offered in Wellbeing is not available).
• Access support prior to registration or re-registration from Wellbeing and Disability, to discuss needs in relation to returning to university (however access to the more therapeutic services offered in Wellbeing is not available).
• Request an extension to the submission deadline.
• once enrolled, be subject to the University’s academic regulations and policies (examples include Academic Appeals Procedure, Accuracy of Published marks procedure, Academic Misconduct procedure, Student Complaints Procedure and/or Dignity at Study Procedure, Disciplinary Procedure, Student Charter and Supplemental Charter (these are examples and not an exhaustive list)).
• The Student Cases Board will have discretion to determine entitlements not listed.

External students cannot:

• Enrol until the requisite fee has been paid by the relevant deadline.
• Attend lectures or receive additional tuition.
• Resit assessments in a different module from the module failed.
• Access Hardship Funds, Bursaries and Special Awards.
• Access funding or support through Disabled Students Allowance (DSA), because external students are not eligible for financial support from Student Finance (e.g. SFE/SFW).  There can be exceptions to this where a student is repeating a year and only registering for assessments/examinations, but this is at the discretion of the student’s external funding body.
• Receive financial support from Student Finance, including tuition fee loans, maintenance loans and maintenance grants as the University is unable to confirm attendance or registration.  Students on Healthcare related programmes (Nursing/MSc Nursing/Midwifery/Paramedic Science/Healthcare Sciences (All pathways)/Occupational Therapy/Operating Department Practitioner (ODP)/Physician Associate Studies/Social Work) shall have their bursary award suspended and must contact the Faculty NHS Bursary Office for further guidance.
• Claim exemption from paying Council Tax (though they may be eligible for discount or support, via the local authority, depending on their circumstances).
• The Student Cases Board will have discretion to determine entitlements not listed.

If you have any questions about registering, please contact Education Journeys via the Student Service Centre. Choose the Enrolment Query category with the External Registration subcategory.