Late Arrivals - International Students

Information for International Students

For the majority of degree level and above students, their course will now have already started. Please check both your CAS and the enrolment timeline page for the short list of courses that have later or non-standard start dates.

The University expects students to arrive in time for the start of their course or at the earliest point possible after a visa has been issued and staff monitor the UKVI SMS system relating to individual visa decision dates. We expect students, who have already missed the start of their course, to travel within a maximum 5 days of visa decision receipt or in time to meet any earlier final arrival date given. This is to minimise the academic and cultural impact of arriving late to your course.

This page will continue to update, on a rolling basis throughout the main arrival period, and stipulate whether you can assume a short automatic extension or if it is confirmed that your course has reached the maximum permissible arrival and enrolment date. It is very important that you engage with the dates for your course, and take any necessary action as per the timeline below, to prevent unavoidable issues.

Most students, whose course has already started, can assume that an automatic extension has been granted to Monday 12th October 2026. However, students who are studying on a course in the list below should know that there will be no further extension possible and Monday 12th October 2026 should be taken as your final date. For those students, failure to have arrived and attended Right to Study/enrolment on/by your final date means that your record will be closed and your immigration sponsorship withdrawn.

Course List Monday 12 October 2026

For students who are due to start a Foundation or Pathway course with The College, Swansea University please email The-College@swansea.ac.uk to ensure you know what your latest arrival and enrolment date is, for most students this final date will also be Monday 12th October 26.

If your final arrival and enrolment date is approaching and you have not received a visa decision you will likely have been contacted direct by the VISA Compliance team. They will have given you a date you need to have received a UKVI visa decision to prevent your CAS from being withdrawn. This is an important safeguarding action for both you and the University and is non negotiable.

If you have not yet received a visa decision, and are eligible for an extension to your arrival and enrolment date, the University will automatically update your CAS with this extended date. Although you will not be able to see this new date on your CAS, the UKVI Caseworker will see it as an update on the Sponsor Management System (SMS).

Important note:

Students who attempt to travel and enrol beyond confirmed final arrival/enrolment dates should expect to be refused enrolment. They would need to take full responsibility for any financial or emotional distress caused by choosing to undertake that action against University advice.

Please browse the sections below to ensure you are fully informed around the processes related to Late Arrivals.

Timeline

You should ensure that you are aware of the timeline below and that these could change based on any permitted changes to your latest enrolment date.

Timeline	Action
7 days before your latest enrolment date	If you are still waiting for an outcome on your visa application, you should consider withdrawing your visa application. Please read the section below on withdrawing your visa application carefully.
7 days before your latest enrolment date	If you believe you are going to be able to meet your last enrolment date, pay your fees at this point to prevent risk of non-enrolment. Please see the following information for How to Pay Your Fees
Weekend before your latest enrolment date	You should be travelling to the UK at this point at the very latest. If you cannot travel by this time, you should not travel. Please see the travel and accommodation section below.

Withdrawing your visa application

If this page confirms that your latest enrolment date is within the next 5-7 days, and you have not yet received a visa decision, it is very important that you take action as quickly as possible to withdraw your visa application. This should trigger at least a partial refund of any fees paid as part of the visa application process. This is very easy to do from inside your UKVI account but as it can take 5-7 working days for UKVI to process a withdrawal request, it is important that you act quickly or your visa may be issued but you won’t be able to use it to enrol on the course. The process and guidance for doing this can be found on the UK Government website here: Cancel your visa, immigration or citizenship application: Cancel your application - GOV.UK. Keep any evidence of the withdrawal request for your records.

As legally required, Swansea University will take steps to notify the UKVI that you are not able to enrol on your course. The University will withdraw its sponsorship and/or will take steps to withdraw the CAS that has been issued to you. Withdrawal of sponsorship will usually result in any in any pending visa applications being refused and/or entry to the UK being denied at the Border. Any visa that has already been issue will subsequently be cancelled by the UKVI and cannot be used for any later course intakes. Please be aware of this.

Travel and Accommodation

This Guide below contains useful information to help you plan your journey from your Port of Entry (airport, major city etc) to Swansea and the University itself.

It also has very comprehensive information on looking for short, and longer term, accommodation plus additional concerns such as contracts, furnishings and finances.

The Guide can be used either pre-arrival or once you have arrived in the UK (or even for sending to friends and family who may be planning a visit).

UK Travel and Accommodation: An International Students' Guide

Deferring/suspending your course

New students: if you cannot enrol, you can request to defer your course start date to a later intake. Please contact the relevant Admissions team:

Undergraduate Courses: Admissions@swansea.ac.uk

Postgraduate Taught Courses:  Postgraduate.Admissions@swansea.ac.uk

Postgraduate Research Courses: PGRAdmissions@swansea.ac.uk

A new CAS and visa application submitted from overseas would be required for any future intakes.

Continuing students: Contact Education Journeys via ServiceNow to request to suspend your studies if you cannot enrol. This will mean that you can return at the next available start of session.