We hope that your time at university is an enjoyable experience, but we recognise that situations may arise which makes it difficult to continue your studies. The university has various support services that are here to help, including a free, confidential counselling service.
Some students may decide (for personal, medical or financial reasons) to take a temporary break in their studies. This is called an interruption of studies (IOS) and needs to be approved at an appropriate level by your programme team. You will need to submit an interruption form and will be advised if you need to provide supporting documents.
Visa implications
If you are on a Student Visa, you are required to discuss the immigration implications of your interruption with the International Advising Team before approval is granted. For example, an interruption could result in you exceeding the UKVI time limit for studying in the UK.
You will need to leave the UK during the IOS period and the university has a legal obligation to report this to UKVI (within 10 days) to let them know you have deferred your studies with the intention of returning in the future. This means that St George’s has withdrawn sponsorship of your Student Visa during the interruption period, which will usually result in your existing Student Visa being curtailed.
UKVI will email you a PDF letter to confirm the curtailment and the new date that your visa will now expire. You will usually have 60 days from the date of the letter to leave the UK. To avoid overstaying you right to remain in the UK, we recommend that you leave the UK as soon as possible after we notify you that we have withdrawn sponsorship of your current Student Visa. It is important to keep this letter for your records, as you may need the details of the curtailment for any future immigration applications you make.
Resuming your studies
When you plan to return to your studies, you will need to apply for a new Student Visa. Please do not try to use your old visa as this will have been cancelled.
You will need to request a new Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) statement, and we will have to assess your eligibility before we can issue you with a new CAS. We would recommend you contact us to request a new CAS approximately three months prior to your planned return date.
Please note that you cannot apply for a Student Visa more than three months before your planned date of returning to full-time study, and you will not be able to re-enter the UK more than one month in advance.
To find out more about making a Student Visa application from overseas, go to Applying from outside the UK (entry clearance).