Authorised absence for international students

The authorised signatory must be a member of staff from within your School/Department.

If you are not sure whose name to enter in this field, please ask your School.

DO NOT ENTER PROFESSOR ADAM TICKELL AS THE AUTHORISED SIGNATORY OR THE ADMINISTRATOR ON YOUR AUTHORISED ABSENCE REQUEST.

Any requests ‘approved’ by a student or their friend will not be processed.

If you will not be engaging in any academic activities during the absence, the University may approve a period of authorised absence for a maximum of eight weeks per academic year without the withdrawal of immigration sponsorship.

A period of authorised absence will not be added to your registration period; therefore in some circumstances a leave of absence may be more appropriate. Please see the Code of Practice on Leave of Absence Procedures for more information.

Where you are continuing to engage with your programme of study during the period of authorised absence, for example undertaking fieldwork, the University may approve a period of authorised absence longer than eight weeks.

Undergraduate/Postgraduate taught students:

If you are an undergraduate or postgraduate taught student you are expected to be on campus throughout the published semester dates, including assessment support weeks and assessment weeks.

Authorised absence will not be approved during term time for the purpose of holiday/tourist travel, cultural or religious events that can be observed in the UK, or social occasions (e.g. weddings).

If your programme follows the standard University vacation calendar you can travel during vacation periods without applying for an authorised absence. However, the University will not approve an authorised absence for you to leave the UK prior to the start of a vacation period.

If you are on a full-time Masters programme, and will be working on your dissertation/research project over the summer, you are required to be academically engaged on a full-time basis, despite not normally having any teaching sessions scheduled. We would therefore not expect absence for the purpose of holiday to be taken during this time.

Postgraduate research students:

If you are a postgraduate research student, then yes, you are permitted to take authorised absence for the purpose of holiday. University term dates vacation periods do not apply to postgraduate research students, therefore any period of holiday must be covered by an authorised absence. Postgraduate researchers may, with the prior agreement of their supervisor, take up to eight weeks holiday in each academic year, including public holidays.

The eight weeks permitted is equivalent to 40 days (8 weeks x 5 days). This is based on weekdays, not working days; it excludes weekends but includes any University closed days and bank holidays. Please note that this is calculated on a pro-rata basis where a student's registration is for less than an academic year (i.e those who start part way through an academic year). An academic year for Postgraduate research students runs from 1 October to 30 September the following year.

You are required to submit an authorised absence request by completing section one of the online request form and providing all mandatory information and evidence. Please read the authorised absence for international students guidance notes carefully.

Authorised absence for International students online request form

Authorised absence for international students guidance notes (DOCX - 35KB)

Please ensure your request is submitted a minimum of ten University working days in advance of your departure date, as retrospective requests may not be considered. Exceptions to this would be if you need to travel at short notice due to unforeseen events, such as illness or death of an immediate family member.

Please note: If you are unsure of whose name to enter as your authorised signatory, please contact your programme/PGR administrator before submitting your authorised absence request.

For some absences, yes. Please see the link below for where evidence is required: 

• Authorised Absence Requests – Reasons for Absence (DOCX - 18KB) 

Please note that evidence should support the reason for the absence. Evidence that is not in English must be translated into English by a certified translator.

When providing translated evidence, please provide both the original and the translated copy.

The named authorised signatory will review your request and submit their decision.

A confirmation email will then be sent to the administrator named in the form, they will forward the request to Registry for processing.

Registry will process your request and email you to confirm whether the request has been approved or declined. Please note this is a two-step approval process, and the University may be required to decline your request even if it was approved at School level.

If your authorised absence is approved you will be provided with an email for you to show to the Immigration Officer at the border, should they ask for proof that you are a student and have permission to travel outside the UK (the Home Office have advised that this will be sufficient evidence).

Please note that once the authorised absence request has been received by Registry, the standard processing time is ten working days, however during peak times this may extend to twenty working days. 

The University may inform the Home Office if your absence is on academic grounds (fieldwork or writing up your dissertation/thesis in your home country).

If you intend to return to the University and continue with your studies at the end of your absence, the University will inform the Home Office of a temporary change in your study location. In these circumstances, the University must fulfil its Sponsor Licence obligations and continue to monitor your academic engagement and progress with your fieldwork, thesis or dissertation.

If you confirm on the authorised absence form that you will not be returning to the University to complete your studies, the University will report to the Home Office that you have returned to your home country for the remainder of your programme. This means that the University will withdraw immigration sponsorship from your student route visa and you will not be permitted to return to the University on your current student route visa. If you have any queries regarding your student route visa and withdrawal of immigration sponsorship, we strongly advise that you contact the International Students Team (IST).

If the purpose of your absence is to write up your dissertation or thesis overseas you may, with the approval of your School, submit your work from overseas and not be required to return to the University. If you choose to do this, the University will report to the Home Office that you have returned to your home country for the remainder of your programme. This means that the University will withdraw immigration sponsorship from your student route visa and you will not be permitted to return to the University on your current student route visa. If you have any queries regarding to your student route visa and withdrawal of immigration sponsorship, we strongly advise that you contact the International Students Team (IST).

On the first University working day after the end of your authorised absence you must report in person to your programme/PGR administrator to confirm that you have returned by the agreed date.

If you are unable to return by the date provided on your request form, you must notify your authorised signatory and contact Registry at registrypbsqueries@contacts.bham.ac.uk to advise of your new date of return and the reasons why you are unable to return by the original agreed date. You may need to apply for a further authorised absence until you are able to return. Failure to do so may result in the withdrawal of immigration sponsorship.

The authorised signatory will need to confirm to Registry whether they approve the extension to your absence and you may be asked to provide evidence to support the reason for the extension. If your absence is on non-academic grounds, and the extension takes you over the maximum eight weeks permitted per academic  year, the request will be refused and an alternative course of action may be required.

If you have an American Loan, you should contact the Funding, Graduation & Awards team for advice, by email to fga@contacts.bham.ac.uk as an authorised absence can have an effect on your loan eligibility.

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