Authorised Absence for Undergraduate Students

If you are travelling during the University vacation periods (Christmas, Easter and Summer), you are not required to apply for an authorised absence as you are free to travel during these times.

During term time, students are expected to be on campus throughout the published term dates, including assessment support weeks and assessment weeks. However, the University recognises that events outside of your control may occur whilst you are in the UK and understand that you may need to be absent during term time.

For absences up to seven calendar days, you are not required to apply through a central absence process. If your School require you to notify them of an absence up to seven days, please follow their guidance on this matter.

You are encouraged to keep absences as short as possible to minimise time away from the University, however if you do need to be absent for longer than seven calendar days you can apply for an authorised absence. Where possible, authorised absence should be requested in advance of travel.

It is your responsibility to give a clear explanation as to why an absence is required at that particular time, and for the length of time requested. Please note, absence to fulfil commitments that do not need to be undertaken at that time will not be approved. Authorised absence will also not be approved during term time for the purpose of holiday, or for cultural or religious events that can be observed in the UK.

Where academic engagement is not continuing the University is permitted, under Home Office guidance, to approve an authorised absence for a period up to eight weeks, however we may refuse absence requests where there are concerns about the impact this will have on your studies. In most cases, we would expect authorised absences to be for a much shorter period to minimise disruption to your studies.

If a situation requires you to be absent for a longer period of time, a leave of absence may be more appropriate for you.

Internships

The University will permit students to participate in vocational internship opportunities taking place outside of the UK, during the summer term only (post-assessment and up to the end of term). Students are normally expected to arrange internships during vacation periods, however if you have an opportunity that cannot start at any other time than prior to the end of term you can request authorised absence to attend.

You must provide an official document from the internship provider confirming the dates and will be expected to submit a short report on your learning experience during the internship. You should speak to your School to arrange this.

Evidence must be provided with all requests. If the original document is not in English, you must get it translated into English by a certified translator; please provide both the original and the translated copy.

Documents provided as evidence should be official confirmation of the situation. For example, for a medical absence, a doctor’s note would be acceptable whereas a photograph of an injury or an x-ray image would not.

Evidence must be time-relevant and clearly demonstrate why you need to be absent during the dates requested. 

The authorised absence form is available online. Please see the step-by-step guide on how to submit a request.

You will be required to enter an authorised signatory, who 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. Please note that any requests ‘approved’ by a student will not be processed.

If you are using an @contacts email address in either the authorised signatory or administrator field, you may receive an error message stating that ‘the user does not exist or is not unique’. To bypass this error you can use an alternate @adf email address. Please see steps on how to retrieve this alternate email address. Please be aware that when this email address is entered into a form field it might look like it will revert back to an @contacts address, however, it will still work as an alternate mail address for a shared mailbox.

When you submit a request, the named authorised signatory will review your request and submit their decision.

If your request is rejected, your School will contact you to notify you of their decision.

If your request is approved, Registry will receive this for processing and email you to confirm whether the request has been approved or declined. Please be aware that 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.

Please note that once an approved 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.

You are expected to return to the UK on the stated end date of your absence.  On the first University working day after your authorised absence ends, you must report in person to your programme 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 should submit a new authorised absence request with evidence that supports why you require longer than planned.

If you do not report your return, or submit an extension request, the University may be required to report withdrawal of immigration sponsorship to the Home Office.