Student resources

Visas and COVID-19

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK has eased some of its requirements for Tier 4 Student Visas. This is subject to change again in the future, but you can get up-to-date info on this topic at the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) website, specifically the section on Coronavirus (COVID-19) work concessions, as well as the dedicated Imperial College London website.

Here is a brief summary of how the rules have changed over time for international students:

• Pre-covid, it used to be that you had to be in the UK at least 9 out of 12 months per year to keep your student Visa.
• Then the UK government lifted that requirement during covid so that students could continue their studies remotely from outside the UK.
• The UK is now slowly phasing back to the old system. As of Sept 27th 2021, there are no government-imposed restrictions on remote learning for students who are living outside the UK, but they leave it up to the student's supervisor to decide whether this is allowed. However, if the student is living inside of the UK, the student is expected to engage in some degree of face-to-face or "blended" learning as of September 27th 2021.
• This rule is scheduled to continue until April 6th 2022. At which point, the UK plans to transition to “blended learning” (partly in person partly remote).

NOTE: The rules are different for non-international students. For a more complete explanation of these rules, please see this linked document provided by the UKCISA.