Student Status Letters for UK Visa Compliance

Our standard response time is five working days from the initial request, unless follow-up is required with you or another part of LSE.   Therefore, you should always plan in advance of needing your document as we are unable to guarantee a request can be expedited.

Many of the letters outlined below require input from other parts of the School or we may need additional information from yourselves to provide the right documents. It is therefore vital that you request the document you need well in advance of requiring it as we cannot guarantee that documents can be expedited.

We no longer provide a completion of programme requirements letter due to concerns about them being used to start working in excess of 20 hours when not permitted.

An employer may ask you to obtain a letter which confirms you have completed all of your teaching and assessments, especially if you have a full-time role that starts prior to your official vacation.  The dates that you can work full time are set by the immigration rules and any full-time work completed prior to you being on vacation is a breach of the visa conditions.  LSE's role is to ensure you are compliant with the conditions of your visa and as such we will not provide a letter for employers confirming that all your academic requirements have ended.

This letter is only for registered-exams only students and students attending LSE on an exchange of less than six months.  

You can find more information on the following web page:

Standard Visitor visa letter requests

The aim of the HIghly Likely letter is to meet the academic progression requirements for a Student visa application made in the UK, where you have not received the results for your previous degree before your new programme is starting e.g. a 12 month Masters student starting a PhD.

Given you will receive your final results in July, you will be able to use your final transcript as evidence to meet the academic progression requirements. You should ask your new institution about applying for your visa in the UK and enrolling with a Student visa application in progress.

This letter is only for students holding an LSE Student visa who need to provide a 'Highly Likely to be Awarded' letter to LSE or other universities in the UK to meet the academic progression requirements of the Student Route. It will not be provided for other reasons. 

Criteria:

1. Only issued to 12 months masters students and 2nd year 24 months masters students holding a Student visa. This letter is primarily for the purposes of UKVI applications

2. All provisional results (bar the dissertation mark) have been released to the student via LSE for You and are not blocked for viewing

3. The student requesting the letter does not have any provisional failed courses

4. The student has submitted their dissertation. NB: Academic Departments (Programme Managers/Administrators) responsible for a student who requires this letter will need to confirm to the Student Advice and Engagement Team via email whether the student has completed their programme requirements and the date on which the Department had received the student’s dissertation or final project/essay. 

To make a request:

Once all of the above criteria have been met students must submit an enquiry via the Student Services Enquiry Form and attached a screenshot of their provisional results as published in LSE for You. Students must also provide a confirmation from the other institution that the letter is required because the offer-holder will be making their visa application from the UK. Please note that it can take up to five working days for the letter to be issued.  

To submit evidence of your studies for a Skilled Worker visa application sponsored by a UK employer, students can obtain the following two letters from the School:

1. Certificate of Enrolment: This letter can be used to confirm that a student is completing their programme within three months of the official programme end date.

To make a request: 

Students can obtain a certificate of enrolment via the Student Services Enquiry Form here. 

2. Skilled Worker Academic Reference: Only for Student visa holders requesting a letter to obtain sponsorship (CoS) from their UK employer to switch from a Student visa to a Skilled Worker visa after completing their last assessment and before the official final results are published. To obtain this letter, students must have an offer of permanent employment in the UK.

Criteria:

1. Student has sat all of their examinations and submitted all of their academic papers including a dissertation, final essay or project, if applicable. If your last assessment is a dissertation, a final essay or a project, you must submit the final and complete version before you request a Skilled Worker academic reference letter. Amendments are not permissable after you have been issued with a Skilled Worker academic reference letter. NB: Academic Departments (Programme Managers/Administrators) responsible for a student who requires a Skilled Worker academic reference will need to confirm to the Student Advice and Engagement Team via email whether the student has completed their programme requirements and the date in which the Department had received the student’s dissertation or final project/essay. This confirmation will need to be given in advance of a student’s request

2. Student must provide the Student Advice and Engagement Team with a scanned or PDF copy of their employment offer/contract in a form of an official letter or contract on letterheaded paper from their UK employer. Unfortunately, emails referring to offers of employment will not suffice.

To make a request:

Once all of the above criteria have been met including the Academic Department contacting the Student Advice and Engagement Team with the necessary information, students must submit an enquiry via the Student Services Enquiry Form. Please note that it can take up to five working days for the letter to be issued. 

This letter authorises Student visa holders to be on vacation for a maximum of four weeks between the end date of the summer examination period (ie, the end date of Spring Term) and the official programme end date, i.e. during dissertation writing period. 

NB: The School is unable to confirm eligibility for employment or work rights. This decision lies with the employing organisation. A maximum of four weeks’ vacation period is given per student at one time unless the student decides to split their four weeks’ vacation during the dissertation writing period (for example, two weeks in early August and two weeks in early September), which is agreed with the Academic Department. 

You should not start working full time until you have obtained your letter and provided it to an employer as part of your 'Right to Work' check.  If you start working prior to the letter being provided, you will be in breach of your visa conditions and LSE may be required to report you to the UKVI for illegal working following an investigation.

Please note that this letter will not be issued for the purpose of travelling outside of the UK.

Criteria:

1. Only issued to 12 months masters students and taught 2^nd year 24 months masters students holding a Student visa

2. The vacation occurs during the dissertation writing period (ie, between the end of Spring Term and the official programme end date in September as stated on CAS statement)

3. Students must ensure that the vacation request does not interfere with their completion and submission of their dissertation as it cannot be used mitigating circumstances and extension requests

4. Departments (Programme Managers/Administrators) must authorise and confirm your vacation dates and the reason for your vacation to the Student Advice and Engagement Team in advance of your request. 

To make a request:

Once all of the above criteria have been met students must submit an enquiry via the Student Services Enquiry Form.  Please note that it can take up to five working days for students to be issued with their letters by email as PDF attachments.

Please note that internship agreements are processed and issued by LSE Careers. Please refer to their webpage here on internship agreements for further information. 

LSE Careers will check with the Student Advice and Engagement Team if your internship is compliant with the conditions of your visa.  Please be aware that remote internships completed in the UK for an overseas company fall within the conditions of your visa and the School has the right to say that you cannot complete the internship if you will be non-compliant. This not only includes the number of hours you will be working, but also the type of work:

Working on a visa in the UKWorking on a visa in the UK

The Home Office require institutions to verify all students who will be eligible for the Graduate Route, regardless of whether they wish to apply.  Verification will only take place after you have received your results and have been informed that you have been awarded your degree:

- July for final year undergraduates, 9/10/21 month MSc students and students from RDAP 2

- September for students awarded after successful completion in IRDAP

- November for 12 and 24 month MSc students

- March for Postgraduate Students participating in RDAP 1

PhD students will be dealt with on a rolling basis.

You cannot apply until you have been emailed by LSE to inform you that you have been verified to the UKVI for the Graduate Route.

The Student Advice and Engagement Team have information on their web pages, which you should refer to as not all students are eligible for this route:

Working on a visa in the UK

The School is unable to provide completion letters for the purpose of airport tax refunds or extra luggage allowance. Students can request a completion of programme requirements letter after the official programme end date has passed subject to meeting the criteria shown above.