• Introduction
• Recording passport and visa copies on eVision
• Compliance issues

Scanning passport and visa requirements

As a registered sponsor, the University is duty bound to scan the passport identification page and visa status of each student who has come to Oxford to study on a Student visa, or any other visa type.

• UK nationals
• Irish nationals
• Indefinite Leave to Remain

Passport and visa copies do not need to be recorded for part-time students unless Student Visa Compliance contacts Colleges directly. Student Visa Compliance issues about 5 CAS numbers a year for part-time students. Colleges will be alerted if they have a part-time student who needs a Student visa to be scanned.

The Student visa, or other visa status, is also used for the Student Right to Work Check Report in the Student Records section of eVision (i.e. where a postgraduate student is teaching at several colleges). Therefore, it is important the start and end dates and visa type are recorded accurately.

Passport and visa copies must be kept for a minimum of 2 years after the end of the student relationship. This is because they may be required in the event of a UKVI audit. The record must be destroyed 6 years after the end of the student relationship for GDPR requirements.

Who needs their passport and visa to be scanned?

Scanning passports and visas is a College based activity; passports and visas will need to be scanned and checked before a student enrols. For students who are extending a visa in the UK to start a new (second) course at Oxford they can be enrolled with either a new visa for Oxford, or evidence of a submitted visa application.

If a student extends their visa at a later date Colleges will also need a new scan (see the Passport scanning for continuing students section below).

Recognised students will have their passports scanned by Student Information (Examination Schools) when they collect their University Card. Student Information will arrange an appointment time with the student to do this.

Continuing Education will act as a College for those students in a department that does not have a College attachment. Continuing Education will, therefore, need to scan passports and visas for those students who come in under a Student visa, or other visa type, on a full-time course.

Visa checks and passport scanning at enrolment

Student Visa Compliance recommends that Colleges print out a list of all their students from eVision before students start to arrive.

Some students will only have an online immigration status (EU, EEA, Swiss nationals and those with pre-settled or settled status). For more information please see the ‘Checking digital immigration status online’ guide (see Quick reference guide and resources section above).

The Student Passport/Visa Copies section of eVision includes all non-UK/Irish students; it also excludes those with Indefinite Leave to Remain. EU, EEA and Swiss students starting a new course who hold a Student visa, pre-settled or settled status, will also need a copy to be recorded.

Once Colleges have the list of students who require their visas and documents to be recorded, they should check each student’s visa and decide if they can be enrolled or not.

Colleges should check a student’s visa before they are allowed to enrol. If a student does not have the correct visa, they must not be enrolled.

Student Visa Compliance recommends that Colleges do not give the University card to the http://badcreditloanshelp.net student until they have scanned the visa and passport identification page, unless there is a genuine delay beyond the student’s control. Both processes should be carried out at the same time.