Travel during your studies

Internal travel in the UK

If you are visiting England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, which are part of the UK common travel area, you are still within the UK. 

If you hold a visa, you will need to have your visa with you if you are travelling within the UK common travel area.

Travelling in and out of the UK on your Student visa

Once you have your Student visa, you will be able to travel freely (but not miss your classes) in and out of the UK from the time that your visa is issued until the end of your programme of study.

Every time that you re-enter the UK, you may be asked to confirm that you are still a student. We recommend that you keep an enrolment letter with the dates of your course with you when you travel (this can be downloaded from My Goldsmiths by going to the ‘My Letters’ tab.).

Authorised Absence

If you need to leave the UK during term time, you will need to seek approval from your tutor/department if you will miss any of your classes, tutorials or other scheduled contacts. This period of absence cannot be for longer than 4 weeks and you must return to the UK to resume your studies, otherwise it could have an impact on your Student visa status.

Please make sure to pass the approval of confirmation from your tutor/department onto us so that we can make a note on your record of the dates that you will be outside of the UK and your reason(s) for missing classes.

Visa and passport requirements for entering other countries

You will need to make sure that you have the necessary visas for any travel that you plan outside of the UK and you should ensure that you obtain your visa where necessary in advance of travelling. Details of how to apply for a visa can be found on the Embassy website for the country that you wish to travel to.

You should also make sure that your passport is valid. For certain countries, your passport must be valid for six months after the date you travel. Please check the entry requirements before you go.

If you intend to travel inside Europe, then you may wish to apply for a Schengen visa. Read about the Schengen visa and how to request a visa letter from Goldsmiths.