Completing your Identity Check
You'll need to complete an Identity (ID) Check in order to enrol. An ID Check is an essential part of enrolment: it enables us to verify your identity, ensure that we have your correct personal details registered and confirms your right to study in the UK.
The required Identity Documents for international students (non-UK/Irish) are detailed in the below table. Your document(s) must be valid (in date and not expired).
Evidence of your right to study in the UK is usually a visa, also known as a residence permit. See the table below on what documents are required. You should complete your ID check as soon as possible and at the latest by your School's enrolment deadline.
All International students (except those based at the Central London Campus) are required to complete an ID check in-person (full details below):
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Nationality
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Visa type
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Documents needed
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How to complete your ID Check
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Non-UK or Non-Irish Nationalities
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Student Route Visa – Sponsored by Royal Holloway
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- Valid passport
- Valid Visa* or Valid Digital Visa Share Code
- BRP Collection Letter
- UK Visas & Immigration decision letter
and
If you made your application outside the UK:
- Flight Itinerary/boarding pass
- Entry Clearance Stamp (yellow sticker in passport)
*If you have requested your BRP card to be delivered to our Egham campus, we will issue this to you during your in-person ID check.
If you are a Central London Campus student collecting your BRP card from our Egham Campus, you will need to book an appointment to collect it from the Student Services Centre.
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Egham Campus students
When: Monday 30 September - Friday 11 October 2024, 10am - 4pm, by appointment. Book your appointment using our online in-person ID check appointment booking form.
Where: Student Services Centre (Egham Campus)
London Campus students
Submit your documents through the London Campus ID check form. You will need to have received your enrolment email which has details of your IT credentials to be able to log in and submit the form. Once you have submitted the form, a staff member will review it and your Start of Session Checklist will update.
If you have submitted your documents and there is an issue, you will be contacted by email.
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Non-UK or Non-Irish Nationalities
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Other Visa types
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and
or
- Valid Digital Visa Share Code
or
- Valid Digital Immigration Share Code (this includes EU Settlement Scheme or Pre-Settlement Scheme)
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Egham Campus students
When: Monday 30 September - Friday 11 October 2024, 10am - 4pm, by appointment. Book your appointment using our online in-person ID check appointment booking form.
Where: Student Services Centre (Egham Campus)
London Campus students
Submit your documents through the London Campus ID check form. You will need to have received your enrolment email which has details of your IT credentials to be able to log in and submit the form. Once you have submitted the form, a staff member will review it and your Start of Session Checklist will update.
If you have submitted your documents and there is an issue, you will be contacted by email.
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Students sponsored by Royal Holloway under the Student visa route must include the following documentation for their ID Check:
- Valid passport (photo page)
- Flight Details (if applicable) - We recommend where possible that all students see a Border Force official and receive an Entry Stamp at the UK Border Control as proof of the date they entered the UK. If you use the eGates to enter the UK and do not receive an Entry Stamp then you must provide alternative evidence of the date that you entered the UK, for example, your boarding pass or flight booking details. We strongly recommend that all students keep a record of their flight details when entering the UK as you may be asked for this during your Identity Check.
- Entry Clearance Vignette – If you made your application outside the UK, this is the yellow sticker that will be in your passport with the entry date stamp from when you have travelled. You will need to provide this as part of your Identity Check. If you were granted digital immigration permission (see below), you will not have an Entry Clearance Vignette.
- Digital immigration status share code - You will not have a share code if you have an Entry Clearance Vignette in your passport).
- Biometric Resident Permit (BRP) collection letter – This letter confirms where you can collect your BRP card (you will not have this letter if you have digital immigration permission)
- Biometric Resident Permit (BRP) card – You will only receive this once you are in the UK. If you have an application in progress, you will need to have a copy of the visa application documents ready so they can be reviewed and your eligibility to study in the UK can be confirmed (you will not receive a BRP if you have digital immigration permission),
Receiving your Student Route BRP card: when applying for your Student Route visa you will have chosen a place to issue/collect it from.
- Post Office – If you chose the Post Office as your BRP card collection point, you should go and collect your BRP card from there ready to present for your ID check.
- Royal Holloway – If you have elected to collect your BRP card from Royal Holloway, you will be issued your card as part of your ID check which will take place at the Egham campus. We will only be able to issue you with your card when you have arrived in the UK.
If your nationality on your passport is not UK/Irish, you are not using the sponsored Student Route visa or you do not have an EU settlement status, then you should provide the relevant document(s) to show you have the right to study in the UK. You will need to submit this with your passport to complete your ID Check. Other visa types may include, but are not limited to the list below.
- Valid passport (photo page)
and
- Valid Visa
- Indefinite leave to remain
- Limited leave to remain
- Tier 2
- Visitor Visa
- Tier 1
- Tier 5
- PBS Dependant
If your visa is in the form of a BRP card, we will need to see both the front and back of your BRP card.
Valid Digital Immigration share code - To access and provide us with your Visa share code please go to View and Prove Your Immigration Status at https://www.gov.uk/view-prove-immigration-status and follow the instructions from the ‘Start Now’ button at the bottom of the page
If you have either settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you will need to provide:
- Valid passport (photo page)
AND
- Digital immigration status share code
To access and provide us with your EUSS status share code please go to View and Prove Your Immigration Status at www.gov.uk/view-prove-immigration-status and follow the instructions from the ‘Start Now’ button at the bottom of the page.
Key advice on visas, travelling to UK and arrivals
Please note that if you are applying for a Student Visa to enter the UK and study with us, you should not travel to the UK in advance of receiving a decision on that application. This includes entering the UK with only your passport as a visitor. Travelling to the UK without receiving your Student Visa decision will cause problems with your ability to enrol at Royal Holloway and may require you to leave the country.
We appreciate that it is close to the start of term and that your visa application may take some time.
If you have leave granted under the EU Settlement Scheme (settled or pre-settled status) you can travel to the UK freely under the terms of your leave without a visa. Please note that you must travel on a valid passport, national ID cards are no longer accepted as proof of immigration status at the UK border.
If you have any questions regarding your visa, or you think you may have already entered without your Student visa, please contact internationaladvice@royalholloway.ac.uk.