Who we are and what we do

What we do

The ISSAC team provides advice on a range of UK student-related immigration matters to:

• Prospective students of the University of Sheffield
• Current registered students
• Former students who still hold a Student visa for study at the University (where we are unable to provide you with specialist advice or assistance, we still may be able to provide information and signposting to other sources of support for up to a year after your graduation from the University)

These include:

• What type of visa you will need to study with us
• How to apply for a Student visa and visas for Dependants of Student visa holders
• Visas for short-term study
• What to do if your visa is refused
• Your rights and responsibilities as a visa holder
• Lost passports and visas
• Changes of student status and how they may affect your visa
• Graduate visa
• Skilled Worker visas (see details of our 'Wednesday Work' drop-in sessions here)
• EU Settlement Scheme

Even in areas in which we specialise, there may be cases where it is necessary for the ISSAC team to refer you to external advice from a different organisation, in line with OISC requirements. More information here.

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What we don't do

• Provide specialist advice in the following visa areas (this is not an exhaustive list): Asylum, British Citizenship, Family categories (eg spouse of a settled person), Long Residency, Schengen Visas, Settlement, Visas for non-UK countries, Visit visas for family visits
• Academic appeals
• Admissions queries (eg CAS for new students, offers and offer letters)
• Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) collection
• Fees status assessments (ie Home or Overseas fee status)
• Housing advice or schooling for children
• Orientation or Meet and Greet queries
• Scholarship or tuition fee enquiries
• Staff advice on visas or ATAS
• Standard letter issuing (eg Certificates of Student Status, Schengen visa letters or letters to confirm you are highly likely to complete your course)

In some of the above areas, there are other services or teams within the University that can provide assistance.

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Tips for using our service

You can get in touch with us whichever way you prefer; in person, email (webform), live chat or phone.

We will assess your query and then offer appropriate support to you. In more complex or detailed cases we may offer you a remote appointment after assessing your query.

We do not routinely offer face-to-face appointments for checking visa applications but you can refer to our webpages for in-depth guides. Alternatively, you can contact us through live chat or email (webform) so that we can discuss your query.

We may not be able to resolve queries that you make on behalf of someone else, or that someone else makes on your behalf and we may only be able to provide you with general information in these situations.

If we cannot deal with your query by telephone, you will be asked to use our email webform to allow us to identify the best response for your needs.

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Our team

Advice and support

Compliance