VISA Advice (formerly known as International@CampusLife)

Welcome!

Here at VISA Advice (formerly known as International@CampusLife) we help students, and their families, with all sorts of non-academic or non-finance related problems. Our main team remit is to provide services as fully trained immigration specialists. However, we will try and assist with any queries about being an international student in the UK that you might have and which are not covered by any other specialist team at the University. If you do not know which University team may be able to help with your query, please feel free to ask us and we will try and get you to the right person or information as quickly as possible.

We have put together a set of International Students Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), so please check there first if you are looking for specific information.

You may like to watch the suite of videos below. These will explain all about the VISA Advice team (formerly known as International@CampusLife), and the other teams, in more detail.

Social events, trips and activities

As well as running an International Welcome Programme (including several Welcome Days during the main autumn and winter intakes), the VISA Advice team (formerly known as International@CampusLife) run social activities, events, and monthly trips throughout the year. These are open to all Swansea University students, and we actively encourage people to engage with these no matter where in the world they are from. Please have a look at the Welcome Activities and GO! Social sections of our web pages for further information about what's going on. Some activities are designed with families in mind, so if you have your family with you, please look out for those on our Events pages and via your student email. We hope very much to welcome you on these soon.

If you would like to help us organise and deliver some of these social activities, you are able to do so whilst working towards gaining valuable employability skills. You do this by becoming a GO! Team member. Information about the GO! Team, as well as other volunteering opportunities, can be found via DISCOVERY Student Volunteering Service and in the Volunteering Opportunities section here. 

Getting the help and advice you need

It is important to the VISA Advice team (formerly known as International@CampusLife) that we are available to support as many students as possible, as quickly as we can. 

We have a very comprehensive website that provides detailed information about a variety of international student issues. To see if you can get the advice you need right now, it is worth checking our International Student FAQs first to see if you find the answer you need there.

If you have a complex query or something you need answered urgently it is best to email us. This is a shared email address that goes to the whole VISA Advice team (formerly known as International@CampusLife) and is our priority method of answering queries. You will be answered very quickly and we usually answer emails in the order received (though we regularly scan for urgent or emergency communications which need prioritising). Via email, an Adviser will provide the information you need and/or arrange any necessary follow-up sessions direct with you.

The VISA Advice team also run multiple Monday to Friday Quick Queries sessions either via our Live Chat facility or Face to Face Drop-Ins. So, if you have a quick question and the timing fits in around those sessions, you may prefer to pop in and see us or to jump on the Live Chat! 

Please note: Due to the size of the team, the complex nature of a lot of our work and service demand levels, we cannot offer an on-demand telephone or individual appointment service, although an Adviser will arrange a phone call or appointment if they think it is the best way of helping you. We appreciate your understanding that setting clear contact methodologies allows us to help as many students as quickly as possible.

Please do not contact us by multiple methods about the same query - we are a very small team and there are more than 5000 international students (plus applicants) at Swansea University that we need to support. Sending multiple communications about the same thing causes delays in our response to you and your fellow students - we appreciate your support and understanding.

Please see below for more details about the Quick Queries sessions.

Contact the VISA Advice team (formerly known as International@CampusLife)

Quick Queries Sessions

Outside the times and methods below, if you cannot find the information you need in our webpages, please email us so we can support you the best we can. Make sure you include your student number and as much detail as possible in your email (including copies of any visas referred to). This will help us answer you quickly and reduce the amount of back and forth between you and the team. Please rest assured we really are answering emails and dealing with queries as quickly as we can and we very much appreciate your patience.

Live Chat for all Quick Queries 

Live Chat is available at set times on: 

• Monday (2pm -3pm), Tuesday (2-3pm), Thursday (2pm -3pm) and Friday (10am - 11am) 
• Please click here to join our Live Chat facility during the above times

Please note that the University is closed for Bank Holidays on 5th May and 26th May,  so there will be no Live Chat on these days.

Drop-In Sessions: Our drop-in sessions are for Quick Queries, no appointment necessary.

However if demand is very high please be aware it may not be possible to meet with an adviser on the chosen date/time. We will always provide an alternative way to contact the VISA Advice team (formerly known as International@CampusLife) to discuss your query or we may invite you to attend a different drop in session.

VISA Advice Team Quick Query Drop-ins:

 Please note that the University is closed for Bank Holidays on 5th May and 26th May. If you have any queries during this time, please send us an email and we will get back to you as soon as possible when we return to the office.