Petition · past parliament

Extend University Courses and Tier 4 Visa End Dates due to COVID-19 Disruption

Rejected 15 signatures

What the petition asks

We want the UK Government to support universities in extending their courses and the end dates of Tier 4 visas ending 2020 to make up for the lost of access to quality learning and opportunities.
Students in the UK, especially International students, choose to study here for its world-class universities and its wide-range of resources and opportunities. Museums, archives, libraries, events etc form a vital part of learning and of students' prospects. The outbreak has shut all these doors to students who depend on them; for how long we do not know.

Give students the assurance that their loss will be replaced by adequate extensions to their courses and visas. Pledge to quality education.

Why it was rejected

There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.

You may wish to sign this petition calling for the Governemnt to extend student visas: Extended Visas indefinitely for International Students.

Decisions about university courses, teaching, assessments and exams are a matter for individual universities, not the UK Government or Parliament.

If you have concerns about your university's arrangements for teaching and assessment you should raise these with your university or the Office for Students, which regulates the higher education sector.

We understand that the current situation is stressful for many people, including students. Student Minds, a mental health charity for students, is collating guidance and developing resources to support students experiencing stress as a result of the current situation, which you may find useful: https://www.studentminds.org.uk/coronavirus.html

You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:

www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

The Government has also created an online service to help you out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support

You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips

You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/

You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/

Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/

Timeline

28 Mar 2020 Petition opened for signatures
13 May 2020 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 15
Status Rejected
Rejected 13 May 2020

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.