Main registration
All students are required to register in person at the start of their course.
About registration
You are required to register your attendance as soon as possible when you arrive.
At main registration:
- Your personal information and ID will be checked
- You will collect your campus card.
If you were able or asked to provide a photo during online pre-registration, your campus card will be ready for you when you register in the main hall or MySurrey Hive during your first week, providing your photo was suitable (you should have received an email from Student Records if it was not suitable).
If you weren’t able or asked to provide a photo, staff from the Library will be in the hall to take your photo and print your card.
If you haven’t completed online pre-registration
There are laptops available – let one of the Student Ambassadors know that you haven’t completed this and they can direct you to a laptop. We recommend doing this before you arrive though, as it will save you some time.
Main registration will take place on the following dates and times:
- Between 12-4pm from Sunday 4 – Thursday 8 February in University Hall.
- Between 12-3pm from Monday 12 – Friday 16 February in MySurrey Hive.
You must complete main registration before Friday 16 February 2024. If you are unable to attend then you must get in touch at hive@surrey.ac.uk as soon as possible.
The process of registration should only take a few minutes with a staff member as long as you have the correct documentation with you (see 'Documentation required' section below. Depending on the queues you may be there for a few hours.
Main registration can be overwhelming, especially if you’ve only just arrived on campus. It can get very busy during peak times, so queues are likely.
If you do not complete your registration, both pre-registration online and main registration by the deadline, your IT access will be removed and you will be withdrawn from the University of Surrey. If you think you may be late, please contact your faculty and let them know immediately and they can advise you on the next steps.
If you will be studying on a Tier 4/Student visa, you must ensure you arrive in the UK before the latest start date on your confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS). If you are expecting a student loan payment this will not be made. This includes both maintenance loan payments to yourself and tuition fee loan payments to the University.
Documentation required
All students please note:
- Unfortunately, we cannot accept scanned copies or photocopies of your ID or visa documents. We can only accept your original documents
- If you have a conditional offer and we haven't seen your certificates, then upload them to Surrey Self-Service to be checked, otherwise you don't need to bring them with you.
Official documentation
UK or Irish students
Please bring the same passport, birth certificate or National ID Card (Irish students only) that you uploaded during pre-registration with you.
If you do not have access to the document that you uploaded during pre-registration, or you forget it on the day, then in certain circumstances we can accept a UK photo driving licence instead. You must bring your original ID with you, photocopies or scans will not be accepted.
Students may register by showing a UK photo driving licence in the hall only if they have already uploaded a clear copy of a passport or birth certificate during pre-registration. In all other circumstances a driving licence will not be accepted in the hall and you will need to go and get your passport or birth certificate before you can register.
European and international students
Please select the type of visa/status that you hold from the list below to check what you will need to bring with you to registration.
UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) requires that we keep copies of these documents, so we’ll take copies during registration. We’re also responsible for keeping a record of your immigration status and for reporting any student who does not register or attend their course at the University.
Please note:
- Unfortunately, for main registration, we cannot accept scanned copies or photocopies of your passport or visa. We can only accept your original documents
- If you have any queries about what visa documents you should bring to registration please contact visa-compliance@surrey.ac.uk.
In all cases:
- Passport
- 30/90-day entry vignette
- BRP card/stamped note from the Post Office confirming the BRP was not available. *
As applicable:
- Border stamp confirming date of entry, or;
- Other evidence of date of travel if no stamp was issued or an eGate was used. Other evidence can include booking confirmations, travel tickets or boarding passes.
If you were under 18 when making your visa application, you are required to bring a copy of the consent letter from your parent(s) or legal guardian that you provided when applying for your visa.
*You will need to collect your BRP from:
Guildford Town Post Office
56 High Street
Guildford
GU1 3ES
View Google directions from the University of Surrey to the Post Office.
You must collect your BRP from the Post Office within 10 days of arriving in the UK or before the end date on your entry visa (whichever is earliest) and you will need to show this to officers of the University to confirm that you are eligible to study at Surrey. if your BRP is not available at the Post Office you will instead be given a stamped note confirming this to show at registration.
See UKCISA's advice for collecting your BRP.
In all cases:
- Passport
- BRP card/stamped note from the Post Office confirming the BRP was not available.
If you were under 18 when making your visa application, you are required to bring a copy of the consent letter from your parent(s) or legal guardian that you provided when applying for your visa.
In all cases:
- Passport.
As applicable:
- Border stamp confirming date of entry, or
- Other evidence of date of travel if no stamp was issued or an eGate was used. Other evidence can include booking confirmations, travel tickets or boarding passes
- If you have already provided a Share Code to the University no additional action is required
- If you have not yet provided a Share Code to the University please email a valid code to visa-compliance@surrey.ac.uk before registration so we can verify your status. When generating your Share Code please make sure you choose the third option ('Something Else') when asked what the code will be used for. Choosing either of the other options means unfortunately the code will not work with the verification system we have access to.
If you attend registration without first sending us a Share Code you will still be registered, but the process may be delayed.
If you were under 18 when making your visa application, you are required to bring a copy of the consent letter from your parent(s) or legal guardian that you provided when applying for your visa.
If you have applied for a Student Visa sponsored by the University of Surrey you can still register as long as you bring the following documents with you to registration.
In all cases:
- Passport
- BRP card for your previous UK visa
- Home Office Document Checklist confirming submission of visa application.
As applicable:
- Sopra Steria Biometric Appointment Confirmation, or;
- IDV Biometric App confirmation.
In all cases:
- Passport
- Evidence of your current status. Depending on when your visa was issued this may be in the form of a BRP card or passport vignette.
If your vignette was issued in a previous passport that is acceptable as proof of immigration status.
In all cases:
- Passport or EU National Identity Card
As applicable:
- BRP Card, or;
- If you hold a digital visa status and have already provided a Share Code to the University no additional action is required.
If you have not yet provided a Share Code to the University please email a valid code to visa-compliance@surrey.ac.uk before registration so we can verify your status. When generating your Share Code please make sure you choose the third option ('Something Else') when asked what the code will be used for. Choosing either of the other oprions means unfortunately the code will not work with the verification system we have access to.
If you attend registration without first sending us a Share Code you will still be registered, but the process may be delayed.
Only acceptable for programmes of study up to six months in length.
In all cases:
- Passport.
As applicable:
- Visa vignette or visa entry stamp, or
- Other evidence of date of travel if an eGate was used. Other evidence can include booking confirmations, travel tickets or boarding passes.
In all cases:
- Application Registration Card (ARC)
- Bail 201 Notice.
As applicable:
- Passport or Travel Document, if held.
In all cases:
- Passport
- BRP card.
As applicable;
- If you are enrolling on a full time degree programme please provide a letter from your sponsor confirming that enrolment on our programme will not negatively interfere with the employment you have been sponsored to undertake.
In all cases:
- Passport.
As applicable:
- BRP Card, or;
- If you hold a digital visa status and have already provided a Share Code to the University no additional action is required.
If you have not yet provided a Share Code to the University please email a valid code to visa-compliance@surrey.ac.uk before registration so we can verify your status. When generating your Share Code please make sure you choose the third option ('Something Else') when asked what the code will be used for. Choosing either of the other options means unfortunately the code will not work with the verification system we have access to.
If you attend registration without first sending us a Share Code you will still be registered, but the process may be delayed.
In all cases:
- Passport
- Visa Document; BRP card or passport vignette.
The Graduate Route visa only allows limited study options, and cannot be used for any of our main degree programmes.
If you intend to use a Graduate Route visa to study, please urgently contact the Visa Compliance Team (visa-compliance@surrey.ac.uk) to confirm this is appropriate.
If the Graduate Route is not suitable, you will only be permitted to register if there is time for a different visa application to be made.
In all cases:
- Passport
- Proof of visa type; BRP, passport vignette or stamp.
If you hold a visa not covered in this list and have any queries before registration please contact visa-compliance@surrey.ac.uk.
Top tips
Make sure you complete online pre-registration first.
Allow yourself plenty of time to attend main registration as there can be queues during busy periods.
Campus card
If you uploaded a suitable campus card photo when pre-registering then your card will be pre-printed and ready to collect when you attend main registration.
If you weren’t able to provide a photo then you can have one taken when you attend main registration, and this will be printed on your card for you.
Your campus card gives you access to many facilities at the University. You can use it to:
- Visit the Library (to borrow books, pay for photocopying, etc)
- Access IT facilities
- Access other buildings on campus.
Your campus card is also your Students’ Union identity card, enabling you to attend Students’ Union events and get student discounts in participating stores or venues.
It’s important to look after your campus card as there may be a charge for lost, damaged or stolen cards. The card should be returned to the Library if you leave the University permanently.
Find out more about campus cards.
Main registration FAQs
You will need to register in person, unless you’re studying on a distance learning programme, so that we can verify your identity for different statutory bodies.
If you have a loan from one of the below then we will receive information from the Student Loans Company directly, so we shouldn’t need your loan paperwork:
- Student Finance England
- Student Finance Wales
- Student Awards Agency Scotland
- Student Finance Northern Ireland.
Before you start at Surrey, please log on to your student finance account to make sure that everything is up to date with your loan – check that you have sent back your online declaration to them, and if you’ve come to us through Clearing or Surrey was your insurance choice, check that Surrey is listed as your provider.
If you have any concerns about your student loan, speak with a member of staff when you register.
You can request a bank letter from the MySurrey Hive team, once you are fully registered.
Please note letters can't be issued if you are in university accommodation until your term time address has been updated on our system.
Find out if your student household needs to pay council tax and how to apply for exemption on our council tax support page.
If you are attending main registration on Sunday 4 February then you can park for free in our main car parks. Outside of these dates our car parks are permit only so you would need to use the Stag Hill pay and display car park. Find out more about parking on campus.