Visa information

Graduation invitation letter

A graduation invite letter is a letter that students can use to show they are due to graduate from the University of Leicester and have been invited to a graduation ceremony.

The letter includes the graduation ceremony date, and can be used for various reasons:

• to submit to an employer for annual leave
• to submit as part of a visa application for the student
• to submit as part of a visa application for the student’s guests.

Requesting a letter

Students will not automatically receive a graduation invitation letter.

Students due to graduate can request the letter by emailing graduation@le.ac.uk, including their student number.

Students wanting their guests to join them on campus to celebrate their graduation can request an invitation letter for their guests. Students due to graduate can request the letter for their guests by emailing graduation@le.ac.uk, including their student number. Please make sure to also state the full names of the guest(s) as it appears in their passport.

We aim to guarantee two guest tickets to all graduates, up to four guest tickets can be requested when completing your graduation registration. Due to limited seating this may not be possible and extra tickets cannot be guaranteed.

Visa information

If the letter is being used as part of a visa application please note the following:

• If this letter is being used as part of an application for a Visitor Visa, you can find more information on the gov.uk Standard Visitor Visa information pages.
• You can find information on Visa processing times on the gov.uk visa processing times information pages.
• We advise that this graduation invitation letter and any other supporting evidence is carried in hand luggage when travelling to the UK.

Inviting your family for visits/graduation

This information will help you find out how to invite your family to visit you or attend your graduation ceremony.

Your family and friends should check the Home Office website 'check if you need a UK visa pages' to confirm if they need to apply for a visa to enter the UK.

What the Home Office/UKVI will want to know

• Why your family or friend is visiting the UK
• How long they intend to stay
• Whether the visitor/s has adequate funds to afford the trip
• That the visitor/s will return home afterwards.

Documents they will need from you

To assist your family and friends visa application you should send the following:

1. A copy of your visa or BRP card.
2. A Certificate of Registration. This would be a letter from the Library and Student Enquiries team confirming that you are a registered student.
3. If your relative is visiting to attend your Graduation ceremony, then you must provide evidence of this in the form of an invitation letter. Please email: graduation@leicester.ac.uk and ask to include your guests’ names on the letter.
4. Itinerary – dates of travel, hotel bookings.
5. Evidence of adequate funds for the trip including hotel stays if they have not been paid in advance.
6. Ties to home country, e.g. wage slips for 3 months, evidence of study, letter from employer, job offer, title deeds, evidence of family, assets.
7. Evidence of adequate health/travel insurance.

 If your family members will stay with you in the UK you should provide the following:

• Evidence of accommodation - copy of your tenancy agreement.
• A letter of consent from your landlord which gives permission for your guests to stay, and that it is adequate accommodation (only if your friends or family members intend to stay with you in private accommodation).
• If you are financing their visit, you should provide copies of your last 3 months bank statements.
• A letter of invitation (PDF) (This letter can be used for graduation and general visits, please amend the contents of the letter accordingly).

This is not an exhaustive list and visitors should check the Home Office guide to supporting documents when applying for their visa.

Whilst my family are visiting me in the UK can they also travel to Europe with me?

Your family can travel with you in Europe, but they will need to apply for any necessary EU (Schengen) visas before they leave their home country. The schengenvisainfo.com news website has general information about Schengen visas.

Contacting Student Immigration Advice and Compliance

If your query is not answered in the information on our pages, you can contact Student Immigration Advice and Compliance for more specific advice and guidance by emailing visas@le.ac.uk.