Home Office Reviews Sri Lankan Student’s Visa After Coventry University Drops Sponsorship

(COVENTRY, ENGLAND) – Coventry University withdrew sponsorship for Navodya De Silva after an £8,000 tuition payment reached the university one day after an enrolment deadline, leaving the 25-year-old Sri Lankan student waiting for a Home Office decision on further leave to remain after her Student visa termination.

De Silva, who studies international hospitality and tourism management, initiated the transfer on October 3, 2025, ahead of an October 6 deadline for second-year enrolment. The funds arrived on October 7.

Naga Kandiah, De Silva’s lawyer, said the consequences were “severe and life-altering.” De Silva said returning to Sri Lanka without a degree after her family financed her studies would be devastating.

The case turns on a narrow gap between when a student sends money and when a university records cleared funds. In the UK student visa system, that gap can decide not only enrolment, but lawful immigration status.

Coventry University requires international students to pay a minimum of £8,000 each year for enrolment, or full fees if the total is lower. The university processes payments through Convera GlobalPay, which can take up to 7 days for international transfers.

Its guidance advises students to pay at least 10 working days before a deadline to allow for banking delays. Students are given a six-week window to complete payment and enrolment, but the university says it must comply with UK Visas and Immigration rules.

That framework carries immediate consequences. If a sponsor reports that a student has not enrolled or is no longer being sponsored, the Home Office can move to curtail leave already granted.

Home Office student sponsor guidance instructs institutions to report when sponsorship has been withdrawn because a student has not enrolled. Where sponsorship problems lead to action on existing leave, permission is commonly curtailed to 60 calendar days if the student was not complicit in any improper sponsorship issue.

Government guidance also describes a route for correction. If a sponsor later decides a student was reported in error, it can submit a “previous notification withdrawn” update, and curtailment can be cancelled if the change is made in time.

That point sits near the center of disputes like De Silva’s. A sponsor’s original report can trigger immigration action quickly, and a sponsor’s later correction can determine whether that action stands.

Coventry University did not discuss De Silva’s case in detail, but said students are given a six-week period to complete payment and enrolment. It added that it must follow UK Visas and Immigration rules.

De Silva had already completed her first year and expected to finish a three-year degree financed by her father’s savings. Her case has drawn attention because the facts are not about attendance, misconduct or academic failure, but about the timing of an overseas transfer.

That timing issue appears in the university’s own enrolment guidance. Payments must have reached Coventry University’s accounts by the enrolment deadline, which means a transfer started before the cutoff can still count as late if the money clears afterward.

Cross-border transfers often involve sponsor remittances, intermediary banks and third-party payment platforms. A student may hold a receipt showing payment initiation, while the institution judges compliance by the date cleared funds arrive.

Once sponsorship ends, the student may need another lawful basis to remain in the UK, a fresh Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies from a sponsor, or departure from the country followed by a new application from abroad. Even where the student argues the delay was outside her control, the interruption can affect study, housing, work rights and later immigration plans.

UKCISA guidance takes a similarly hard line on timing. Students whose sponsorship is withdrawn should generally assume leave may be cut to 60 days unless they are told otherwise, or unless they already had less time remaining.

That leaves little margin for error after a university report. Administrative review deadlines, where they apply, must be checked immediately after a refusal or curtailment notice, because late submissions are rarely accepted.

Students dealing with payment disputes are advised to keep transfer receipts, bank confirmations and correspondence with finance offices. Coventry’s International Student Support team can be contacted at [email protected], and the university asks students seeking case-specific advice to include a student ID, full name and visa details.

Refund issues can also become tied to immigration status after sponsorship withdrawal. Post-withdrawal refunds may require Home Office evidence that the student has returned home or obtained new leave.

De Silva’s case is not the first dispute of this kind involving Coventry University. In a 2025 case involving a student identified as Mr. Khan, payments initiated on July 3-4 were treated as late, sponsorship was withdrawn before a July 18 deadline, and a judge ruled that the university’s failure to rescind was unlawful.

No new Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies was ordered in that case because of timing and academic progression rules. The outcome still showed how sponsor reporting decisions can carry consequences long after a payment dispute begins.

Home Office data contexts have also given Sri Lankan nationals added scrutiny in some areas, though no specific Sri Lanka ban exists. That broader backdrop does not alter the mechanics of De Silva’s case, but it forms part of the environment in which Home Office decisions are made.

At Coventry University, the policy itself is clear: international students must ensure the required payment reaches the university by the deadline, and the institution warns them to build in extra time. De Silva’s case shows how that warning works in practice when the difference is a single day.

Her position is now unusually exposed because the university finance rule and the immigration rule operate together. A payment delay that might appear administrative on paper can become a sponsorship withdrawal, a visa termination and a possible removal case within the same chain of events.

As of April 15, 2026, the Home Office had been approached for comment. De Silva remains in the UK awaiting a decision on her application for further leave to remain.