1. Aims

1.1 The University is committed to excellence as measured by the highest national and international standards. We operate in a global environment aiming to be among the best universities in the world encouraging creativity, independence, enterprise and initiative.

1.2 We aim to provide an environment that attracts the very best staff and students from all over the world, encourages and facilitates academic endeavour, and provides a supportive atmosphere for the development and sharing of knowledge.

1.3 Guided by these values, we seek to build a University that distinguishes itself in the world-leading quality of its research, in its outstanding teaching, and in the quality and value of the students' university experience.

1.4 We aim to recruit and retain academic staff who are, or have the potential to become, international leaders in their disciplines.

1.5 To ensure we are able to attract and retain the very best academics internationally, we operate the recruitment and retention benefit of an interest-free loan by way of a salary advance for overseas staff in the circumstances detailed below.

2. Policy statement

2.1 This scheme operates in conjunction with the Visa Application Fee and IHS Reimbursement Policy through which the main visa applicant may be eligible to claim reimbursement for their own visa application fee and IHS.

2.2 The University is able to offer an interest-free salary advance to assist current or prospective* eligible non-UK staff with payment for the following costs:

• Where not eligible to claim for reimbursement under the 'Visa Application Fee and IHS Reimbursement Policy', their UK Visa fees and / or Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS).
• UK Visa fees and/or Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) for their dependents*.
• UK Residency application or Citizenship fees for themself and their dependents.

*Prospective staff must have been issued with an offer of employment and had their right to work checks completed, and may apply for the salary advance on their first day of work

**Dependents include spouse/partner and children

2.3 The University will arrange the salary advance via bank transfer once the member of staff has commenced employment.

3. Criteria to assess eligibility of application

3.1 Staff Groups

3.1.1 This policy applies to both academic and support staff; however, it is acknowledged that the vast majority of overseas appointments are to academic posts at Grade 7 and above.

3.2 Contractual status

3.2.1 The salary advance is available for staff on permanent contracts and staff on fixed term contracts of 18 months or more. It is not available to individuals engaged on a casual basis paid on the fees payroll. It does not apply to those who hold an honorary contract with the University.

4. General conditions

4.1 The current or prospective member of staff must be a non-UK national on a UK Visa whose dependents are required to also hold a UK Visa and required to pay, or have paid on their behalf, the IHS or a current member of staff who is a non-UK national applying for UK Residency or Citizenship for themselves and / or their dependents.

4.2 The individual must have received an offer of employment or extension of employment from the University or in the case of UK Residency or Citizenship applications, be a current employee of the University.

4.3 The salary advance will be for no other costs than those mentioned in paragraph 2.2 above.

4.4 The salary advance will be up to a cap of £5,000 for each eligible staff member.

4.5 If applying for UK Citizenship, the individual may apply for initial costs and then make a second application for ceremony fees if their application is successful.

4.6 Salary advances for UK Visa fees, IHS costs, UK Residency and Citizenship applications will be recovered over a maximum period of 18 months.

4.7 The salary advance will be repaid in equal monthly instalments deducted directly from the staff member's monthly salary.

4.8 If the member of staff leaves the University before the salary advance is repaid, the outstanding debt will be deducted from their salary during their notice period including their final salary.

4.9 Any amount not fully repaid under 4.8 above will be subject to the University's debt collection procedures. All reasonable University and third party debt collection costs will be added to the outstanding debt amount. This may include interest charges.

4.10 The salary advance will be paid in UK currency.

5. Procedure and authorisation of applications

5.1 Individuals should apply for the fee advance on the visa-salary-advance-application [pdf] and send the completed form to Human Resources (HR).

5.2 It is understood that most applications will be supported but if there are concerns about the support for any application, this should be discussed with the HR Adviser for the department in order to ensure consistency and the application of equality of opportunity principles.

5.3 If there is a dispute in the event of an application not being supported, this should be dealt with under the University's Grievance Procedure.

6. Monitoring, reporting and review

6.1 The application of the salary advance policy will be monitored by Finance and HR and reported to the Remuneration Committee annually.

6.2 The salary advance policy will be reviewed 3 years after implementation.

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• Approved on: 1 May 2019
• Last reviewed: 1 July 2021