Student Smartcards

For students starting at our Newcastle City Campus in January 2023, Click and Collect slots are available at Study Skills Room 1, Student Central, Library Building, City Campus on the following dates and times:

• Monday 16 January 2023: 10:00 - 15:00
• Wednesday 18 January 2023: 13:00 - 15:00
• Friday 20 January 2023: 10:00 - 12:30

Book a click and collect slot here, and please bring appropriate photographic ID with you to collect your card.

Smartcards can be collected from the Ask4Help desk at Coach Lane Library during opening hours - 09.00 to 20:00 Monday to Friday and 09:00 to 17:00 weekends.

Please ensure you are fully enrolled and have appropriate ID with you when you come to collect your Smartcard.

Smartcards for both new and continuing students undertaking study on the London Campus can be collected from the Ask4Help desk, Ground Floor, Middlesex Street.

Please contact your Ask4Help team on campus for details of Smartcard collection and remember to bring appropriate photographic identification with you.

Amsterdam Campus students are entitled to both a Northumbria University and an Amsterdam University of Applied Science (AUAS) smartcard. You will be contacted separately by AUAS with instructions in how to create an account and upload a photo for your AUAS smartcard. Please look out for an email from AUAS in your personal and Northumbria inbox (please monitor your ‘junk’ folders in both accounts as the email may be directed there). When both your Northumbria University and AUAS Smartcard is available you will be contacted to advise that they are ready to collect from the Corry Tendeloo Building (CTH).

When you collect your smartcard you must bring with you an official form of photographic identification. Only the following will be accepted:

• Passport
• Photographic Driving Licence
• Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) Card

• Access to campus buildings
• Access to library facilities including additional AUAS libraries and the UvA library
• Access to sporting facilities via the USC, which is the student sports centre in Amsterdam
• Printing on campus
• Purchasing food and drinks on campus

In order to collect your smartcard you must bring with you one document to confirm your identification. The only documents that we accept are:

• Passport
• Photographic Driving License
• Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) Card

Please note a Biometric Resident Permit (BRP) can only be used as proof of identification where a student has Refugee or Asylum Seeker status.

If you do not have any suitable photographic identification, please refer to the Students who do not have Photographic Identification information tab in About your Smartcard below.

If you are an International student  you will need to have arrived on campus and have had your visa verified before your smartcard can be issued.  Please ensure that all relevant documentation is uploaded as soon as possible, either via the pre-registration task or as soon as possible after the task has been completed via your personalised e:Vision page accessible from the Student Portal via the My Info option.

If you apply for your visa from outside of the UK you will issued with a 90 day vignette in your passport which will allow you to enter the UK. Once you have entered the UK you will need to collect your BRP card from the Post Office you selected on your visa application form. Northumbria University is not an Alternative Collection Location (ACL) and we cannot receive BRP cards on the behalf of students. When completing your visa application, you must select Post Office collection from a Post Office near to your term time accommodation or to campus.

Please note that some nationals may no longer receive a BRP card, but instead will receive an E visa which they can access through the UKVI webpage

Once you have enrolled, uploaded a photograph and received email confirmation that your visa documents verified, you will be able to collect your Smartcard from either Coach Lane or City Campus Library, depending on where your course is taught.

You should only attempt to collect your smartcard  if the University Compliance Team has confirmed that your visa documents have been checked and verified.

If you are student from the European Union and hold a British or Dual British passport; or are from the Republic of Ireland, you do not require a right to study check.  Please refer to the section Smartcard Collection.

If you are a student from the European Union and do not hold a British or Dual British passport, the University’s compliance team is required to carry out a right to study check. For short courses you will be asked for evidence of your date of entry (such as your boarding pass). For courses over 6 months your Student Route transit visa or evidence of settled or pre-settled status will be requested. Following your right to study check your Smartcard can be issued. Once you have enrolled, uploaded a photograph and your documents have been verified, you will be able to collect your Smartcard depending on where your course is taught. 

Please note, you should only attempt to collect your smartcard if the University Compliance Team has confirmed that your documents have been checked and verified.

If your programme is based with the Durham Constabulary, your smartcard will be sent to the Durham Constabulary address and a member of staff will verify your identity before your card is given to you.

If your programme is based with Northumbria Police your smartcard will be distributed by a Tutor during a teaching session on the Coach Lane Campus.

If you enrol late onto your programme and require a smartcard; a card can be printed for you from either the City or Coach Lane Campus. 

Your University Smartcard is a credit card sized plastic card that has your first and surname, your student number as well as your photograph, which you upload when you enrol. It is:

• Your University identification card
• Your Library card
• Your pass to free use of the No 1 bus between Campuses (Newcastle Campus Only)
• Needed for access to buildings as appropriate to the requirements of your course
• Your Northumbria Students' Union membership card
• An attendance monitoring card
• A payment card for printing and photocopying

It will also be your membership card if you choose to join the University's sport facility,Sport Central. 

Your smartcard is non-transferable and may only be used by the person whose name and photograph appears on it. The card is valid for all campuses of Northumbria University and should be carried at all times.  Cards that have been lost or stolen must be reported to an Ask4Help point, a £5 charge is applied if the card has been lost or damaged.  Any changes to a student’s first and /or surname will need to be verified by before a new smartcard can be produced. 

If you change the course that you are studying or if you are progressing from a Foundation course to your destination course a new card will be printed automatically when you enrol.

Students will be prompted to upload a smartcard photograph when they enrol. A photograph can also be uploaded by following the instructions below:

• Log into your Student Portal and from the left side select My Info.
• From the Home page, under Useful Links, select Upload Photo

Click here for smartcard photograph requirements.

We can only produce your smartcard if you have both enrolled and uploaded a suitable photograph that has met our requirements (please refer to the How to Upload a Photograph for Your Smartcard and the Requirements information tab).

Once you have uploaded a photograph; please allow 24 working hours for us to review it.

How to Check if You Have Uploaded a Suitable Photograph for your Smartcard

To check to see if we have accepted the photograph you have uploaded, log into your Student Portal and select My Info from the left side. From the Home screen, under the drop down Home menu select My Details. You will see the tab Your Smartcard Photo. If a picture appears here, it will be the picture that will be printed on your Smartcard. If the page is blank, you will need to upload a photograph. If we have rejected your photograph because it does not meet the requirements you will receive an email from the team.

Once you have uploaded a photograph that has been accepted (i.e. it appears within the Student Portal) you will be unable to upload another photograph to replace it. If you wish to change your photograph, Ask4Help can take a new photograph but you may be charged.

If you are experiencing problems uploading a photograph or have a question regarding uploading a photograph; please email the Smartcard Support Team.

In order to collect your smartcard you must bring with you proof of your identification. The documents that we accept are:

• Passport

• Photographic Driving License

• Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) Card

We request this because we need to ensure that the person who collects a smartcard is the person to whom the smartcard belongs. If you do not have a passport or a driving license; you are strongly encouraged to get a Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) Card. This link takes you to the various different types of PASS cards that the university accepts. Alternatively you can also get a Proof of ID version of a TOTUM card (NUS discount card).

If you do not have a passport or photographic driving license, and are unable to apply for a PASS card; please email the Smartcard Support team. Please do not attempt to collect your smartcard until appropriate arrangements have been made to confirm your identity.

We can only produce your smartcard if you have both enrolled and uploaded a photograph.

To check if you have enrolled, log into your Student Portal and select My Info from the left side. If you have enrolled, within the Enrolment / Pre-Registration box you will see the statement; 

You are now an enrolled/registered student with Northumbria University

If you have not enrolled, you will see a button prompting you to do so. You must do this as soon as possible.

The smartcards for students taught from the Royal Preston Hospital will be distributed by a Tutor during a teaching session on site. You will need to confirm your identity before your smartcard can be given to you

This information is for students who are on courses officially defined as being delivered by Distance Learning.

It is not a mandatory requirement for Distance Learners to have a smartcard, a smartcard is not required to access Library online services. For further information click here.

Distance Learning students are entitled to a smartcard but unless they are planning on coming onto campus to use the Library and Sporting facilities or access other University Libraries under the SCONUL Access scheme (applicable to UK universities only) there is no need for them to have a smartcard. Students who wish to use other UK University Libraries to support their studies under the SCONUL scheme will need to be in possession of both a Northumbria Smartcard as well as a Confirmation of Enrolment letter which can be downloaded via the Student Portal.

A smartcard is not required to get a student discount but rather it is the possession of a NUS TOTUM card that will give money off products and services for which you only need a university email account.

• Distance Learning students who live local to the Newcastle Campus can go to either the City or Coach Lane University Library to request their smartcard and it will be printed there and then.

• Distance Learning students who live local to the London Campus can request a smartcard from there, however please you must ensure that you have uploaded a photograph for your smartcard as soon as possible and give 48 working hours notice by contacting the Ask4Help London team via the Student Portal.

If you intend to do this; please ensure that you take photographic id with you. Details of what photographic id we accept are provided under the information tab What is Required to Collect a Smartcard?

If you do not live locally but require a smartcard, a smartcard can be posted to your term-time address (UK only) but you must request this via the student e:Vision home page and be in possession of one item of photographic id that we accept.

1. Log into the Student Portal.

2. From the left side select My Info.

3. From the e:Vision home page select the My Courses tab from the top.

4. Select the link under the heading Request Your Smartcard to be Posted and follow the on screen instructions

The Request Your Smartcard to be Posted link will only be available to UK based Distance Learning students. Only students with a UK term-time address will be eligible to have their smartcard posted to them.

Smartcards are sent out within 28 working days after ID has been verified.

Students on a QA accredited Degree Apprenticeship are entitled to access other University Libraries under the SCONUL Access scheme (applicable to UK universities only). Students who wish to use other UK University Libraries to support their studies under the SCONUL scheme will need to be in possession of both a Northumbria Smartcard as well as a Confirmation of Enrolment letter which can be downloaded via the Student Portal).

A smartcard is not required to get a student discount but rather it is the possession of a NUS TOTUM card that will give money off products and services for which you only need a university email account.

Students on a QA accredited Degree Apprenticeship who live local to the Newcastle Campus can go to either the City or Coach Lane University Library to request their smartcard and it will be printed there and then. If you intend to do this; please ensure that you take photographic id with you. Details of what photographic id we accept are provided under the information tab What is Required is Required to Collect a Smartcard?

If you do not live locally but require a smartcard, a smartcard can be posted to your term-time address (UK only) but you must request this via the student e:Vision home page and be in possession of one item of photographic id that we accept.

1. Log into the Student Portal.

2. From the left side select My Info.

3. From the e:Vision home page select the My Courses tab from the top.

4. Select the link under the heading Request Your Smartcard to be Posted and follow the on-screen instructions.

Only students with a UK term-time address will be eligible to have their smartcard posted to them.

Smartcards are sent out within 28 working days after ID has been verified.