ATAS Certificates: Details on international student applications

24 Nov ATAS Certificates: Details on international student applications

You will not need to apply for an ATAS clearance in order to apply for a Student visa to complete your course, or to apply for a visa for any new course that requires ATAS. You also need ATAS clearance if you apply to extend your student visa. If your ATAS application is refused, we will not not be able to issue you a CAS to apply for a Student visa or proceed with your offer on the proposed course. You can apply for ATAS after you receive an offer from us, and up to nine months before your course start date.

• When you are on the ‘Check if you need an ATAS certificate’ and the ‘Apply for an ATAS certificate’ screens, if you are a student, please confirm that you are a ‘Taught/Research Student’ and not a ‘Researcher’.
• Whether you’re looking to study in London or just expand your knowledge, come and join us in-person or online and see what the University of Greenwich has to offer.
• This section asks about your marital status and whether your spouse/partner will be coming to the UK with you and asks you to provide their personal details.

Check your certificate when you receive it to make sure the details are correct. Applications for ATAS clearance are submitted online and are free of charge. If you are studying an undergraduate master’s or a taught postgraduate course, we will send you a list of units applicable to your course.

How can I contact the ATAS team at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office?

Find out if you need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate to study in the UK. You should apply for an Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate online. If you are conducting research at more than 1 institute, you need to apply for an certificate for each, which including information on the research you will undertake at each HEI/research institute. If you’re a researcher coming to the UK as a visitor, you need to obtain an ATAS certificate before beginning any relevant research activity in the UK. If you have Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, you do not need an ATAS certificate to study in the UK. Make sure your ATAS certificate will not expire before you apply for your UK visa.

You will need to apply again for ATAS for each visa application, for example if you have to apply for a further visa because you need more time to complete your current course, or if you are applying for a visa to start a new course. If you transfer course, you will also need to apply again, whether or not you need a new visa, and if your research project changes fundamentally check with your department whether you need to apply again. If you are approved for ATAS clearance you will receive a certificate by email that is valid for six months to use with a visa application. You can apply for your visa once you are within six months before your course start date if applying outside the UK, or 3 months if applying in-UK where allowed, for a new/second course or to complete a started course.

• If you think you have made an error on an application you have submitted, please do not submit a new application, see FAQ13.
• You need to apply for ATAS clearance if you are applying for a science or engineering-based course – unless you are from an exempt country in the government appendix.
• The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office aim to process applications within 30 working days after the submission of the application.
• Before you can apply for ATAS, you will need your offer letter/ATAS letter containing essential information about your course, the course start and end dates and a subject code that you must use for the ATAS online form.

ATAS clearance only applies to certain subject areas, where the knowledge gained could be used in the development or delivery of weapons of mass destruction . Guidance for how UK Visas and Immigration considers applications from people to enter or remain in the UK as students. Durham University makes every effort to ensure that the information published on this page is accurate. However, the University cannot guarantee the information may not be altered owing to circumstances beyond the University’s reasonable control. Such circumstances include change in Government policy, or change of law. Any changes will be incorporated into the University’s website as early as possible.

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If you have more than 1 offer from different HEIs you’ll need to apply for separate https://xcritical.expert/ clearance certificates for each HEI and programme of study. You need to apply for an ATAS certificate if research is being conducted at PhD level or above. PhD students should apply through the student route, not researcher route.

• Some international students on postgraduate programmes require an ATAS certificate.
• This section asks about your previous studies, and you should make sure you provide a full description in the ‘what you studied’ section.
• See more information about applying for ATAS clearance from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
• If you need an ATAS clearance certificate and you do not have one, your visa application will be refused.

To apply for an ATAS certificate, you will need to have been made an offer to study at UCL and should not apply for ATAS until you have received your offer letter . The offer letter will contain all the information required from UCL to complete your ATAS application. Your offer letter/ATAS letter should explain if you need to apply for ATAS and it will also be stated in your CAS email.

Application processing

If you are a continuing student and change from a course that does not require ATAS to one that does, you will need to obtain an ATAS certificate before you can start your new course. You must apply for your ATAS certificate before you start your visa application process. ATAS clearance can take up to a month to be approved in busy periods. The Academic Technology Approval Scheme requires that students studying certain subject areas at MEng/MPhys/MSci undergraduate level, master’s or PhD level obtain ATAS clearance. The scheme is managed by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office .

Student Route visanon-Student Route visaExtending visa in the UKNationals from the UK, EU, EEA, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the USA are NOT required to have ATAS clearance. If you are applying for ATAS clearance to cover a time limit extension, you should add ten weeks to your requested extension date. Where you are an MPhil/PhD student, please use the paragraph describing your research that was provided on your University acceptance letter. During the application, you must complete the “proposed course of study” section.

We advise against making any travel plans before you have received an ATAS certificate. You can apply for an ATAS certificate up to six months in advance of the beginning of your course. We encourage you to apply as soon as you have received your offer from Surrey. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office have provided some helpful guidance on completing the ATAS application form on the main ATAS page, and on a separate guidance page. We strongly recommend that you read this information whilst preparing your application and completing the online form.

You need to apply for ATAS clearance if you are applying for a science or engineering-based course – unless you are from an exempt country in the government appendix. You’ll need a new ATAS certificate if you change courses or research, or if you want to apply for further permission to stay in the UK. All subject areas studied at UK Higher Education Institutions are identified by CAH3 code. Your HEI or research institute will provide you with a CAH3 code and confirm whether you require an ATAS certificate. Transnational courses may be subject to UK Export Control Legislation. If you’re a new student and need an ATAS certificate, you will need to get this before applying for permission to enter the UK.

Student Visas

The ATAS application process takes around working days , the Foreign and Commonwealth Office recommend that you apply at least 4 months in advance of your current visa expiring. Students studying subjects where the knowledge gained may have application in the development or delivery of weapons of mass destruction may be required to apply for an ATAS certificate. An ATAS clearance certificate must be provided as a supporting document for a student visa application where it is required. Yes, you need a new ATAS certificate for every student visa application until you have completed your course. You will still need to provide a research statement, but you can explain that you are at the writing-up stage. As of 6 July 2018, you will also need to apply for ATAS clearance if you are coming on a course or a period of research of less than six months in eligible subjects.

If you are applying for a Student visa, and do not meet on of the exemptions , you will be required to provide an ATAS certificate as part of the visa application process. If you are in the UK under a non-student visa, and that immigration permission allows you to study in the UK, and ATAS clearance is required for your course / nationality this will be a condition of your offer for study. A CAS number will not be issued until all conditions of your offer have been met. It is vital that you check to ensure that you have not made any mistakes before you submit your ATAS application. You should ensure that you have entered the information given to you by the University exactly as it appears on your offer letter. The FCDO have advised that they will not correct errors they are told about after the ATAS certificate is issued, and that a new application must be submitted instead.

Problems registering on the ATAS website

This section asks about your previous studies, and you should make sure you provide a full description in the ‘what you studied’ section. Make sure you provide a full and clear explanation here otherwise the ATAS team may ask you to expand on the description which could slow down your application. When you first make your application, you should include details of funding you have applied for but have not yet had a decision on. Ask for a support statement from your supervisor, we cannot tell them what to write for this but if they feel that your research could not be used for the purposes that ATAS aims to prevent, they could explain why.

If you will be studying on a non-Student Route visa and will be studying on a course that requires xcritical reviews clearance, you will need to provide a copy of your ATAS certificate before your university registration can be completed. If there is no code listed on your offer letter, it is likely that you do not require ATAS clearance, either because of your programme or nationality. When you apply for an ATAS certificate, you will need Queen’s to provide you with a description of your intended research. This will normally be included, together with your CAH3 code, in your offer letter or sent as a separate attachment to that letter from the Postgraduate Research Office.

Details of applying for ATAS can be found on theForeign, Commonwealth & Development Officewebsite. If you require an ATAS certificate you will need to apply for this before applying for your visa or extension of stay. Visa applications will be automatically refused if you need an ATAS certificate and cannot provide one. The possession of an ATAS certificate does not guarantee you a visa or extension of stay. You must also provide evidence that you meet the usual student criteria.