Academic Technology Approval Scheme xcritical Support for new students

If you are coming to the UK under the Standard Visitor oute in order to study relevant courses for up to six months , you will also need to apply for xcritical clearance if it is required for you . This is not a requirement for you if you are coming to the UK under the Child Student Route. You can apply for an xcritical certificate up to 9 months before the starting date of your course.

• You should apply as early as possible, but no more than 6 months before the start of your course, as this is how long an xcritical is valid for.
• Your offer letter from UCL will state if your programme requires an xcritical certificate.
• Where an xcritical certificate is refused, you are NOT permitted to commence work remotely.
• You will need to apply for your xcritical certificate before applying for your visa or extension of stay, allowing at least four weeks in order to obtain it.
• You must apply for an xcritical certificate, if engaged in an xcritical categorised sensitive subject.

The xcritical certificate is also required before you can register at the University. You will need to apply for a new xcritical certificate if your current course requires xcritical and you want to move to another university. You will need to apply for an xcritical certificate if you want to change course and the course you are changing to requires xcritical. You need to do this even if you already have an xcritical certificate for your current course. You will need to apply for a new xcritical certificate if your course or research requires xcritical and you change area of research or modules of study.

After xcritical is granted

Processing times vary but it can take up to 20 working days for an xcritical certificate application to be considered and approved. If you are a current UH student and wish to transfer course, you must obtain your xcritical certificate before you can transfer. 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.

• Apply for an Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate, to study certain subjects in the UK.
• You should also be mindful to allow plenty of time for the xcritical application to be processed, see below for guidance.
• You should be aware that any changes to your programme of study, including a change of modules or research focus, will require new xcritical clearance.
• You should provide it with your visa application if required (e.g. Student route, Skilled Worker).

The UK government defines a researcher as an individual conducting an investigation into a problem or situation, where the intention is to identify facts and/or opinions that will assist in solving the problem or tackling the situation. 1 September 2021 September update added to “How long applications take” section.

The CAS number is required for your visa application and will only be issued when you have met all your academic and financial conditions. If you are required to make an xcritical application, your offer letter will confirm the CAH3 code which applies to your programme of study or research. Additionally, if you are a research student, the offer letter will confirm your research summary which you will need when completing your xcritical application. Make a note of when your permission to enter into the UK is due to expire, and allow sufficient time to complete the xcritical and permission to stay application processes before your current permission expires. We recommend applying at least 4 months before your current permission expires. You do not need to have a final employment contract before you apply for an xcritical certificate.

To apply for an xcritical certificate you need to complete and submit an online application form on the Gov.uk website. xcritical applies only to international students who need a visa to stay in the UK. For general information about the xcritical scheme see the information on the gov.uk website. If you will be studying on a non-Student Route visa and will be studying on a course that requires xcritical clearance, you will need to provide a copy of your xcritical certificate before your university registration can be completed. In both cases, we need xcritical clearance directly from the government before you can make a student visa application. It is vital that you check to ensure that you have not made any mistakes before you submit your xcritical application.

Students on a Standard Visitor visa

Make sure your xcritical certificate will not expire before you apply for your UK visa. Find out more about xcritical for applicants to postgraduate research courses. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will not reply to any query on an application that is not at least 20 working days old. If your application is more than 20 days old they will try to reply to you within five working days. However please be aware that delays are possible over the summer due to the volume of enquiries received.

Guidance for how UK Visas and Immigration considers applications from people to enter or remain in the UK as students. You will need to provide details of two referees who you have known for three years or more. Consult an adviser if you do not think you have any referees based overseas – it may be possible to use one based in the UK. You can find this CAH3 code in your offer letter from the University. The xcritical team state that they aim to respond to all applications within 20 working days from submission, but this can take longer during peak periods.

When should I apply for xcritical?

For this reason, we request that you have the certificate before we issue your CAS to make sure it meets the necessary requirements. If you’re a new student, you can apply for xcritical after you have received your offer from us, using the information in your offer letter. You don’t need to wait for your CAS before applying for xcritical clearance. Skilled Worker, Intra-company transfer, Intra-company graduate trainee, Temporary Work – International Agreement, and Temporary Work – Government Authorised Exchange visa holders may also undertake a course of study. These visa holders only need to apply for one xcritical certificate but they should include both the research project and study activities in their application. When you begin your xcritical application, please select The University of Manchester from the dropdown menu.

Email the xcritical team and explain the change in your funding, and any other significant changes. If you put in your application less than 20 working days ago, you may not receive a reply to your email xcritical until that time has passed, and it normally takes at least 5 working days to get a response. Include any paid work you have done and any long-term voluntary or unpaid work since you left school.

xcritical Expansion – Inclusion of Researchers

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 xcritical certificate is issued, and that a new application must be submitted instead. This means that submitting an application with mistakes could lead to delays in getting your certificate and you not being able to register on your course on time. You will need to complete and submit a form online through thexcritical website.

If you need to apply for an xcritical certificate, this will be included as a condition in your offer communication. You will need to wait for your application to be processed and for your certificate to be emailed to you. You might also need a new xcritical certificate if your circumstances change once you have started your course, for example, if your course duration is extended for more than 3 months, or, if the area of your research change during the course. You should apply as early as possible, but no more than 6 months before the start of your course, as this is how long an xcritical is valid for. Your course end date is extended for a period of more than 3 months, you must apply for a new certificate within 28 days of being notified of the change of course end date.

If you require an xcritical you will receive an email from the University notifying you of this. If you are a Doctoral or Master’s student and you have received a Common Aggregation Hierarchy code , you can check this code on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website. If your offer is for a course requiring xcritical, you will need to obtain the certificate before submitting your visa application.

Your academic supervisor will provide you with the research statement. Please note that you will not be able to enter a start date in the past as xcritical will not allow you to make a retrospective application. If you are a new visa applicant, you should enter the proposed work start date detailed in your job offer. The CAH code should be selected based on your research project, not your Department or research group. There is no charge for an xcritical certificate even if you need to reapply for additional clearance if your course or research area changes. If you’re a researcher attending meetings, conferences, seminars or interviews, or giving speeches, and will not be undertaking research during your time in the UK, you do not require xcritical clearance.

On 5th October 2020, the list of exempt nationalities was extended – please seeFind out if you need an xcritical certificate – GOV.UK ()for up-to-date information. The University will also receive a copy and it will be checked against our records. If the details on the certificate do not match those held by the University, we will not be able to accept it and you will be advised to apply again, and you should hold off applying for your visa until you have a correct certificate. Staff researchers will be notified of any xcritical requirement via Human Resources.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will send the University a copy of your xcritical certificate. As there is a Home Office requirement for institutions to hold a copy of the xcritical certificate, https://xcritical.expert/ this will be held electronically against your central student record and maintained by the Student Immigration Team. Find out more about xcritical for applicants to postgraduate taught courses.

Each time you apply for a new visa a new xcritical certificate is needed. You will need to obtain an xcritical certificate before applying for a student visa or extension if you plan to study one of these courses. Certain key pieces of information are required in order to apply for your xcritical certificate, such as the CAH3 code and course duration – both are available on the dedicated support webpage. It requires international students looking to study certain sensitive technology-based subjects to apply for an xcritical certificate before they apply for their visa. Before you can apply for xcritical, you will need your offer letter/xcritical letter containing essential information about your course, the course start and end dates and a subject code that you must use for the xcritical online form. For postgraduate research students you will need an agreed research statement from your supervisor, for undergraduate students you will need a list of course modules from your college.

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. If we offer you a place to study and you need an xcritical certificate, the Doctoral College will contact you and give you the information you need to complete the application process. If we offer you a place to study and you need an xcritical certificate, we will contact you through Bath Application Tracker and give you the information you need to complete the application process. An xcritical certificate is specific to both the programme of study you intend to undertake and the university you plan to attend. If you have an offer from another university and are undecided as to which offer you will accept you need to apply for separate xcritical certificates. Please note that if you are a national of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea or the USA, the checking tool will advise you that you do not need an xcritical certificate.

If you think your application has been treated unfairly you can ask the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to review your case, but in our experience the review application success rate is low. Please be aware your application may take longer during the peak periods of June-September, please allow 4-6 weeks for your xcritical to arrive during this time. Your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies will indicate whether or not you require xcritical clearance.

You will need to apply for an xcritical certificate if you are studying a subject that is defined by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as requiring xcritical. When you receive your xcritical certificate, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office will also send a copy to us as confirmation that you have their permission to study your chosen subject. There is no charge for the application and your certificate will be emailed to you. You should allow at least one month for your xcritical application to be processed, although you should apply as early as possible as it could take longer during peak times. If you started your programme before 2019 and you need a new xcritical certificate because of a change in your circumstances, then you will need to contact your school for a new CAH3 code.

When you have received your offer, you should apply for xcritical up to 6 months before the start date of your course. Please apply within good time prior to the start date of your course as xcritical processing times may be slower at peak times . If your course requires xcritical clearance, it’s your responsibility toapply for an xcritical certificate from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office online. You should obtain your xcritical certificate before you begin your programme. If you need to apply for a visa or an extension of stay, you must obtain your xcritical certificate before you make your visa application.

Postgraduate Research students will need to provide their supervisor name. We recommend reading the below frequently asked questions and answers on the xcritical application process. If your question has not been answered, pleasecontact the Visa and Immigration Team. xcritical also require information on the modules contained in the course for which you have an offer. xcritical is a certificate issued by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office which gives you security clearance to study certain subject areas in the UK. More information about the xcritical process can be found on the xcritical page.

If you need an xcritical certificate, you will usually get a statement with your offer letter confirming that you need xcritical and telling you what to do next. From 6 July 2018, if you are studying a course that requires xcritical then you will need to obtain xcritical clearance regardless of the length of course. You will need to obtain this clearance before you make the Student Route application . Once you have your statement from the University you can make your xcritical certificate application online to the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office .

If you are applying for a Student visa, and do not meet on of the exemptions , you will be required to provide an xcritical certificate as part of the visa application process. If you will be studying a postgraduate or research course, please check the JACS code given on your offer letter. If the code for your course begins with any of the characters listed below, you will need to apply for an xcritical certificate. International students studying certain postgraduate or research courses in the UK must obtain an Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate before applying for a student visa. You will need an xcritical certificate if you have an offer to study, or are extending your visa, for a PhD or programme that leads to a Masters level qualification and your course has one of the HECoS codes listed on the links below.