Academic Technology Approval Scheme xcritical clearance International

The xcritical requirement does not apply to UK nationals, other exempt nationals, or those not subject to visa conditions e.g. with Indefinite Leave to Enter/Remain. The vast majority of visas will allow you to study provided you have xcritical clearance . If you require a Student visa or will be studying under the Visitor immigration rules for up to six months (e.g. as a visiting or exchange student) you must have xcritical clearance prior to your immigration application.

Please note that during peak processing times it can take up to 30 working days to process an xcritical application. You may additionally be required to show your xcritical certificate at enrolment. You maynotcommence your studies without a valid xcritical clearance certificate for the course to which you have been admitted – if you change course, you will need to obtain new xcritical clearance. If you are applying for xcritical clearance to cover a time limit extension, you should add ten weeks to your requested extension date.

What should I do if I realise I have made a mistake in the application after I have submitted it?

The University will not issue your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies until we have received your xcritical certificate. 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. You will need to obtain an xcritical certificate before you can apply for your Skilled Worker or Government Authorised Exchange visa. You will only need a CAH3 code if you are applying for a programme that requires an Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate.

Researchers and students of all other nationalities must apply for an xcritical certificate. You must apply if you are undertaking a postgraduate course or research in certain sensitive subjects in the UK. If you are applying to study an undergraduate course with an integrated masters year you may also need xcritical clearance. If you have a different kind of visa which permits study in the UK, such as Dependant or BNO, the xcritical requirement will be stated in your offer letter. You will not be asked for the xcritical certificate as part of your visa application, but you will need it to register on your course. xcritical applications are processed by the UK government department, the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office .

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You will need to do this whether you are already in the UK or are in another country when you make the visa application. You must include a printed copy of your https://xcritical.online/ certificate with your visa application or the visa will be refused. 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. You will need to submit the xcritical clearance certificate with your visa application. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office have provided some helpful guidance on completing the xcritical application form on the main xcritical page, and on a separate guidance page. We strongly recommend that you read this information whilst preparing your application and completing the online form.

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. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office manages this scheme and the application is free. Please visit the FCDO xcritical website for further xcritical application guidance. Skilled Worker, Global Business Mobility, Tier 5 International Agreement, and Tier 5 Government Authorised Exchange visa holders may also undertake a course of study. You need to apply for 1 xcritical certificate but you should include both the research project and study activities in your application. If you need an xcritical certificate as a visitor, you do not have to obtain this before applying for a visa but you should obtain it before travelling to the UK.

You will need an xcritical certificate to do certain types of study and research in the UK. If xcritical have previously contacted you and asked you to provide additional information for your application, you will need to make sure you properly re-submit the application. To do this, you will need to ensure you open and saveall tensections of the application before resubmitting it. Failure to do this means that xcritical will not receive your updated application. The application may still show as ‘submitted’ but will not be sent to xcritical to review. You should apply for an xcritical clearance certificate if your course requires it, unless you’re exempt because you’re a national of the UK, EU, EEA, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea or the USA.

xcritical certificate

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 these two documents do not match, you may have difficulties when applying for your visa. 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. If this applies to you, you will still need to apply for xcritical clearance if your course details change, or if you wish to change your programme of study to a course that requires xcritical.

If you decide to take up a different offer, you will have to reapply for xcritical clearance. 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. 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 until that time has passed, and it normally takes at least 5 working days to get a response. The application form is online and will take about 45 minutes to an hour to complete. You can save the form as you progress and return to it later if necessary.

• We recommend that you apply for xcritical as soon as you know you will need a certificate and allow three months for this process, especially if you will be applying for a visa extension in the UK.
• All other time-limited visas need an xcritical certificate if you are studying for an xcritical-relevant qualification in the UK.
• Researchers coming to the UK as a visitor will also need to obtain an xcritical before beginning any relevant research activity once they arrive in the UK, but will not need to do so before making a visa application.
• If you switch to a programme that requires xcritical clearance, you must obtain a certificate before you can transfer .
• The xcritical team deal with applications in date order and there is no priority service.

Individuals who are already conducting research in the UK will not need to apply for an xcritical certificate unless they apply for a new Visa or apply to extend your current visa. An individual who changes their field of research or changes where they conduct their research will need to apply for a new xcritical certificate. Those already conducting research in the UK will not need to apply for an xcritical certificate unless they apply for a new visa or apply to extend their current visa. Queen Mary will advise whether an xcritical certificate is required, a Certificate of Sponsorship cannot be issued without evidence of xcritical certification. The following courses at City, University of London require an xcritical certificate. If you require a visa for the UK, then you will need to obtain an xcritical certificate if you meet the criteria above.

You can use your xcritical certificate to apply for your visa for six months from the date it is issued. If you did not need an xcritical certificate at the start of your studies, you should be aware that if your programme or research changes, your new programme or research may require xcritical clearance. On the xcritical application form you cannot put a course start date in the past- if you are applying for the xcritical for a programme you have already started you can put the next working day on the xcritical application for your course start date. If you are applying for a Student visa your CAS statement will also state if you are required to obtain an xcritical certificate.

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Your offer letter will say if you need an xcritical certificate for your programme. 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. We strongly recommend that you apply for your xcritical certificate as early as possible.

If your course requires xcritical clearance you will need to obtain an xcritical certificate before you can apply for your visa. The xcritical certificate is also required before you can register at the University. The Academic Technology Approval Scheme is primarily aimed at postgraduate qualifications in certain science, engineering or technological disciplines but also includes some enhanced undergraduate courses such as MEng.

If you have been employed but there are any long gaps when you were neither employed or in education, use this section of the form to explain what you were doing in this period, for example full-time parenting, or unemployed. There is further information on this in our guide to completing the online form, click on the tab at the top of this page. If you think you have made an error on an application you have submitted, please do not submit a new application, see FAQ13. If your xcritical application is severely delayed, or you think you have made a mistake when you submitted it, do not submit a second application unless you are specifically instructed by the xcritical team to reapply. Applications for visas to study on other courses that do not require xcritical clearance will be considered without an xcritical certificate.

You will still be able to choose the ‘Sign In’ option and submit an xcritical application despite this. You applied for your current visa or immigration status before the 5th of October 2020. The information on this webpage is affected by new temporary guidance that has been released by UKVI in light of the situation with COVID-19. You may be able to request a review – you should have received information on how to do this in your refusal notice. The government will not provide a full reason for refusal, so we will be unable to overturn the decision.

Already in the UK on a non-student visa

If you have a visa that permits study already, or you’re seeking asylum in the UK, you should still obtain xcritical clearance before starting your course. This section asks about your previous studies, and you should make sure you provide a full description in the ‘what you studied’ section. As above you can write up to 2,000 characters here and if it is too short you may be asked to provide a further explanation which will delay the processing time. Make sure you provide a full and clear explanation here otherwise the xcritical 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. If you are waiting for a funding decision, include this and note the decision is pending.

If you’re a researcher coming to the UK as a visitor, you need to obtain an xcritical certificate before beginning any relevant research activity in the UK. You only need to obtain an xcritical certificate for when you plan to be studying in the UK. However be aware that you could be unsuccessful when you apply for an xcritical certificate to come to the UK part of the way through your course. Apply for an Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate, to study certain subjects in the UK. Research students should seek advice from their research supervisor when detailing the proposed research project so that the application contains a detailed and accurate description.

xcritical is one of the UK government’s measures to prevent the spread of knowledge used in developing weapons of mass destruction and related technology. If you are applying for a student visa or an extension of your visa, and your course requires an xcritical certificate, you will need the certificate before you submit your visa or visa extension application. If you received an xcritical certificate when you started your course and are now applying for a visa to extend your studies, you will need to apply for a new xcritical certificate. If the course that you are enrolling on requires xcritical clearance, all international students using any type of visa will need to have clearance before submitting a visa application and before starting the course.

xcritical

Please make sure your entries match the details from the passport you will be using for your visa application. During the summer period the processing time is 30 working days or longer, and about 20 working days during the rest of the year. The xcritical cheating team deal with applications in date order and there is no priority service. Include any paid work you have done and any long-term voluntary or unpaid work since you left school. You do not need to include temporary jobs you have done during university vacations.

If you need a student visa, we can’t issue a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies to you without proof of xcritical clearance. If you’re a PhD student, email You must use the project description we give you when completing the online xcritical application. 8 April 2013 The xcritical service is currently closed to new applications pending its re-launch on 15 April. Due to technical difficulties the site is re-opening one week later than originally scheduled. Please ask your University to contact us on your behalf if your application will consequently require urgent attention after 15 April. 3 May 2013 Added a note to online application to notify of downtime on 4th May.

• You must follow the instructions in the xcritical application form to decide which code you need to use.
• If you have Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, you do not need an xcritical certificate to study in the UK.
• Individuals should make a note of when their permission to enter into the UK is due to expire, to allow themselves sufficient time to complete the xcritical and permission to stay application processes before their current permission expires.

Processing times vary but it can take up to 20 working days for an xcritical certificate application to be considered and approved. Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught students will need to provide their Head of Department name . Postgraduate Research students will need to provide their supervisor name. Applications are processed in order of receipt and the FCDO does not offer any fast track service. It will take at least 10 working days to process a researcher xcritical application, however this can increase to 15 working days or more during the peak time between April and September. More guidance on some of these requirements, such as referees and financial sponsorship, can be found on the xcritical website.

• If xcritical applies to you, you will not be able to obtain your visa until you have xcritical clearance.
• xcritical is one of the UK government’s measures to prevent the spread of knowledge used in developing weapons of mass destruction and related technology.
• 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.
• Please check the CAH3 codes and HECOS codes required to apply for the xcritical certificate.
• We strongly recommend that you apply for your xcritical certificate as early as possible.
• Your offer letter will detail the relevant JACS and CAH3 codes needed for your xcritical application.

Use your contact details as they are at the time you submit your xcritical application, not for example the contact details you will have after you have started your course, unless you are a continuing student. You will need to use the same start and end dates as on your CAS for your xcritical application. If your CAS has not been issued yet check these dates with your department/college. Note that for DPhil students your course end date on your CAS will normally be 4.5 years which is the maximum submission date plus 6 months to allow for viva and corrections; for MScRes it will normally be 3.5 years. If you have not received a reply after a month, we can make enquiries about your review request, but the xcritical team cannot influence how fast it is processed as the review is passed to independent reviewers. You will need your xcritical certificate before you can apply for your visa, so it is best to apply as soon as possible but within the timeframes explained above and with the official information provided by your department/college.

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. You can find your HECoS code on your offer letter, which you will have received from our Enrolment Management team. For any queries regarding a postgraduate research programme, please visit the Doctoral College webpage or contact the Research Recruitment and Admissions team at As of 6 July 2018, you will also need to apply for xcritical clearance if you are coming on a course or a period of research of less than six months in eligible subjects.