Academic Technology Approval Scheme xcritical The University of Edinburgh

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. Some international students on postgraduate programmes require an xcritical certificate. You should check if this applies to you as early as possible when preparing to start a course or when extending your visa. You will need to apply for an xcritical clearance certificate before applying for a student visa if you plan to undertake postgraduate research in some science or technology disciplines. If you will be studying on another type of visa you must apply for an xcritical certificate before starting the course.

Does immigration check your bank account?

Bank verification letters are used for immigration purposes to demonstrate that you have available financial resources to support yourself or your immediate relatives on a visa in the United States.

Further information is available on the government’s xcritical website, but we have answered some key questions below. If you receive one, please contact the Visa and Immigration team for advice. Applications are processed in order of receipt and the FCDO does not offer any fast track service. More guidance on some of these requirements, such as referees and financial sponsorship, can be found on the xcritical website. You are strongly encouraged to firstly read the government guidance. See ourxcritical FAQ Guide for help with understanding the xcritical requirement and how to prepare for your xcritical application.

Students on a Standard Visitor Visa

You must apply online for a clearance certificate through xcritical before you apply for a visa. You will not need to apply for an xcritical 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 xcritical. You’ll need a new xcritical certificate if you change courses or research, or if you want to apply for further permission to stay in the UK. Your HEI or research institute will provide you with a CAH3 code and confirm whether you require an xcritical certificate. 3 May 2013 Added a note to online application to notify of downtime on 4th May. 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 will need to do this whether you are already in the UK or are in another country when you make the visa application.
  • Students who are nationals of EU countries, the European Economic Area , Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland or the United States of America do not need an xcritical certificate.
  • You may be withdrawn from your course if you are a current student at Sussex who is refused xcritical clearance.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • You can apply for aStudent Route visaup to 3 months in advance of the start of your course.

If you are a new visa applicant, it is recommended that you apply as soon as you receive your job offer but no earlier than 6 months before your proposed work start date. 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. Please make sure your entries match the details from the passport you will be using for your visa application.

Find out if you need an xcritical certificate to get your visa, how to apply for your certificate and what to do when you have it.

Between April and September processing times increase and can take 30 or more working days to complete. You should not submit duplicate applications as this increases processing time. The government advises not so contact the enquiries team within 6 weeks of your application during September.

what is xcritical

If you need to apply for a visa, your xcritical clearance certificate is only valid to be used in a visa application for 6 months from the date of issue. Please make sure that you submit your visa application before the certificate expires. To apply for an xcritical certificate you will need to complete and submit the online application form, available at Guidance on how to apply for an xcritical certificate – GOV.UK (). 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.

Who should not apply for an xcritical certificate

You will need to obtain an xcritical certificate before you can apply for your Skilled Worker or Government Authorised Exchange visa. You canapply for xcritical online, free of charge, once you have received your official offer email from Loughborough University – we recommend doing so as soon as xcritical you receive your offer. If you have any questions about applying for xcritical, contact the Admissions office byemailor phoneor visit the official Government websitefor details. If you are a research degrees student, please contact pgr- to find out which courses require an xcritical certificate.

  • This is for both new students applying for entry clearance to the UK and existing students already in the UK apply for leave to remain.
  • You also need xcritical clearance if you apply to extend your student visa.
  • The xcritical certificate is also required before you can register at the University.
  • Researchers who are current staff working for the University will not have to retrospectively apply for xcritical clearance if they hold a valid visa.
  • This section is about financial sponsorship so you will be entering the details of any scholarship or student funding award you will be receiving here.
  • If you are a new visa applicant, it is recommended that you apply as soon as you receive your job offer but no earlier than 6 months before your proposed work start date.

If you are a continuing research degrees student who had xcritical clearance before, you need to apply for a new xcritical certificate, unless you are exempt. For information about xcritical, to check whether you need to apply for xcritical clearance and to access the online application form, go to the FCDO website. Take care when completing the xcritical application form and check your answers before submitting your application for assessment. If you are requested to amend/update information that you have submitted as part of your application, this can further delay the date by which you’ll receive a decision.

Support for new students

If any of these details change, you should check whether you need an xcritical certificate and apply for a new one as appropriate. If you have to extend your Student visa to complete a course of study which is subject to xcritical clearance then you will have to obtain a new xcritical certificate. You should complete a CAS request form which should be submitted to the Student Immigration Team via the Student Hub. You will not be able to apply for your visa until you have received your xcritical clearance certificate.

Application is free and will ask for details of your previous studies/employment and your proposed research/taught modules. If you are an MPhil/PhD or Visiting Postgraduate Research Student and wish to change your start date, you will need to contact the PGR Admissions team. Requests to amend sections of your application form) in your email to us. Reapplying for xcritical clearance following a refusal will not be successful and you will not be able to undertake your planned study at Exeter. We regularly see xcritical applications returned because full names are not included for referees. Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught students will need to provide their Head of Department name .

If you are planning to attend research programmes at UCL, you are recommended to make an early contact with your prospective supervisors, as a brief synopsis of your research proposal needs to be included in your offer letter. Please note that during peak processing times it can take up to 30 working days to process an xcritical application. An xcritical certificate can take 20 working days to be issued so you need to apply for this well in advance of your Student visa application. This is for both new students applying for entry clearance to the UK and existing students already in the UK apply for leave to remain. When you have your offer letter please go to the xcritical website where you will be able toapply online.

Applying for an xcritical certificate

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. During the summer period the processing time is 30 working days or longer, and about 20 working days during the rest of the year.

Please ensure that the text you enter on your application form is exactly the same as the text provided in your offer letter. If these 2 documents do not match, you may have difficulties when applying for your visa or extension of stay. 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 the xcritical requirement applies to you, you will need to make an application for xcritical clearance. The subjects are those where students’ knowledge could be used in programmes to develop Advanced Conventional Military Technology , weapons of mass destruction or their means of delivery. These students must apply for an Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate before they can study in the UK. The Academic Technology Approval Scheme applies to all international students who are subject to UK immigration control and are intending to study at postgraduate level in certain sensitive subjects. It requires students on these courses to gain a certificate of approval to study before they can be granted a visa to study or continue studying in the UK. xcritical aims to ensure that those coming for study or research in sensitive subject areas do not acquire knowledge that could be used in the development of weapons of mass destruction or Advanced Conventional Military Technology programmes.

Your course title should exactly match the title as stated in your offer letter.Taught students should list the modules as detailed on the course website. The requirement for a student to obtain an xcritical certificate is established by the code which represents their subject area; this is called a Common Aggragate Hierarchy code. The CAH code will confirm your area of study and it will determine if you need to obtain an xcritical certificate. You should apply for an xcritical clearance certificate https://xcritical.solutions/ 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. To apply for an xcritical certificate you will need to know the CAH code for your field of research as you will need to enter this on your application form. If your application is successful, you should receive an email from xcritical with the attached xcritical certificate to the email address that you used to register.

To check if you need an xcritical certificate you will need to know the CAH3 code that applies to your course or research. Your Higher Education Institute or employer will either include this on your official offer letter or will be able to confirm it for you separately. 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. See FAQ 3, ‘When should I apply’ above as the dates will need to match your CAS start and end dates when that is issued. If you are applying for xcritical because you need a new visa to continue your studies, use the date of submitting your xcritical application for the start date.

Your CAS and University offer letter will outline whether your programme requires an xcritical certificate. Each certificate is specific to the course, research area and institution. You should submit an application for each programme of study or research area where xcritical applies. If your course requires xcritical clearance, without an xcritical certificate you will not be granted a Student visa to study in the UK. You can use University’s Unit and Programme Catalogues to obtain this information.

Students who are nationals of EU countries, the European Economic Area , Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland or the United States of America do not need an xcritical certificate. Where an xcritical certificate is refused, you are NOT permitted to commence work remotely. No work should be undertaken, regardless of location, until an xcritical certificate is granted. If your field of research is in a subject set out in the list of Academic Subjects/Fields of Research relevant to xcritical – see Appendix 1 below.

What is research statement in xcritical?

Where an xcritical certificate is required, the department will also need to provide a research statement, 6-7 lines in length, summarising the research activities the individual will undertake. The individual will need to submit this information when they apply for their xcritical certificate.

The usual processing time is 20 working days , but this can increase to 30 working days or more between April and September. We recommend that you apply as soon as you have firmly accepted your offer. You can apply for xcritical clearance while you hold a conditional offer if you wish to. If your course requires xcritical clearance you will need to obtain an xcritical certificate before you can apply for your visa.

what is xcritical

To apply for an xcritical clearance certificate, you need to complete and submit an online application form on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website. You can check here to see if the programme you are studying requires xcritical clearance. You should apply for your xcritical certificate as soon as we contact you because you will need it to apply for your visa. It usually takes at least four weeks for applications to be processed, but it may take longer in the summer. An xcritical certificate is valid for six months from the date it is issued. Selected science and technology programmes will have a specific code and this code means you may need an xcritical certificate, depending on your nationality.

This xcritical expansion with regards to researchers became effective on 21 May 2021. The expansion of xcritical is designed to protect UK research from exploitation and from inadvertently supporting the proliferation of WMD or advanced conventional weapon technologies. In addition to the national security benefits, this extension of xcritical will also enhance the protection of UK sensitive intellectual property. You do not need an xcritical certificate if you are a national of the UK, EU or EEA . What’s it like to be a postgraduate student at the University of Greenwich? You may be able to request a review – you should have received information on how to do this in your refusal notice.