Applying to the Academic Technology Approval Scheme xcritical

You can use University’s Unit and Programme Catalogues to obtain this information. If you are a research student, please obtain an updated xcritical statement from your supervisor. As a continuing student please use the date you submit your xcritical application as the course start date when asked ‘when will your course start’. If you are already studying in the UK and need to make a new visa application, you will need a new xcritical certificate.

The xcritical application is an online only process and is free of charge. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office aim to process applications within 30 working days after the submission of the application. Processing times will increase between the months of April and September and can take longer to complete. Details of applying for xcritical can be found on theForeign, Commonwealth & Development Officewebsite. Your offer letter, Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies statement, visitor visa letter, or short-term study visa letter will state whether your course requires xcritical clearance. Queen Mary must ensure that all sponsored individuals undertaking reseach in jobs and subject areas that are listed under the xcritical requirements obtain the necessary certification before they make a visa application.

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. The application is processed by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office . Applications for xcritical clearance are submitted online and are free of charge. Processing time for xcritical clearance applications is 30 working days however it can take longer in some cases. Route will need to apply for, and be granted, xcritical certification before making their visa or permission to stay application. Employment contracts do not have to be finalised before an xcritical application is made.

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 you are approved for xcritical 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. Your offer letter/xcritical letter should explain if you need to apply for xcritical and it will also be stated in your CAS email.

The xcritical requirement and CAH3 course code will be included on your CAS. You can also find your CAH3 in the Application Summary section of your Pegasus application if you’re applying for a new course with us. Please ensure that the course, passport and personal details you provide on your xcritical form match the details on your Strathclyde offer letter and/or CAS. If any of the details we hold are wrong, please contact us to correct this.

Guidance on how to apply for xcritical

You will find your xcritical research statement on your Self-Service account; this is the statement which you must use in your application. Once you have received xcritical clearance, you will be issued a certificate. If you are applying for xcritical clearance before your new CAS is issued, check the thesis submission date on your student record and add ten weeks to calculate an expected viva date. Visit the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office website for guidance on the online application. If your xcritical 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 will also be asked for the contact name of a supervisor at the University – this information can be found with the details for your chosen programme. xcritical is a scheme run by the UK government for international students who want to study certain subjects in the UK. The xcritical certificate is issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and gives security clearance to study these subjects. Unless you are exempt based on your nationality or have indefinite leave to remain in the UK, you will need to apply for xcritical clearance.

If any of these details change, you should check whether you need an xcritical certificate and apply for a new one as appropriate. The Academic Technology Approval Scheme is the UK’s immigration approval system for international students and researchers in selected science areas. Those who require an xcritical certificate as a visitor do not have to obtain this before making a visa application but it is strongly recommended to obtain it before travelling to the UK. Queen Mary is required to check the xcritical certificate before allowing the research to commence, and if this is not provided you will not be permitted on-site.

Do I need xcritical?

If you are a national of one of these countries, then you do not need an xcritical certificate. Our research provides innovative solutions that benefit business, industry and communities in the UK and across the world and has won a series of awards. You’ll find plenty of courses to choose from, historic campuses, and fellow students from more than 150 countries. Please refer to our guide on how to apply for an xcritical certificate to support you with your xcritical application. The application is free of charge and is completed online at theGOV.UKwebsite.

• You should therefore apply in plenty of time to receive the certificate before you travel.
• We regularly see xcritical applications returned because full names are not included for referees.
• Visa applications will be automatically refused if you need an xcritical certificate and cannot provide one.
• If you are a UK, EEA or Swiss national you do not need to apply for an xcritical certificate.
• If another family member is paying for your studies, include their details.

If you are using a different kind of visa to study, you need a certificate to enrol or continue study. This will be listed clearly on your conditional or unconditional offer letter. If you will be studying a research programme such as an MPhil/PhD, your offer letter will also include a research statement which is a required part of your xcritical application. Some students are exempt from the xcritical clearance requirement based on their nationality, in which case your offer letter will not list an xcritical requirement.

Undergraduate master’s and taught postgraduate students

If your course requires xcritical clearance, without an xcritical certificate you will not be granted a Student visa to study in the UK. If you wish to study at another University/Higher Education Institution, change your course/area of research or extend your course by more than three months, you will need to apply for another xcritical certificate. We advise against making any travel plans before you have received an xcritical certificate. You can apply for an xcritical 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.

This is a different government department from the Home Office who will later decide your UK visa application – they are not linked. 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. The Academic Technology Approval Scheme applies to all international students and researchers who are subject to UK immigration control and are intending to study or research at postgraduate level in certain sensitive subjects.

• Researchers and students in these sensitive subjects must apply for an Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate before they can study or start research in the UK.
• The application may still show as ‘submitted’ but will not be sent to xcritical to review.
• 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.
• You must apply online for a clearance certificate through xcritical before you apply for a visa.
• You do not need to include temporary jobs you have done during university vacations.

Where you are an MPhil/PhD student, please use the paragraph describing your research that was provided on your University acceptance letter. When you choose this, you will also be asked a further question and will need to choose whether you are a taught or research student. When you are on the ‘Check if you need an https://xcritical.online/ certificate’ and the ‘Apply for an xcritical certificate’ screens, if you are a student, please confirm that you are a ‘Taught/Research Student’ and not a ‘Researcher’.

Doctoral Students

xcritical is a certificate issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office , which gives you security clearance to study certain postgraduate programmes at City, University of London. Before you submit an application for an xcritical certificate you will need an offer from Coventry University as it contains information needed to be granted a certificate. Once you have your statement you can make your xcritical certificate application online to the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office . 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. No, your xcritical certificate is valid just for the course, research topic , and University that you specified in your xcritical application.

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. International applicants to some programmes are required to apply to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Academic Technology Approval Scheme for clearance to study in the UK.

After xcritical is granted

You must follow the instructions in the xcritical application form to decide which code you need to use. If you extend your visa to continue studying on the same programme, you will need to apply for a new xcritical certificate. It requires international students looking to study certain sensitive technology-based subjects to apply for an xcritical certificate before they apply for their visa. The Academic Technology Approval Scheme is a Government verification scheme for International students. xcritical is compulsory for the majority of International offer holders who are applying for a programme that requires xcritical clearance. This includes current students who wish to change programmes from a non-xcritical programme to an xcritical programme, student visitors and study abroad students.

• When you are on the ‘Check if you need an xcritical certificate’ and the ‘Apply for an xcritical certificate’ screens, if you are a student, please confirm that you are a ‘Taught/Research Student’ and not a ‘Researcher’.
• If you are a studying for an MPhil, PhD or EngD you will need to include a paragraph describing your research area.
• 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 are a research student, please obtain an updated xcritical statement from your supervisor.
• xcritical clearance can take up to a month to be approved in busy periods.

If an individual holds an xcritical certificate for a course of study they have undertaken in the UK and are making a new application for a Skilled Worker visa they will need to obtain a new xcritical certificate before submitting the visa application. UK immigration law prevents Queen Mary from permitting international researchers to commence research in an xcritical applicable course until the researcher has supplied evidence that they have the correct xcritical certificate. The research areas are those where knowledge could be used in programmes to develop Advanced Conventional Military Technology , weapons of mass destruction or their means of delivery. Researchers must apply for an Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate before they can start research in the UK. Please check the CAH3 codes and HECOS codes required to apply for the xcritical certificate. 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.

The xcritical certificate must accurately reflect an individual’s employer / host, and their research project, job title and duration. Should any of these details change they should re-confirm whether your new details require an xcritical certificate and apply for a new certificate as appropriate. Those who were a visitor conducting research in the UK before the xcritical requirement was introduced on 21 May 2021 will not need to apply for an xcritical certificate to continue this research. They will however need to obtain an xcritical certificate the next time they return to the UK to conduct research. Academic researchers making an application on the Skilled Worker routes will need to apply for, and be granted, xcritical certification before making their visa or permission to stay application.

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. Researcher instead of Student), then you must make a new xcritical application immediately, you cannot change your outstanding application and any xcritical clearance granted will not be valid for your programme. 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. We receive many queries about how to complete sections of the xcritical application and have put together aguide to completing the application.

Without an xcritical certificate, the individual will not be granted permission to research in the UK. If they think their application has been treated unfairly they can ask for a review. Those who change their field of research or change where they conduct their research will need to apply for a new xcritical certificate.

If you are in the UK on a visa other than Student visa and you wish to study a course that requires xcritical clearance, you will need to obtain an xcritical certificate before you can register for the course. An xcritical certificate is valid for six months from date of issue and must be valid when you apply for a Student visa. You should therefore plan carefully when you apply for your xcritical certificate.

Application is free and will ask for details of your previous studies/employment and your proposed research/taught modules. If you are a UK, EEA or Swiss national you do not need to apply for an xcritical certificate. This information must be accurate, so please contact the Doctoral College if you do not have your official research abstract or list of taught modules. If you are a visiting research scholar, you must include your research abstract when you apply for your xcritical certificate. Full details of the scheme can be found on the UK government website. 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.

Applications are made online, and once your clearance is granted, you will receive an xcritical certificate as confirmation. Please take care to ensure the details you submit in your xcritical application are correct and match those held by the University. 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. We recommend applying at least 4 months in advance of their current permission expiring. HR will send a reminder when their permission to stay in the UK is due to expire.