What is ATAS
ATAS is a certificate issued by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), which gives international students and researchers security clearance to study or carry out research in certain sensitive, technology-related areas (e.g. mathematics, engineering, technology, subjects allied to medicine, biological or physical sciences) at postgraduate level or above.
ATAS certificate is valid for 6 months and it is specific to an institution you are applying to study at and for the study/research declared in your application form.
Your ATAS certificate must accurately reflect your personal details, course dates, programme title and content of your course.
ATAS requirement depends on the following:
CAH3 code (Common Aggregate Hierarchy code) is a subject code linked to courses or research areas offered by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) or Research Institutions in the UK.
You only need an ATAS certificate for specific types of study and research at postgraduate level and above. This includes taught or research course at Master’s level (MSci/MEng/MRes) and research at PhD level.
Those applying for an undergraduate course with an integrated Master's year may also need ATAS clearance.
If you’re studying for a postgraduate diploma or PGCE, you do not need an ATAS certificate.
Some nationalities are exempt from the ATAS requirement.
New Students
If you are studying a research course that requires ATAS clearance, you will receive an ATAS statement from the Admissions team. Your ATAS statement will be at the bottom of the offer letter. The statement should be copied and pasted into your ATAS application as it is. You must not make amendments to it.
Taught students studying a course that requires ATAS should refer to the Programmes and Modules Handbook for the list of modules from their Master's level year to include in their ATAS application.
If you have questions or concerns about your ATAS statement, you should contact the Admissions office for further information.
Continuing Students
You will need to apply for a new ATAS certificate if you are changing course, research area or modules and the new course or research area is ATAS-attracting.
You will also need a new ATAS if the completion date of your course of study has changed and will be delayed by more than 3 months.
Continuing students under the Student visa route, may find additional information on this webpage. Valid ATAS clearance will be required for the purpose of CAS application for a Student visa extension.
You should aim to make your ATAS application 4 months before your current Student visa expires. ATAS applications can take at least 30 working days to process, and even longer during busy periods.
Student visa
An ATAS certificate will be required as part of your Student visa route application (both entry clearance and leave to remain application) if you intend to study or research a subject area in the UK that is ATAS attracting. Without this certificate, your visa application will be refused.
Your ATAS certificate must be valid at the time of making your visa application. You must submit your Student visa application before your ATAS certificate expires. An expired certificate must not be used for any visa applications. If you submit an expired ATAS certificate as part of your Student visa application, your visa application will be refused.
Standard Visitor route (study for less than 6 months)
Students on a study exchange programme or visiting students studying at the University for less than 6 months may also require ATAS clearance. Even if this short period of study forms part of an overseas postgraduate qualification, you will be required to hold a valid ATAS certificate to study sensitive subjects at the University of Birmingham.
If an ATAS certificate is required, it must cover the period of any planned study taking place in the UK.
Short-term students can apply for a Standard Visitor visa before they get an ATAS certificate, however, an ATAS certificate will need to be obtained before any study or research activity begins.
If you do not require a visa to enter the UK and your programme is ATAS attracting, you will need ATAS before commencing your study or research (unless you are exempt by nationality).
You should already have a valid ATAS certificate before travelling to the UK to be able to commence your study/research without delay.
UK residents
If you are going to study on a non-Student visa (e.g. Skilled worker, Dependent visa), you may still require ATAS clearance to study.
You do not need to apply for an ATAS certificate if:
Changes to your course
You will need a new ATAS certificate if your course end date is delayed by 3 months or more. In this situation, you must contact University for further guidance.
You will also need to apply for a new ATAS certificate in the following circumstances:
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you choose to apply for a programme transfer and your new programme requires ATAS (you need to do this even if you already have an ATAS certificate for your current course)
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you want to move to another university.
ATAS application form
You need to create an online account, fill in and submit an application form on the UK Government website. Completing application form should take approximately 45 minutes to an hour. When you have completed your application, check your responses carefully before submitting.
Read the following ATAS pages for information on completing the application form.
If you have any further questions about completing your ATAS application, please contact International Student Team.
ATAS application process
ATAS application is free of charge and must be made online on the UK Government website.
ATAS applications take at least 30 working days (6 weeks) to process, and some complex ones can take longer. There is no ‘fast track’ service’.
Once the decision on your ATAS application is made, you will be informed about the outcome by e-mail. Check your spam or junk folders regularly in case the email has been filtered out. If your application has been successful, the ATAS certificate will be emailed to you.
When you receive the certificate, you should check the details on it are correct and match with your offer or research area agreed with the research Institution.
For more information, please visit: Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) - GOV.UK
ATAS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
How can I get CAH3 code and a statement for my ATAS application?
If you are a continuing Postgraduate Research Student and require a summary of research statement to support your ATAS application, you should request your statement via the Online shop.
If you are a continuing Postgraduate Taught Student and require a CAH3 and a list of modules, please refer to the FAQ below.
New Students will receive their ATAS statement from Admissions team. Your ATAS statement will be at the bottom of the offer letter.
How can I check which modules I will be studying?
Taught students studying a course that requires ATAS should refer to the Programmes and Modules Handbook where the students can find the list of modules from their Master's level year to include in their ATAS.
In case of doubts, please contact your School Administration to request a list of modules for your ATAS application.
What should I do if my ATAS application has been unsuccessful?
You cannot study or conduct research in the UK without an ATAS certificate if it is a condition or requirement of your visa.
You must wait 90 days before reapplying for an ATAS certificate for the same course or research at the same institution with the same CAH3 code.
If you wish to study at the University of Birmingham, you may apply again for an ATAS certificate for a different course or research area.
If you are a continuing student and your ATAS application has been unsuccessful, you must contact the International Student Team (IST) through the online form as soon as possible. You must provide a copy of your original ATAS application and the email you received regarding your unsuccessful application.
How does my dual nationality affect the ATAS requirement?
You do not need an ATAS certificate If you are a dual national or dual citizen and one of your nationalities/citizenships is for an exempt country listed here.
However, you must have a valid passport from an exempt country and a valid UK visa linked to it. This may show directly in your passport or online if you have an eVisa. Your passport will be checked by the University before the start of your taught course or a research programme.
May I receive CAS before I obtain my ATAS clearance?
The University of Birmingham will not issue a CAS to a student whose ATAS clearance has not been approved yet or their application is still pending. A valid ATAS certificate issued for the purpose of studying at the University of Birmingham must be presented to the relevant department before CAS is issued.
What happens if more information is needed for my ATAS to be processed?
Following your ATAS application being considered, the ATAS Team may require further information from you. The ATAS Team will email you requesting for you to log in to your application and to update certain sections and ask you to re-submit this. If this is the case, the processing time will be longer due to re-submitting.
What should I do if I have not received a decision within the estimated decision time stated by the FCDO?
If you submitted your application and have been waiting for more than 40 working days (8 weeks), we can check by emailing the ATAS team, but we cannot expedite the application. More people apply from April to August, so processing times may be longer during this period.
Please contact International Student Team (IST) through the online form and give us your name, student ID number, your ATAS application reference number and the date you applied for ATAS. Please also let us know if you have received any communications from the ATAS team regarding your application.
I have already obtained ATAS clearance, but my passport details have since changed. What should I do?
You must email the ATAS team and provide the details of your new passport.
Contact the ATAS team by email: ATAS@fcdo.gov.uk
I need some further information, or advice regarding ATAS, who do I contact?
If you are a new student and have questions or concerns about your ATAS statement, you should contact Admissions office for information.
Continuing students may contact the International Student Team (IST) for further advice.