You will need an ATAS certificate to do certain types of study and research in the UK. Without this certificate, your visa application will be refused.
How to Apply
Get a statement from the University
To apply for ATAS you need a statement from the University confirming your research topic.
For new students this is usually sent with your offer letter. If you don't have this statement, and need an ATAS certificate, please contact your Admissions Officer, listed on your offer letter.
Once you have your statement from the University you can make your ATAS certificate application online to the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). This should take no longer than 30 minutes to complete.
For continuing students you need to request your University Research Statement from the Online Shop and are advised to submit your ATAS applicationup to 4 months before your visa is due to expire if you are extending your Student Route visa.
Receiving your certificate
You will need to wait for your application to be processed and for your certificate to be emailed to you. Average waiting times for ATAS at present range from 4 to 7 weeks.
When to Apply
You can apply for an ATAS certificate up to 9 months before the starting date of your course. Early applications are strongly advised.
An ATAS certificate is valid for 6 months from date of issue, which should allow you plenty of time to apply for your Student Route visa. You can apply for a Student Route visa up to 3 months in advance of the start of your course. This means you can apply for an ATAS certificate up to 9 months before the start of your studies. You should apply for your ATAS certificate as early as possible from the moment you are made a conditional offer to study at the University of Birmingham.
Do I need ATAS?
You only need an ATAS certificate for specific types of study and research. An ATAS certificate is issued for a specific course at a specific university and is only valid for 6 months, so there may be cases where you need to apply for a new one.
From 6 April 2015, the requirement for ATAS has been extended to all adult temporary migrants undertaking ATAS attracting studies or research regardless of their visa category. This means that students/researchers applying for a visa other than the Student Route will also need to apply for ATAS.
From 6 July 2018, if you are studying a course that requires ATAS then you will need to obtain ATAS clearance regardless of the length of course. You will need to obtain this clearance before you make the Student Route application (either as entry clearance or permission to stay).
If you are coming to the UK under the short-term student route in order to study relevant courses for up to six months, you will need to apply for ATAS clearance (This applies if you are 18 years or older when applying for immigration permission or will turn 18 before the permission expires). This is not a requirement for you if you are coming under the short-term student (child) route.
If you are a new student and need an ATAS certificate, you will get a statement with your offer letter confirming that you need ATAS and exaplining what you will need to do next.
If you are a current student you will need to apply for a new ATAS under the following circumstances;
Please find our ATAS FAQs Guide linked below
FAQs on ATAS