Visitor Invitation Process

Individuals undertaking an element of research at PhD in certain sensitive subjects must obtain an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) prior to commencing their visit.

This applies to researchers visiting under the standard visitor visa and undertaking science and academic activities including:

• carrying out research for their own purposes or as a group
• gathering information and facts for a specific project which directly related to their employment overseas, or to support independent research
• taking part in formal exchange arrangements with UK counterparts

The following nationalities are exempt from the ATAS requirement:

• UK, EU/EEA and Swiss nationals
• Nationals of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, or the United States of America.

Dual nationals who hold one of the listed nationalities above will also be exempt. This is not based on country of residence, but nationality only.

The Staff Immigration Team (SIT) will work with Department, Faculty and College colleagues to identify if the individual will need to obtain an ATAS certificate. If this is required a template letter will need to be issued to the visitor.  

If an ATAS certificate is required the visit must not be permitted to start, and no access to facilities or systems can be provided, until the ATAS certificate has been provided. As failure to obtain a required ATAS certificate will prevent a visit from commencing, applying in good time and before travelling to the UK is strongly recommended.

Full details can be found on the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) page.

Visa Application

Visa nationals and academic visitors coming for a period of over 6 months will need to apply for (and obtain) a visa before travelling to the UK. 

Non visa nationals visiting for up to 6 months are granted the visitor visa status on entry to the UK. They may be required to present evidence to an Immigration Officer if questioned at the border. 

Further details can be found the visa application and supporting documents page.

Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)

By April 2025 the Government aims to have fully implemented the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), giving nationals who can visit the UK without applying for a visa in advance (‘non visa nationals’) a digital permission to travel to the UK.  This grants permission to travel only and is seperate to the visa requirements.

Nationals from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates can apply now for an ETA

• On 27 November 2024 the ETA process will open for 49 countries (non-European nationals), to permit travel to the UK on or after 8 January 2025.
• On 5 March 2025 the remaining 34 countries (mostly European nationals) will be able to apply to permit travel to the UK on or after 2 April 2025.

The ETA costs £10 and permits multiple journeys to the UK of up to six months at a time over two years or until the individuals passport expires – whichever is sooner.

Full details of the planned roll out of the ETA for each ‘non visa national’ country can be found on the gov.uk website.

All visitors must report to the HR office at their host department or college before their visit commences so the following steps can take place:

• Record keeping for all visitors (except Business visitors coming for one day or less):
  Take a copy of the visitor's passport and vignette (paper visa in their passport used to enter the UK) and/or entry stamp. Sign and date the passport details and visa/immigration stamp and retain these for the duration of visit along with a copy of the letter of invitation and any information confirming intended activity. Those who did not receive an entry stamp will instead need to provide their boarding pass (or other document showing then they entered the UK) which will be copied and held instead to know their entry date and from this when they must leave the UK in six months time, if not before.

• ATAS Certificate checked (if applicable): Where it has been identified that ATAS clearance will be required, the department/ faculty or college must check the ATAS certificate to ensure this matches the letter issued to the visitor.  The visit cannot take place, and no access can be given if the visitor does not yet have the ATAS certificate or has received an ATAS refusal. Please refer to the policy on ATAS refusals.

• Gaining access to department/ faculty or college: The department/ faculty or college goes through necessary procedures to allow the visitor to gain access to their facilities.

• Reminded to collect BRP: Academic visitors and other individuals visiting for over 6 months are reminded to collect their BRP from the post office. Once the BRP has been collected, the host department or college must take a copy of it to be included in their records.

• Visa conditions: All visitors should be aware of the conditions of their visa which can be found on the second page of their letter of invitation. These can also be found on the Visitor visa conditions page.