ATAS certificates and deferring your offer

What happens if you decide to defer your offer?  

It depends on how long you have decided to defer your start date.  

The ATAS certificate is valid for 6 months prior to your start date, so if you have an ATAS certificate dated June 2012 and you have deferred your start date from 1st October 2012 to 1st November 2012 or 1st December 2012, you can still use the same ATAS certificate.

Any start date after that time, you will need to re-apply by beginning another ATAS application.

If you have changed your start date to the following year, for example from 1st October 2012 to 1st October 2013, you will need to re-apply approx 6 months before your new start date.

Keep your ATAS certificate safe because you can use the same information to re-apply.

If you have changed your JACS code or your course/research area, do not re-apply for ATAS clearance until you have checked out the details with the supervisor of your course.

Points to remember:

The ATAS certificate is valid for 6 months prior to your start date.

You will need to re-apply for ATAS clearance nearer to your start date if you decide to defer your offer.

 

What is a JACS code?

A JACS code is a course code.  JACS means Joint Academic Coding System.  

For a full list of JACS code, see the Higher Education Statistics Agency's website Higher Education Statistics Agency

You will need the JACS code for your course when you apply for your ATAS certificate.

The first place to look for the JACS code is on your offer letter.

When you apply for ATAS clearance you will need to enter the first letter and the first number of the JACS code.

For example:  if your JACS code is C182, you will enter C1 on your ATAS application.

Some JACS code may have more letters, for example: FJ25.  You still need to select the first letter and the first number such as F2.

Do not be tempted to guess at your JACS code because it needs to be correct to tie in with your offer letter.

The list of JACS codes that require ATAS clearance are found here on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's website:

For Taught Masters courses such as MSc

For PhD/Doctoral courses such as PhD

For Masters by Research courses such as MRes

For Undergraduate degrees that lead to a Postgraduate qualification such as MSci

For enhanced Undergraduate courses such as an M.Eng

Do I need to pay for an ATAS certificate?

There is no fee to apply for your ATAS certificate.  If you are applying for the second or third time there is still no fee.

How do I apply for ATAS clearance

Once you have been issued with an offer from a UK university, you will receive an offer letter.  The offer letter will give you your JACS code (course code) and the title of your course.  You will need these details to apply for ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) clearance and receive an ATAS certificate.

Your university/higher education institution Admissions Office will email you with the JACS code, your course title and the ATAS statement wording needed.

Some universities/higher education institutions will wait until you accept the offer to send out the ATAS inormation, some will email you as soon as they make the offer.

You do not need the hard copy offer letter to apply for ATAS clearance, but you do need to have received an offer.

You will need to apply for your ATAS certificate approximately 6 months before your start date, do not apply any earlier.  So if you have a start date of 1st October 2012, you can begin your ATAS application in March 2012.

Also do not apply too late.  It can take up to 20 working days for your ATAS certificate to be granted and at busy times of the year such as August, September and October the FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) may take longer to respond.  

Remember if you do not have ATAS clearance, you cannot obtain a visa which means you will not be able to study in the UK, so it is important to apply in plenty of time but not too early.

Once you have the information you need from your university, you can make an ATAS application by visiting the FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office's) website at Begin your ATAS application

You should read this information before you begin your application ATAS application information

 

Do I need to apply for ATAS clearance?

Ok so you have applied for a place at a UK (United Kingdom) university and been given an offer.  It's an exciting time.  You can begin to plan your future, buy materials needed for your course and look for student accommodation, but wait, there's one thing you might need to consider...do you need ATAS clearance?

Let's look at some points to see if you will need to apply for ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) clearance.

Are you applying for an undergraduate course which will lead to an undergraduate qualification when you graduate ie. Bachelor degree (B.A, B.Sc, B.Eng etc)?

If YES then you DO NOT require ATAS clearance.

Are you a UK, EEA or Swiss National applying to study a postgraduate (or an undergraduate course leading to a postgraduate qualification such as an M.Eng or M.Sci) in the United Kingdom?

If YES then you DO NOT require ATAS clearance.

Are you an International applicant applying to study a postgraduate course (or an undergraduate course leading to a postgraduate qualification such as an M.Eng or M.Sci) in the United Kingdom?

If YES, then you MAY require ATAS clearance.

First let's look at what is an International applicant.

An International applicant is someone applying from a non-EEA country. 

What does EEA mean and what is an EEA country?

EEA stands for European Economic Area.  If you are a citizen from an EEA country, you will not require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK (United Kingdom) and therefore will not be required to apply for ATAS clearance.

Here is a list of EEA countries:

1. Austria

2. Belgium

3. Bulgaria

4. Cyprus

5. Czech Republic

6. Denmark

7. Estonia

8. Finland

9. France

10. Germany

11. Greece

12. Hungary

13. Iceland

14. Republic of Ireland

15. Italy

16. Latvia

17. Liechenstein

18. Lithuania

19. Luxembourg

20. Malta

21. The Netherlands

22. Norway

23. Poland

24. Portugal

25. Romania

26. Slovakia

27. Slovenia

28. Spain

29. Sweden

30. United Kingdom

31. PLUS SWITZERLAND.  While Switzerland is not in the EEA, Swiss Nationals have the same rights as EEA nationals and therefore DO NOT require ATAS clearance.

Any other country is considered International and therefore if you apply to study in the UK, you will need a Tier 4 visa and may need ATAS clearance.

Further information can be found at the FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office's) website at

www.fco.gov.uk/atas

So we have established the following:

1. You are an International applicant

2. You are going to study a postgraduate course or an undergraduate course which leads to a postgraduate qualification

If you say YES to the above two points, you may need to apply for ATAS clearance.

So what else needs to be considered.

You need to look at the JACS code of your chosen course.

What is a JACS code?

A JACS code is a course code.  It is a code set by the University.  

Where will I find my JACS code?

You will find your JACS code on your offer letter. 

If you have a JACS code that appears on the FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office's) list on their website, you will to apply for ATAS clearance - www.fco.gov.uk/atas