ATAS certificate delays in the UK: How long to wait? What to do?

As of May 2023, there are severe delays in the UK pre-visa ATAS checking scheme (Academic Technology Approval Scheme). I had to wait 145 days to get a decision on my case to proceed with my visa application. Yet, the problem is not solved and not highlighted enough. Many students and researchers do not realise the extent of the delays when planning their studies in the UK. I hope my story and advice will be useful to you.

00:00 What's the problem?
01:20 Applying for ATAS certificate
06:45 ATAS delays, impact on visa
13:59 How I got my ATAS certificate
18:23 What to do?

Andrey Churkin (Андрей Чуркин) 2023

[farukbulut]

After 40 days of waiting, I sent a polite message explaining my circumstances and the urgency of my situation by CCing the HR office of the university and attaching the message traffic with the university. As a result, I received the certificate the following day. My advice is to wait for about a month and then send a message outlining your situation. Also, thanks a lot for the pure information in a lucid way Andrey.

[daliamehaisi]

Thank you very much for providing this useful information, I am at the same situation now and my sense guide me to this video hope I will be lucky enough to through this challenge 🌹🌹🌹

[sinakhaleghi]

Thank you for sharing your experience with the ATAS application. It was very helpful!

[JoeMamita]

Many thanks for your video! Certainly helps a lot! I just wrote this comment to 1)Thank you for the content and 2) to see if someone that applied on April 2024 already have the certificate. I did applied on April 1st, it has been almost 6 weeks :(

[drsundeepbhagwath]

Dear Andre,
First of all a very big thank you for providing such detailed personal insights on the ATAS certificate system & its delays.
Our situation is a bit different. My daughter is a STUDENT RESEARCHER and her conditional offer states that she will be needing ATAS certificate in order to get the CAS letter. Unlike you, we cannot even "push" the UKVI to contact the FCDO directly in order to expedite the ATAS process because we simply cannot apply for a student visa until we get the CAS letter for which we need the ATAS certificate.
So we student(s) are really in a bind!

[abiodunyakub]

I received my ATAS today, what a big relief.

[rayankhan-ox]

A complete ATAS submission means that upon submission you will get 6-digit Reference Number and Green color "Submitted" written infron of 6 digit ATAS reference number. And in case if anyone is getting Orange color ATAS ref number which is of 10 digit, it means that you have not yet submitted the application to ATAS Team. and to make it correct you have to change the course start date.which means if it is 12 dec today then you have to mention 13 dec course start date(the next day date) on option 1 that is Propose Study and then "CLICK ON" left side menu which says "Go To Part 2 of 10". Thats how you can get te 6-digit ATAS number.

[vanshitanaudiyal]

I still didn't get it my Atas. I applied on the 16th of April. My course starts this September. Is there anyone here from msc aerial robotics?

[MrBuzzzzzer]

Thanks for the advice Andrey. It was quite helpful to know others are going through the same (8 months delay here, and I'm not in the UK).

[pradeepsheokand]

Is there anyone who recently received the ATAS? I have been waiting for 75 days. Really pathetic and torturing.

[sanketvalse]

Thank you so much this is helpful information

[SepidehKeshavarzi]

Just to add to others' experiences here, my incoming PhD student from India has been waiting for over five months with no updates. He was supposed to start his PhD at the beginning of this month but has had to defer to January. As a student applying from overseas, I don’t think he has the same visa application options as you. Is there any information on rejection rates? He’s panicking because some sources in India have told him that applications pending for more than six months are unlikely to be successful. They even advised him to withdraw his application to avoid a rejection. I’m struggling to understand how our research could be connected to military technology or weapons of mass destruction—we study the mouse brain!

[nicolay-r]

Can't get enogh on how valuable your video is, thank you for sharing so! Followed your recommendations and equiry to issue the CoS without completed ATAS. To contribute, even after a successfull VISA decision, you might get REFUSED ATAS later on. That means ATAS is no longer applicable

[ignitedminds]

Hii thank you so much for such a valuable information.

[BubbleGum_]

Anybody here who applied in July for ATAS and recieved that? I am waiting for my PhD one still .... my visa expires in 11 oct.... am really worry... whats ur situation?

[zunairaliaqat]

Hey.. I have applied about 75days ago for ATAS. I have applied for Phd and got admission but I am still waiting. Plz guide me what should I do.
Can I contact the FCDO directly ?

[manupaul]

The whole UK research atmosphere is a nightmare. Applied by January and accepted by April, ATAS took one and a half months then CAS generation took one more. Applied for a priority VISA, and it's been seven weeks still no sign. The Home Office doesn't want researchers. Earlier got positions in Germany and the US, deeply regretting saying no to them. Now after this shit of paperwork that is going on for almost a year, I am tired. Missed reading and living in constant stress for a year which is not worth it ...thinking about making a new application this season.

[angeoula]

Does anyone received a similar email "
Dear Applicant,
Thank you for your email. We are aware of your application, unfortunately it is taking a little longer to process than we’d like it too. We are doing what we can to process it as soon as possible and we will inform you of a decision regarding your application as soon as we have one. "

after how long he received his ATAS?

[seforahsilva]

I am Brazilian and do my PhD in Mechanical Engineering. I applied for ATAS on July 31st and received it today (August 23rd).

[KrishnaKumar-df]

I got my ATAS after 30 days after including corrections.