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Academic

This route allows well qualified academics to visit the UK for a maximum of 12 months to undertake certain activities. They should be able to produce evidence that they have been working as an academic in an institution of higher education overseas, or in the field of their academic expertise immediately prior to seeking entry or entry clearance for entry in the category.

Who is an Academic Visitor?

Academic visitors must be either:

1. a person on sabbatical leave from an overseas academic institution who wishes to make use of their leave to carry out research here (to do research for a book for example); or
2. academics (including doctors) taking part in formal exchange arrangements with United Kingdom counterparts; or
3. eminent senior doctors and dentists coming to take part in research, teaching or clinical practice.

Academic visitors must:

• not receive funding for their work from any United Kingdom source (payments of expenses or honoraria to cover their needs whilst in the UK may be disregarded, as may payments on an exchange basis)

• not intend to take employment or engage in any work other than the academic activity for which they are being admitted

• not be filling a normal post or a genuine vacancy

• not stay in the UK for more than 12 months

• intend to leave the UK at the end of their visit

• be able to maintain themselves and any dependants without having recourse to public funds (or be adequately maintained and accommodated by relatives or friends)

• be able to meet the cost of the return or onward journey from the UK.

Those who are unlikely to qualify

Recent graduates, those who gained their degrees in the United Kingdom, would not normally qualify as it is unlikely they would not have reached the level of expertise within their field that is expected of someone seeking entry under this category.

Postgraduate researchers entering the United Kingdom to study for an accredited United Kingdom academic qualification (rather than for the purpose of academic research work that does not lead to a UK academic qualification) should enter as students if they meet the relevant requirements of the Immigration Rules. If they do not meet the student rules but they are a named researcher undertaking research for which a grant has been made to a university or research institution for instance then they will need to meet the requirements of Tier 2 of the Points Based System.

Lecturers: A person who wishes to come to the United Kingdom solely to undertake a series of lectures for which they will receive a fee will normally be required to seek entry under Tier 2 of the Points Based System. Academics may, however, be eligible to enter as a mainstream business visitor for a maximum of 6 months if they are coming to participate in a conference or seminar where it is a single event, and the event is not a commercial (organisers are not making a profit)venture.
Those who are on sabbatical leave from private research companies are not eligible for leave under the academic visitor provisions.

Sponsored Researches

A sponsored researcher is a person who wishes to come to the UK to lead or to take part in any formal research project. Formal research projects are those hosted but not necessarily funded by a UK research institution including universities, non-commercial research organisations, charitable organisations and national research councils (such as the Medical Research Council). The sponsored researcher fills a research post and works under the full or partial control of the institution, which will itself benefit from the research. Sponsored researchers can be funded from sources in the UK or overseas.

Sponsored Researchers should enter the UK under the Tier 5 – Government Authorised Exchange of the Points Based System. However those academics who want to come to the UK simply to share knowledge or experience or to hold informal discussions with their UK counterparts may qualify as an academic under the Business Visitors route. The business visitor category may also be suitable for those who intend to conduct research for their own private purposes - such as to do research for a book - and are funded from a UK source (some fellowships exist to facilitate such research).