Visitors

Visitor policy

All visitors to NDCN (senior academics, researchers, etc...) must be put forward by a member of the department (the sponsor) and their visit must be approved by the Head of Department in advance of their visit. The request should come to HR at least eight weeks in advance of the start of the visit.

If you are a graduate research student registered with another University and want to undertake research at Oxford under the guidance of an academic familiar with the chosen area of study for 12 weeks or longer (up to a maximum of 3 terms), you should apply to become a Recognised Student. This process is now handled by the Academic Administration team, so please contact them with your request and they will supply the guidelines for this: graduate@ndcn.ox.ac.uk. Please allow at least four months for such visits to be processed.

Where a visa for the visit is required, the information MUST be submitted at least four months in advance of the intended start date.​

If you wish to host a visitor who is not classed as a Recognised Student, please email hr@ndcn.ox.ac.uk as soon as possible with the following:

• Completed AVA Request Form
• Completed NDCN Registration Form
• (If in person) Completed Visitor Hosting Form
• Visitors' CV
• Confirmation of visitor's employment/ student status

NB: All PIs and Line Managers must be aware that visitors to the UK who wish to participate in any activities in the University must hold an appropriate visa. Visitors holding a general 'tourist' visa are not allowed to participate in any activities in the University whatsoever.

HR will check visitors' immigration status by requesting to see originals of their passport/ID card/birth certificate in advance or on their first day or their visit.

For those visitors from outside the UK, the appropriate visa must be in place before the visit commences.​

Visitors' Visas

Depending on the nature of the activities involved, HR will liaise with Staff Immigration Team (SIT) to determine the appropriate visa required.

HR must be informed of the nationality of a visitor via the academic visitor request form.

HR will also check the immigration status of all visitors prior to their arrival or on their first day of their visit, whichever is practical.

There are several routes to allow for visitors from outside the UK to visit:

Standard Visitor VISA

To qualify as an Academic Visitor, the applicant must be able to produce evidence that they have been working in a Higher Education Institution overseas, or in the field of their academic expertise immediately before seeking entry to the UK as an Academic Visitor.

This is the most common route for senior academics that use their sabbaticals to come to the UK to exchange experiences and ideas with colleagues at NDCN.

All Academic Visitors (regardless of whether they require a visa in advance of travel to the UK, or not) will require a letter of invitation from the host department to present with their visa application (for those who require a visa in advance of travel) or to immigration officers at the port of entry (for those who do not require a visa in advance of travel). HR will be able to issue this letter.

Permitted Paid Engagement

Similar to the Academic Visitor category, the permitted paid Engagement category is for visitors who wish to come to the UK for less than a month to deliver lecturers or to act as examiners or assessors and they are going to be paid for this work.

HR will be able to provide the appropriate letter once it is established that this is the right immigration status for a visitor.

Tier 5 Temporary Workers

The University will be able to sponsor certain visitors to come to the UK under the Tier 5 Temporary Worker category. This route is mostly used for visitors who come to collaborate on University-hosted research projects or to undertake research as an intern where the work is additional to the department's normal requirements.

HR will advise PIs and line managers if this is the right category once the Academic Visitor request is received by HR.

Please note that this route may take a few weeks and involves a certain level of administrative burden. The process is twofold:

• The department request a Certificate of Sponsorship under Tier 5 and provide the incoming visitor with the number;
• Once visitors are in receipt of the Certificate of Sponsorship number, they request their visa.

HR will support the visitor through this process.

UNDERGRADUATE Student Visitor guidance

Research Placement Students

Research placement students can be accepted under the following conditions:

• The placement is a formal requirement of a student’s Bachelor’s or Master’s degree programme.
• The placement is of strategic benefit to the hosting PI or research group, contributing meaningfully to ongoing research priorities.
• The placement complies with UK visa regulations.
• The placement adheres to Trusted Research guidelines.

For placements that are part of a student’s degree requirements, students are currently exempt from being paid a salary/stipend if they are registered at their home institution and the placement is assessed as part of their academic programme. No tuition fees apply.

Research Internships

Placements for students seeking research experience outside of their formal course must comply with the University’s guidance on internships. This means the student must be paid a salary for their work.

The department is committed to ensuring that research opportunities are accessible to all students, regardless of financial background. PIs are encouraged to use existing schemes, such as Uniq+, when considering summer placements.

School Work Experience

If a UK based school-age person undertakes a very short period of work experience (maximum 2 weeks) within the University, typically involving shadowing and observing, rather than to undertake any meaningful work on behalf of the University, then this is classified as ‘work experience’ and does not attract payment.

Oxford Visiting Students

Undergraduate students from overseas who wish to spend a period of up to three terms (one academic year) in Oxford on a course related to the degree they are studying in their own country can apply to a college for a place as a registered Visiting Student.

GRADUATE Student Visitor guidance

• Graduate students visiting for 12 weeks or longer will be processed by the NDCN Academic Administration Team as they receive training by the University’s Student Immigration Team.
• Graduate students visiting for one term (12 weeks) or longer must now apply for Recognised Student Status. Maximum visit length is 1 year (3 terms).
• Graduate students visiting for <12 weeks will be processed by the NDCN HR Team.

Eligibility for Recognised Student status

• Graduate research students who are registered with another university and are coming to NDCN to undertake research for a minimum of one and maximum of three terms.
• Students must be currently enrolled on a course equivalent to a UK post-graduate degree, and their research in Oxford must directly contribute to their course in their home country and their home institution confirms this in writing.
• It is not possible to be admitted as a Recognised Student if the student has already been matriculated as a member of the University of Oxford.

Dates of Visit

• Where possible, the dates of visits should align with Oxford’s term dates. The student contract will be dated from the start of the academic term even where visits start mid-way through the term. This has implications for visa applications as well as the total length of stay (no more than 1 year from the start date of the first term). It is therefore recommended to try and align visit start dates with the University term dates.
• A visit of one term can extend into the vacation following that term, providing that the visit ends before the start of the next term.
• Visits >12 weeks in the summer vacation can be accommodated but the student contract will be dated from the beginning of Trinity Term.

Recognised Student Tuition Fees

• Tuition fees are payable to cover the cost of access to the University facilities and the guidance provided by the student’s supervisor. Recognised Students are liable to pay a Recognised Student fee which is currently £4,513 per term in the 2024/25 academic year and £4,783 per term in the 2025/26 academic year. The fee is aligned with other MSD departments and charged to ensure equity with DPhil students who receive similar academic services and student support facilities and pay fees each term.
• If a visit crosses over 2 terms, then the student may be liable for 2 terms’ worth of fees depending on the total length of the visit. However, where appropriate, the termly fee will be reduced by 50% where the dates of the visit don’t exceed 50% of both terms. For example, a visit that starts halfway through Michaelmas Term to halfway through Hilary term, the fee charge would be reduced by 50% for each term.

Application Process

Recognised Student requests (for visits >12 weeks) are to be sent to graduate@ndcn.ox.ac.uk at least 4 months in advance of the term the student wishes to visit (this allows sufficient time for the processes involved, including applying for Recognised Student status, Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) and visas). Where a student submits an application direct, the team will forward the request to the proposed supervisor to confirm support.

The Academic Administration Team will check that the visit is eligible for the Recognised Student route and will communicate the outcome to the supervisor.

The Academic Administration Team will send instructions on how to apply to be a Recognised Student, via central admissions. Once the application has been submitted and checked by central admissions, the team will receive a notification by email. The team will assess the application to ensure it meets the minimum academic criteria (in line with all our postgraduate programmes).

Where the criteria are met, the team will process an offer and set any conditions that are required for the student to meet before their visit. This could be a language condition, for example, if they have not met the required level (this is in line with all conditions that other graduate students are subject to). The student is sent a conditional offer letter, which includes details of the agreed fees. Once the conditions have been met, an unconditional offer letter is sent. The offer letter also provides information on how to apply for a visa, if required.

The team will send information on ATAS (if applicable), and process the visitor card, arrange details of their arrival and carry out the necessary enrolment checks, including checking on payment of fees.