Global Fellowships

Please review the eligibility for each Fellowship within the programme webpage. You will find out more on how to apply as well as which programmes are open for applications.

ATAS is the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS). Only certain nationalities must apply and it is dependent on the type of research you will be conducting. At Imperial, the exception is if you will be based in the Faculty of Medicine or Imperial Business School. Fellows hosted within these Faculties do not need ATAS clearance. ATAS clearance can take up to 3 months to be approved and you must have obtained the certificate prior to commencing your Fellowship or placement. It is free of charge. In some cases, host departments must approve the internal ATAS form prior to your application. You can read more about it here. 

Once your ATAS certificate is approved, you can apply for your visa. The type of visa you apply for will be dependent on your visit status as student or staff and/or visit duration.

This guidance is applicable to both students and faculty visitors visiting Imperial for less than 6 months.  

You can only apply for your visa up to 3 months before your arrival date in the UK. Your programme administrator will provide an invitation letter  and confirmation of funding, needed to apply for the visa. To start the process, Fellows need to visit the gov.uk website to start your application online.  You will apply for a Standard Visitor Visa which permits you to stay in the UK for up to 6 months and undertake research.  

You may need to attend a local VFS centre and book an appointment to complete biometrics and any health screenings required for visa approval. 

Please note, if travelling on a Standard Visitor Visa you do not need to obtain a SRN or CAH code.  

This guidance is applicable to faculty/staff visitors visiting Imperial for longer than 6 months. 

You can only apply for your visa up to 3 months before your arrival date in the UK. Your programme administrator will advise on the type of visa and you will be supported by the HR Compliance Team throughout the process. 

The HR Compliance team at Imperial will provide your Sponsorship Reference Number (SRN) and a Sponsor Letter for you to apply for your visa. Only once you have this paperwork, can you apply for your visa. 

You will then attend a local VFS centre and book an appointment to complete biometrics and any health screenings required for approval. To start the process, Fellows need to visit the gov.uk website to start your application online.  

The HR Compliance team from Imperial will support you in your visa application. 

We can provide award letters and supporting documentation as required. Please get in touch with the programme administrator if you require specific documentation. 

For most of our Fellowship opportunities, we can support in booking travel. Your programme administrator will ask for your preference in flight and book it via our preferred travel agent, Egencia. If included, your programme will cover return economy class flights. We will do our best to ensure you travel on a flight that is suitable for you if it is within the programme budget. 

Your programme administrator will let you know if financial and/or logistical travel support is not provided.

Your flight ticket will usually include one bag of checked luggage and one piece of hand luggage. If you require extra baggage allowance, please contact your programme administrator as soon as possible.  The university can usually reimburse up to 2 checked bags if reasonably required and not included as standard with the airfare.

Imperial’s travel partner Egencia will email your itinerary to you once confirmed.  It is up to you to check-in and select your seats, special assistance, meal preferences etc. 

London has 5 airports: Heathrow, Gatwick, London City, Stansted and Luton.  

It is recommended to check your journey again on arrival to the airport, to see the best journey option based on current traffic and conditions (e.g. any delays or strike action). 

You could travel using express trains, the London Underground (Tube), buses, or by coach. When you arrive at the airport, you can travel by train or bus to your accommodation. These options are well signposted at the airports. You can also travel by taxi, although this will be considerably more expensive. 

Black cabs in London are usually more expensive than booking with an app like Uber, Bolt or FreeNow. 

Imperial has several campuses. You can find out the address of the campus you will be working at here. We operate free shuttle buses between the campuses. You can find more information including the timetable here. 

Please check with your Programme Administrator about arranging travel to Imperial or accommodation, from the airport. We may be able to pay for and arrange this on your behalf.

You should be in contact with your host department/supervisor to coordinate your first day on campus and orientation. 

For ease of travel, we recommend you download Google Maps, CityMapper or TfL Journey Planner to help you get around London.  

To pay for travel in London you can use a contactless credit or debit card or purchase and top up an Oyster Card. This is a physical pay as you go card that can be purchased and topped up at most tube (underground/subway train) stations, and is accepted on buses, tubes, and some trains. You can buy an Oyster card at the tube station or at the airport and pay a deposit for the card that can be reimbursed when you leave. You cannot use cash to pay for travel. 

If you would like to hire a bike to get around there are bike docking stations all around London. Santander bikes (often referred to by Londoners as “Boris bikes”) can be hired for £3.50 per day. There are also e-bikes you can use including LimeBike or Forest Bike. Download the app to purchase minutes to ride – and please wear a helmet for safety. 

If you would like to take the train to other places in the UK, an app/website called TrainPal or Trainline to show all the different ticket options and prices. Some train companies eg. Avanti West Coast offer discounts on their trains if you are flexible with timings eg. Avanti SuperFare. For cheaper journeys, we recommend you travel by coach or you could try car-pooling with Bla-Bla car. 

There are several Railcards you can purchase in advance that also allow cheaper travel. Please check terms and conditions to see which ones you would be eligible for.  

The HR Compliance team will arrange a video call with you to confirm your arrival to the UK. This is a mandatory requirement of your sponsored visa. Your visit here is as a Sponsored Researcher, in case they confuse you for staff! 

Your host department is responsible for arranging your Health & Safety induction. Once you have completed this, you can collect your ID card. Depending which campus you will work at, you may need a staff card for multiple campuses. You can collect your main ID card from the South Kensington Campus card at the SAF Building – Room G53.  

Your host department is responsible for arranging your Health & Safety induction. Once you have completed this, you can collect your staff ID card. Depending which campus you will work at, you may need a staff card for multiple campuses. You can collect your main ID card from the South Kensington Campus card at the SAF Building – Room ID cardsG53. 

The shuttle bus runs between the South Kensington and our other campuses. You can look at the timetable and pick-up/drop-off points here. The bus is free to use if you have your Imperial card. If you haven’t got your staff/ student card yet, you can travel with your invitation/award letter and they should let you on the bus anyway!

Most departments will have ‘anchor days’, where most people come into the office or lab. Please check with your department when this is and how you can arrange a desk and/or lab space. 

In most cases you should receive your College Identification Number (CID) from HR Compliance or in your university enrolment letter. This means you will be able to activate your IT account here. 

If you have not received a CID number, or are unsure where to find it, please speak to your programme administrator.

Depending which campus you will work at, you may need an ID card for both South Kensington and White City. You can collect your White City card at the I-Hub and you will have to collect your South Kensington Campus card at the SAF Building – Room G53.  

You can only collect your ID card once you have completed your Departmental Induction. 

• Maps are available to help you find your way around Imperial campuses
• Click here to access the wireless (Wi-Fi) network
• You can find our list of prayer rooms and onsite facilities

Imperial only provides accommodation for our full-time students. We can support visiting Fellows by signposting appropriate platforms to look for accommodation, but it is up to the individual to assess its suitability and arrange online viewings etc. We recommend that you secure accommodation before you arrive to the UK. Please consider your budget and commute time to campus when choosing somewhere to live. Your programme administrator can make recommendations on suitable areas. 

Guidance on private renting in London can be found here.

Guidance on how to avoid scams is here. 

You can narrow your search on platforms like SpareRoom to search for accommodation with people of the same gender. Make it clear in your profile that you are only looking to live with people who meet specific criteria you are looking for. If you can afford to, you may prefer to live on your own. 

For short term accommodation, you can search on platforms aimed at holidays and short lets. You can always ask for discounts for a 'long-term stay' with any booking platform.

• Airbnb
• VRBO
• booking.com
• Doctor in the House 

Alternately, the following platforms advertise rooms or apartments in London from estate agents or landlords directly. 

• SpareRoom  
• Rightmove  
• Zoopla 
• OpenRent 

Some options may include bills, while others will have this as an additional expense. It’s best to ask the estate agent or landlord what the current tenants pay for bills typically. This includes gas, electric, water and council tax. If you are living alone, you can apply for a single person’s council tax reduction. But you will need to pay for internet and a TV license yourself. 

Please note, none of these are associated to Imperial, so please take care online.  

For short term accommodation, you can search on platforms aimed at holidays and short lets. You can always ask for discounts for a 'long-term stay' with any booking platform.

• Airbnb
• VRBO
• booking.com
• Doctor in the House 

In addition to options outlined above for staff, there are several options for students that will be more affordable including the suggestions below. 

• LHA London
• London Nest
• International Student House 
• Britannia Students

Please note, none of these are associated to Imperial, so please take care online.  

If you’re not a British or Irish citizen, you may require a share code to prove your right to rent if you are renting via an estate agent or landlord. 

Your landlord can use the share code to check if you can rent and how long for. You can find out more information and create a share code online. 

If your new home is listed as ‘furnished’ it will probably include furniture and white goods eg. bed, sofa, dining table and fridge, oven, kettle. You will be responsible for buying your own bedding, cutlery, crockery, hairdryer, clothes airer etc.  

To make settling in easier, you can shop online and arrange deliveries to your home to be there when you arrive.  

Local home stores include

• Dunelm (Located at Westfield Shopping Centre, White City) 
• IKEA - can click and collect from Hammersmith 

• John Lewis online and in Westfield, White City 

• Argos and Habitat (both owned by Sainsbury’s Supermarket) 

• Amazon (not so ethical but usually quick and cheap)! 

It is very common to shop for second-hand items in the UK. Londoners love to find a bargain online or in their local charity shop! 

• Facebook Marketplace, Freecycle and Gumtree are all online marketplaces. Like with all online spaces, there are scams as well as great things. Never send money to anyone online before seeing something you want to buy. You usually have to collect things yourself and pay in cash. 

• Vinted, Depop or ebay are popular online marketplaces for second-hand clothes and homeware. 

• British heart foundation shop – this charity has a lot of reasonably priced furniture, you can also check what they have available online on ebay. 

• Olio is a place people share unwanted items such as furniture, food etc – usually for free. Other similar apps include Too good to go (more focused on food) and Nextdoor. You’ll need to download these apps to your phone. 

If you would like to purchase a  SIM card for your phone, you can purchase an e-Sim in advance if your phone is compatible. USWITCH is a comparison website that helps you select the best deal for you. Alternatively, you can do this at the airport or in a local phone shop. We recommend looking for deals with companies like Lyca mobile as they may include packages to call abroad. 

Nearly everywhere in London accepts card payment and some are cashless. However, we recommend you bring a small amount of GBP (£) cash with you. This is especially important if you do not have a UK bank account and card set up yet as you may need to pay for things like a travel card.  

If you do not have a UK bank account card, please keep all receipts so you can claim back the costs via expense claim once your UK account is set up. You must include a file with photos of all receipts claimed for to be reimbursed into your UK bank account.  

Lidl and Aldi are the most economical supermarkets we have in London  

Other supermarkets listed in price order ascending Morrisons > Sainsbury’s > Tesco > Waitrose > Marks & Spencer  

All sell fresh fruit and vegetables, bakery items, home cleaning products & ready meals. You can also buy things from smaller shops on the high-street eg. Greengrocer for seasonal produce. Prices vary, so best to explore your local area and find what works for you. 

Whilst you are at Imperial you will be covered under Imperial’s insurance policy. Under this policy, you will have access to emergency medical healthcare, accessed through the NHS (National Health Service). This means you can visit any NHS hospital or outpatient facility in an emergency situation and receive healthcare treatment free of charge.  

Should you have an accident on campus or in the lab, you will also be covered under this policy. 

You will need to purchase private travel insurance only if you intend to travel ie. outside the UK on holiday or other personal travel. For Imperial business travel, you would be covered under our insurance policy. 

If you are here for more than 6 months and have paid for the immigration health surcharge (IHS) as part of your visa application, you can access medical assistance as soon as you arrive in the UK. This covers non-emergency care such as hospital appointments, doctor check-ups and any procedures. It does not cover prescriptions, dental or eye care.  

We recommend that individuals travelling with pre-existing medical conditions should have obtained sufficient medication if required, prior to arriving in the UK. You can obtain prescription medication through your GP in the UK but you must pay each prescription at £9.90. 

If you are visiting for a shorter duration, such as a departmental induction or meeting with academics, you will be not be covered by Imperial’s insurance and are required to have suitable personal travel insurance. Please check with your programme administrator as they may be able to help with the costs. 

It's important that you register at a General Practitioner (GP) close to your new home. Do not wait until you encounter health difficulties before registering as this may cause delays to receiving healthcare when you need it most.  

Use the NHS's Find a GP tool to find your local surgery at your postcode. 

You can also find a local dentist or sign up with the Imperial College Dentist. Dental care in the UK is private, so won’t be covered by the NHS surcharge.

For more information in general about accessing healthcare, visit Imperial’s Doctor and dentist webpage. 

We ask that you please make any requests for access needs before your arrival to the UK, so we have time to make arrangements to better support you.

• Early Career Researcher Institute – centre to support your professional and personal development as you progress in your career. 
• Chaplaincy  – supports the spiritual and personal well-being of students and staff to practise faith and/or meditation.  

• Confidential Care- free professional and confidential help on a wide range of work and life issues. 

• Occupational health- support for any health and safety concerns.

• Imperial College Union

• Scams - how to stay safe and avoid fraudulent schemes. 

• Harassment and bullying support

• Imperial’s parents’ networks –  Parents and Carers student support and the general Imperial parents.
• Imperial international students with families (aimed at students, but get in touch to see if you could join) -Students with families.

• TimeOut – loads of offers, events and free things to do in and around London 

• VisitLondon 

• The Nudge 

• Eventbrite – huge range of events from music to business networking 

• Visit Britain - Day Trips from London 

Music and live events 

• TicketMaster or Dice for live music events 

• TodayTix – last minute theatre tickets  

Make new friends 

• Meetup