Guide to the visitor process
Academic visitors are visitors from another institution who wish to undertake research on their own projects in the department, usually for a period of up to twelve months. They are not employees and don't usually work on departmental projects and as such we do not monitor their annual leave or other absences or the performance of their work.
If your visitor is applying for funding specifically to come to Oxford, you will need to get permission through the visitor process before the funding application is submitted.
To request an academic visitor for your team, you will firstly need to complete the visitor request form and send this to hr@phc.ox.ac.uk with a copy of the visitor's CV and detail how their visitor fees will be paid.
Visitor fee costs
| Duration of visit | Fee |
| 1 year or more | £4,000 per year |
| 1 month or more but less than 1 full year | £350 per month |
| 1 week or more but less than 1 full month | £100 per week |
If the visit is for less than 12 months, your application will be sent to the department's Visitor Panel for review, who will aim to respond within one week with a decision. If the visit is for 12 months or more, or there is a request for visitor fees are to be waived or reduced, your application will go to the next Department Strategic Committee (DSC) meeting for consideration. These are held quarterly, so please ensure you apply well ahead of the proposed visit. HR will provide you with feedback on your application when it has been considered by DSC.
On the visitor's first day, HR will carry out a right to work check with them to ensure that they have the correct visa for undertaking work within the University and collect any outstanding forms. They will receive a University card and IT login details if appropriate. Depending on their levels of IT access (eg shared network drives) they may need to undertake the department's Information Governance training.
Finance will arrange for collection of any fees agreed.
Overseas visitors who do not have the right to work in the UK
Visitors who do not have the right to work in the UK will need a visitor visa. HR will lead on any applications for sponsorship or letters of invitation that are required. The Staff Immigration Team has guidance on this here.
If the visit requires a Certificate of Sponsorship this will attract additional costs for both the department and the visitor. At January 2021 these are: £21 for the CoS; £244 for the visa and £624 per annum for the NHS Surcharge. Additional costs are payable for any dependants the visitor brings to the UK with them. Please ensure that the visitor is aware of these costs at an early stage. The HR team can provide the latest amounts.
If you have any questions about the visitor process which has not been answered above, please contact hr@phc.ox.ac.uk with your query.