Dear UKSP members,
The UKSP Council have been in contact with STFC since July on behalf of foreign nationals in the UKSP community who are residing in the UK and are due to participate in STFC grants. Specifically regarding potential actions STFC could take to help mitigate the impacts of delayed grant start dates on these members of our community.
We have now received a response. In their response dated 28th January 2026,
– STFC states that they believe the host Research Organisations are the bodies best able to offer advice due to better knowledge of the individual circumstances (for example on visas etc) of each foreign national who this will impact.
– STFC invites Research Organisations who wish to seek advice to get in touch with the STFC Astronomy team, who can discuss flexibilities in individual awards.
– Their letter also highlights the Global Talent Visa, which it is suggested may offer some individuals greater flexibility than the Skilled Worker Visa.
Below we provide a timeline of events and full correspondence so those who are impacted can understand the rationale behind the answers STFC have provided, and potentially so members of the community can find details that may be useful to their individual cases.
Timeline
10th July 2025, the UK Solar Physics Council discussed …… issues that Foreign Nationals residing in the UK due to participate in STFC grants would face in the coming period, due to delayed grant start dates.
24th July 2025 (Letter 1) the UK Solar Physics Council sent a first letter ……., requesting a statement from STFC on actions they would be taking to address these issues. Three potential actions were suggested:
(a) Liaising with the UK Visas and Immigration to clarify whether leeway is possible in these circumstances.
(b) Issuing foreign nationals in the UK with letters of support for a visa extension.
(c) Setting aside a small amount to provide bridging funding for international postdoctoral researchers who secure a named small award position and are currently in post, funded by STFC, and whose lives would be particularly impacted by these delays.
30th September 2025 the UK Solar Physics Council sent a reminder.
2nd October 2025 we received a response stating that initial inquiries had been made, and a few months were needed to provide a response. However, we were reassured that we would receive further correspondence in the next few weeks.
19th November 2025 the UK Solar Physics Council sent a reminder for this.
27th November 2025 (Letter 2) the UK Solar Physics Council provided a second letter with a timeline stating that the information requested in July would be needed by around Christmas 2025 in order for it to be acted upon by those impacted.
21st January 2026 (Letter 3) Since the relevant time passed we stated that we were intending to contact our community with this outcome on February 1st, so the relevant people are able to take appropriate actions regarding their futures.
28th January 2026 Received response from STFC.
———Letter 1——-
To: STFC
From: UK Solar Physics council
Title: Foreign Nationals residing in the UK due to participate in STFC grants
Dear …………,
Thank you very much for reading this letter and considering the issues described herein. I spoke with ………. at the National Astronomy Meeting 2025 regarding the matters below ……….
We understand and appreciate the rationale behind the decision to delay the starts of the STFC small and large awards. However, this decision will have particular implications for researchers who are foreign nationals currently living in the UK. These people make up a significant fraction of the postdoctoral workforce. A few of the major concerns are outlined in the post-script of this email, for reference.
We are writing on behalf of the UK Solar Physics Council to request a statement regarding any actions the STFC are willing to make in order to help minimise the impacts of the delays on the lives of these valued members of our communities (both the UK Solar Physics community and wider science and technology research communities).
For example, would the STFC consider,
(a) liaising with the UK Visas and Immigration to clarify whether any leeway could be possible in these circumstances, and reporting back to us?
(b) issuing foreign nationals in the UK with letters of support for a visa extension
– between the originally anticipated start date and the delayed start date.
– once a grant is made and the foreign national’s participation in the grant is confirmed by a contract offer.
(c) consider setting aside a small amount to provide bridging funding for international postdoctoral researchers who secure a named small award position and are currently in post, funded by STFC, and whose lives would be particularly impacted by these delays.
Please could you provide a response outlining any actions that the STFC are willing to take?
As well as any actions you can commit to, details such as timelines for these actions to be implemented would also be really highly appreciated.
To clarify: It would be our intent to relay this information to those members of our community who are affected, unless an explicit statement requesting otherwise is included in the response.
Thank you very much again, and best regards,
Malcolm Druett and Natasha Jeffrey
on behalf of the UKSP Council
Key impacts of delayed grant start dates:
- Residence: Researchers on Skilled Worker Visas (and potentially family members) have the right to remain in the UK as a result of these visas. Where the time covered does not overlap with the delays proposed, such individuals must leave the country immediately when their visa ends. This can be very costly, especially for researchers from distant countries, and it is very challenging to find gainful short term employment for those months of delay until the start of the STFC funded projects.
- Visa timeline reset – finances and routes to UK settlement: Gaps in UK visa history will reset the timeline for routes to settled status back to zero as per this document. If the application timeline is reset, the associated costs must be repeated. It should also be recalled that visa costs have risen by 126% in the last 6 years, so the high costs calculated now are very possibly underestimates of the true costs that visa gaps caused by delayed grants would produce.
- Future visa applications and work opportunities: There is a 30-day window after the visa expiration before the government may physically deport or ban individuals from re-entering for up to 10 years. However, overstaying, even by a day, is considered a violation. Individuals could lose their employment contracts and potentially all right to work in the UK. Additionally, this situation can negatively impact future visa applications, not just in the UK but globally. This will have long term impacts on the ability of the researcher to attend conferences, workshops, and other career-enhancing events.
———-Letter 2———-
Dear ……………..,
Further to my previous message, a timeline requirement has become apparent:
* visa processing time: currently 8 weeks
* before submitting an application, one needs to get an ATAS certificate: 6 weeks
* Therefore, 14 weeks notice will be necessary to be effective.
-> For employment that starts on April 1st, that puts us at about Christmas.
Thank you very much and please let me know if any assistance or information is needed.
Best regards,
Malcolm
———–Letter 3————–
Foreign Nationals residing in the UK due to participate in STFC grants
Dear ………………,
We are becoming deeply concerned that there has not been a response from STFC with regard to action on Foreign Nationals residing in the UK who are due to participate in delayed STFC grants. As our previous letters have explained, this matter has very high stakes for the affected members of our research community, and we hope you will appreciate that the matter has become extremely urgent for them.
We hope that you can provide concrete support very soon. However, having not heard from you, we feel we have a responsibility to explain to our community what action we have taken and the fact there has not been an STFC response proposing any actions, after six months.
Therefore, we are intending to make an announcement in the UK Solar Physics Newsletter on February 1st. We currently propose for this to contain a statement of the timeline below (with names of people involved redacted) and copies of our previous two letters. I would like to emphasise that we are very keen to engage STFC further before this announcement, and invite you to discuss potential actions.
Best regards,
Malcolm Druett
On behalf of the UK Solar Physics Council
Response
Dear Malcolm many apologies for the delay in responding.
When ………………. we were unsure of a number of issues and it has taken some time to resolve them. The financial context of making the decision was explained at NAM, where STFC noted that the spending review outcome would involve difficult choices due to a range of pressures on the STFC budget.
The decision to delay start dates for Astronomy grants was not taken lightly and we had to weigh up a number of issues in coming to that preferred option. We were only given the go ahead to award the astronomy grants in the week beginning 12 January and have therefore only recently confirmed the distribution of posts across universities. Successful award holders have now been notified of the outcome.
Let me assure you that we highly value the contribution that foreign nationals make to UK Astronomy. However, in discussing this issue we recognised that an additional uncertainty we had was that we are not aware of the individual employment circumstances of specific individuals, nor what their specific visa circumstances are. ROs are responsible for visas. UKRI cannot offer visa advice although we can clarify our own rules and signpost.
From what you have said I think you have implied you believe that most of the people impacted will be on skilled worker visas which are linked to employment. However there is another visa route, the global talent visa which might be suitable for some individuals. The GTV is an unsponsored route, meaning an individual can move between roles and employers as required. Eligible individuals can switch into the GTV. The route isn’t just for PLs etc, it can also support research team members. Researchers working on a large (£30k+, at least 2 years total award) may be eligible for the GTV. Research Organisations are welcome to get in touch at GlobalTalentVisa@ukri.org to discuss eligibility and requirements.
UKRI also allow for visa costs, including the Immigration Health Surcharge, to be costed for applicants and other staff who are Directly Incurred for at least 50% of their working time on a UKRI grant.
In conclusion whilst we greatly empathise with the position of individual foreign nationals, the individual Research Organisations in receipt of the grants are in a better position to be able to make judgements about individual circumstances. If individual Research Organisations wish to discuss the circumstances of any individual they are welcome to get in touch with the Astronomy team to discuss the flexibilities available in individual awards. They would also be able to advise on the detail of individual grant terms and conditions.
Best wishes
…………………….
STFC/UKRI