STUDENTS going to Britain for postgraduate studies in engineering, science or technology fields will need to pass a security check first, under a new British rule which kicked in on Thursday.

The rule requires non-European Union students to apply for a 'clearance certificate' before they can get a visa under the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (Atas).

In a statement on Thursday, the British High Commision here said this is to prevent the spread of knowledge which can lead to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

It added that the scheme is 'designed to ensure that people who are applying to study certain sensitive subjects in the UK do not have links to WMD programmes'.

The move is also in line with many other countries and 'is designed to be transparent and straightforward,' said the High Commission, pointing out that

it will only affect 'a very small percentage' of overseas students.

A BBC report said there were 124,000 postgraduate students in British universities in 2005 to 20066, with 18 per cent, or 22,630, enrolled in the affected courses. Of these, 1,155 were Singaporean postgraduate students, according to figures from the British Council here.

Previously, universities would voluntarily alert the British Foreign Office to applicants from 'countries of concern', said the BBC.

When asked, the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Techonological University (NTU) said they do not require such checks on foreign students studying in Singapore.

More information on the new rule is given in the following websites of:

- The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office ATAS webpage
-Visa Application Centre
- British High Commission

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