Applying for leave to work away
You apply for leave to work away via your CamSIS self-service. For general information on how to apply for a change in your student status see ‘Applying for a change in your student status’. Please check the "reasons for working away" section below before applying to ensure you are eligible.
Detailed guidance to help you apply for leave to work away, including answers to frequently asked questions, can be found here. A training video can be found here.
There are 3 main elements to working away. You need to:
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apply for permission to work away via CamSIS self-service
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have a risk assessment approved by your Department and upload the signed form to your application for leave to work away unless you are writing up or completing corrections or revisions to your thesis.
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obtain appropriate and adequate insurance for your work away - the University’s free travel insurance provides a very high level of cover. In case of emergency, travellers are immediately provided with professional assistance. This includes medical emergencies, natural catastrophes or political upheaval, even war. Applying for cover is quick and easy. Personal travel insurance may not be sufficient. Please note that University travel insurance does not cover writing up or completing corrections or revisions to your thesis.
Please note that as activity that leave to work away is approved for, including internships and placements, should be integral to/essential for your course, your submission deadline will not be adjusted as a consequence of working away.
In addition, you need to consider the impact of working away on your residency requirement and, if appropriate, on your funding and/or Student/Tier 4 visa.
You cannot apply to work away retrospectively. You must obtain permission to work away before you leave. Approval to work away can take several weeks, so you should submit your application at least two months before you plan to leave. The only exception to this is if you are working away to complete corrections or revisions to your thesis following your viva. This is because students do not need permission to work away between submission of the thesis for examination and formal notification of the outcome of the viva. Therefore, students will not know whether they need to work away until they receive this notification. However, they should apply as soon as they do know that they will be working away.
If you will not be in a position to return to Cambridge (or usual place of study for part-time students) following your approved period of working away, you will need to submit a new working away application before your agreed return date. As with any previous applications, there must be valid reasons for working away. You will need to ensure that you arrange insurance to cover the extended period. If you need to extend your period of working away by two weeks or less, you should contact the Student Registry for advice before submitting a new leave to work away application.
If you are not in a position to return to Cambridge (or usual place of study for part-time students), but do not have valid reasons for continuing to work away, you should contact your Department as early as possible to discuss other options such as intermission or withdrawal.
You must upload a risk assessment to your application unless you are writing up or completing corrections or revisions to your thesis, or working away due to exceptional circumstances. This is to ensure risks have been considered and, where possible, mitigated before you travel.
Even if working away for less than two weeks and not required to apply to work away, you are advised to complete a risk assessment. Similarly, if undertaking research (other than a placement or internship when leave to work away and a risk assessment are always required) at sites outside Cambridge but continuing to reside in Cambridge (i.e. travelling to and from sites within a day), although you do not need to apply for leave to work away, you are strongly advised to complete a risk assessment to ensure you consider all potential risks of your planned trip(s).
Risk assessments can also help to protect against loss of valuable Intellectual Property and research data, prompting you to think about the risks and to consider precautions you can take. A risk assessment can help you budget realistically and make safer and more accurate travel plans.
Please contact your Department’s Postgraduate Office for the appropriate risk assessment form.
Please ensure you read the information on assessing risk and other safeguarding measures that can be found at https://www.safeguarding.admin.cam.ac.uk/
| Working away activity | Risk assessment required? |
| Any kind of data collection or fieldwork away from Cambridge, including archival or library-based work, within the UK | Yes |
| Any kind of data collection or fieldwork away from Cambridge, including archival or library-based work overseas (in home country or elsewhere) | Yes |
| Internship/placement/Overseas Institutional Visit | Yes |
| Writing up or completing corrections/revisions to thesis | No* |
| Exceptional circumstances (see below under 'reasons for working away') | No* |
*However, you will need to upload a statement saying that you are not required to upload a risk assessment as you are writing up or completing corrections or revisions or working away due to exceptional circumstances.
If your risk assessment is revised after you have submitted your leave to work away application, but while the application is still pending, your Department should upload the revised risk assessment to your application.
More information about the requirement to obtain insurance can be found in the working away application guidance. University insurance can be found on the Insurance Section website.
The University’s free Business Travel insurance provides a very high level of cover. In case of emergency, travellers are immediately provided with professional assistance. This includes medical emergencies, natural catastrophes or political upheaval, even war. Applying for cover is quick and easy.
Please see the travel insurance FAQs as there may be things not covered by insurance policies. Please note that personal travel insurance policies are not acceptable for University business trips as the cover may not be adequate and in some cases business trips are excluded altogether.
| Working away activity | Travel insurance required? |
| Any kind of data collection or fieldwork away from Cambridge, but within the UK, including archival or library-based work, internships or placements | University insurance not available |
| Any kind of data collection or fieldwork abroad, including archival or library-based work overseas (in home country or elsewhere), internships or placements | Yes (University Business Travel Insurance) |
| Overseas institutional visit | Yes (University Business Travel Insurance) |
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Writing up or completing corrections/revisions to thesis |
University insurance not available |
| Exceptional circumstances (see below under 'reasons for working away'), whether UK or abroad | University insurance not available |
Non-research postgraduate students (such as ‘taught MPhil’ students) are expected to live and study in Cambridge during term time, but have holiday breaks between terms (depending on course requirements). Students on taught programmes who need to undertake research away from Cambridge for more than two weeks must apply to work away (whether during term time or a scheduled 'holiday break').
Students on full-time Masters courses should remain in Cambridge for the duration of their course. However, if they have met the residence requirement and want to complete their course elsewhere and studying remotely will not having a detrimental impact on progress, they should apply to work away. Students should be encouraged to consider the impact of working away on the requirement to be in Cambridge for submission of the final piece of mandatory assessed coursework (which denotes the end of the course), particularly where it might affect the terms and conditions of visa sponsorship.
Full-time postgraduate students undertaking a research course (such as a PhD) are required to live and study in Cambridge all year, with no breaks between terms. Full-time students wanting to study or carry out research away from Cambridge for more than two weeks who will be resident away from Cambridge during this period must apply to ‘work away’.
The University strongly encourages students to adopt climate conscious travel behaviours - you may wish to consider the Guidelines on Sustainable Business Travel when planning your trip.
| Reasons for working away | Required to apply to work away? |
| Working away from Cambridge for up to 2 weeks (including writing up or completing corrections to thesis) |
No However, please note that the reasons for working away still need to be for a purpose relating to your studies, for example attending a conference or making a short trip to visit an archive. |
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Working away from Cambridge for more than 2 weeks Doctoral students are unlikely to be given leave to work away until they have passed their first year registration exercise. If you have not yet passed your registration exercise, please speak to your Degree Committee before applying. There must be good academic reasons why you need to be in that location, for example:
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Yes |
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Writing up (full-time doctoral students) In the final (4th) full-time year of your doctoral degree you can work away to finish writing your thesis from home, or from somewhere other than your home country. Permission will not be granted until the start of your 4th year. If you wish to leave Cambridge before then you will need to use annual leave to cover this period. Masters students who have met the residence requirement and want to complete their course elsewhere and are able to study remotely without this having a detrimental impact on their progress, should apply for leave to work away. |
Yes |
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Working away between submission of thesis and notification of outcome of viva You are not required to apply for leave to work away for the period between submission of your thesis and formal notification by Student Registry of the outcome of your examination. |
No |
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When completing corrections or revisions to your thesis after examination If required to make corrections/revisions to your thesis, you need to apply for leave to work away if planning to complete these outside Cambridge. Working away will not be approved beyond the deadline for submission of your corrections/revised thesis. |
Yes |
| Placement/internship integral to your course/research in a location that means you will continue to be resident in Cambridge* | Yes* |
| Fieldwork/data collection/archival research away from Cambridge but you will still reside in Cambridge (i.e. travelling to and from sites within a day) | No |
| Holiday** | No |
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Exceptional circumstances Please note that remote study is not permitted on a Student visa except for permitted activities such as fieldwork approved under Leave to Work Away procedures in advance. If you need to take a break from study due to illness or personal reasons, please see guidance on medical intermission and non-medical intermission. Applications to work away for non-academic reasons will not normally be approved. However, for doctoral students who are not on a Student visa, exceptionally applications for a short period of remote study might be considered for compassionate reasons such as serious illness or bereavement of a close relative or an unforeseen emergency involving family. Students will not be permitted to study remotely for financial reasons. Applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis taking into account personal circumstances and course requirements. In all cases, the student should discuss with their supervisor before applying and a study plan should be agreed. In some cases it might also be beneficial for the College to agree a welfare support plan. The study plan should be uploaded to the application. If applying on medical grounds, supporting medical evidence must also be submitted. The permitted period of remote study will always be as short as is compatible with fulfilment of its purpose, and will not normally exceed four weeks in any given academic year. |
Yes, but only in exceptional circumstances |
*This is because we need to record that you are doing a placement/internship.
**If your planned holiday is immediately before, during, or after a planned period of working away, please see the additional guidance for how to include this information in your application to work away. You do not need to apply for leave to work away if the sole purpose of your trip is to take a holiday. Research students are entitled to eight weeks of holiday per year in agreement with their supervisor. In planning holidays you are expected to ensure that you still keep terms of residence.
Part time students, who are not required to live in Cambridge, need to apply to work away if studying, carrying out research, writing up or completing corrections away from their normal place of residence during their course for more than two weeks.
All full-time postgraduate students are required to keep at least three of terms of residence in Cambridge in order to be eligible for their degree. Although the minimum requirement is three terms, full-time students are expected to be in Cambridge throughout their studies, prior to submission of their thesis for examination, unless they have valid academic reasons for working away (please see above) or are taking part of their 8-week holiday entitlement per academic year. Information about when a student must be in Cambridge in order to keep term can be found here.
This residency requirement is particularly relevant for students on a one-year MPhil, as it restricts how much time they can spend away from Cambridge. It is expected that any fieldwork or research activity outside Cambridge will normally be scheduled at a time and of a duration to allow compliance with the residence requirement. Under limited circumstances, MPhil students may be granted an exemption from the residence requirement for up to one full-time term. Applications may be considered from:
- students on certain taught MPhil programmes which require a mandatory period working under supervision outside of Cambridge, such as a placement or internship, of a duration or timing that means residency cannot be kept;
- MPhil students who need to conduct essential, but non-mandatory, fieldwork or research activity that cannot take place in Cambridge and:
- is of a duration that the residency requirement cannot be kept irrespective of the departure date; or
- the nature of the activity constrains the timing of the work away (for example, field study of a natural event that only occurs for a short time window each year).
Students should apply to work away in the normal way. Applications are considered on an individual basis. Exemption from the residence requirement does not alter fee liability.
Students on full-time Masters courses should remain in Cambridge for the duration of their course. However, if students have met the residence requirement and want to complete their course elsewhere and are able to study remotely without this having a detrimental impact on their progress, they should apply for leave to work away.
If you hold a Tier 4/Student visa, the University can continue visa sponsorship during a period of approved working away. This is because you will continue to be engaged with your studies during your time away. From a visa perspective, it is considered you will be studying at an authorised temporary location.
If you have any queries or concerns regarding your Tier 4/Student visa you should contact the International Student Office at international.students@admin.cam.ac.uk.
If you are funded by the SLC, a Research Council or other funding body, you should always discuss your plans for working away with the relevant administrator before submitting an application, as there may be implications for your award.
Broadly speaking, export control applies to goods, technology, or software that are designed for, or could be used for, a military purpose, contribute to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, or be used for human rights violations. In this context 'technology' means information necessary for the development, production or use of controlled goods or software (which can include research data, methodologies, designs and specifications).
Research that is designed or can be modified for military use is the most likely to be controlled, but dual-use items that are intended for civilian use but could also be used for military purposes may also be controlled, such as certain biological agents. It is not always obvious that research is controlled. As such, care should be taken, particularly in more applied disciplines.
You should seek advice from your supervisor as to whether your research is subject to Export Control legislation. If you will be working away outside of the UK, and any goods, technology, or software that you plan to take with you or access remotely from overseas are subject to Export Control, you should take action to ensure you comply with the law.
It is important to understand that export does not only mean the physical transfer of items to a destination outside the UK. It also includes:
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- electronic transfers such as email, uploading information to an overseas server, or accessing a UK server while you are overseas
- travelling overseas with controlled information on paper, in a laptop, USB stick or similar, even if you don’t intend to access that information while you are out of the UK
- oral transmission of controlled technology overseas such as a telephone call or video conference.