I wanted to share my experience with everyone as I could not find anything on the internet that confirmed whether PhD's would be considered for the Academic Visitor visa in the UK. The wording on the UKBA website seems to imply that PhD candidates do not fit the criteria for this visa.

I am a PhD student, and had an offer as a Research Visitor to one of the universities in the UK for 12 months. As I was not considered a student by the UK university, I could not get a CAS number, and hence couldn't apply for the Student Visa, After searching the internet I decided to apply for the Academic Visitor visa, as this was the only visa that would allow me to stay in the UK for a year.

I was recently granted the Academic Visitor visa, which I am very happy about. Total time to process my visa was 9 days including a weekend. I included the following documents in my application:

- A letter inviting me as a Research Visitor for 12 months from a UK university
- A letter from my home university granting me "leave" and permission to accept the offer
- An academic CV including all seminars given and publications
- Two of my publications
- Bank statements showing scholarship payments from my home university
- Bank statements showing I had sufficient funds for my 12 months in the UK

I hope this has helped clear the confusion for anyone else who has the same problem.