Hi ppl,
I got Phd admission from a UK univ and I need to get ATAS clearance certificate prior applying for a VISA. I applied for the same online last Tuesday. Typically what time does it takes for getting this ATAS certificate in this month (Dec).

The website says this:

Christmas applications
Please note that the online ATAS application form will be closed from 12:00 Wednesday 23rd December 2009 until 09:00 Monday 4th January 2010 for the Christmas and New Year period. All ATAS applications submitted before or after these dates will be processed in the normal way. From January 2010 the processing times for applications will be increasing to 20 working days.

I've applied on 14th & got acknowledgment mail on 15th. But I'm yet to get the clearance certificate. As per the website, applications submitted prior 23rd will be processed normally. So considering this, i should be getting the certificate by this time :(