How we process your application to import and export data

Once an Airlock request is received, it is reviewed by the Airlock Team. Some requests can be resolved by the Airlock Team alone, however some cases must be referred the the Airlock Committee.

The Airlock Committee is a six person committee. Getting the “Approval of the Airlock Committee” means receiving approval from a minimum of two members of the committee.

We may ask you questions during the review process. Please reply to these promptly, as doing so will speed up the review process. The file review process should take a maximum of seven working days, unless the reviewers are waiting on a response from you.

Once a decision has been reached, the Airlock Team will contact you and inform you of the decision. In the case of a rejection, the Airlock Team will explain the reasoning and suggest how to edit the file(s) to make them acceptable for export.

We aim to review all requests as soon as possible after they are made. However, we do sometimes require 10 working days to complete the review process due to either there being a very high number of active requests at a given time or due to Airlock Committee members' availability. Therefore, please make your Airlock requests a full 10 working days before you need the files requested wherever possible.