Covid-19

Coronavirus: travellers to England required to self-isolate for 14 days

8th June 2020 By Andrew Jones

Starting from today, Monday, 8 June 2020, most travellers coming to England will need to self-isolate for 14 days and complete a ‘Passenger Locator Form’ so that the government can contact you if anyone you travelled with falls ill with COVID-19.

The government says that it has introduced these new rules to reduce the chance of a ‘second wave’ of coronavirus in the UK.

These new restrictions apply to most people travelling to England from outside of the Common Travel Area (the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands). If you are traveling from within the Common Travel Area, but were outside of it within 14 days of arrival, these rules apply to you, too. They apply equally to British citizens and foreign nationals.

Within 48 hours of departure, travellers need to complete a Passenger Locator Form. The form asks for your personal and travel details as well as where you will be staying for the first 14 days in the UK and an emergency contact in case you fall ill. The form can be found here. Travellers should print off a completed copy of the form or have it accessible on their mobile phone to show the Border Officer on arrival. Failure to do so can lead to a £100 fine and you may be refused entry (if you are not a British citizen).

Once in England, arrivals must self-isolate for 14 days. The rules on this are very strict, and much stricter than the current government guidance for those who are already here. If you are required to self-isolate, you cannot go out in public, go to work or go to school. You cannot leave your home for exercise or to walk your dog. You should not go shopping, even for essentials, and instead should arrange for these to be delivered. There is no “reasonable excuse” exception, not even in situations regarding childcare.

The only exceptions are:

If you are legally required to go somewhere (e.g. to take part in legal proceedings or a child moving between homes as part of a custody agreement);
You require urgent medical care;
To attend the funeral of a close relative;
To access basic necessities or essential public services and there are exceptional circumstances why these could not be delivered to you;
You needed to stay in safe overnight accommodation before travelling to the location where you would be self-isolating for the remainder of the 14 days; or
There is an emergency

Failure to follow these rules can lead to fines of up to £1000, or even up to £3200 in some circumstances. Migrants should be aware that they would be required to disclose these fines in applications for leave to remain and could see an application for British citizenship refused if it is made within three years from the date of the fine.

The full government guidance can be found here.

There is a long list of people who are exempt from these rules, which can be found here. These exceptions would not apply to most people coming to England, but does include diplomats, foreign representatives and other consular staff, those employed by the military, those who are only transiting and do not leave the airport and those (either living in the UK or outside of the UK) who travel in and out of the country at least once a week for work.

Please note, these rules only apply to England, as the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish governments have control over their own public health measures. At the time of writing, there were no regulations in place requiring quarantine for those living in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

If you require immigration advice in relation to the issues above, we can help. Please contact us on 020 7401 6887 or by email at contact@gryklaw.com

Coronavirus Covid-19 Crisis and International Surrogacy Arrangements

26th March 2020 By Barry O’Leary

We frequently assist parents with the immigration and nationality matters which arise when children are born following international surrogacy arrangements.

We are aware that the coronavirus covid-19 crisis is causing difficulties for parents whose children are born overseas to surrogate mothers.

We have, with our friends at NGA Law, raised this matter with the Home Secretary. The Home Office have been in contact with us to look to find solutions for children who are born British and those who need to register as British Citizens.

I will update when I have further information but you are welcome to contact me on barry@gryklaw.com

Barry O’Leary is the author of the ‘International Surrogacy and British Nationality and Immigration Law chapter in “Surrogacy: Law, Practice and Policy in England and Wales.”

Described as “the Rolls-Royce of immigration and asylum,” Barry O’Leary is highly valued for his successes with family, partnership, international surrogacy and sexual identity cases. An interviewee says: “He’s a very experienced solicitor who does fantastic work across the board.” – Chambers 2020

“Barry O’Leary is experienced in applications based on partnership and family and in relation to international surrogacy arrangements, while he also handles asylum and human rights claims based on sexual identity.” – Legal 500 2020

Extend your visa if you cannot leave the UK because of coronavirus

25th March 2020 By wesleygryk

This blog entry has been updated to reflect the guidance issued by the Home Office on 6 April 2020, asking individuals who cannot leave the UK because of coronavirus to submit an online form to apply to extend their leave.

On 24 March, the Home Office first published guidance for migrants affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

If your visa expires between 24 January and 31 May 2020

If your visa expires between 24 January 2020 and 31 May 2020, and you cannot leave the UK because of travel restrictions or self-isolation related to coronavirus, you will be able to apply for an extension.

There are a couple of points to note, however:

Your visa will not be automatically extended. You must apply for your visa to be extended. The guidance previously asked that you contact the Coronavirus Immigration Team and provide your details and an explanation of why you cannot return to your home country. Starting from 6 April, you should complete and submit a form online, which you can find here. You should then receive an email to confirm your email address. Once you have confirmed your email address, the Home Office should, within 5 working days, confirm to you that your request has been received, and until when your visa has been extended.
This is a form for those who intended to leave the UK at the end of their stay here. If you always intended to extend your stay in the UK, you should submit the relevant form applicable to your route.

If you wish to remain in the UK long-term

Some applications would usually need to be made from your country of origin. For example, if you are in the UK as a student and wish to apply under the Global Talent category, you would usually need to leave the UK and apply for a Global Talent visa from abroad. Similarly, if you are in the UK as a visitor and wish to apply to remain on the basis of a relationship with a British citizen, you would usually need to leave the UK and apply for a partner visa from your country of origin.

The Home Office guidance confirms that, if your visa expires between 24 January and 31 May 2020, you will be allowed to make such application from within the UK. You will still be expected to pay for your application and show that you meet the relevant immigration requirements. At the moment, such application must be made before 31 May 2020.

If you have reporting conditions

The Home Office has also updated their guidance for those who are required to sign at a Home Office reporting centre on a regular basis. It states that:

Following Public Health England’s advice on coronavirus (COVID-19), the Home Office has decided that reporting as a condition of immigration bail should be temporarily deferred while it reviews how frequently people should report. You will receive an SMS text message soon with details of your next reporting date.

Still many unanswered questions

Overall, this is good news for many migrants in the UK, however a lot of questions remain unanswered. For example, we know that some people are struggling to take English language tests or Life in the UK tests because the centres are closed. We also know that some are worried about losing their jobs and not being able to meet the Immigration Rules of their applications. Others are worried about losing their jobs but not being able to access benefits. We urge the Home Office to issue guidance on this as soon as possible.

In the meantime, if you are concerned about your immigration status in these uncertain and unprecedented times, please contact us on contact@gryklaw.com.

What measures could UKVI take now to help ‘flatten the curve’ while maintaining the immigration system?

17th March 2020 By Diana Baxter

Given the current Covid-19 crisis and need for us all to increase social distancing, the Home Office needs to issue clear and swift guidance to migrants in the UK on their position.

Such measures could include:

Temporary waiver on the need for biometric enrolment. By doing this, applicants could submit extension applications online and submit supporting documents, which can then be transmitted online to a Home Office caseworker, without the need for in-person interaction by the client, Sopra Steria employee or Home Office caseworker. A small number of appointments would need to be maintained for vulnerable clients who need scanning and online assistance.
Online temporary fee waiver application, that can be submitted at the same time as online visa application, to allow persons to remain lawfully present in the UK but who may not be able to afford the fees, especially in cases of redundancy / reduced hours as a result of Covid-19.
All NHS employees, paramedics and other essential service workers should be given automatic fee waivers.
Extension of automatic grant of leave to those currently in the UK but who cannot return overseas due to Covid-19.
End immigration detention to prevent the spread of Covid-19 throughout detention centres.

For now, the immigration tribunals remain operating as normal but with people advised to contact the tribunal if the appellant, sponsor, any witness or representative needs to self-isolate and so cannot attend.

Please contact us should you need advice at this time on your individual circumstances: contact@gryklaw.com