visa

Sudan crisis highlights why UKVI shouldn’t hold on to passports while processing applications

4th May 2023 By Diana Baxter

We were very proud this week to have helped a Sudanese father-to-be successfully evacuate to the UK despite his passport being held by the now closed UK Visa Application Centre in Khartoum. Sadly, many others have not been so fortunate as it is estimated that thousands of Sudanese nationals are trapped inside Sudan upon the outbreak of civil war with their passports retained by the UK and other visa authorities.

Such visa applicants are likely to be family members of British citizens, skilled workers and students resident in the UK, whose passports have been held by UKVI (or on its behalf, by the company TLScontact) for varying lengths of time. They may even include British citizens applying for Certificates of Entitlement to the Right of Abode or new passports. The last few years have seen significant delays in processing of UK visas overseas, first due to Covid (when visa offices abroad were also closed without notice, trapping applicants’ passports inside for months) and then following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Throughout 2022, family settlement visa applications regularly took up to six months for a decision and, while the timing of these has improved recently, refugee family reunion applications are averaging 12 months or longer for a decision.

This week, we were contacted by a distraught refugee in the UK whose wife applied for refugee family reunion more than 12 months ago yet she still has no decision and her passport is still held at the VAC in Khartoum. Such delays are not unusual with refugee family reunion processing yet UKVI continues to insist that passports are retained for the decision making process, unless additional fees are paid (and not universally available) to the private contractor for a ‘keep my passport’ service. The continued logic for this is increasingly hard to justify as UKVI transitions to a digital only immigration status, where applicants’ identity can be determined through biometrics and a check of biometric passports and where visa applicants in the UK (as opposed to those applying from overseas) are, for the most part, no longer required to submit their passports for consideration.

We sincerely hope and encourage UKVI and TLScontact to assist those affected by their passport loss at the TLS VAC in Khartoum by:
• immediately sending each individual affected a formal and personalised (with the relevant passport details) confirmation of the loss of their passport;
• urgently considering their outstanding visa applications and, if successful, facilitating their entry to the UK despite the lack of passport (a FAV (‘form for affixing a visa’) can be used in these circumstances).

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

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.