Legal Advice & UK Immigration Latest Updates 2021 – Corona Lockdown and BREXIT
January 6, 2021
by
WideLaws
URGENT UK Immigration Updates During Corona Lockdown
The details of the following are covered below :
1. Home office concessions updates – Due to the latest lockdown measures, including temporary visa extensions, if you can’t leave the UK in-country visa, switching, and free NHS visa extensions.
2. UK visa center closure and travel restrictions, including visa application, center closures, UK quarantine requirements, and pre-travel covered 19 medical tests.
3. Home office guidance updates – General grounds for visa refusal, including breach of immigration rules by overstaying or having outstanding debt with the NHS or UK home office.
4. Home office updates – Guidance on who qualifies for UK nationality, who can qualify automatically for British nationality, including children of European nationals born in the UK.
5. The 7 ways to submit your supporting documents to the UK home office or entry clearance officer, including newly introduced methods, to have your application and documents considered without you ever needing to leave your home.
Uk visas and immigration concessions:
Coronavirus lockdown restrictions are back also many countries are refusing to receive passengers from the UK due to fears of a new variant of the coronavirus.
So what are the homo office coronavirus concessions for people who are stuck in the UK or need to travel out to switch to another type of UK visa or have other issues such as unable to obtain the required documents due to the global pandemic?
Updated Coronavirus concessions to provide some relief to migrants and visitors.
1. Exceptional assurance. You want to leave the UK, but you have not been able to do so and you have a visa or leave that expires between 1st of December 2020 and 31st of January 2021.
You will be able to continue to remain in the UK on the same conditions as your current or most recent visa, provided you made this exceptional assurance request. As a general rule, any overstaying between the 24th of January 2020 and the 31st of august 2020 will be overlooked.
Any other period you would need to provide supporting evidence to avoid adverse home office decisions in the future. If your visa is about to expire, you should seek advice and consider lodging exceptional assurance without delay.
2. Student visa from within the UK – There is no need for taking fingerprints. There are temporary policy concessions for student sponsors, students, and short-term study students in response to the outbreak of Coronavirus. Students who have previously provided their fingerprints will be notified if their bio-data could be reused.
This means you will not need to attend a fingerprint appointment, thus only need to email or upload your picture and supporting documents.
All these concessions will be withdrawn once the health situation returns to normal
3. Tier2 and Tier5 Work Visa applicants and Tier4 students can start work or their studies as soon as they have lodged their application and are awaiting a home office decision provided their case or the course was issued in 2020.
4. NHS Visa Extensions: If you work in healthcare and your visa expires before 31st of March 2021, you may be eligible for a free visa extension.
Large application from any visa application center
you can now lodge your UK immigration application from any country if your local visa application center is closed. This concession has been extended to the 31st of March 2021.
You will still be asked about your status in the other country you are applying from, but you will not be required to show six months or more valid leave, as usually the case in order to be eligible to apply from that location.
Visa vignette has expired – If your 30 days or 90 days, visa vignette to work, study or join family has expired, you will need to apply for a replacement by completing the online form. The cost of replacing an existing 90-day vignette is £ 154, and you will need to make an appointment to resubmit your biometric information
Changes in income, missing documents, and English certificates
If you have been furloughed, you can still rely on your hundred percent of your income.
If you are self-employed, you will still be able to rely on 100% of your profits for the purposes of the financial requirements.
If you are unable to provide the required documents due to coronavirus restrictions, you may be given more time to provide the documents or that requirement could be waived altogether.
Vaccine quarantine and visa center opening and closing information
Many countries are now required that you have a negative test result for COVID 19 in order to travel. Also, anyone who has recently visited south africa or have been in prolonged contact with somebody who is from South Africa is required to undergo 10 days of quarantine in the uk five days if you use the test and release scheme
VFS center opening and closure during Corona lockdown across the world
Visa application centers in Bhutan temporarily closed until further notice.
UK visa application center in fiji temporarily closed, although is due to open soon and the same thing for a visa application center in Yangon Myanmar was closed, but is now due to open visa refusals
General grounds for refusal, breach of UK immigration rules or outstanding debt
As you know, every time you apply for a UK visa, the home office or the entry clearance officer will check if you have previously breached uk immigration rules.
The UK home office has provided new guidance on people who overstay or have outstanding NHS debt or litigation debt. Normally, if your visa is about to expire, you either apply to extend the visa or leave the UK.
If you stay beyond your visa date such that, you have no permission to remain, you are not there awaiting a decision on an extension application, etc. You’ll be regarded as an overstayer. This could reduce or diminish your chances of securing a new UK visa.
The UK home office also checks if you have NHS debt or litigation debt, so this is where you are required to pay for NHS treatments or services, and you have not settled the invoice. Similarly, if you had a case against the home office and you were ordered by a judge to pay legal costs to the home office – and you have failed to pay that if your NHS debt is about £500, you risk being refused a visa because of that Debt
Further guidance on automatic UK nationality
The UK home office has recently issued guidance on automatic UK nationality. The document provides the documentary evidence required and various immigration rules that determine if, indeed, a person is entitled to British nationality.
Recently, due to brexit and the introduction of new requirements from european nationals to provide specified documents, this means more children born to EU parents will not be British citizens automatically
Different ways to send your supporting documents to uk visas and immigration
Here are few ways to submit your supporting documents:
1. Attend the home office in person with your original bundle of documents. This was the original method and very similar to opening a bank account.
Now, this is almost non-existent.
2. Send original papers to the home office by post. This is another original method and is still available for some types of applications, particularly in-country EEA, non-EU family member residence card applications.
3. Take the documents to a visa application center. They scan and upload documents for you. This is the most appropriate method for out country visa applications where the applicant has all the documents at hand.
4. Take your documents to your local town, hall or third party checking services
5. Scan the documents yourself and send the bundle by email or upload it on the mobile app or using the online portals.
Generally, you’ll need to wait for the UK visas and immigrations to give you or specify directions as to who to email or which mobile app to use, or which portal to upload your documents to. Unless, of course, you have chosen the self-service option for a visa application center appointment where you should upload the documents at the portal where you booked your appointments prior to your attendance at the visa application center.
As regards the biometric and fingerprints, your options are –
In the UK, attend a visa application service center, home office public inquiries office or, if abroad, attend the visa application center run by the UK, visa, and immigration commercial partners, usually TLS contact or VFS Global Office to have your fingerprints and photos processed.
You may also be able to skip this requirement if the UK visa navigation confirms that your fingerprints from a previous application can be reused. You may still be asked to provide a recent digital photo to complete the application process.
Disclaimer: All the above information provided to you is for the information purpose and shouldn’t be considered as professional advice. Please call us for the details.
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1. Exceptional assurance. You want to leave the UK, but you have not been able to do so and you have a visa or leave that expires between 1st of December 2020 and 31st of January 2021.
You will be able to continue to remain in the UK on the same conditions as your current or most recent visa, provided you made this exceptional assurance request. As a general rule, any overstaying between the 24th of January 2020 and the 31st of august 2020 will be overlooked.
Any other period you would need to provide supporting evidence to avoid adverse home office decisions in the future. If your visa is about to expire, you should seek advice and consider lodging exceptional assurance without delay.
2. Student visa from within the UK – There is no need for taking fingerprints. There are temporary policy concessions for student sponsors, students, and short-term study students in response to the outbreak of Coronavirus. Students who have previously provided their fingerprints will be notified if their bio-data could be reused.
This means you will not need to attend a fingerprint appointment, thus only need to email or upload your picture and supporting documents.
All these concessions will be withdrawn once the health situation returns to normal
3. Tier2 and Tier5 Work Visa applicants and Tier4 students can start work or their studies as soon as they have lodged their application and are awaiting a home office decision provided their case or the course was issued in 2020.
4. NHS Visa Extensions: If you work in healthcare and your visa expires before 31st of March 2021, you may be eligible for a free visa extension.
you can now lodge your UK immigration application from any country if your local visa application center is closed. This concession has been extended to the 31st of March 2021.
You will still be asked about your status in the other country you are applying from, but you will not be required to show six months or more valid leave, as usually the case in order to be eligible to apply from that location.
Visa vignette has expired – If your 30 days or 90 days, visa vignette to work, study or join family has expired, you will need to apply for a replacement by completing the online form. The cost of replacing an existing 90-day vignette is £ 154, and you will need to make an appointment to resubmit your biometric information
Many countries are now required that you have a negative test result for COVID 19 in order to travel. Also, anyone who has recently visited south africa or have been in prolonged contact with somebody who is from South Africa is required to undergo 10 days of quarantine in the uk five days if you use the test and release scheme
The UK home office has recently issued guidance on automatic UK nationality. The document provides the documentary evidence required and various immigration rules that determine if, indeed, a person is entitled to British nationality.
Recently, due to brexit and the introduction of new requirements from european nationals to provide specified documents, this means more children born to EU parents will not be British citizens automatically
Different ways to send your supporting documents to uk visas and immigration
Here are few ways to submit your supporting documents:
1. Attend the home office in person with your original bundle of documents. This was the original method and very similar to opening a bank account.
Now, this is almost non-existent.
2. Send original papers to the home office by post. This is another original method and is still available for some types of applications, particularly in-country EEA, non-EU family member residence card applications.
3. Take the documents to a visa application center. They scan and upload documents for you. This is the most appropriate method for out country visa applications where the applicant has all the documents at hand.
4. Take your documents to your local town, hall or third party checking services
5. Scan the documents yourself and send the bundle by email or upload it on the mobile app or using the online portals.
Generally, you’ll need to wait for the UK visas and immigrations to give you or specify directions as to who to email or which mobile app to use, or which portal to upload your documents to. Unless, of course, you have chosen the self-service option for a visa application center appointment where you should upload the documents at the portal where you booked your appointments prior to your attendance at the visa application center.
As regards the biometric and fingerprints, your options are –
In the UK, attend a visa application service center, home office public inquiries office or, if abroad, attend the visa application center run by the UK, visa, and immigration commercial partners, usually TLS contact or VFS Global Office to have your fingerprints and photos processed.
You may also be able to skip this requirement if the UK visa navigation confirms that your fingerprints from a previous application can be reused. You may still be asked to provide a recent digital photo to complete the application process.
Disclaimer: All the above information provided to you is for the information purpose and shouldn’t be considered as professional advice. Please call us for the details.
