FREE OF CHARGE REPLACEMENT 30 DAY VISAS UNTIL THE END OF 2020

If you have been granted a visa to travel to the UK within the next 30 days, in order to collect a biometric residence card, what do you do if you cannot now travel to the UK? The Home Office has confirmed that if your visa has expired, or is about to, you will be […]

POSTAL APPLICATIONS FOR BRITISH CITIZENSHIP SLOWER THAN ON-LINE APPLICATIONS

The Home Office has issued a warning that postal applications for naturalisation, or to register children as British nationals, should be avoided. There will be delays generally but on-line applications will, according to the new guidance, be processed more quickly than postal ones. If applications ARE submitted by post the eventual decision will not be […]

Amended guidance for employers on Right to Work Checks

Guidance has been issued to help employers carry out the right to work checks during this time of remote working due to Coronavirus. Checks must still be carried out but employers can now check the documents of their employees or prospective employees using video calls. The documents to be checked can be scanned or photographed […]

Automatic extension of leave for doctors, nurses and paramedics whose leave will expire before 1st October 2020

Due to the current COVID-19 situation, the Government has announced that frontline NHS workers will automatically have their leave extended for a year if their leave is due to expire before 1st October this year. They will not need to pay an expensive Home Office fee, nor the Immigration Health Surcharge. Their family members will be […]

Updated Coronavirus advice issued

If you are in the UK and your visa is due to expire between 24th January and 31st May 2020 your permission to be here will be extended to 31st May if you can not leave the UK because of travel restrictions or self-isolation. You will need to email the Coronavirus Immigration Team and supply details as set […]

SOPRA STERIA LIBRARY BIOMETRIC APPOINTMENTS TO BE POSTPONED

People who have booked biometric appointments in UK libraries will not be able to attend as the libraries are now closed. They should receive emails to confirm that their appointment has been postponed and that it will be re-booked. The Sopra Steria site states that “customers are not to worry if their appointment has to […]

GLOBAL TALENT ROUTE BECOMES LAW

The “Global Talent” route has been much publicised by the Government in recent weeks and has replaced the previous “Exceptional Talent Route”. It is aimed at “talented and promising individuals” in the fields of science, engineering, medicine, humanities, digital technology and arts and culture (including TV, fashion design and architecture) who want to work in […]

Home Office guidance for those unable to return to China during the Coronavirus outbreak

The Home Office has today issued guidance explaining how they will deal with the immigration status of those who are currently unable to return to China. Chinese nationals who have complied with immigration conditions until the outbreak of the virus and whose leave expired after 24th January 2020  will automatically have their leave to remain extended […]

Dead-lines for EU nationals and their family members

We have now left the EU and are in what’s called the” transitional period”. Almost definitely this will end on 31st December 2020. If you have not yet made an application under the new “ Settlement Scheme” it makes sense to think about doing so now. If you are already in the UK or will arrive […]

Exceptional Talent Visa Route to end on 20th February 2020.

If you are planning to apply for a visa under this route  you must apply before the above date ( though endorsement letters issued after this date will still be valid under the new “ Global Talent Route”.) This “Global Talent Visa” route, as promised by Boris Johnson , seems to offer some genuine good […]