Coronavirus and delayed entry to the UK
As many individuals who were successful in their visa applications find themselves unable to travel to the UK within the 30 day validity of their vignette, the Home Office has finally offered some respite.
The Home Office Coronavirus page has published the following update:
If your 30 day visa to work, study or join family has expired
If your 30 day visa to travel to the UK for work, study or to join family has expired, or is about to expire, you can request a replacement visa with revised validity dates free of charge until the end of this year.
To make a request, contact the Coronavirus Immigration Help Centre. You’ll need to include your name, nationality, date of birth and your GWF reference number with ‘REPLACEMENT 30 DAY VISA’ in the subject line. If you’ve already contacted us about this, please let us know in your email.
You’ll be contacted when our VACs reopen to arrange for a replacement visa to be endorsed in your passport.
You will not be penalised for being unable to collect your BRP while coronavirus measures are in place.
This process will be in place until the end of 2020.
Normally, it is necessary to make a ‘Transfer of Conditions’ application from outside the UK if you have not entered the UK within the permitted 30 days.
The option of having a replacement 30 day stamp issued without charge and without the formal TOC application is welcome news, and reflects the reality that many individuals will be stuck outside the UK for reasons far beyond their control.
It must be noted that this is not automatic. The new stamp has to be applied for, albeit in a more streamlined process. Also, this does not mean that you can enter the UK after the validity of the 30 day vignette: a new stamp will need to be issued in your passport after submitting the request and details required above.
Contact Our Immigration Barristers
Call our immigration barristers on 0203 617 9173 or complete our enquiry form below if you have any queries regarding UK immigration applications.
