IMPACT – HIGH

The Home Office has updated its guidance for foreign nationals outside the U.K. whose recently approved 30-day entry visa to work, study or join family in the U.K. has expired or is due to expire.

Key Points:

  • If the 30-day visa to travel to the U.K. has expired or is due to expire, a replacement visa can be requested free of charge until the end of 2020; however, foreign nationals cannot travel on an expired vignette and must follow the steps outlined below.
  • Those affected are required to contact the Home Office’s Coronavirus Immigration Help Centre via email. The visa applicant’s name, nationality, date of birth and the ‘GWF’ visa application reference number must be provided. The subject line of the email must be entitled “REPLACEMENT 30 DAY VISA.”
  • Affected applicants will be contacted once visa centers reopen to allow the replacement 30-day visa to be endorsed in the passport.
  • Once they arrive in the U.K. on the re-issued 30-day visa label, they will be able to collect their Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). The guidance confirms any such individuals will not be penalized for late collection of the BRP while the COVID-19 measures are in place.

Analysis & Comments: The response to the COVID-19 pandemic continues to develop, and Deloitte will provide additional updates as information becomes available. Please check Deloitte’s COVID-19 Digital Map, available here, for information on travel restrictions and immigration changes in other countries.

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