WHERE CAN I RENEW MY UK VISA?

I have the UK Leave to Remain. My visa expires in 4 days. What do I do if I cannot prepare my extension on time?

Do I have to leave the country straight away? 

Am I allowed to retain any rights to work?

I am planning to extend my stay but my paperwork from the bank still did not arrive.

I am scared to be in “overstay”. What does the Law allow me to do? I am the Last Minute Extender…

The law has a solution even for Last Minute Extenders:

Section 3c of Immigration Act 1971 —

“(1)

This section applies if —

  1. a person who has limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom applies to the Secretary of State for variation of the leave,

  2. the application for variation is made before the leave expires, and

  3. the leave expires without the application for variation having been decided.

(2) 

The leave is extended by this section during any period when—

  1. he application for variation is neither decided nor withdrawn,

  2. an appeal under section 82(1) of the Nationality, Asylum and Immigration Act 2002 could be brought [F2, while the appellant is in the United Kingdom] against the decision on the application for variation (ignoring any possibility of an appeal out of time with permission), 

  3. an appeal under that section against that decision ”

This means that if you finalize and submit your online application prior to your date of expiration, the law considers the online booking of the extension visa application as the legal date of submission for Leave to Remain for applicants inside the United Kingdom.

 

Paragraph 39e of the Immigration Rules also discusses “overstay rules” – where waivers for submission after a validation can be accepted under certain circumstances where less than 14 days have passed and the Secretary of State considers that a good reason was beyond the control of the applicant to file on time.

 

The Rules in 34a of the Immigration Rules state the calculated date that the LTR was submitted:

  1. Sent by Post (Royal Mail) – the submission date is the date of “Posting” on the tracking note or the postmark on the envelope.

  2. Sent by courier – the date of delivery to the Home Office

  3. Sent via online application – the date submitted via the online application submission system. 

You will receive confirmation of submission Have to Leave to Enter, which 

  • If your LTR expires on January 24th, 2020 – you can file your online LTR submission extension application on January 23rd, 2020.

  • The date of the expiration of your Leave to Enter is found on your BRP card. 

What is a BRP card?

The BRP is your Biometric Residence Permit which is issued to an approved temporary resident showing his immigration permission – his biographical details such as name, date, place of birth and a picture of his facial image, fingerprints, and signature.

Once your BRP expires this may affect work, bank account, rent and all other systems that rely on this document is valid. 

Once an applicant submits online an extension for Leave to Remain he must then book an appointment at the Visa Application Center.

The Visa Application Centers have centers all over the country, same with priority services and others with basic services.

Once you arrive at the appointment one should provide an original passport, BRP card, and your original police registration, if applicable.

From this point, your documents will be uploaded to the system. You will have your passport returned and following section 3c of the Immigration Act, your terms and conditions of your last leave will continue until a decision is made.

Should your LTR still be valid, you are eligible to leave and return the country.

If your LTR has expired, should you leave the UK, your extension request will be withdrawn.

In this case, it would be recommended to pay the super-priority fee of addition 800 GBP to receive a next day decision.

However, not all categories offer this option.

So strategically planning your extension is extremely important considering urgent travel plans and unforeseeable circumstances. 

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