Coronavirus guidance released - too little, too late?

19 February 2020

The coronavirus has significantly restricted travel and forced visa application centres to close, impeding affected individuals from complying with the condition attached to their immigration status in the UK. The Home Office issued a very brief guidance with instructions for those affected by the virus on Monday. Unfortunately, many situations are not covered, creating uncertainty and a burden on the Home Office to answer all those affected individually, via their newly created coronavirus helpline (0800 678 1767).

The guidance covered the following situations:

  • Expiration of leave: Chinese nationals in the UK whose immigration status has an expiry date between 24 January and 30 March will be extended to 31 March 2020, provided they have been compliant with the condition of their leave prior to the outbreak. The extension will automatically be added to the Home Office’s systems, so there is no need to contact the coronavirus immigration helpline, unless:
    • fresh documentation (eg a letter confirming the extended status, a new biometric residence permit (BRP)) is needed;
    • you are a Chinese resident, who does not have the Chinese or an EEA/Swiss nationality, and your immigration permission will expire between 24 January and 30 March. If such individuals can demonstrate that they are normally resident in China, their leave will be extended;
    • you are a Chines national whose immigration status was granted by the Irish authorities (British Irish Visa Scheme) or by the Crown dependencies.

 

  • In-country switching: In many cases, an individual wishing to switch from one immigration category to another must return to their home country to make the application. Regrettably, the Home Office has only allowed a very narrow group of professionals to switch categories whilst present in the UK, leaving many individuals in the dark about their future in the UK. Only Tier 2 (Intra Company Transfer) migrants can switch to the Tier 2 (General) category, and only if they fall under the narrow cooling-off period exemption and meet all the other Tier 2 (General) criteria.

 

  • Visa Applications Centres (VACs) in China: The VACs remain closed indefinitely. British citizens whose passports are stuck at the VACs can apply for emergency travel documentation; non-British nationals must do the same with the relevant authorities.

 

  • Absences and sponsor obligations:
    • sponsors do not need to report student or employee absences related to the coronavirus which they have authorised;
    • sponsors are not required to withdraw sponsorship if there are exceptional circumstances (such as the coronavirus) when a student is unable to attend class for over 60 days or an employee is absent without pay for four weeks or more.

 

Despite a much broader range of issues having been raised with the Home Office related to the coronavirus, the Home Office has chosen to limit its coronavirus policy to the above situations. For instance, an exception to the 28-day maximum delay to the work start date is not explicitly addressed. However, many Chinese nationals are held in quarantine or ill and are thus unable to make the deadline. Similarly, the Home Office does not provide a solution for the expiration of temporary travel vignettes, which allow travel to the UK until the applicant’s BRP is ready. Many applicants’ passports are returned with significant delays, often only arriving after the expiration date of the travel vignette that grants them entry to the UK.

Aside from creating uncertainty for those affected by the virus, it also burdens the Home Office with an elevated number of individual queries which could have been pre-empted by issuing a more comprehensive guidance. We hope that the Home Office will soon release more detailed instructions covering a wider range of situations to enable further clarity to be provided.

Francesca Sciberras profile image

Francesca Sciberras


Senior Solicitor

Louise Willocx profile image

Louise Willocx


Paralegal


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