More changes to the Immigration Rules
8 October 2012
Yes, that’s right. There have been more changes to the Immigration Rules, which came into effect on 1 October. The UKBA do like to keep us on our toes!
Firstly, if you are applying to extend your visa under any of the following categories of the Points-Based System, you will be affected: all working, student and long residency routes, as well as those for ancestry and discharged HM Forces.
The new rule states that if you have overstayed your leave by more than 28 days at the date you make a new application for further leave you will automatically be refused. The UKBA will ask you to leave the UK and reapply from outside of the UK. This rule already applies to people who have made applications under the family migration route.
As always, it is so important to make any applications for further leave to remain in the UK ‘in time’, meaning within the 28 days prior to your current leave expiring. The good thing about this rule is that the UKBA has effectively given a 28-day grace period. However, it is always best to submit any application in plenty of time.
Also, if an application is made ‘out of time’, i.e. when an application is made after the applicant’s leave has expired, even if it is made within the 28 days after the leave has expired, it will affect any future application for long residence, as this would be a breach of lawful residence, which would therefore mean that there had not been a continuous period of lawful leave. This effectively means that if you submit an application out of time you stop the clock for the meaning of the requirements under long residence.
Last week also saw some minor changes to the Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) route and the implementation of a new, streamlined UK visa application process for students from Botswana and Malaysia. More details on the UKBA’s press release can be found here: http://www.ein.org.uk/news/ukba-changes-immigration-rules-come-effect-today.
