Will traveling outside of the UK whilst my application is pending invalidate my application?

Many visa applicants are surprised to learn that they should not leave the UK between submitting their extension application online and receiving their new Biometric Residence Permit (BRP).

Leaving the UK after a visa application has been submitted online and before a decision has been made, means that the Home Office will withdraw the application.

It is therefore imperative to plan the submission of a UK visa application in a timeframe that will allow the applicant to stay put in the UK until they have received their BRP. It is also important to consider that currently published processing times are frequently exceeded by the UK authorities, so building in some additional time before travel becomes necessary is advisable.

It will be interesting to see if the Home Office alters this position when they complete their proposed digitization of the UK immigration system at the end of 2024. With electronic visa statuses and the end of physical BRPs, it may be the case that the rules regarding when an application is considered withdrawn will also be relaxed.

How Gherson can assist

Gherson’s Immigration Team are highly experienced in advising on UK visa matters. If you have any questions arising from this blog, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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