Immigration update: UK | COVID-19 impact on UK immigration

Immigration update: UK | COVID-19 impact on UK immigration

The UK government has set out its plan to return life to near normal and as quickly and fairly as possible in order to safeguard livelihoods, but in a way that is safe and continues to protect the NHS. As UK moves into step two of the plan to rebuild, the most important thing is to stay alert, control the virus, and, in doing so, save lives.

The pandemic itself and control measures against it continue to impact on UK immigration matters as well as global immigration authorities and policies. Individual companies, including Santa Fe UK, and its employees are affected by this, as governments and other bodies react to the changing situation and advice.

We have numbered the points in this update as it covers a round-up of the latest developments across UK inbound immigration matters and consular services in the UK.

Who will be affected?

1. Visa holders who are in the UK and cannot return to their home country, but their leave has expired or will be expired.
2. Non-EEA national family members and dependants of NHS workers and independent health and social care workers who have died as a result of contracting coronavirus (COVID-19).
3. Existing visa applicants who have already made an appointment.
4. Applicant who was born in Northern Ireland and their Irish or British or both family members.
5. Tier 1 Start-up and Innovator visa applicants
6. Tier 4 student visa applicants

Background:

1. Visa extensions for those unable to leave the UK because of coronavirus have been extended to 31 July 2020. The deadline for making an application from the UK to switch to a visa that would normally require you to apply from your home country has been extended to 31 July 2020.
2. If you’re a non-EEA family member of any NHS worker, including support staff, or a healthcare or social care worker who has died as a result of coronavirus, you will receive immediate indefinite leave to remain, free of charge.
3. Applicants who have booked their appointments before 27 March 2020 will start receiving an email from the UKVCAS with a link to book an appointment, UKVCAS is prioritising customer contact to reach out to those customers who were in process pre 27 March (when the centres closed) and they are starting with those customers who had booked free appointments before moving on to chargeable appointments. UKVCAS will also contact new customers over coming days.
4. As part of the UK’s new policy on the devolved government, a person who was born in Northern Ireland, would be able to bring their family members and can apply for an immigration status. This is regardless of whether they are Irish or British or both.
5. The Start-up and Innovator categories are for business founders who have been endorsed by approved bodies as having innovative, viable and scalable business ideas.
6. A change has been made to the requirement for students sponsored for their studies in the UK by a government or international scholarship agency, to obtain written consent from the relevant organisation.

Impact:

1. The recent visa extension builds on the previous extension which lasts until of 31 May and ensures people who are not able to leave the UK are not impacted by circumstances outside of their control. To help those who want to apply for visas to stay in the UK long-term, the Home Office is also extending the in-country switching provisions until 31 July. This will mean people can apply to switch into long-term routes whilst remaining in the UK. UKVI will continue to process applications as quickly as possible, however some applications may take longer than usual due to coronavirus related operational pressures.
2. Some UK Visa and Citizenship Application Centres (UKVCAS) will reopen for existing customers on 1 June 2020, and UKVACS outside the UK are resuming services, where local restrictions allow. Some English Testing Centres are also resuming services. Your immigration status in the UK will not change as a result of you not being able to attend an appointment.
3. Changes to the Start-up and Innovator categories are being made to make it clearer that, to be endorsed, applicants must be founders of their businesses and be relying on their own business plans. These changes also clarify that an Innovator applicant’s business may be already trading, providing they were one of its founders.

4.The change in the Student categories ensures that the requirement applies to both entry clearance and leave to remain applications in any of the categories in Appendix W.

Implementation:

The measures described above have already been implemented.

Next Steps (or) Actions Required:

1. Non- EEA family member of any NHS or healthcare worker who has died as a result of coronavirus do not need to do anything to receive indefinite leave to remain. UKVI will contact employers to identify those eligible and will arrange for you to be issued with indefinite leave to remain.
2. Ongoing global restriction mean some services will remain closed. Contact your local VAC and test centres to find out the latest status. Where services are resuming, existing customers should have been contacted.

Santa Fe Analysis:

Subject to temporary closure of some UKVCAS, SSCs, test centres, and suspension of UKVI Priority Services and Super Priority Services, Santa Fe UK will be happy to assist any client in verifying or investigating individual queries.

We notify our clients that there may be delays in doing so as government offices and foreign consulates may act without prior notice, so we recommend acting sooner rather than later.

Should you have any questions, please contact the following:

Koshi Blavo Barna
UK Head of Immigration
Santa Fe Relocation UK
Tel.:     +44 0203 457 3595
Email:   Koshi.BlavoBarna@SantaFeRelo.com

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