Immigration considerations – COVID-19

Many visitors whose visas are due to expire or have already expired are facing a difficult situation where they cannot travel back to their home country due to travel restrictions or self-isolation associated with Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The good news is that the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) has published their guidance on GOV.UK confirming that these visitors will not be penalised by complying with the travel restrictions or self-isolation rules and their current visa will be extended to 31 May 2020.

However, these extensions will not be granted automatically and whoever is affected must update their situation to a dedicated team set up by the Home Office called Coronavirus Immigration Team.

Equally, many UK visa holders who are currently stranded abroad and unable to travel back to UK, may face an issue of meeting their residence requirement in the UK, a condition attached to their UK visas. The guidance is unclear of this point so please check with the Home Office for updated guidance or contact our Immigration team for an update.

For further details please visit Gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-uk-visa-applicants-and-temporary-uk-residents or contact Carey Xu on [email protected] or 0207 822 2231

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