Coronavirus and the UK immigration system

 This is where we track changes to UK immigration laws, rules, and processes as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. We've tried to maintain this piece up to date rather than discussing new coronavirus breakthroughs in separate blog posts that could quickly become out of date.

NEW or UPDATED refers to content that has been added or updated from one version of this post to the next. Any changes since the publishing date (listed on the top right) will not be reflected in the article.

We were updating this page every couple of days for a time, but things are starting to settle down, so updates are becoming less frequent. In the meantime, you can keep a watch on the Home Office's and Judicial Office's now-hefty collections of coronavirus guidance. Even now, the main advisory page, Coronavirus (COVID-19): advise for UK visa applicants and temporary UK residents, is routinely updated with no mention of how the policy has changed. Use the National Archives snapshots to see what the guidelines says on any given date.

If a Free Movement member has a specific question that has not been addressed here, they should check the forum to see if it has been asked and answered there.

Visa extensions and other perks

People stranded in the United Kingdom

Some people who were in the UK during the epidemic were unable to depart before their visas expired due to travel restrictions. The government formerly allowed persons in this situation to quickly renew their visas through a simplified online application process, but that concession has now been replaced with "extraordinary assurance," a guarantee of more time to stay that falls short of appropriate leave to remain.

On February 17, 2020, the first edition of the coronavirus concession was introduced. It unilaterally granted Chinese residents whose UK visas expired between January 24 and March 30, 2020, authority to remain until March 31, 2020. It also permitted non-Chinese, non-EEA nationals in the UK who were ordinarily resident in China to request an extension of leave by email.

On March 24, 2020, the concession was modified to include all nationalities. People in the UK with a visa that was about to expire were allowed to have it extended until May 31.

On May 22, 2020, the Home Office extended the concession until July 31, 2020, and later added a "grace period" allowing persons to stay until August 31, 2020. As summarised on the main coronavirus guidance page:

If you have a visa or leave that is set to expire between the 24th of January 2020 and the 31st of August 2020, you will be permitted to stay in the UK until the 31st of August 2020.

The Home Office also stated that if someone needed to stay on during the grace period, they did not need to be told.

What happens now that the grace period has expired? Individual situations still have the option of requesting more time to stay. The Home Office first referred to this as "extraordinary indemnity," but it is now referred to as "exceptional assurance." In any case, it is a less significant concession than outright visa extensions:

If you are granted 'extraordinary assurance,' it will provide you with short-term protection from any undesirable action or consequences that may occur after your leave has passed. If your circumstances allow you to work, study, or rent housing, you may do so during the duration of your extraordinary assurance. Exceptional assurance does not offer you permission to go.

Exceptional assurance was previously offered only to people with visas valid until October 31, 2020, but the deadline was repeatedly pushed back as the virus situation worsened over the winter. It is accessible to those whose permission to remain in the UK (including a current exceptional assurance) expires before September 30, 2021. However, it is currently only available to those wishing to return to nations on the red or amber lists. Those claiming they are unable to return to a green list country can only use special assurance "in rare instances," such as when that country's borders have been blocked completely or quarantine hotel accommodations have run out (Australia springs to mind).

People who are stranded outside of the United Kingdom (SEPTEMBER 6TH UPDATED)

The Home Office established a Covid Visa Concession Scheme on January 11, 2021. It was created to assist persons who had permission to live in the UK but whose authorization had expired while they were overseas owing to coronavirus travel restrictions, rendering them unable to return. As long as they matched the qualifying criteria outlined in the advice, such individuals were granted entrance permission valid for three months, allowing them to return to the UK and legally request to extend their stay.

However, the scheme was designed for anyone who left the UK before March 17, 2020. (the date the Foreign Office changed its travel advice, apparently).

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