People seeking indefinite leave to remain in the UK at the end of their visa are being warned not to overstay for more than 14 days or their application is likely to be rejected.
Previously, a ’28-day grace period’ was in operation, which meant people could lodge a new application for leave to remain within 28 days of the old one expiring. However, the Home Office has now replaced this with a 14-day period and a more restrictive set of regulations.
Applicants can still seek a new period of leave to remain within the 14 days but this is not now an automatic right. Those who do apply after their previous permission to remain in the UK has run out will be required to show a valid reason why they did not make the application earlier. Those who did apply on time but were rejected still have the right to reapply/appeal within the 14-day period.
Migrants nearing the end of their indefinite leave to remain period should keep a close eye on the date, and ensure they make their new applications in good time to avoid the problems late applications are now more likely to cause.
Migrants should also give themselves plenty of time to gather the necessary documents for their new application and avoid leaving things to the last minute.
It’s also important to keep the Home Office updated with address and contact details; if these have changed and the authorities have not been informed, migrants will be unaware if any changes have been made to the timescale they are permitted to remain in the UK. As a result, they may mistakenly think they still have a valid right to live in the UK and this could cause problems when reapplying in future.