Covid-19’s impact on the EU Settlement Scheme

The Home Office has confirmed that it will be continuing to process applications to the EU Settlement Scheme, though there will be significant delays due to the Covid-19 crisis. Despite the current circumstances, the deadline for submitting applications currently remains at 30 June 2021.

New applications may be submitted using the mobile app and online application form. Those requiring paper form applications will also still be able to request these, using the Home Office’s online email enquiry function.

The following services have been suspended following government advice:

• The EU Settlement Resolution centre telephone helpline. Individuals can submit a question regarding the settlement scheme or their application to the scheme via an online form.
• ID document scanning locations have been suspended.
• The Home Office is no longer accepting postage of any documents or paper applications. Any ID documents the Home Office currently hold will be returned as soon as possible.

Many advice providers have cancelled their future outreach events. Whilst Newfields has postponed all outreach and face-to-face events, we are still able to provide support and assistance through online or mobile support.

For advice about an EU Settlement Scheme application, please contact Newfields here.

In line with the UK Government’s strategy to limit the spread of Covid-19, the Home Office and their commercial partners have closed all visa applications centres in the UK and overseas.

Life in the UK and many English languages testing centres are also closed.

So, what does this mean for visa applicants and those needing to extend their visas before they expire?

Applicants outside the UK

People who have already applied for a visa from outside the UK should prepare themselves for delays to visa processing times.

Delays might be caused by one or more of the following reasons:

• Closure of visa application centres overseas resulting in applicants not being able to attend the necessary appointments
• Delays in being able to collect documents already submitted to a visa application centre
• Delays to courier services used by visa application centres to return documents to visa applicants
• Closure of many English language testing and TB testing centres. Applicants who need to take a test should check with their local provider to find out how any closures might affect them
• The number of Home Office caseworkers available to process visa applications has been reduced. As a result, it is likely to take longer then usual for visa applicants to receive an outcome to their applications.

Global Talent, Start-up and Innovator visa applicants

Applicants under this route holding endorsements from an endorsing body which has expired because the individual could not travel to the UK may still be eligible for a visa. The Home Office advises these applicants to apply as usual and the application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

People who have already been granted a visa and are waiting to enter the UK

Visa holders with a 6-month visa vignette printed inside their passport are likely to delay entry to the UK until such a time that travel restrictions are lifted and there is a relaxation of social distancing rules. Visa vignettes must however still be valid at time of entry into the UK.

Visa holders with a 30-day visa vignette printed inside their passport will also need to delay entry to the UK but this delay is likely to mean their visa vignette will expire before they are able to travel.

The Home Office’s position for these individuals is not clear. UK immigration lawyers have been pressing the Home Office for guidance about what visa holders should do if their vignette expires and they have been unable to travel to the UK because of Covid-19.

Newfields will post further information about this as soon as we have it.

Visa holders already in the UK

Visas expiring between 24th January and 31st May 2020

No individual who is in the UK legally and whose visa expired or is due to expire between 24th January and 31st May 2020 will be regarded as an overstayer. They will similarly suffer no future detriment to their immigration history if they have been unable to leave the UK due to the restrictions related to Covid-19.

Such visas will be extended to 31st May 2020. Individuals must contact the Coronavirus Immigration Team (CIT) using an on-line e-form in order to update their records. Once the individual has done this, they won’t need to do anything else.

Please note this applies to individuals who would ordinarily would have left the UK before the end of their visa. Those intending to stay on in the UK should extend their visas as normal (see below).

For advice about submitting a request to the CIT, please contact Newfields here.

Extending your stay in the UK or switching visas

Anyone who had planned to extend their stay in the UK should still make an application to extend their visa before their current visa expires. This can be done online by completing the relevant application form and paying the Home Office visa application fees.

Certain visa holders can switch into a long-term UK visa category from the UK even in situations where an application would normally have to be made from overseas, e.g. switching from Tier 5 (Sporting & Creative) to Tier 2 (Sportsperson). However, there will be some parts of the visa application process that applicants won’t be able to complete at this time.

Closure of UK Visa & Citizenship Application Centres (UKVCAS)

Most visa applications require applicants to attend an appointment to present their passport and supporting documents and provide biometrics (fingerprints, digital photograph and signature).

The centres where appointments take place are all currently closed across the whole of the UK, and they are not accepting new appointment bookings.

Applicants who had already booked an appointment and are prevented from attending because of centre closures do not need to re-book. The UKVCAS will automatically reschedule the appointment once centres re-open. Applicants must keep checking their on-line booking account to check when their new appointment date will be.

Applicants who have not already booked an appointment can still submit their online application, pay the Home Office fees and upload the necessary supporting documents but will not be able to book an appointment until centres re-open.

Closure of Life in the UK and English language test centres

Life in the UK test centres are closed until at least 30th April 2020. Test takers can still book to sit a test taking place on or after 1st May 2020. People who had already booked to attend a test will be automatically re-booked for a new test date on or after 1st May.

While the current guidance issued by the Home Office is that test centres will re-open on 1st May, this may change if the Covid-19 restrictions continue beyond that date.

English language centres are closed until further notice with no indication as to when they might re-open.

For more information on this or any of the issues raised in their news article, please contact Newfields here.

For advice about making a visa extension from the UK, Newfields offers a comprehensive package of services, competitively priced to help visa applicants navigate the visa application process. Please contact us for more information.

Having left the European Union on 31st January 2020, EU/EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members already living in the UK have until 30th June 2021 to secure a status under the EU Settlement Scheme. The scheme is open to EU/EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members. Applying to the Scheme will secure the individual’s right to continue living, working and studying in the UK. Applicants will be awarded one of two status outcomes: Settled status, for those who have lived in the UK continuously for 5 years or more, or pre-settled status for those who have lived in the UK for less than 5 years.

Newfields was appointed by the Welsh Government in April 2019 as a provider of the EU Citizens Immigration Advice Service in Wales with the aim of raising awareness of the scheme amongst citizens in Wales, including within hard to reach communities and vulnerable groups.

We also advise education, business and sport sector clients located across the whole of the UK all aspects of EU immigration law, helping both individuals and organisations to secure the rights of EU citizens to live and work in the UK after Brexit.

If you have any questions about to the EU Settlement Scheme, please contact our advice team.

Newfields has been invited to deliver a student immigration webinar hosted by the Immigration Legal Practitioners’ Association.

On 11th May 2020, our education immigration advisers Glyn Lloyd and Abbie Lacey will be joined by delegates from across the legal and education sectors to explore the immigration routes available to those wishing to study in the UK across different types of education providers. We will discuss some of the common issues and pitfalls associated with study visas as well as some of the post-study work immigration options available to those who wish to stay on in the UK after completing their studies.

If you are an individual wishing to study in the UK or an education provider in need of immigration support and guidance please get in touch with Newfields here.

To register for the ILPA Webinar please visit the ILPA webinar training website.

Education Immigration Services

Newfields, with it has strong connections to the education sector, provides comprehensive immigration advice and support to individuals from outside the EU studying or working at independent schools, private education providers, further and higher education institutions.

We also offer an immigration compliance package to education providers, supporting them to make an application to become a licensed sponsor of overseas students or staff as well as providing ongoing support and guidance on all aspects of sponsor compliance.

With the UK’s departure from the EU imminent and a new post-Brexit immigration system set to launch from January 2021, Newfields prides itself on providing a bespoke service for clients, helping them to navigate their way through what can often be complex regulations.

For more information about how we can help you, please get in touch here.

Employers who intend to employ a non-EU worker must ensure that appropriate right to work checks are carried out in order to prevent illegal working. The process normally requires a physical inspection of UKCI-prescribed documents, in the presence of the worker.

However, since this would be difficult to do under the circumstances, employers can instead assess documents in a video call during which a worker holds his or her original document, enabling a visual on-line inspection by the employer. A copy of the document should be submitted by the worker electronically in advance of the call to allow the employer to verify the emailed document against that which appears in the video call. Employers relying on this method should record the date of the video call and refer to it as an “adjusted check undertaken on [insert date] due to COVID-19”.

Employers may during the video call also chose to access UKVI’s online right to work checking service (with the worker’s permission). Alternatively, the employer can undertake a check using the Home Office Employer Checking Service, but the outcome might be delayed.

For more information about how we can help you, please get in touch here.