The Coronavirus Immigration Help Center was created by the home office to answer immigration questions that are now arising as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. As a result of the restrictions in movement, by the way of lockdowns enforced in most countries, a lot of individuals, students, and workers whose visas have expired or about to expire are becoming increasingly worried about what becomes of their immigration status.
The Home Office, in lieu of this, moved to introduce a dedicated telephone number and email address to answer queries from foreign nationals residing in the UK that have had their immigration status called into question by the COVID-19 pandemic.
You can contact the coronavirus helpline:
Phone number: 09006781767
Email address: CIH@homeoffice.gov.uk
The guidance was published earlier for Chinese citizens and Chinese residents who could not go back due to travel restrictions in China. As well as for people who are in the UK on an expiring visa, and intend to travel out of the UK or intend to extend their visas but are unable to because of the travel restrictions. On March 24th updated guidance was published to cover not only Chinese citizens and residents but it now includes other nationalities as well.
If you're in the UK and your leave expires between 24 January 2020 and 31 May 2020, and will not be able to leave the UK due to travel restrictions and self-isolation related to the coronavirus pandemic, your visa will be extended till May 1st, 2020. To update your records if your visa is about expired, you can contact the Coronavirus Immigration Team (CIT). You will be required to provide some basic information about this. Which includes;
You will be notified when your request has been received and your visa extended.
In normal circumstances, you will not be able or allowed to apply for a visa extension while you are in the UK, you will be required to apply from your home country. However due to the situation of travel restrictions, you may be able to apply to switch from within the UK to a long-term UK visa until May 31st, you will be required to provide the same visa requirements and pay the UK application fee. The same requirements also apply if your leave was automatically extended to March 31st. Applications can be done online while the terms of your leave will remain the same until your application result comes out.
Note, new appointments cannot be booked as the UK Visa and Citizenship Application Centers (UKVCAS) and Service and Support Centers (SSCs) are temporarily closed to help protect the health and wellbeing of staff and customers in relation to coronavirus (COVID-19). For those who earlier made appointments with the UKVCAS service point or the service support center (SSC) and cannot attend due to the closure, your immigration status will not be affected and you will be contacted and instructed on the next step to take.
A lot of UK Visa Application Centers (VACs) are either closed or offering limited services. People in Europe, Africa, and parts of the middle east can contact TLS contact for advice on services in their various countries, while for all other countries, contact the VFS global. People with an appointment with the VAC, which has been temporarily closed down, will be contacted and informed about the cancellation of their appointments.
The British nationals abroad who may need to apply for a passport will not be able to do so if their Country's VAC is closed. Alternatively, if there is an urgent need to travel to the UK, you can put in an application for an emergency travel document.
An emergency travel document is also known as an emergency passport given for urgent travel to those who can't get a passport on time. Travel plans which include dates and countries you'll be traveling to, will be printed on your emergency travel documents. If for any reason you might want to change your travel plans after you have been issued your travel document, you will have to apply for a new one. With an emergency travel document, you can travel to your destination through a maximum of 5 countries.
To travel through other countries with your emergency documents, you may need a visa to leave the country you're currently in and to also travel through other countries.
You can be eligible for an emergency travel document if all the following apply;
Note that, it is impossible to obtain an emergency travel document if you have never had a UK passport. You can apply for a UK passport. Contact our immigration solicitors if you are unsure so we can guide you through the process.
Related article: Read also 'COVID-19: UK Visa Application service points worldwide - Reopening plans in Phases
It's a shame that you dont have an 'Excellent' star rating on here, as my experience with Reiss Edwards is nothing short of an excellent rating. They handled my application for an Indefinite Leave to remain in April 2014 and did my husband's one very recently including my daughter. Every time i have approached them, they have continued to treat me with courtesy, respect and patience. Amar was indeed a very thorough and professional gentleman. He is very knowledgeable, corporative and engaging. He responded to my emails, calls and enquiries promptly. He was always reassuring. I could not have asked for a better Immigration service. I would recommend them over and over again for anyone looking for an immigration advice. They gave me a free immigration advice when i called them, and the quality of the advice was something other charge thousands for. If you need a particular, name, Amar would be it. He exemplifies, for me, the true, professional gentleman. He is a valuable asset to Reiss Edwards.
I am glad that i instructed Reiss Edwards on my visa matter. It started with a 20 minutes free immigration advice. I met with Amar to discuss my ILR refusal. He gave me a great deal of quality advice and decided to take on my messy case. I had doubts on the merits of my case by he was relatively convinced he could win it. That made me quite secure. To be honest, things did not start as quick as I would have wanted, but they kept on communicating the process and state of things to me.A big thank you to Verusha and Foram. They were also very helpful. Brilliant and informative. Their fee was fair and reasonable, especially if you compare them to other law firms and immigration law firms in London; some of whom even told me that i would not be able to get an indefinte leave to remain in this country. The process was long but was worth it. In the end, a big thank you to Reiss Edwards.
Investing over 2 million pounds is defintely not a routine decision. We had to make sure that the Tier 1 investor immigration lawyers that we'd be picking has to be one of the best within the Tier 1 investor category. We contacted Reiss Edwards and they were able to get us not only the Tier 1 investor visa but also suggested profitable investment portfolios in addition to what we already had in mind.
TI have just had British Citizenship application approved. Prior to making the application, i was not sure which law firm i should hire to facilitate the paperwork. After a few hours of research, i decided to go with Reiss Edwards and i must confess that i wasnt disappointed. The immigration lawyers at Reiss Edwards handled my case well and they really knew what they were doing. They were fully aware of what documents I needed and it was easy for them to tell if my case was going to be easy or not. At the end of the day, I have not received my British citizenship within 3 months. If anyone is looking for a good immigration lawyer to handle thier case, contact Reiss Edwards.
Fantastic Solicitors!!!
My wife's spouse visa extension application was refused by the Home Office and they gave her 14 days to leave the country. We contacted Reiss Edwards and they said "OK don't worry we will sort this out". They put together the list of documents for me to obtain and they prepared a bundle which was as thick as the printer it came out from.We followed everything they asked us to do and in the end we won our appeal and got our spouse visa. We can't recommend them enough and we have promised ourselves never to make any more UK visa applications without them.
The team of lawyers at Reiss Edwards are very professional and friendly people. Their experience in and around UK immigration law is quite extensive; be sure that you application is in safe and competent hands. My immigration matter was an indefinite leave to remain application based on Tier 1 on a self-employment basis. The immigration lawyers at Reiss Edwards made sure that the application was perfect and ready to be accepted. I got a positive decision and I recommend them highly for anyone who needs a UK immigration help.
I contacted Reiss Edwards to help me with my wife's UK settlement visa. They acted with utmost professionalism throughout the entire application. I spoke with Joe Dinh, he is an immigration solicitor and he is one of the best solicitors out there. He ensured that there was little to no room for error. At some point I thought he was over cautious. He remained calmed and continued to assure us on our immigration matter. Most people in his position would have panicked but he was calmed and continued to assure us. We received out positive outcome very quickly.
I have been using Reiss Edwards for three years now for my family's immigration application. Both for my initial application and extension. They are really affordable. The team of solicitors at this firm are probably one of the most efficient and economical in terms of cost. They offered free advice over the phone and spent good time with us before inviting us for consultation.
Reiss Edwards is a top notch immigration service company. The way they handled our documentation and also the list of documents they sent was efficient and top quality. They helped us professionally throughout the process. We are very happy with the immigration advice we received from the team. We highly recommend them.
I used Reiss Edwards immigration lawyers to assist with my immigration matter and that of my family. It was an EX1 application. They dealt with the matter properly and even when complications were coming up from the Home Office, they helped resolve the issue properly. They are very professional and are very popular in London. I am happy to have worked with them.
This is the only firm that i spoke with that didn't ask for money before listening to me, will be using them again.
I used Reiss Edwards for my Tier 2 visa application and it was successful. The team was ever present and happy to answer my question. The caseworker that dealing with my case went on holiday yet by case did not suffer one bit. Another lawyer stepped and took over the case without any hassle.
My Tier 1 Investor Visa was dealt with quickly and without issue. Would recommend Reiss Edwards as an Immigration law firm in London. Thank you to the team.
1st Floor, Holborn Gate, 330 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7QT, United Kingdom