The changes to the immigration application process enable in-country applicants to keep their passports while awaiting a decision on permission to stay in the UK. This has, however, caused a lot of confusion, and applicants are often unaware if they can travel outside of the UK during this period.

Will I retain my passport while my visa application is being processed?

If you apply for further leave to remain or settlement and citizenship through UKVCAS (UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services) under the new immigration application system inside the UK, you will retain your passport throughout the application process. 

The immigration rules state that “The proof of identity provided under paragraph 34(5), or any other application for permission to stay, will be returned to the applicant whilst their application is being considered unless the Secretary of State considers it necessary to retain it.”

The Home Office will usually only need to keep an applicant's passport if they are overstaying their visa or are only in the UK as a visitor.

What will happen if I travel outside during Home Office processing times?

It is usual for visa applicants to wish to leave the UK before UKVI makes a decision since visa applications can take weeks or months to process and issue any passports or travel documents. This could be for a business trip abroad, a holiday, or a visit to friends and family who live overseas.

While their application for permission to stay or ILR is pending, we urgently advise applicants who considering leaving the UK to travel abroad to carefully consider the extremely significant consequences that could follow.

You have not been required to give up your passport, but that does not mean you are free to travel outside of the CTA. The UK, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man are all in the Common Move Area (CTA). If you travel outside of the CTA before your application for leave to remain or settlement is decided, the Home Office will consider your application to be withdrawn. This means that you will no longer have an immigration application pending with the Home Office.

If you applied for further leave to remain or settlement before your previous visa expired and still had existing leave when you left the UK, this leave will still be valid unless the visa expiry date has already passed. This is called extant leave. If this is the case, you should be able to come back to the UK, but you would have to make a fresh application.

If, on the other hand, you applied for further leave before your previous visa expiry and were transferred to "section 3C leave," that leave will have ended when you left the UK because your visa expired while you were waiting for a decision. You will not be able to come back to the UK because you do not have a valid visa anymore. You will also not have time to make a new application to UKVI for further leave or settlement. The purpose of section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 is to prevent anyone who has made an in-time application to extend their leave from becoming an overstayer pending a decision on their application. However, this leave will automatically lapse if you travel outside the UK during that decision-making period.

Travelling outside the CTA while awaiting an outstanding visa application will not provide you with the right to re-enter the United Kingdom to receive a decision. This is because the application will be automatically treated as withdrawn. Consequently, unless you are granted permission to re-enter with a different type of visa—for example, if your current leave has not expired or if you have submitted and been granted another immigration application prior to your return to the UK—you will likely be refused entry to the United Kingdom.

I have an urgent reason to travel. Can I cancel my visa application and file it again later?

You can request the UKVI to cancel or withdraw your application for further leave to remain or settlement online if you have already submitted it and wish to withdraw it for any reason, including urgent overseas travel or another valid reason.

If your existing leave is due to expire or has already expired, you may lose your permission to stay in the UK. This would require you to submit a new application from outside the UK before being able to return. In certain circumstances, your eligibility may be affected by leaving the UK; for example, your continuous residence period may be terminated for the purpose of applying for settlement.

In order to make a fresh application, you need to pay the application fee again. You are eligible for a refund of the immigration health surcharge that you have paid in the event of cancellation prior to UKVI reaching a decision regarding your previous application. Nevertheless, your eligibility for a refund of the application fee will be contingent upon the current status of your application at the time of cancellation.

As long as you have not yet enrolled your biometric information and attended a UKVCAS appointment, your fee should be refunded in full. Similarly, if you were eligible to use the IDV app to verify your identity and were not required to attend an appointment, you may withdraw your application again and receive a fee refund, pending the uploading of your supporting documents.

Once UKVI has received your withdrawal request for a visa application, it is impossible to cancel the withdrawal; therefore, it is important to seek expert legal advice prior to deciding whether or not to withdraw your application.

Different rules on overseas travel with a pending citizenship application

There are different rules about travelling if you make an application to naturalize as a British citizen. Applicants can usually travel outside of the CTA while they wait for a decision. Because they must already have indefinite leave to remain in order to qualify for citizenship by naturalization. If you are granted indefinite leave, you can easily enter and leave the UK as long as you do not stay outside of the UK for more than two years "and" maintain an intention to settle in the UK.

Applicants who are waiting for decisions on applications for further leave to remain or settlement must be patient and await a decision before travelling overseas. It is important that travel arrangements remain on hold until a visa application has been submitted in the United Kingdom, or that applicants have a full understanding of the potential risks prior to travel overseas. 

For expert advice regarding a visa or immigration application, contact us on 020 3865 6219 or leave a message.