Staying in the UK as an immigrant requires you to have a Visa. Every visa category has a stipulated period within which you are allowed to say in the country. Once the period of your visa expired, you will not be legally allowed to remain in the UK for more than 30 days. Overstaying your visa period in the UK can have serious long-term consequences on your immigration records. This may be as much as a 10-year ban from re-entering the country.
However, if you intend to stay in the UK after the expiration of your Visa period, then you need to apply for a visa extension. The duration of extension you can get and the conditions depend largely on the type of visa you have in the first place.
UK Work or Study Visa Extension
For individuals in the UK on a study or work visa, you may be able to apply for an extension. This will lengthen the time you are allowed to legally continue living in the UK. The conditions for this depends on the category of work or study visa you have in the first place
Tier 1 (General)
People on Tier 1 (General) visas are given a maximum period of 2 years on their visa. After this period expires, you may be able to extend your stay for up to 2 years further by applying for an extension.
Tier 1 (Entrepreneur)
A Tier 1 (entrepreneur visa) originally grants you a maximum period of stay of 3 years and 4 months. When this visa expires, you may be able to apply for a visa extension that allows you to stay on for an additional 2 years.
Tier 1 (Investor)
If you are on a Tier 1 investor visa, the maximum period on your original visa is 3 years and 4 months. When this visa expires, you may apply for an extension that allows you to stay for 2 more years.
Tier 2 (General, Minister of Religion, or Sportsperson)
This visa category gives you a maximum stay period of 3 years. When it expires, you may be able to get an extension for 3 more years.
Tier 2 (Intra company transfer)
The original period of stay on this visa is between 6 months to 3 years. After this expiration of this Visa, you may apply for an extension which gives you an additional period of 12 months on your visa.
For all of these visa categories, if you can remain in the UK for 5 years, you will be eligible to apply for an Indefinite Leave to Remain status. This allows you to settle permanently in the UK and eventually apply for British Citizenship.
Tier 4 (General)
The duration for this category of visa covers the full length of your studies. Individuals with this category of visa are not allowed to extend the duration of their stay unless they switch to another visa category.
Tier 4 (Child)
This category of visa is given to students under the age of 16 for the full length of their study up to a maximum period of 6 years and 4 months. When it expires, you will not be allowed to extend your stay unless your switch to another category.
Tier 5 (Temporary workers)
If you are on Tier 5 temporary work visa, you will only be able to extend your stay if you have a certificate of sponsorship for your continued employment and the job you are holding is still at an appropriate level and salary rate.
Standard Visitor Visa
The Standard visitor visa is a short-term visa granted to those in the UK on a short visit. The maximum duration in this visa category is 6 months. After the two months expires, you may be able to apply for an exemption. This can be in two categories:
Private medical exemption
This exemption allows you to stay back in the UK for as much as 11 months after your original visa expires.
Academic Sabbatical
This option allows you and a partner to remain in the UK for up to 12 months.
Another option is to extend your short-term visa further. However, this depends on the original duration of the visa you were granted. For instance, if you were given 3 months on your visitors, you may be able to apply for an extension as long as it does not exceed the standard 6 month period of this category of visa.
What happens if my visa expires?
If your stipulated period on your UK visa expires while you are in the country, you will be considered an overstayer. While the UK home office does not notify visa holders of expiry, it is your responsibility to ensure that you monitor the duration of your visa. It is a criminal offense to remain in the UK after your visa has expired without reasonable cause. After your visa expires, you are expected to leave the country voluntarily within 30 days.
It is recommended that you apply for a visa extension before your current visa expires. You will be allowed to stay in the UK pending the approval of your extension as long as you applied for an extension before the expiry of your visa.
If you would like to learn more about the various visa categories and how to apply for an extension when they expire, you can get in touch with Immigration lawyers situated in Manchester. They can help you with all your inquiries and advice you on what to do when your visa expires.
