My Visa Has Expired, What Do I Do?

My visa has expired, but I was not informed that this was going to happen. 

Immigration lawyers London get a lot of calls from clients whose visas are about to run out who believe the matter is under control because the Home Office has not contacted them. They assume that if the Home Office has neglected to remind them their visa would expire, they will be given more time to finish their application. That is not the case.

The Home Office does not usually remind visa holders when their permitted time period or “leave to remain” is up. So, whether you are in the UK as a foreign spouse on a spouse visa, an employee on a skilled worker visa on a work visa, an entrepreneur in the UK on a start-up visa, or an individual with an innovator visa, the fact is you will need to stay up to date about your dates and be organised about sorting out your immigration concerns in a timely manner.

My employer did not tell me that my visa was due to expire.

Some people who are subject to UK immigration controls may be able to work in any job(s), whereas Skilled Worker visa holders are limited to a specific job, a sponsored employment opportunity with a licensed sponsor. If you are here in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa, you are required by law to follow the rules of the sponsor license the company you work for has organised for you. Moreover, an employer has no legal duty to inform you that your visa is expiring; this is your responsibility as the visa holder. 

If your visa expires, your employer may be unable to continue employing you since you will no longer be permitted to work and verify your eligibility for employment through right-to-work checks. In situations where an employee has only limited leave to remain in the UK, an employer must repeat right to work checks, so if your visa expires without you or your employer knowing, this could be an issue for your future at this company or organisation.

What should I do if I’m unsure when my visa will expire?

This is the easy part. You must check your documents. When you enter the UK on a long term visa, you are given a BRP card, also known as a biometric residence permit. Your BRP card should contain the date your visa expires written clearly on it. As one of the UK’s most respectable teams of immigration lawyers, we advise you to double-check your BRP and expiration date. 

If your visa is still valid a few months left on your visa, now is the time to seek legal counsel so you can determine whether you can extend your current visa, change to another one, or apply for indefinite leave to remain if you meet the residency criteria and eligibility requirements.

Is there any sort of Home Office amnesty for expatriates who do not leave the UK after their visas have expired?

If you do not leave the United Kingdom after the expiration of your visa, there is no Home Office amnesty, but you may be able to resolve your immigration status depending on your situation. Mistakes happen, and there are ways of sorting some of them out if you seek the right legal advice at the right time, so do understand that the longer you wait, the less convincing your case may seem, which could mean the less likely it is that you will be able to solve your immigration status problem.