How can I check my British visa status for immigration?
If you’re planning to apply for British immigration or you already did, and want to know more details about the British visa types, and the indefinite leave to remain visa rules, and regulations, This is a simple guide to check if you can get a British visa inside or outside the UK, and it’d rules, and how to make sure to get your British visa, and keep for a lifetime.
How do you check your British visa status if you’re outside the UK?
Once you decide to apply for a British visa, you must visit the visa application center to provide your personal information and the required documents to support your visa application.
Keep in mind that you won’t receive a decision about your visa application from the country you’re applying from but from UK Visa and Immigration centres (UKVI), and you have the chance to call these centres to check your application progress.
UKVI is a department of the UK home office, and it’s responsible for the United Kingdom visa system and making decisions about all the visa applications inside or outside the UK.
How do you check your British visa status inside the UK?
If you’re applying for extending your leave to remain status in the UK, switching your visa to another category, or applying for British citizenship or settlement, now you apply through (UKVCAS) the UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services.
The role of (UKVCAS) is to speed up the process of extended leave to remain applications. In this case, you must attend an appointment to confirm your identity and submit your biometric information and the required documentation.
After attending the appointment and enrolling your biometric information, your information will be sent to the UKVI to decide.
Whether you’ve applied for a visa inside or outside the UK, the government offers your a free tool to get information about your application updates via this link. Note that the UKVI will give you updates about your application but can’t advise how your personal circumstances can impact your British visa application.
How long does it take to decide about your British visa application?
The time required to process your British visa application depends on your application location, inside or outside the UK, and the visa category you’re applying for, which can affect your waiting times.
In general, if you’re applying outside the UK, the waiting period for a British visa application is much shorter than if you’re applying to extend your British visa to change your visa category while living in the UK. However, in the second situation, you’ll be allowed to stay in the UK until you get a decision about your visa application as long as you’ve submitted your British visa application.
To make the process clear, the UK government publishes the standard processing times for each visa type, whether you’re applying from inside or outside the UK.
So what can delay the updates about the British visa application?
If your application is clear and straightforward, then usually, you’ll get a response within the standard processing times for visa applications. However, if your British visa application is complex and needs a lot of processing, it may take longer for a decision. And if this happens and you don’t get a decision about your visa, the UKVI will send you a letter to inform you about what will happen next regarding your visa application.
Your visa application review is based on the general British immigration rules and the specific eligibility criteria for your visa type. If there is not enough evidence to support your application, or your reason for visiting the UK isn’t clear or doesn’t qualify you to get the visa, if this happens, your visa application will go through further investigations.
If the UKVI contacts you in order to provide more documentation to support your British visa application, or you have some concerns about the interview, you can ask an expert to give you guidance to pass the process smoothly, and we at Fresh Global Alliance glad to offer you a free consultation with one of our experts to answer all your question about visa types, and British immigration, contact us via this form.
And now, let’s dive into the details of British immigration. If you want to apply for indefinite to remain status, the following will help you understand the regulation of this status.
What is Indefinite Leave to Remain?
UK settlement visa or Indefinite Leave to Remain gives you the right to live and work in the united kingdom free from many restrictions on immigration, work and travel. Also, you can study and benefit from the public benefits.
But Indefinite Leave to Remain doesn’t give you the right to vote. Also, you can lose it if you travel outside the UK for two years or more, but there are ways to restore it, and we’ll mention the detail in this article.
Is British citizenship the same as ILR?
There are many differences between British citizenship and the ILR in the status and rights:
You can lose your ILR if you stay away from the UK for two years or more.
Or for National security reasons.
Or you committed any crime that led to the deportation.
It’s important to know that to apply for British citizenship, it’s mandatory to have ILR for at least a year before applying. Unless you’re married to a UK resident, in this case, you don’t have to wait for a year to apply.
And with British citizenship, you can live and work in the UK without British immigration visa rules. And you have the right to get a British passport and vote. British citizenship is permanent.
First of all, let’s explain the indefinite to remain (ILR) rules:
British immigration rules state that ILR status expires if the individual leaves the united kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (Guernsey, Isle of Man, and Jersey), or Ireland and doesn’t come back for more than two continuous years. In other words, if you have ILR status and you left the UK for two years, you won’t be considered settled or present in the UK., and if you return to the UK for a short period of time, this will restart the clock again, and you’ll still be considered that you’re settled in the UK.
And if you get back to the UK as a visitor, you should apply to get your Returning resident visa to continue your settlement as a returning resident if you were absence for 2 years or more.
What is the returning resident visa:
If you get your British immigration visa and indefinite leave to remain status in the UK, but you left the UK for two years or more, this means that you lost your indefinite to remain status. but if you want to get back to the UK, you can restore you indefinite to remain status if you applied to get your returning resident visa before you come back to the UK.
What are the requirements for returning resident visa requirement?
- You need to prove that you previously held a valid ILR before you left the UK and you didn’t receive assistance from the UK public fund to cover your leaving from the UK cost.
- You have strong ties to the UK. These strong ties can be your family presence in the UK, work, education, or property. And how much
- you maintain and care about these ties during your absence from the UK. the stronger ties you have in the UK, the more likely you are going to garantee the returning resident visa.
The absence length: how long you have been away from the UK is a critical factor in deciding your eligibility for reinstatement of your indefinite leave to remain status. the longer the time you spend outside the UK, it can get more difficult to prove that you have strong ties in the UK.
Presence in the UK length: how long have you stayed in the UK before your absence gives a good indication about if you really have good ties with the UK.
And if you didn’t visit the UK for two continuous years and you; lost your ILR status, you have to apply for entry clearance like a returning resident before you become you come back to live in the UK. Note that if you’re living in the UK with EU-settled status, it expires if you left the UK for five years, not two years only.
Why did you leave: You need to mention the details and prove your absence reasons.
Other factors: some other factors affect the decision about your returning resident visa, such as medical treatment outside the UK and a long study period.
in this article, we mentioned the benefits, and rules of the indefinite leave-to-remain visa, the returning resident visa, and what you need to do in order to make the process easier, and faster. if you need more information,and one of our experts will answer all your questions about British immigration.