[cynical1]

AFTER 5 YEARS, I mean.

[supernic]

[CrisL]

I'm gonna make myself unpopular here as my job sometimes involves working with UK Immigration, although I am not an Immigration Officer.

I do get people blacklisted from returning to this country - that is a regular part of my job. I ask this for serious matters, and I would doubt that a short overstay would even be noted. However 5 years would undoubtedly be thought of as serious

For the people who need a visa to come here, I ask the UK Entry Clearance Officers in the relevant country to put a record in your file, and they will then possibly refuse you a visa until I give them the clerance. If you already have a visa (or do not need one), then it is possible you could be stopped on arrival at the airport etc.

FYI I am a Saffa, although LONG resident here with Perm Residence. My partner (also a Saffa) was granted a 2 year res permit based on our CP registration. Cost heaps, but did the paperwork ourselves, and waited a month for a response.

As far as I am aware there are NO checks on persons leaving the UK even at LHR to see if they have overstayed etc. AT PRESENT ! I understand that it is planned to be able to do this as part of the current revamp of the Home Office.

[wf]

I left the UK last week via heathrow terminal 3, and to my surprise they checked my passport, the time before that there was no one at the desks, so it would seem there is some chance of being checked (and caught out if you are overstaying).

[gyelas]

My question is a bit long winded. Here is the breakdown:

1. I applied for indefinite leave to remain when my Spousal visa was running out (Married to a british citizen for 3yrs)

2. I had to travel and asked the home office for immigration what to do with my passport I was given false information they informed me i could send my application in and then post my passport in on the reference number i would get back from the home office and with my flight details and a cover letter stating why my passport was not sent in along with my initial application

3. Last Friday i get a letter saying that i need to re-apply as me traveling during the application for indefinite leave withdraws my application i.e. totally opp the advice i was given

4. After ringing them mentioning the time of the call and the lady i spoke to they said that they will do an investigation (i'm not hopeful of this being resolved), they said to send in another application and it would take 4-14weeks.

Challenge with this is that i have 6 travel trips planned and informed them off this that i have to take for business and personal (Family flying over from Australia) and we are travelling around with them

5. they said i could apply in person but due to circumstances of currently my visa expired it may not get approved same day. However i have made a booking on the 20th of august with immigration in croydon and hoping it does get approved on the day as my flight is on the 22nd of august to the USA

6. I would like to know if anyone has been in a circumstance similar what are my options. So you know we are planning to move back to Australia end of October and already have flights booked.

7. So are my options:
a. Hope they approve on the day Indefinite leave to remain
b. Should i just try and apply for spousal extension as i'm heading home with my wife to live end of october. Is extension any easier then indefinite leave to remain?
c. If the above a. b. doesn't work and as i have so many trips planned from now until end of october should i just show immigration my impending flights within europe, my money situation wich is more than enough to cover the remaining 2mths and my booked flights back to oz and ask for a holiday 6mth visa when i come back in from the USA as if option a. b. don't work my visa would be void and just not be able to work. What are my chances of them Oking this?

Really appreciate any advice on this. As you can see i am hoping and praying for option A or B i don't care but would love to stay here and work if i can up until end of october before we go home..

Appreciate a response as soon as anyone can.

[pigypigytomtom]

And already I have a few years insight..This is truely remarkable.. as I have been feeling one hundred years older than I am...I would like to thank everyone who has kindly given very useful info . on how to go about getting out of this very sticky and very messy situation...5 years hmn ...Ok its penance for my sins...I accept it ....I would love to get out of this country and travel the world...... but t for the few years i have been here ..I have fallen deeply in love with it.. It is like no other place in the world...... sometimes I think Id rather be a rambler here than a respectable citizen in the caribbean, lol ...I beleive my romantic notion are fully to blame for my overstay .. and Ive not seen the entire country yet,..I may as well well Go and see th rest of it... when you overstay... your own consionce(cant spell that) is your biggest worry, and as soon as I can save up enough to go...I suppose I must go....But I tell you The carribbean, can not hold a light to this country.. and I mean the natural beauty of the place...I dont want to go back, like it here... but I see no prospects as I am denied my human rights of even getting married...I will not begg for anything so I will go home and pick up some decent hard paying job.. such as teaching... but Only when im ready.....I hope thats soon.....pssss! bee almost one year ...(overstayed) ...I am scared as hell! I am panicky..... but I love the beauty of this place...so there!

[stustustustu]

hi, just a quick one. all this talk of leaving through dublin, how does one get to dublin without passport check. im thinkin they are going to have more time to check passports and stuff on the ferry then say manchester airport. i have not payed tax for 3 yrs and overstayed 1 yr so really wanna get away clean. thx for ur comments

[wf]

the general gist of it is that UK immigration does not check your passport when you leave the country, ie to Dublin or wherever else. However like I said above I was recently checked at Heathrow (everyone was being checked it wasn't just random).

The only check you usually would get going to Dublin are from Irish immigration when you enter the country, and they more than likely couldnt care less if you overstayed in the UK.

[wf]

actually if you are that worried about it, take the eurostar to paris, as there is no UK immigration desks and never has been, so I can't see any way you would be checked. You have already passed french immigration before you get on the train, the immigration in waterloo is french and like the irish they don't care what your visa status was in the UK.

[stustustustu]

thx for that. like the eurostar idea.

[EGYMOE]

Just go, they won't ask you for anything, you are leaving the country, you are not their problem anymore, you might have to fill a card and that's it, dont listen to ppl who try to scare you, they probably lived scared all their lives.

[nakedsiratyahoodotcom]

I am fucking worried sick!

My student visa expired in February 2007, and I could've easily extended it then. However, before the visa expired, I had applied for a UK residence card as a family member of an EEA national living and working in the UK. A decision is yet to be made on my application.

Can I still make a successful student visa extension application? Why? Because I want to withdraw the family member application as I have serious doubts about its success ( I can't readily provide some other vital supporting documents). I am still in school with good attendace and acedemic records.

And if lady luck fails me and I'm refused the UK residence card application, can I still apply for student visa extension (my student visa expired whilst in the home office).

Can I do something to continue to stay legal for long without returning to my home country?

Please help a unfortunate lad.

[angeldust77]

My best mate married a South African girl 8 years ago- she left him just over 5 years ago. Her visa ran out shortly after they married & her passport is also no longer valid. She has persistently refused to reveal her whereabouts & although has promised him a divorce on several occasions, has always reneged on the agreement.
Now that 5 years of separation are up, he's proceeding with the divorce, which can now be done without her consent (the solicitors have also managed to track down a contact for her)

My queries are:

1 Will she get deported?
2 If she gets deported will my mate get hauled in front of the Home Office?
3 Will he be liable for her deportation costs or any financial mess she may have left behind?

Is there any advice I can give him to forewarn him of any awkward situations which may arise?

[ib]

my friends visa has run out because she was too lazy to get it renewed (imo) - i think it ran out over a year ago and has been in education the whole time.

she is now considering emigrating to oz legally as a skilled migrant, how will this affect her application for a skilled migrant visa to oz?

[wf]

It won't affect it at all, Aus immigration or whoever couldn't care less if she overstayed her UK visa.

[ib]

even though she is still in the uk?

[wf]

why does it make a difference? There is no way the Aus immigration people will know unless she tells them.

[missrogue]

hiya i was on a working holiday and overstayed by 7mnths , from sa...now trying to apply for a student visa wat will happen

[Dotty.P]

[quote="beentheredunnit"]There is no emmigration control leaving the UK, the Tory government stopped this practise due to cost!The current Labour gov. have considered putting this back into practise to be able to control the figures regarding failed assylum seekers and illegal immigrants leaving the country!As things stand currently when one leaves the country the only people who will check your passport will be the airline check in staff followed by the security who will be more interested in seeing your boarding card.

I speak from a postion of experience, staying illegally is never good, it restricts your movement and often your chances of finding employment...it can also lead to a feeling of paranoia when one sees the bobby's one the beat!!That said I lived here 3years past the expiry of my visa and still managed to leave the country!
I am now back in the Uk having managed to secure a longer visa.
Do not panic if you have overstayed....its ok, keep your eyes close to any new developments within the immgration laws, and you will be fine Ron.
Good luck and enjoy the rest of your stay!!Summer is around the corner!![/quote]


I'm interested to know how you obtained a longer visa after over staying your previous one. Given that you stayed so long, I'm guessing you were also working all that time?? I'm trying to get back into the UK on a HSMP, but I overworked my working holiday visa, and have been told that immigration will check my employment history when I apply for entry clearance and it is likely that I will be refused entry.

Any advice??

[ddd]

My visitors visa expires the end of march, I am staying with my brother who is on a highly skilled visa, I am working on getting my ancestral documents together, If I go out on the Eurostar for a few days and come back will they give me another 6 months?

My brother is supporting me, I have accomadation and I have a return ticket to JHB?
What are the immigration guys like coming in on the eurostar?

I have nothing to hide but immigration makes me tense

[bigtomTZ]

I dont have a VISA at all. Why you will ask now. I had 2 Passports befor. A Italian one and a Tanzanian one. Now they think I had no right for the one from Itali (because I got devorced) and I dont get a new Italian. But I want to go back home. I just hold the one from Tanzania now?!?!

[tinkle]

mY partner was here on a student visa but I am british we have two kids but his visa expiered about a year ago. we are trying to find a way around this . can we get married will they let him stay ?
he has a degree in business admin can apply for a skills visa to australia?

please help as we are stuck.

[silicon]

Hi, there! I am a student of UK and 2months ago i came back to my country for personal reason before finish my studies properly. Still have my visa which will b expired on Oct 2008. Anyone tell me can i use this visa and go to UK again before it expired w/out any customs problem...tksxx

[DJCNOR]

This one's a bit complicated.

My spouse and I came to the UK from the US when my spouse was offered a job as a social worker. About two months after we arrived, my spouse was accused of something she/he was completely innocent of and was fired from that position on the basis of the accusation before he/she had a chance to go to court. While waiting, she/he took a job in another area.

When it came near court time, the prosecution notified her/him and his/her lawyer not to even bother to come to court, that they intended to present no evidence and direct a not-guilty verdict.

Thinking all was OK now, my spouse applied for a new job in his/her area only to find that she/he had been placed on a list that essentially prevents him/her from working as a social worker. While we appealed that listing, she/he continued to work in that other area.

The appeal was eventually turned down even though the original "witness" ended up telling six different contradictory versions of the tale (94% are; just the two of us were up against a whole group of lawyers). The tribunal said they had to err on the side of caution and allowed my spouse to stay on the list for ten years. (Our work visas are only for 5.)

She/he has continued to work in the new field and I have been working throughout this.

I guess our questions are:

Are we illegal?
At what point did we become illegal if we are?
Are we fine as long as we leave before our work visas run out?
Is it worth even applying to stay? We originally were coming here to stay and fully intended to apply for citizenship as soon as possible.
Will there be any problems going in and out if we vacation outside the UK while our visas are still valid?

Thanks for any advice.

[leynos]

Hi to all who knows immigration laws.

I came to uk on a student visa. Due to my circumstances I was unable to acquire a new visa when my student visa expired. The uni did not allow or help me to acquire a new visa because their system says that i still own them tuition fees which apparently i paid in full. Which was in nov 2006. So I couldnt continue my course because of that.

Which they realised they were in fault after I recovered from my depression about 8mth later. So i was allow to continue my studies. Problems are that my visa has already expired on july 2007, and I have stayed on hoping to finish my studies, which in the end i did not manage due to shortage of funds and not enough food. I was helped by kind people around me to survive until now. I have really lost hope and energy in trying to complete my degree, so now I just wanna to go home.

How do I go about doing that ? I have read on this tread about how serious the immirgration officers will take u when your visa expires. and the penatly they will do to u like ending up in jail.

All I want is to go home. I have done nothing illegal here, and have not worked since my visa expired. So what am I suppose to do now ?I live in fear everyday and I miss my home. All I ever wanted was to complete my studies but that is all a lost cause now.

I really need to solid advice from you guys who knows what is going on.
Tell me what do anyone ?