Migrants and their employers are likely to be concerned with the impact of coronavirus-related travel restrictions on their ability to leave the UK when their visa expires, and in turn their immigration record.

The Government has announced a series of measures to address this problem

Tier 4 (Student) Visa holders

The Home Office announced on 25th March 2020 that individuals who are on a Tier 4 (Student) visa and their visas are expiring between 24 January 2020 and 31 May 2020 can request to extend their Tier 4 (Student) visas until 31 May 2020 if they can't leave the UK because of travel restrictions or self-isolation due to Coronavirus.

If this is impacting you, you must contact the Coronavirus Immigration Help Centre on 08006781767 or by email to inform them that you can't leave the UK due to the travel ban so UKVI can update their records. You will also need to provide UKVI with the below information:

your full name (include any middle names)
date of birth (dd/mm/yyyy)
nationality
your previous visa reference number
why you can’t go back to your home country, for example if the border has closed

Tier 2 (General) Sponsors

Employers who are Tier 2 Licence Sponsors and have sponsored migrant workers on a Tier 2 (General) visa should note the Home Office says that it will not take compliance action against sponsored workers who are unable to attend work because of the coronavirus pandemic, or against employers who authorise absences of more than 4 weeks for this reason. All other changes must still be reported.

If you have any further coronavirus-related visa queries, this list of frequently asked questions may help. Alternatively, you can email me.