Immigration rule change – travelling whilst application pending

RLegal immigration solicitors would like to highlight a significant change to the immigration rules brought in on 6 October 2021, as it could have significant implications for those intending to travel outside the ‘Common Travel Area’ (CTA), whilst their immigration application is pending.

The rule had been that once an immigration application was submitted including the physical passport – which used to be the case before the move to the online system, an individual had been unable to travel outside the ‘Common CTA whilst their immigration application was under consideration.

With the introduction of online applications, the Home Office accepted electronic copies of passport and resident permits and individuals were able to travel due to a technical loophole once their immigration applications had been applied for, so long as they still had valid immigration permission.

The Home Office has now amended the immigration rules to close the loophole, which means those who now travel outside the CTA will find their ‘pending’ immigration applications automatically withdrawn.

It is unclear as to why the Home Office have chosen to do this now, but it is likely their justification would be that this is just a reaffirmation of the position and it had never been it’s intention to allow individual to travel whilst their immigration applications were pending.

We urge individuals who have applications under consideration to seek immigration advice from lawyers particularly with the half-term and Christmas holidays approaching. We are of course an accredited specialist firm of immigration solicitors based in central London and can be contacted by email at [email protected], by completing our online form or by telephoning us on +44 207 038 3980. Although our immigration lawyers are based in London we can assist individuals anywhere in the world.