Latest Update from UK Visas and Immigration

Update date: 10th December 2020

Dear Partner

Please note the following important updates in today’s bulletin.

·       90 day Vignettes Process

·       BRP Update

·       Update on Appendix P

·       Border quarantine policy

·       Letter from Department Education for International students

90 Days Vignette Update

·       The UK Government are aware that the extensive disruption caused by the Coronavirus pandemic continues to affect our customers;

·       We have been proactive in supporting customers at this difficult time, including through offering greater flexibility for study and work, and extending expired visa vignettes.

·       To continue supporting customers travelling to the UK, we are extending the 90-day vignette offer for new applications. This will provide customers with an increased timeframe in which to travel.

·       We continue to strongly advise customers to only apply for their visa (or to replace an expired vignette) if they are confident they can travel.

·       If your 90-day visa vignette has expired you can apply for a replacement by visiting https://www.gov.uk/transfer-visa.

·       Please refer to attached FAQs

Collection of Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs):

Currently BIDMU are working through enquiries in date order, but customers may experience delays in receiving a response.

To assist BIDMU in clearing outstanding enquiries, we request that customers do not send chaser e-forms or emails via https://www.gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits/not-arrived or https://www.gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits/collect to team. The following information may also be of assistance:

1. Where customers are expecting their BRP to be delivered to their home address they are able to contact UKVI’s delivery partner, TNT, directly to arrange re-delivery if they have received a delivery email from either UKVI or TNT.  Customers will need to provide a consignment reference number for TNT to reschedule delivery.  If customers need to re-arrange delivery and they have received their delivery email they should contact TNT in the first instance, your delivery can be tracked here: https://delivery.tnt.com/tracking using your tracking reference and delivery post code.
2. Where customers wish to change a delivery address, they can contact TNT directly, but will need to allow time for TNT to liaise with UKVI for their address details to be updated, this can take up to five working days.
3. Customers should only report delivery problems with their BRP via https://www.gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits/not-arrived if:  they have not received a delivery email 10 days after receiving their decision notification;  or if they have contacted TNT and TNT have not been able to help them or reported a problem;

• Customers collecting their BRP from a Post Office who are required to quarantine should not collect their BRP until after they have completed this period of isolation. Customers are reassured that BRPs will be held at their designated collection point for up to 90 days from the start date printed on their vignette and will be available for collection once they have fulfilled any quarantine requirements.

4. Customers will not face any penalties if they are unable to collect their BRP within ten days of arrival in the UK due to quarantine requirements.
5. Customers will still be able to collect their BRP if their visa has expired while they quarantine.
6. Customers awaiting their BRP are reminded that their employers can access the employer checking service to confirm that they hold valid status.

Education Providers

Education providers are reassured that they will not face non-compliance action if their students are experiencing delays in obtaining BRPs and are encouraged to allow students to continue their studies whilst they are awaiting receipt of BRPs.

Education providers are permitted to enrol students who they have sponsored, provided they are satisfied those students entered the UK during the period of their student visa. Further details can be found here

If you need to travel:

We do not encourage you to travel/leave the UK without your BRP card, however if you choose to you will need to make an application to apply for a single entry vignette in order to return to the UK. The fee for this is £154 and you can apply here. This does not affect the production or validity of your BRP card and any existing grant of leave.

Appendix P Update

For the changes which came in effective 01/12/2020, Appendix P has been removed and it has been replaced with a broader provision which applies to financial institutions around the world rather than specific named institutions in certain regions as stated in Appendix Finance paragraph FIN.2.1:

FIN 2.1. Funds will not be considered if they are held in a financial institution where any of the following apply:

(a) the decision maker is unable to make satisfactory verification checks; or

(b) the financial institution is not regulated by the appropriate regulatory body for the country in which that institution is operating; or

(c) the financial institution does not use electronic record keeping.

Border quarantine policy

All international arrivals are required to complete a passenger locator form on arrival in the UK, and passengers travelling from a country not on the exemption (travel corridor) list will need to self-isolate in their accommodation for 14 days.

We have also announced a positive update to our self-isolation guidance: From 15 December, there will be the option to take an accredited COVID-19 test from a private testing provider after 5 days of self-isolation, with a negative result releasing students from the need to isolate from day 6. More information on the Test to Release scheme can be found here.

Letter from Department Education for International students

Last but not least, attached is the letter from Minister of Education for international students. Please help to disseminate this to all students.

Thanks & Regards

Divya Malhotra

Customer Account Manager – Education

(South & South East Asia)

UK Visas and Immigration

Home Office

British High Commission |  Shantipath | Chanakyapuri | New Delhi | 110021

Web: www.gov.uk/world/india