advice sorely needed: refusal of leave to enter

[rinks]

i am a US citizen who was living in the UK for the past year as a student. my student visa expired October 31. i was invited by my school to be a lecturer for this fall term. i very mistakenly believed that i did not require a work permit for such a post, as i was informed that previous lecturers from the states did not obtain work permits because lecturers were not officially employed by the school. in short, as a person who has not lived abroad or worked abroad, i did not fully comprehend international immigration law.

i exited the UK on October 30, and re-entered on Nov 1 with the intention of obtaining a tourist visa. at the immigration desk, however, the issue of my lecturing position arose out of interrogation, and i was refused leave to enter upon failure to produce a work permit, with intention of employment. i was given until November 2 to leave the UK, and am currently in the US.

i realize the absolute stupidity of my actions, but was hoping someone might be able to provide advice, and also to explain the consequences. it has been difficult for me to find information about the consequences of this misfortune, and if i will ever be allowed back into the UK. because i had to leave on such short notice, i was unable to tend to my flat, finances, etc. will i be allowed back into the UK? and how difficult will it be?

any advice would be greatly appreciated.
sincerely, rinks

[Jeff Albright]

In my view, I guess, the best option for you would be to get your school to apply for a Work Permit. Teachers are on high demand in this country so you should get it without problems and your recent refusal will not normally prejudice your future visits to the UK.
I would also evaluate your chances to apply for HSMP. Take a look at www.workingintheuk.gov.uk for further information on how to work in the UK as a Skilled Professional.
Contact your employer now and ask them to file an application for Work Permit for you.
Best of luck.

[zeke]

What a mess for you!

I am dissapointed indeed in the school for helping to create this situation. It seems to me that they gave you incorrect advice. You acted on their advice in good faith. I think they should have realized that they were advising you in an area clearly beyond their scope of expertise. I think they are partially responsible for this mess for you. It also seems to me that they are in this with you, as it appears that they invited you to work under less than legal conditions. I would certainly imagine that UK workplaces are responsible for assuring that the staff providing services on their behalf and in their names are doing so legally. Did they advise you to investigate your legal right to work or to consult an attorney?

I think you may need the advice of an immigration attorney who is licensed to practise in the UK. I am concerned about the fact that you have now established a history of questionable working arrangements (that is, it seems to be questionable to the immigration authorities) may mitigate against you being permitted to reenter the UK in the future.

Also, the school has, I think, contributed to this difficulty in your life. How are you going to attend to the business you left behind in the UK? Maybe the attorney could help you to inspire the school to pay (or to help pay) for the expenses you may incur related to completing your business from outside of the UK.

Mostly, though, I am hoping that an attorney may be able to help you to find a way to legally reenter the UK and to resume your job. But Jeff Albright may be correct, that the only way to do this may be through the HSMP. (You may want to confirm that the teacher shortage applies to the university level as well as to the primary/high school level, although I have seen no indication that eligibility for the HSMP is predicated on having skills which are included on the skill shortages list). If your school does not directly employ lecturers, then a work permit likely would not apply to your situation.

You have been given incorrect advice. You may have difficulty reentering the UK. Please consider consulting an attorney.

Keep us posted as to your progress.

[rinks]

Thank you for your comments!

The school had told me that they would not supply a work permit because because I was not employed by the school -- I was to be working as a consultant, and this is how other lecturers are treated. This is what threw me off, I suppose (among other things). Earlier in the year I had consulted a lawyer about my eligibility for the HSMP program, but I was told that I did not qualify.

I know this is a long-shot, but is there any way to argue that I was going for self-employment, if I was not formally employed by the school?

I understand that there is no way that I can resume residency in the UK now, or in the near future. I will not be able to resume by teaching post in the UK either, as there are only 4 weeks left in the term, but I can teach the course via internet conferencing from the states. All I really want to do is go back and get my things!

Thanks again for your advice. I will let you know the outcome!

[bani]

Hi, I am wondering whether your lectureship could have been done on a business visitor visa (which is just a visitor visa really and since you are a US citizen, you don't need to have one in advance of the trip). But the school should have provided you with a letter to show immigration office.

I read somewhere that if you are denied entry, you may have to get an actual visitor visa in your passport from the British Embassy prior to travel (even though US citizens don't normally have to). If you can explain in the VAF-1 application form that there was a misunderstanding on your last trip and that you are only travelling to get your stuff/vacate your flat/etc., and you get a supporting letter from the school, that might work. Something to look into, I'm not too sure. Good luck .

[Jeff Albright]

The school had told me that they would not supply a work permit because because I was not employed by the school -- I was to be working as a consultant, and this is how other lecturers are treated.

This is nuts. You do not have to be employed by someone to apply for a work permit. Whether you worked for them earlier or not does not matter. What matters is that they are willing to employ you and they value your skills. Then they apply for a work permit for you. Employers do not supply work permits, the Work Permits UK Department supplies them if they are satisfied the application falls within the Rules. This is something your employer should know.

This is what threw me off, I suppose (among other things).

It appears as if they just did not want to bother drawing up an application for you and follow the requirements. It is true that the application process requires a lot of information to be collected and properly presented and a lot of efforts but this is how the scheme is set up. There are people in Personnel who deal with this - it is a part of their job.

Earlier in the year I had consulted a lawyer about my eligibility for the HSMP program, but I was told that I did not qualify.

You do not have to contact any lawyer to find if you are eligible. It is simple and straightforward to calculate your points - a matter of 5 minutes. If you have a Ph.D. plus the experience I can bet you will qualify.

I know this is a long-shot, but is there any way to argue that I was going for self-employment, if I was not formally employed by the school?

There are various schemes for business people, self-employed and innovators. Please check the web site I have mentioned earlier.

I understand that there is no way that I can resume residency in the UK now, or in the near future.

If you do not try you will not. All you have to do is to try and see. There is a shortage of teachers in this country, everyone knows it. I have no doubt that with your skills and experience you will succeed if you really determined to.

Good luck!

[zeke]

It seems that what Rinks' former workplace is telling him is that they do not directly employ the persons who perform the role of lecturer at their school ( I guess the lecturers must be self employed). Therefore, if lecturers are not employees, they are not eligible to have work permits taken out on their behalf by the workplace. That's how I understand work permits.

Yes, HSMP and the business/innovator scheme visas may qualify Rinks to be self employed in the UK. But he now has a history of being refused entry clearance. Before he goes to the time and trouble to explore his options (HSMP, etc), it may be in his best interest to seek legal advice regarding how much of an impediment the history of refusal will present to any future attempts to enter the country, and how that impediment may be overcome.

Rinks, I suppose you could say that you were going for self-employment, but you didn't have any leave (permission) from the home office to be in the UK as a self employed worker before you took up the self employment. I do not know what the home office's expectations are of a student whose student visa expires and then wishes to pursue self employment -- I don't what the steps or paperwork are to make that scenario copesetic with the home office/immigration authorities. Maybe there is a grace period between the end of a student visa and having official permission to perform self employment? Again, I strongly urge you to consult with an immigration attorney for accurate information about this.

Please do continue to let us know of your progress.

Are you settling back in well?

[rinks]

thank you for all your comments and encouragement. i do appreciate it!

yes, zeke, you are correct in how you've explained the school's "inability" to provide me with a work permit.

i also forgot to mention in my previous posts mention that one of the many reasons that i believed i did not require a work permit was because i thought i qualified to enter as an Academic Visitor on a visitor/tourist visa. See 10.11 Academic Visitors at the following website.

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front ... 5899061659

In any case, I have an appointment at the British Consulate on wednesday, and will let you all know how it turns out!

[zeke]

Just a thought...Wouldn't it be great if your university finally decided to consider you as an employee and not a consultant! According to what I understand from the link you cited to ukvisas.gov.uk, there do seem to be universities who treat their workers (lecturers?) as employees, who would then be eligible for work permit...

I wish I had thought of going to the British Consulate. A great idea!

It certainly does seem that you may fall into the academic visitor category, if your position was not one that was normally advertised as a vacancy. Also, according to those rules related to academic visitors, you would only be permitted to continue in the post for 12 months. (But it would look great on your CV/resume in any case!)

At the very least, I am hoping that the Consulate will open the door to you to return temporarily for the purpose of completing your business with the flat, etc. At the very least.

Good luck, good luck!! Keep us posted!!

[rinks]

it was definitely not advertised. i was personally invited (i know, i know...which makes the whole thing all the more absurd), and i was only to stay for four months.

thanks!

[bani]

good luck!! i hope you get it sorted out at the consulate.

visiting lecturers/visiting professors are quite common at universities, i guess it doesn't make sense to have to apply for a workpermit for those positions. your school should have given you more information and letters to show immigration though.

[zeke]

Rinks,

Please, tell us what happened at the British Consulate on Wednesday!

We are rooting for you...

[bani]

yes, please give us an update . i found this info i was talking about in a previous post, hope you got a visa or whatever is necessary at the consulate -

What if I have been refused entry to the United Kingdom before?
If you have been refused entry to the United Kingdom before, it does not necessarily mean that you will not be allowed to enter the UK again, but it is very important that you tell the entry clearance officer of this.
 
If you are not a visa national, depending on the reason you wish to go to the UK, it may be better if you apply for a visa before you travel. The entry clearance officer will then be able to assess whether you qualify for entry before you travel. Note that if you would not normally need a visa, you will not be prevented from travelling to the UK, but you may experience problems when you arrive.


http://www.britishembassy.gov.uk/servle ... 9287528786

[rinks]

hello,

yes sorry i've been m.i.a....! but thanks for your concern.

i went to the consulate once, to try to determine whether i did actually qualify as an academic visitor, being "paid" with an honorarium, and not as a salaried employee, but the response was not positive. i was advised to apply for entry clearance as a visitor, with the purpose of returning to the uk specifically to vacate my flat and tend to personal business. the dates of my visit are to occur after the classes end.

i just went to the consulate again on friday (nov 19) to formally apply in this manner, and they said they would be contact in a few days, i'm guessing to do more interrogating, since they will no doubt retrieve my "record" from the uk.

however, now the situation is still complicated. someone at the school in the uk is administering my course, but i have been emailing and even phoning in to advise and carry on discussions with the class during class time. (i couldn't just abandon the course or the students -- we were halfway through the term.) on my entry clearance application form, however, i did not list the school as my "employer" for the school itself has made it clear to me that i am not employed by them, and for the fact that i am currently actively seeking "employment" in the states. i interpret myself as unemployed, but now i am worried that the consulate will view me as employed, since they seem to have their own language when it comes to interpreting these types of matters...

i've asked an academic coordinator at the school about this, and she said that it's ok to mention my phone/internet activity, but i've learned the hard way that she probably has no idea what she is talking about...

this whole process is extremely trying, and i'm thinking about just not even bothering to try to go back to get my things. to me it's not worth the emotional and mental distress. it's been going on for too long! sigh...but then i don't know if i can even cancel the application once it's been submitted.

i suppose my questions for anyone out there are

can i "work" for the school, in the form of advising that i've been doing by phone/internet, from abroad (and get paid)?

can i cancel my application for entry clearance?

i hate this!

[zeke]

Yes, on your behalf, I hate this too!

YOur question about whether you may "work" by providing paid telephone consultation from outside the country -- I see this as a form of self employment for you. My understanding is that the reason you were not permitted to reenter the country was because you were engaging in self employment with the school without the legal "right" to do so. Whether continuing to conduct that business from outside of the country would violate a law -- I don't know. My guess is that the authorities may not be pleased...I don't know if the self employed are required to register in a certain way (for example, when I am self employed in my home country I must make arrangements to pay income taxes.).

I do think you are wise to regard any advice from the school with a grain of salt, though!

In consideration of the mental and emotional (and physical!) distress of returning to UK under a visitor's visa to attend to your belongings --it may be in your best interest to cut your losses and move on to reestablishing your self in your home country. Unless I am missing something, I don't see any problem with not going ahead with the entry clearance, etc of entering as a visitor...why would you be prohibited from canceling the application?

Good luck, Rinks! Keep us posted with what you decide to do and what you find out about the question about the telephone consultation. Also, let us know how it is going with picking up your life in your home country. I would certainly think that not going back to UK will conserve your energies and focus on picking your life up again. You can begin to put this nasty episode behind you, and focus on creating the success and security in your life that was your goal all along. Sometimes life throws us unexpected challenges; from time to time in my life I have to ask myself, "HOw can I tap into my inner resilience to meet this challenge?"

[EdgeHillMole]

Rinks,

I'm a bit confused.

In order to get a lecturer position, you must be an absolutely incredible student and teacher, a terrific networker, and have an awful lot of good connections at your school. If this is true, your school should be more than willing to offer you a WP for an employment position, in a true employer-employee, LEGAL relationship. In fact, once they realized you were not 'legal', they should have helped you out immediately.

Surely, you must be able to talk to some of your good connections at the school? Can you not advise them that you will discontinue all long distance work at the school immediately, IMMEDIATELY, unless they can provide you with a means of working legally within the UK? Tell them it goes against your moral conscience as well as against your reputation as a terrific teacher and a good, upstanding businessperson to work or to be suspected of working anywhere illegally (Including within a potentially illegal telecommute position). So, either they give you the legal means, give you sufficient proof based on past foreign lecturers that you are currently legal so you can show this to Immigration, or you tell the school, 'Adios'.

I know you care very deeply about your class and your students, not to mention how this will all look on your resume/CV. However, you can use the above explanation (You quit lecturing at the school immediately once you realized they had not bothered to follow the WorkPermit immigration rules, but that it was difficult because you cared deeply about your students' learning) to prove to a potential employer that you would make an exceptional employee. Also, you seem to have a tremendous amount of leverage here at your disposal to land a real and legal job in teaching and perhaps it is just a matter of using that leverage.

Perhaps you should just write off your alma mater and apply for permanent employment as a teacher at other UK/non-UK schools (You did not say what city the school is in. Perhaps you would like to think of relocating to another city or country within the UK?). I'm just not sensing that your caring relationship is being reciprocated by your 'employing' school. And if they don't care about you -- would be much better for YOU to grab your things and relocate to a UK/non-UK school that actually DOES care about you.

[EdgeHillMole]

Rinks,

Also, about the 'absolute stupidity of [your] actions' -- I bet you would not have become the exceptional teacher that you currently are without risking, making, and learning from your mistakes.

[zeke]

Well said, very well said...

[rinks]

well, finally some sort of resolution. three weeks after submitting a visa application to return to the uk as a visitor to get my belongings, i was given the visa (via phone interview). the phone interviewer, i think, was sympathetic, realizing that my refusal of entry to the uk had very much to do with various interpretations of the status "Academic Visitor." according to the representative at the Home Office, whom I consulted over the summer regarding my ability to teach, i did qualify as an Academic Visitor, and therefore could receive funds in the form of an honorarium without a work permit. according to the immigration officer at Heathrow i was coming to "work" for a "company" and therefore without a work permit could not be granted entry. according to a consulate representative, i did not qualify as an Academic Visitor because i was giving too many lectures. according to the consulate interviewer, i just needed entry clearance. and according to the UK government website, as a US citizen i didn't require entry clearance as an Academic Visitor.

the interview focused more on these interpretations than on my involvement with the school.

a mess, indeed, but, for the most part, behind me now. will pick up my passport tomorrow and off to get my things, say goodbye to friends, tomorrow!

thanks for the support and advice. much appreciated! best, rinks

[securitas]

I have recieved letter
saying they cant deal my application with in 6 months
due to goverment bodies doing checks
i have to wait till 22 may
can any body expalin what that means

[Wanderer]

I have recieved letter
saying they cant deal my application with in 6 months
due to goverment bodies doing checks
i have to wait till 22 may
can any body expalin what that means

This thread is over ten years old lol!