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How can I come back to England after Tier 5 expires?

Only for UK Tier 5 (Temporary work) points system
Also includes the Youth Mobility Scheme Tier 5

Moderators: Casa, push, JAJ, ca.funke, Amber, zimba, vinny, Obie, EUsmileWEallsmile, batleykhan, meself2, geriatrix, John, ChetanOjha, archigabe

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Jwojwo
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Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Apr 25, 2016 8:48 pm

How can I come back to England after Tier 5 expires?

Post by Jwojwo » Mon Apr 25, 2016 10:20 pm

Hello people,

I have a 12 months Tier 5 visa (government exchange) that expires on 30th April. I asked for the renewal of my fellowship but I didn't have any answer until now (it is a Brazilian fellowship and it is delayed due to the crisis there). I had planned trips to Rome and Berlin in the next weekends, a concert in Birmingham on 15th May and I booked my outbound ticket to Brazil on 19th. I did all of that assuming that I would have my extension and my flight is booked to 19th because I have a friend's marriage there on 21th.

Now I don't know what is the least worst option to me:

a) Cancel the trips and overstaying until my flight (but remember that I am asking for a renewal of my fellowship to extend also my Tier 5 visa).
b) Go to Rome and ask for a visitor visa for 20 days on my return to England.
c) Try to change the ticket and leave UK before expire date (that can be difficult due bureaucratic reasons - landlord, bills, city council and son).

And besides all of that I was OK because I misunderstood this phrase: "You can stay in the UK for up to 12 or 24 months (depending on the scheme you’re applying for) or the time given on your certificate of sponsorship plus 28 days, whichever is shorter."

I thought that the "plus 28 days" would apply for any situation (by the way my CoS ends on 23th of July).

I would appreciate any help or thoughts that you can provide! Cheers!

noajthan
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Posts: 14911
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2014 11:31 am
Location: UK

Re: How can I come back to England after Tier 5 expires?

Post by noajthan » Mon Apr 25, 2016 11:09 pm

The devil is always in the detail isn't it.

When did your 12 months start / when did you arrive in our damp and draughty little country?

Suggest least worst (in immigration terms):

c) play by rules, safety first;

b) risky - what if not granted?

a) overstaying is bad news; don't plan to do that
All that is gold does not glitter; Not all those who wander are lost. E&OE.

Jwojwo
Newly Registered
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Apr 25, 2016 8:48 pm

Re: How can I come back to England after Tier 5 expires?

Post by Jwojwo » Tue Apr 26, 2016 4:23 pm

Many thanks noajthan!

Unfortunately, I just noticed that I must be in UK to extend my Tier 5 visa.

Eligibility
You might be able to extend your stay. You must still meet the eligibility requirements.

You must apply while you’re still in the UK.

So, I don't have the option c) .

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Frontier Mole
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Posts: 4217
Joined: Mon May 05, 2008 11:03 pm

Re: How can I come back to England after Tier 5 expires?

Post by Frontier Mole » Thu Apr 28, 2016 8:56 am

Assuming the Tier 5 GAE is not going to be extended?

Jwojwo
Newly Registered
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Apr 25, 2016 8:48 pm

Re: How can I come back to England after Tier 5 expires?

Post by Jwojwo » Fri May 06, 2016 1:18 am

Unfortunately, the funding agency replied in the last day and it was negative (insufficient funds, I am appealing but I will wait for the answer there since the odds are against me).

Actually, there wasn't an easy way to solve the issue. After few chats, these were the options presented to me:

a) Leave before visa expires and apply again to the Tier 5 (legally for UK, the best one, but also the most expensive and time consuming). A very tricky clause of my fellowship is one that only allows me to go back to my country, before the contract ends, with previous permission from the funding agency. And after the contract ends, I must go back and stay for the same amount of time that I spent overseas. In both cases they could apply an administrative penalty to me - for example, ask me to return the money.

b) Leave UK before Tier 5 expires and come back with tourist visa. Risky and, in my specific situation, worthless because I couldn't change from tourist visa to tier 5 inside UK. For people that are not in the same situation and only wants to come back to visit, be aware that is to discretion of border officer to infer if you are living in UK, the main evidence for it is to have been living for long periods and continuously coming back to UK. Another point to judge if the tourist application is genuine or not is the political and economical situation of your home country (people from countries without universal healthcare should be caution as well).

c) Apply for renewal before get the answer from the funding agency. I had this option because my CoS is valid until July, but I decided to not try since I was not sure there would be funds to extend the fellowship. Besides that, I was afraid that it could be seen as a type of deception which could be much worse than overstaying. And an important point about it is the fact that if your extension is denied, they only return your passport in the airport (or another exit zone).

d) Overstaying for less than 28 days. Everybody recommended to not overstay, even because this could be seen as an incentive to a criminal offense. Nevertheless, in extreme cases, it can be "accepted". But, unless that you have a fair explanation to overstay (or pretend to live in UK), do not try it. And, to be honest, I don't know if my apologies are fair enough. (Ps: "accepted" means that they can disregard this in future applications, but you be prone to be screened with more attention. And seems that this information is shared between UK and other countries.)

In the end, I overstayed for a couple of days. :(
I will try to report any problems (or not) that I may have in the future.

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