travelling outside EU while awaiting for BRP decision (passport with IRL in hand)

[JunoBrown]

Hi

I am new to the forum and I hope this is the right section to post my question.

I have my passports with me, one current and the other expired one which has my ILR stamped one one page.
I applied for transferal of my ILR to BRP in September 2019 and am still awaiting to hear from the decision maker.

Now I need to fly out of this country this winter and wondered whether travelling outside the UK/EU will cause an issue when I return to the UK. Prior to the application, I had no issue entering the UK as long as I have my current passport and the old passport with my ILR.

I read in the forum that travelling outside the EU should be avoided while waiting for the BPR but wondered having a valid passport and ILR would make a difference.

If there is any link that explains the guideline regarding this, that would really help me. But any information would also much appreciated.

JunoBrown

[zimba]

I read in the forum that travelling outside the EU should be avoided while waiting for the BPR but wondered having a valid passport and ILR would make a difference.

Who said such thing ??! Travel outside the UK for people who have a pending immigration application is an issue.
HOWEVER a Visa transfer to BRP is NOT an immigration application. Use your old ILR sticker to enter the UK as usual. No issues whatsoever

[JunoBrown]

Hi Zimba

Thank you for your reply to my question. I was not entirely sure whether my stamped ILR would still be valid while awaiting to receive BRP. It is a good news to know that is not the case.

Best regards,

JunoBrown

[iwolga]

Who said such thing ??! Travel outside the UK for people who have a pending immigration application is an issue.

Technically it's UK, IE and Channel Islands. I wish this was EU instead!

Sorry for asking it in someone else's topic, but what are the reason for this restriction? Security?

[Bbkay]

I read in the forum that travelling outside the EU should be avoided while waiting for the BPR but wondered having a valid passport and ILR would make a difference.

Who said such thing ??! Travel outside the UK for people who have a pending immigration application is an issue.
HOWEVER a Visa transfer to BRP is NOT an immigration application. Use your old ILR sticker to enter the UK as usual. No issues whatsoever

Hi

What about if I’ve lost my old passport which has the ILR stamp init. I’ve applied for BRP but still waiting. Can I still travel? My current passport’s last page has few lines to state I don’t need visa to enter UK.
If I travel would my application be withdrawn?
TIA

[zimba]

Without ILR sticker or BRP, you may be admitted as visitor

[zimba]

Who said such thing ??! Travel outside the UK for people who have a pending immigration application is an issue.

Technically it's UK, IE and Channel Islands. I wish this was EU instead!

Sorry for asking it in someone else's topic, but what are the reason for this restriction? Security?

No. It is nothing to do with security. Under immigration act 1971 if you have a pending visa application and you leave the UK, your application is considered automatically withdrawn. A visa to BRP transfer application is NOT a visa application

[CR001]

And being admitted and stamped in as a visitor could cancel your ilr status.

[secret.simon]

Technically it's UK, IE and Channel Islands. I wish this was EU instead!

Sorry for asking it in someone else's topic, but what are the reason for this restriction? Security?

The question is unclear. What restriction are you referring to?

Are you asking why ILR is restricted to the UK and does not allow visa-free travel to the EU?

Or are you asking why you can't travel outside the UK when an immigration application is pending?

[iwolga]

Who said such thing ??! Travel outside the UK for people who have a pending immigration application is an issue.

Technically it's UK, IE and Channel Islands. I wish this was EU instead!

Sorry for asking it in someone else's topic, but what are the reason for this restriction? Security?

No. It is nothing to do with security. Under immigration act 1971 if you have a pending visa application and you leave the UK, your application is considered automatically withdrawn. A visa to BRP transfer application is NOT a visa an application

Alright, thanks for clarifying this. I just assume the rule (or in this case the law) has some rationale behind it.

[iwolga]

Technically it's UK, IE and Channel Islands. I wish this was EU instead!

Sorry for asking it in someone else's topic, but what are the reason for this restriction? Security?

Or are you asking why you can't travel outside the UK when an immigration application is pending?

The latter. I understand this is as per Immigration Act, but surely there is a sense in that? I see so many people (including myself) struggling with this clause due to some travel plans which are getting postponed for months. And I understand life was different in 1971: less mobility and less travelling, less immigrants (I assume), but keeping this rule for 50 years must have a valid reason?

[secret.simon]

less immigrants (I assume)

Two points.

Sorry for being a pedant, but fewer immigrants.

Fewer countable nouns, less uncountable nouns. So fewer immigrants, less immigration; less water, but fewer litres of water, etc.

Secondly, when the Immigration Act 1971 was passed, the UK was in a different free movement zone (the Commonwealth) and it was, in part at least, a response to contain that free movement. The current Brexit debate is not the first debate the UK has had about free movement.

And I understand life was different in 1971: less mobility and less travelling, less immigrants (I assume), but keeping this rule for 50 years must have a valid reason?

We have laws in place that are more than half a millennium old (the oldest law still in effect in England is the Statute of Marlborough, dated November 1267). The legislation.gov.uk website lists Acts of the Scottish Parliament from 1424. Both of those predates most of the countries in the EU.

Indeed, I remember reading a Twitter thread that highlighted how, even in the midst of the English Civil War (roughly equivalent to revolutions in most other countries), the law courts continued to apply the laws as they were. There has been a continuum of English (and Scots) legal history for a few centuries.

In the context of such long timelines, 50 years is practically yesterday.

A law remains in force until its repeal (or until it has been amended). And no government or Parliament has thought fit to repeal it thus far.