Police registration issues - very confused and worried now..

[Grizebella]

Hi, tier 4 student here. I am going to apply for graduate visa pretty soon, and currently going through my documents. Then I found some worrying issues with my police registration.

My latest address change (and the latest thing to be reported to the police) is in 2019. At that time, I registered with my local police station in person without any issues. I also believe that it was the rule to update addresses with local police station at that time? Or at least the local police processed my update without any issues at that time. During the last almost 3 years, I've been living in the same address since then and my details are not changed, so I didn't really pay attention to the relevant policies ever since (it's my fault, I know).

Now I'm preparing for my graduate visa application these days, so I've been looking up some rules and policies just as I get my documents ready. I only found out last week that now that how OVRO works has changed: Now you need to register an account online (I registered right away after this discovery), and if there are any changes in your details, you need to book appointments with OVRO online. And as this new system suggests, changes in residential address require an appointment with OVRO, not just any London police stations.

Now I'm really frightened and worried. And here are my questions I hope you can help with:
1) If it is required to report change of address to the OVRO now instead of local police station, is my previous registration with my local police station still valid?
2) Besides, since I didn't open an online account with OVRO until now, did I just go without any valid police registration information for three years? Is it going to be an offence of some sort?
3)Is this situation going to affect my chance at getting my graduate visa? I've already got a late registration a few years ago so now I'm very concerned. If everything goes well, I'll complete 10 years of long residency at the end of this graduate visa, so it would be devastating news to find that I'll never get my ILR and settle down in the UK...

[sah10406]

I recommend speaking to the International Student Adviser at your university about it. They will have the time and expertise to look at the whole matter with you.

Answers you get here may be based on peoples' similar experience, but maybe not recent and without the added complication of the pandemic changing how things were done re: police registration. Also, with police registration there is not necessarily a generic one-size-fits-all answer or solution anyway. It could depend on how your university itself manages police registration for students.

If you have access to free and professional visa advice via your sponsor, that's the best way to go.

[Grizebella]

I recommend speaking to the International Student Adviser at your university about it. They will have the time and expertise to look at the whole matter with you.

Hi Sah, thanks for you advice. But unluckily, I have just called them, and the answer I got is that they are not sure... Now I'm even more confused and worried to the extent that I can't concentrate on any other everyday tasks...

[sah10406]

Now I'm even more confused and worried to the extent that I can't concentrate on any other everyday tasks...

Wow, seriously unhelpful response from the university.

Okay, here's a reality check. Yes, failing to register or failing to update police registration is on paper a breach of visa conditions which can lead to a fine, imprisonment, removal from the UK and refusal of future applications. HOWEVER frankly the Home Office, the police and universities know the police registration condition is an archaic hangover from a previous era, which is an annoying bureaucratic exercise for everyone, and sooner or later needs to be abolished. It is unheard of for such a breach to have any bearing on the outcome of an immigration application. I have been advising on in-country applications for 25 years and it has never happened.

Your university could not put it that way, but it's disappointing that they could not find a way to allay your fears while still being mindful of visa conditions.

Separately, of course while police registration still exists you absolutely do need to take it seriously.

[Grizebella]

Now I'm even more confused and worried to the extent that I can't concentrate on any other everyday tasks...

Wow, seriously unhelpful response from the university.

Okay, here's a reality check. Yes, failing to register or failing to update police registration is on paper a breach of visa conditions which can lead to a fine, imprisonment, removal from the UK and refusal of future applications. HOWEVER frankly the Home Office, the police and universities know the police registration condition is an archaic hangover from a previous era, which is an annoying bureaucratic exercise for everyone, and sooner or later needs to be abolished. It is unheard of for such a breach to have any bearing on the outcome of an immigration application. I have been advising on in-country applications for 25 years and it has never happened.

Your university could not put it that way, but it's disappointing that they could not find a way to allay your fears while still being mindful of visa conditions.

Separately, of course while police registration still exists you absolutely do need to take it seriously.

Yes, they didn't give me any constructive answer on whether my situation is something I should worry about, or if I should worry, whether they can help with anything. They first asked me to contact the university's admissions office and see if admissions have my up-to-date information, and then said maybe I can request information about myself from the met police from the ACRO (Criminal Records Office), which is a process that can take about a month... Both of which doesn't sound helpful or even correct, even to me.

I thought about walking in the OVRO office and ask, but obviously I can't do that these days because I need an appointment, and I can't get an appointment if I'm not updating anything. Not to say that it's difficult to get appointments in-time after the pandemic... It's rather frustrating!

But thank you Sah. Knowing that reality makes me feel a lot better. And if my new visa application is successful, I will of course adhere to the rules when updating my information with them again.

[Grizebella]

Now I'm even more confused and worried to the extent that I can't concentrate on any other everyday tasks...

Wow, seriously unhelpful response from the university.

Okay, here's a reality check. Yes, failing to register or failing to update police registration is on paper a breach of visa conditions which can lead to a fine, imprisonment, removal from the UK and refusal of future applications. HOWEVER frankly the Home Office, the police and universities know the police registration condition is an archaic hangover from a previous era, which is an annoying bureaucratic exercise for everyone, and sooner or later needs to be abolished. It is unheard of for such a breach to have any bearing on the outcome of an immigration application. I have been advising on in-country applications for 25 years and it has never happened.

Your university could not put it that way, but it's disappointing that they could not find a way to allay your fears while still being mindful of visa conditions.

Separately, of course while police registration still exists you absolutely do need to take it seriously.

Yes, they didn't give me any constructive answer on whether my situation is something I should worry about, or if I should worry, whether they can help with anything. They first asked me to contact the university's admissions office and see if admissions have my up-to-date information, and then said maybe I can request information about myself from the met police from the ACRO (Criminal Records Office), which is a process that can take about a month... Both of which doesn't sound helpful or even correct, even to me.

I thought about walking in the OVRO office and ask, but obviously I can't do that these days because I need an appointment, and I can't get an appointment if I'm not updating anything. Not to say that it's difficult to get appointments in-time after the pandemic... It's rather frustrating!

But thank you Sah. Knowing that reality makes me feel a lot better. And if my new visa application is successful, I will of course adhere to the rules when updating my information with them again.

[sah10406]

And if my new visa application is successful, I will of course adhere to the rules when updating my information with them again.

You're welcome, but it's "when" not "if". The eligibility for the Graduate visa is extremely straightforward, and refusals are virtually unheard of, unless someone does something weird like apply part-way through their course -- which people have done!

[Grizebella]

And if my new visa application is successful, I will of course adhere to the rules when updating my information with them again.

You're welcome, but it's "when" not "if". The eligibility for the Graduate visa is extremely straightforward, and refusals are virtually unheard of, unless someone does something weird like apply part-way through their course -- which people have done!

Thank you very much!

[Grizebella]

Hi, just a bit of update and some other new questions (also regarding police registration):

1) My registration info with the OVRO before the launch of the online system should be valid, without a doubt - I went to OVRO without appointments one day, and a kind officer reassured me that.

2) But I have a new question:
My latest visa, which I'm currently on, was granted Feb 1, 2019. I received all my documents on Feb 9, and went to I went to OVRO to book an appointment on Feb 11. At that time there was no online systems. I was given a slip to prove that I have the appointment, which was March 6.
I went to the appointment on time and got registered without any issues, so I (naively and stupidly) did not keep any proof that I went to book my appointment in time, such as a picture of the appointment slip.
Now when I submit my documents for the application of my graduate visa, what the caseworker would see is that I have a visa granted Feb 1, and registered my new visa more than a month later.
What I do have now is the proof that I received my documents on Feb 9, but still.
So is this going to be an issue? What should I do to avoid unnecessary troubles?
(I have also booked an appointment with my uni's international advisor which is next week. Just hope to hear some different guidances. Thank you)

[vinny]

Don’t worry about late police registrations.

[Grizebella]

Don’t worry about late police registrations.

Thank you vinny! Yes as I said quite clearly in my last response, I did go to register my then new visa (and in time - although I don't have proof for that), and did so without any issues at all (not scolded or threatened by officer, no late registration marks on PRC etc.).
It's just that it happened before the online system came into being, so nobody has any record to retrace, and unable to prove that I'm not lying made me very confused and scared.
I'll save the link for the official document. That can finally put my mind at ease now.

[sah10406]

So is this going to be an issue?

No.

What should I do to avoid unnecessary troubles?

Frankly, and with respect, you should stop obsessing over this matter.

[kamoe]

So is this going to be an issue?

No.

What should I do to avoid unnecessary troubles?

Frankly, and with respect, you should stop obsessing over this matter.

Exactly.

I had to register with the police for a number of years, and my big takeaway is that it's a document no one really looks at, and is only there to make things more difficult to some people. I became a pro at immigration admin, and was super strict about processes... and even I missed a few dates. We are human, after 10 years of respecting the deadlines, forgetting to do things one time and registering late is bound to happen at some point.

As long as you have proof that you registered most of your change of addresses (I know people that moved so much that ended up skipping registration of some house moves with no issue), all of your jobs, and all of your visas, at some point int time, no matter if there are some delays here and there in registering them; as long as is done and you can include that police certificate in your application, you'll be fine. No one is going to look at every single detail and catch that you "registered late".

Stop overthinking.