Re-entry ban for invalid application

[Brad_87]

Hi, I was on a student visa in the UK and applied for a Skilled Worker visa on the day my student visa expired. However, I couldn’t attend a UKVCAS appointment due to a lack of available slots, which led to my application being rejected as invalid. I then left the UK in a week. Do I have a re-entry ban?

P.S. I applied for a SAR and received a PDF file, which shows no indication of a re-entry ban. It only states that my application was refused due to the lack of a biometrics appointment.

[alterhase58]

An application being rejected as invalid means it wasn’t an application at all. So you can’t be banned for not having made an application.
Next time make a valid application. You haven’t contravened immigration regulations!

[Brad_87]

An application being rejected as invalid means it wasn’t an application at all. So you can’t be banned for not having made an application.
Next time make a valid application. You haven’t contravened immigration regulations!

If my student visa ended and I applied for a Skilled Worker visa, the period between the expiry of my student visa and the decision on my Skilled Worker application would have been covered by Section 3C of the Immigration Rules. However, once the application was rejected as invalid, Section 3C no longer applied, meaning my leave was not extended. This technically annuls the protection, and I would be considered an overstayer from the date my student visa expired, right?

[lolo2]

See page 7 on https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... _leave.pdf:

Where the application becomes invalid because of a failure to provide biometrics the Supreme Court clarified that section 3C leave came to an end at the point the Home Office serves a notice of invalidity.

Have you received a letter from UKVI with the outcome of an invalid application?

[lolo2]

Edit: ignore my last question.

The letter you received with the invalid application notice should say what options you had after the decision was made.

[secret.simon]

I then left the UK in a week.

If you left the UK while an immigration application is in progress, that application is automatically considered withdrawn.

If you had any Section 3C leave as a result of an ongoing immigration application, that would have come to an end too. So your Section 3C leave is definitely at an end now.

I don't think that you will be under a reentry ban. But you will need to make a new entry clearance application from outside the UK from scratch.

[Brad_87]

Edit: ignore my last question.

The letter you received with the invalid application notice should say what options you had after the decision was made.

In the letter, there is no mention of a re-entry ban. They simply stated that the application was rejected as invalid. The exact text:

"Your application has been rejected because: This application has been rejected as you have not undertaken the biometric process and so the application has been rejected as invalid.

Next steps:

As you do not have permission to stay in the UK, you should now leave the country, or you may be removed.
If you think there are reasons why we should allow you to stay in the UK:
If you think you have a reason to remain in the UK, you need to make an application to stay.”

[Brad_87]

I then left the UK in a week.

If you left the UK while an immigration application is in progress, that application is automatically considered withdrawn.

If you had any Section 3C leave as a result of an ongoing immigration application, that would have come to an end too. So your Section 3C leave is definitely at an end now.

I don't think that you will be under a reentry ban. But you will need to make a new entry clearance application from outside the UK from scratch.

I left the UK within a week of receiving the letter stating that my application was rejected as invalid due to not providing biometrics. I’m concerned because my solicitor mentioned that, technically, my application is not considered “made.” without biometrics This, in turn, means I wasn’t covered by Section 3C of the Immigration Rules.

[lolo2]

Next steps:

As you do not have permission to stay in the UK, you should now leave the country, or you may be removed.

And you voluntarily left right after the decision, therefore you didn't become an overstayer.

See my previous comment with the link to the guidance. In your case, section 3C leave terminated when you received the response from UKVI. Between application submission and date of decision your leave was covered by section 3C.

I'm not sure if you're using a solicitor based in the UK or in your country, but more often than we should expect they provide very poor or incorrect advice.

I don't think you will have any issues with a future visa application or re-entering the UK.

[Brad_87]

Next steps:

As you do not have permission to stay in the UK, you should now leave the country, or you may be removed.

And you voluntarily left right after the decision, therefore you didn't become an overstayer.

See my previous comment with the link to the guidance. In your case, section 3C leave terminated when you received the response from UKVI. Between application submission and date of decision your leave was covered by section 3C.

I'm not sure if you're using a solicitor based in the UK or in your country, but more often than we should expect they provide very poor or incorrect advice.

I don't think you will have any issues with a future visa application or re-entering the UK.

The issue is, I consulted several solicitors based in the UK. Two of them indicated that there should be some restrictions, particularly a one-year re-entry ban, while the other two argued that, based on section 3C, there are no bans for applications without a biometric appointment, as it is explicitly stated as part of section 3C. I’m really confused.

I requested a SAR, and there was no mention of a re-entry ban, but one of the solicitors said that a SAR can’t show information about bans. I’m considering submitting a paid request to the Home Office, but the solicitors advised against it, saying it’s not a good idea.

[contorted_svy]

I am not aware of a paid option to request data to UKVI - what do you mean exactly, and what motivation did the solicitors give as to why it would not be a good idea? You have a right to access your data.