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12 Jun COVID-19 guidance update

Posted on June 12, 2020 in Investing in the UK by
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If you are in the UK under the spouse or fiancé(e) category and planning to extend your stay, you  must submit a further leave to remain application prior to the expiry of your current leave to be protected under section 3C of the 1971 Immigration Act. However, the concern is that some  applicants might not be able to meet one of the many mandatory requirements due to COVID-19 pandemic – for instance, a fiancé(e)  should register their marriage within 6 months of arriving in the UK and also satisfy the financial threshold when submitting a  spouse visa application.

On 9 June 2020, the Home Office updated the temporary concessions in relation to the family route.

Fiancés, fiancées or proposed civil partners

If you are in the UK with 6 months’ leave as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner and your wedding or civil ceremony has been delayed due to coronavirus you can either request an extension until 31 July 2020 by updating your records with the Coronavirus Immigration Team (CIT), or apply to extend your stay for a further 6 months to allow the ceremony to take place.

The Immigration Rules states that ‘E-LTRP.1.11. If the applicant is in the UK with leave as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner and the marriage or civil partnership did not take place during that period of leave, there must be good reason why and evidence that it will take place within the next 6 months.’

Changes to the minimum income and adequate maintenance requirement

If you have experienced a loss of income due to COVID-19, the Home Office will consider employment income for the period immediately before the loss of income due to coronavirus, provided the requirement was met for at least 6 months up to March 2020.

If your salary has reduced because you are furloughed, the Home Office will take account of your income as though you were earning 100% of your salary.

If you are self-employed, a loss of annual income due to coronavirus between 1 March 2020 and 31 July 2020 will generally be disregarded, along with the impact on employment income from the same period for future applications.

If you are unable to provide specified documents

Applicants might face difficulties in obtaining supporting documents as many institutions in the UK and abroad remian closed. For example, for those who need to take English language exam or Life in the UK test prior to the submission of their application.

The latest COVID-19 guidance stated that ‘in some cases, we will be able to decide your application without seeing certain specified documents if you cannot get them due to coronavirus. Otherwise, you may be asked to submit the specified documents after the date of application.’

Changes to the English language requirement

If you are required to take an English language test as part of your application, you can apply for an exemption if the test centre was closed or you couldn’t travel to it due to COVID-19 when you applied.

However, there is no specific mention in the latest guidance on the Life in the UK test.

Contact Our Immigration Team

For expert advice regarding any aspect of the UK visa application, please contact our immigration team on 0203 384 3075.

The content of this article is for general use and information only. Since each case should be prepared on its own merit and in light of the constant amendments to the Immigration Rules, it is important to note that the information provided must not be relied upon unless Migra & Co has either given written consent or has been officially engaged in relation to a specific immigration matter. As a result, Migra & Co will take no responsibility for any damage, cost or loss resulting from relying on the information contained in this article, blog and website.