Free replacement visa for Vignette expired applicants

United Kingdom Visas and Immigration announced new guidance for overseas visa applicants to the United Kingdom.

If your 30-day visa to travel to the United Kingdom for work, study or to join family has expired or is about to expire, you can request a replacement visa(vignette) with revised validity dates for free of charge until the end of this year.

To make a request, you need to contact the Coronavirus Immigration Help Centre via email CIH@homeoffice.gov.uk with your details.

You’ll need to include your name, nationality, date of birth and your GWF reference number(found on the application) with ‘REPLACEMENT 30 DAY VISA’ in the subject line. Home office will aim to replay within 5 working days.

You will be contacted by Home office via email when overseas Visa application centres are reopened to arrange for a replacement visa to be endorsed in your passport.

As per the Home office guidance, you are required to collect you Biometric Residence Permit(BRP) within 10 days of your arrival in the UK, Considering the current situation Home office has confirmed, You will not be penalised for being unable collect your BRP while coronavirus measures are in place.

These special arrangements will be in place until the end of 2020.

Home office also confirmed If you have been issued a COS or CAS by the employer or university and you have not yet applied for a visa. You will still be able to apply for a visa when the Visa application centre reopens. The start date for the course or employment stated on the CoS or CAS may have changed or the COS/CAS invalid or expired. UKVI will not automatically refuse such visa applications.

If you have an appointment and the Visa application centre is closed, you will be contacted and when the visa application centres reopen.

If you’re an overseas nurse or paramedic working for the NHS. Your visa will be automatically extended by one year if it is due to expire before 1 October 2020. Family members with a visa due to expire before 1 October 2020 will also have their visa extended. The extension is free and you will not have to pay the immigration health surcharge. There is no longer a limit(previously 20 hours/week) on the number of hours you can work each week if you work for the NHS as a doctor, nurse or paramedic and you are a tier 4 student or tier 2 worker and your NHS job is a second job If you are a pre-registration nurse in the UK. The deadline for you to sit the OSCE has been extended to 31 December 2020.