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International relocation in a mid and post-Covid-19 world – where do we stand?
Cate Maguire
As the general election draws closer, immigration advisers all over the country watch closely to see what the current coalition government will do and whether they will try to implement any changes to the current immigration system.
Although Kingsley Napley has been informed that there will be no significant changes to the immigration system, we still rush to read every release with anticipation.
In a recent blog, we mentioned that the Home Office was going to introduce Biometric Residence Permits (BRP’s) for overseas applicants, but although we were advised this was imminent, we were anxious as there was no guidance on the roll out. We sent through various questions as part of the consultation process and follow up, particularly regarding who could collect the cards, and whether they would send them to legal representatives. We can happily say that the following details have now been released:
An opportunity to amend or abolish Police Registration?
Every year, we see the Overseas Visitors Records Office (OVRO) overwhelmed in September, with international students, as well as many secondees, making their move at that time of year. This year OVRO ran a system that required individuals to attend (and queue) twice – once within the seven day deadline to obtain an ‘appointment slip’ and again on the date of the appointment they were allocated.
With the introduction of BRPs, Police Registration nationals will be expected to attend the Post Office and collect their BRP and then also visit OVRO. As the Home Office is happy for the Post Office to oversee the collection of fingerprints (mandatory for most applications to remain in the UK) and the distribution of BRPs to new arrivals, outsourcing Police Registration would be the logical next step in order to streamline multiple visits to different locations into one visit only to the Post Office. Even better, it has been suggested that Police Registration should be abolished, now that almost all migrants will have BRPs. Either way, the admin-heavy current process needs to be reconsidered and we await an update from the Home Office on this point.
Further information
Should you have any questions regarding any of these issues, please contact Emma King or a member of the immigration team.
We welcome views and opinions about the issues raised in this blog. Should you require specific advice in relation to personal circumstances, please use the form on the contact page.
Cate Maguire
Nicola Finnerty
Nicola Finnerty
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