Overstay?? ILR.

My wife has paid for and submitted her Indefinite Leave to Remain online application today (10th March) and was allowed to book in to an appointment to confirm documents and biometrics for 7th April. Unfortunately after looking at her Biometrics card it expired on 7th March. Technically I believe she has overstayed for 3 days, does anyone know of any grace period she may have and if the application will be dismissed as she applied 3 days late?

Hmm, as she submitted late, her application will be considered 'out of time' and will not be straightforward. There is a leeway of 14 days, but it will only be applied if she has a very good reason why it was not physically possible for her to submit her application in time.

The rules for Applications from Overstayers state:

First, overstaying will be disregarded if the Secretary of State considers that there was a good reason beyond the control of the applicant or their representative, provided in or with the application, why it could not be made in time, provided that the application is made within 14 days of the expiry of leave.

So, she must state/have stated in the application a good reason why it was impossible for her to make her application in time.

Also from the guidance:

If a caseworker is refusing an application because of overstaying

If, within the 14 day consideration period, the applicant submitted details of circumstances beyond their control that prevented them from seeking leave, these should be considered.

Caseworkers must give thought to:
• the plausibility of the reasons
• whether the reason was genuinely outside the applicant’s control or whether the applicant is describing difficulties that could realistically have been surmounted
• the credibility of evidence provided

Caseworkers must decide each case on its merits, but examples of reasons that might be considered beyond the control of applicants are:
• the applicant was admitted to hospital for emergency treatment (evidenced by an official letter verifying the dates of admission and discharge and the nature of the treatment)
• a close family bereavement
• an educational institution was not sufficiently prompt in issuing a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)

There seems to be no mention of what will happen if it is just a simple mistake, hopefully they will see the evidence we have collated etc and that we have had two children since the last application and provided everything else asked of us..... just three days late.

Also, because she submitted the application after her visa expired, she became an overstayer in the UK on March 8th and is NOT covered under 3C leave.

This means that she is not legally allowed to work anymore, so if she is currently working, she must stop immediately. If she continues to work, and her employer is found to be employing an illegal immigrant, they can be fined £10,000 and face 2 years in prison. She is also not entitled to use the NHS for 'free' anymore.

Thank you, she has recently stopped working. We will try talk to Gov.uk and Citizens advice tomorrow.

Really sorry this has happened.  At this point, I’d hire an attorney (Medivisas) and request a document review and for them to write a cover letter.

As you 100% sure you are reading the dates correctly?  It reads day, month, year.  Fingers crossed that you have until 3rd of July!

I know it’s just a mistake, but it’s a pretty massive mistake.  You need good legal council if she is in fact applying after the expiry date.

Yeah I do see it as a massive mistake.
I wish it was as simple as reading the date incorrectly, for some reason my wife though she had until the end of March.
I will give MediVisas a call tomorrow too and see how we can start to dig ourselves out of this hole we have put ourselves in. Unfortunately I didn't realise until after we had paid the fee etc, so hopefully we haven't lost that money too.

We have contacted legal representation and both companies believe we can have hope that the case workers will show discretion and authorise the visa application provided we include a cover letter explaining the mistake and contributing factors. They also believe my wife can remain in the country as she has a pending application, even though it was a few days late. We have further meetings with immigration advisors but have a little hope that all is not lost.

We have contacted legal representation and both companies believe we can have hope that the case workers will show discretion and authorise the visa application provided we include a cover letter explaining the mistake and contributing factors. They also believe my wife can remain in the country as she has a pending application, even though it was a few days late. We have further meetings with immigration advisors but have a little hope that all is not lost.

Best of luck.