ILR Lapse During COVID-19 Outbreak

Help! Last in the U.K. 2 years ago this May..must book flights to avoid any lapse in my ILR..but..CORONAVIRUS! What do I do?

Background: I moved back to the US in 2016 after living there for 18 years..my husband is a UKC & my kids have dual..

Any advice appreciated!

Help! Last in the U.K. 2 years ago this May..must book flights to avoid any lapse in my ILR..but..CORONAVIRUS! What do I do?

Background: I moved back to the US in 2016 after living there for 18 years..my husband is a UKC & my kids have dual..

Any advice appreciated!

I don't think it works like that.  You can't just come back for a visit to maintain ILR every 2 years. You need to come back to live here.

But I'm sure everyone else will chime in when they wake up tomorrow.

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It does in that if I don’t get there before it expires it WILL be cancelled..unless they have issued an extension as per Chinese nationals..

It does in that if I don’t get there before it expires it WILL be cancelled..unless they have issued an extension as per Chinese nationals..

Are you returning to live? Because coming back for just a brief visit doesn't legally extend your ILR.

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Read the returning resident guidance.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/returning-residents



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Nope, not going back to live.

The attachment you linked states exactly why I’m questioning this.

Unless you know of any extension details as per my OP I’ll wait to hear from others, thanks.

Help! Last in the U.K. 2 years ago this May..must book flights to avoid any lapse in my ILR..but..CORONAVIRUS! What do I do?

Background: I moved back to the US in 2016 after living there for 18 years..my husband is a UKC & my kids have dual..

Any advice appreciated!

Tami is correct. You must be coming back to settle, you cannot reset your ILR by making occasional visits, although from your timeline it appears that this is what you must have done at least in 2018.

From the immigration rules.

18. A person may resume their residence in the UK provided the Immigration Officer is satisfied that the person concerned:
(i) had indefinite leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom when he last left; and
(ii) has not been away from the United Kingdom for more than 2 years; and
(iii) did not receive assistance from public funds towards the cost of leaving the United Kingdom; and
(iv) now seeks admission for the purpose of settlement.
18A. Those who qualify to resume their residence in accordance with paragraph 18 do not need a visa to enter the UK.
19. A person who does not benefit from the preceding paragraph by reason only of having been absent from the United Kingdom for more than two consecutive years, must have applied for, and been granted indefinite leave to enter by way of entry clearance if, he can demonstrate he has strong ties to the United Kingdom and intends to make the United Kingdom his permanent home.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-part-1-leave-to-enter-or-stay-in-the-uk

Unfortunately as I'm sure you're now aware, the thing to have done would have been to apply for citizenship before leaving for the US in 2016.

I could be wrong, but from the wording on the link provided....you would need to resume residence ( meaning living here in the UK). It was the same for my UK wife when we moved back to the UK after 4 years in the US.....once you go and live somewhere else for a while the Green card is kaput.

From the link...
Less than 2 years’ absence
A person who has been absent from the UK for less than 2 years will retain their indefinite leave and does not need to apply for entry clearance before resuming their residence in the UK. Border force officers will assess whether a person can be admitted for entry under the requirements of paragraph 18.

As you left the UK in 2016 and did not return to live in the UK within 2 years of the date you left, your ILR will have become invalid in 2018.

You have to be returning to LIVE in the UK within 2 years of first leaving (2016) in order to keep your ILR valid.

You may have been lucky the last time and still been stamped in on your ILR, but that is unlikely to happen again, as you should have been stamped in as a visitor to the UK, which would have cancelled your ILR right away.

So, really, regardless of whether you are able to fly to the UK before May or not and regardless of whether your ILR is valid or not, you are not eligible to enter using your ILR because you are only visiting and not moving back to the UK (and even if you were moving back, you still would not be eligible because it’s been more than 2 years since you moved away from the UK).

It does in that if I don’t get there before it expires it WILL be cancelled..unless they have issued an extension as per Chinese nationals..

The extensions issued to Chinese nationals are for those stuck in the UK due to the virus, it's to prevent them from becoming illegal overstayers.
If you decided not to return before the expiration of your ILR you would, as it stands, need to apply for a returning resident visa but as you are not intending to remain in the UK, it's unlikely that it would be granted because you don't meet the intention to make the UK their permanent home requirement I quoted above.

“ Passengers who had indefinite leave when they last left the UK and who have not been away for more than 2 years, occasionally seek entry not as returning residents, but as visitors. You must not grant entry as a visitor in this instance where the person
Page 7 of 19 Published for Home Office staff on 13 July 2018
   
meets the requirements under paragraph 18 of the Rules. Instead, you should endorse their passport with an open date stamp which confirms they continue to hold indefinite leave.”

👍🏻

“ Passengers who had indefinite leave when they last left the UK and who have not been away for more than 2 years, occasionally seek entry not as returning residents, but as visitors. You must not grant entry as a visitor in this instance where the person
Page 7 of 19 Published for Home Office staff on 13 July 2018
   
meets the requirements under paragraph 18 of the Rules. Instead, you should endorse their passport with an open date stamp which confirms they continue to hold indefinite leave.”

👍🏻

But you don't meet the requirements of paragraph 18. I quoted it specifically in my post above.

I know you really want this not to be the case but it is, unfortunately.

“ Passengers who had indefinite leave when they last left the UK and who have not been away for more than 2 years, occasionally seek entry not as returning residents, but as visitors. You must not grant entry as a visitor in this instance where the person
Page 7 of 19 Published for Home Office staff on 13 July 2018
   
meets the requirements under paragraph 18 of the Rules. Instead, you should endorse their passport with an open date stamp which confirms they continue to hold indefinite leave.”

And Paragraph 18 states:

18. A person may resume their residence in the UK provided the Immigration Officer is satisfied that the person concerned:
(i) had indefinite leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom when he last left; and
(ii) has not been away from the United Kingdom for more than 2 years; and
(iii) did not receive assistance from public funds towards the cost of leaving the United Kingdom; and
(iv) now seeks admission for the purpose of settlement.

You will not be seeking admission for the purpose of settlement, you will be seeking temporary admission as a visitor, therefore they cannot give you an ‘open date’ stamp and instead they should stamp you in as a visitor.

Which is what they should have done last time you entered the UK, because you were also not entering for the purpose of settlement that time either.

Just to double-check:
What stamp were you given in your passport the last time you entered the UK? Did they stamp you in on the ILR or did they actually give you a visitor visa stamp?

If you were given an open date stamp last time, that would have been a mistake made by the immigration officer, as you did not meet the requirements of Paragraph 18 and should not have been given it.


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You were granted Indefinite Leave to REMAIN.  You didn’t remain.  It’s quite simple.  To  resume residence in the UK, you’ll need to apply for a new visa.

It’s okay you don’t believe us and everyone else.  But it’ll suck to be illegal.

And stating the obvious, there is no travel ban or restrictions between the USA and U.K.  Come on over today!