I'm glad I'm not the only one... they were given extensions so they could stay in the country while she was looking for employment! How many other people would get that opportunity?
Quite a few. Mainly it is done by abusing the system: putting in for a visa they can't get, then appealing when they are correctly denied, then appealing to the upper tribunal when that is denied: then putting in again for anything, appeal that refusal ......... anything to stay in the UK and keep their 3c of the Immigration laws, running (legal stay). Which is why the Immigration Act 2016 has stopped that but unfortunately, it will also catch out some genuine people who make a mistake on their application as they too will only be allowed to appeal from outside the UK.
All because she didn't keep an eye on changes being made to the visa she was hoping to use. They have no real reason for staying in the UK other than they want to. I'm really disappointed in governmental bodies right now.
That PSW visa that she said she wanted, was closed before she came to the UK and never lead to settlement. it was just a 2 year work visa for those that no employer wanted to sponsor.
TBF, there were lots of easy routes to ILR in the late 90s and up to 2010. Many visas holders coming to the UK back then, expected to settle in the UK, even if the visa they entered on didn't lead to settlement! That's probably why after 2010, migrants looked for other ways to stay in the UK i.e. abusing the visas and appeal process mentioned above; find a EEA citizen to marry and get them to move to the UK.
I'm wondering if they have overstayed at any time during their refusal to leave, as under present rules, an overstay of 28 days will mean a ban of 10 years from British citizenship. 10 years from when they became legal. Who knows what time limit on a overstay will be brought in in the future, to cause a ban from BC?