Waiting for ILR but can I fly from London to Belfast ?

Hello all I know this is a silly question
But I visa expired on aug 31st and I submitted my application for my initial leave to remain Visa in September, so everything is submitted. Everything seems good. So it’s now the waiting game and I’m in visa limbo … I wanted to know can I fly from London to Belfast I know it’s an internal flight within the U.K./Northern Ireland but I just wanted to know do you think there would be any issues or problems if I use my passport to go ?
FYI it’s for a wedding .. in March .. I was told I should hear back from the home office by January but just incase as I know things have slowed down ..
Thanks again for any help ☺️

As long as you applied before your visa expired and your application is valid, you are prevented from being an overstayer while Immigration Staff decide under 3C of the Immigration Act 1971.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/3c-and-3d-leave

Northern Ireland is part of the UK.

It's leavng the CTA that is the problem, as stated under 34K of the Immigration rules

34K. "Where a decision on an application for permission to stay has not been made and the applicant travels outside the common travel area their application will be treated as withdrawn on the date the applicant left the common travel area."
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-part-1-leave-to-enter-or-stay-in-the-uk#withdrawal-of-an-application-for-entry-clearance-permission-to-enter-and-permission-to-stay-in-the-united-kingdom

"The Common Travel Area (CTA) is a long-standing arrangement between the UK, the Crown Dependencies (Bailiwick of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Isle of Man) and Ireland that pre-dates both British and Irish membership of the EU and is not dependent on it."
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/common-travel-area-guidance

As long as you applied before your visa expired and your application is valid, you are prevented from being an overstayer while Immigration Staff decide under 3C of the Immigration Act 1971.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/3c-and-3d-leave


Thank you for the reply
I submitted my application on the 31st of aug completed my biometrics in sept with all my scanned paper work and received a letter stating I should receive a decision by Jan 2024 ..

So this wedding has come up and I need to give an answer if I am attending.. but from what you have said I have everything in place with the government .. i wonder if using my passport would flag anything up if scanned at the airport but again it would seem like a no from reading the above .

Thank you again for that .. I just wanted to be safer then sorry 🫣☺️




Northern Ireland is part of the UK.

It's leavng the CTA that is the problem, as stated under 34K of the Immigration rules

34K. "Where a decision on an application for permission to stay has not been made and the applicant travels outside the common travel area their application will be treated as withdrawn on the date the applicant left the common travel area."
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-part-1-leave-to-enter-or-stay-in-the-uk#withdrawal-of-an-application-for-entry-clearance-permission-to-enter-and-permission-to-stay-in-the-united-kingdom

"The Common Travel Area (CTA) is a long-standing arrangement between the UK, the Crown Dependencies (Bailiwick of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Isle of Man) and Ireland that pre-dates both British and Irish membership of the EU and is not dependent on it."
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/common-travel-area-guidance

i wonder if using my passport would flag anything up if scanned at the airport but again it would seem like a no from reading the above .

Whatever is recorded by the airline and given to the government won't matter because as 34K of the rules states, you are allowed to fly/visit within the UK (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales) and the rest of the CTA (Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man and the Republic of Ireland) without your application being treated as withdrawn.

If you stay within the CTA, the protection of 3C  (link above) will remain in place.

Enjoy the wedding in NI.


Exit checks fact sheet
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/exit-checks-on-passengers-leaving-the-uk/exit-checks-fact-sheet

Don't forget that if you should need urgent healthcare while in NI, NI has their own NHS;  just as the other UK countries have; NHS England, NHS Scotland; NHS Wales. 

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/health-and-medical-emergencies-services-visitors-northern-ireland

Great Britain is England, Wales and Scotland.
Anything billed, the NHS of that country where treatment is given, will bill the NHS of the UK country that you are legally living in.
A British citizen also has to be resident in the UK to be able to use an NHS bill free, unless an exemption applies.

If you cross the border to visit the Republic of Ireland, there are different requirements for healthcare.
"This is not a replacement for travel insurance. Take out travel insurance before your trip."
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/healthcare-for-uk-nationals-visiting-ireland

If you fancy visiting one of the other CTA countries, they have reciprocal health agreements with the UK, but what is given will vary.

"Within the reciprocal agreements there are a number of variations in the level of free treatment afforded to visitors. Generally, only immediate medical treatment is provided free of charge, to allow visitors to return home for other needs.

The agreements do not cover:

    the cost of returning you to the UK (repatriation)
    routine monitoring of pre-existing conditions

Medical services may also be more restricted than under the NHS. Make sure you have a valid private travel insurance policy when travelling to any country worldwide."
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-reciprocal-healthcare-agreements-with-non-eu-countries#reciprocal-healthcare-agreements-outside-of-the-eu