An overstayer is someone who remains in the UK after their visa has expired. Overstaying your UK visa is considered an offence to overstay in the UK as you are in breach of UK immigration law. You may face far-reaching consequences, so it’s best to avoid overstaying on your UK visa.
You won’t get a notification from the Home Office that your visa is about to expire. It is your responsibility to know when your visa expires. If you’re not sure if you’ve overstayed, you can check if your visa is still valid by looking at the date on your biometric residence permit or a stamp or sticker in your passport.
When do I become an overstayer?
You become an overstayer if you remain in the UK beyond the period that you are permitted. This can be when your most recently issued visa expires or when an extended stay comes to an end.
What to do if you’ve overstayed your visa
You can submit an application to extend your current visa or for a new visa.
The Home Office may consider your application if all of the following apply:
- Your late application is made within 14 days of your leave expiring
- The Home Office accepts that you had a good reason for overstaying beyond your control
If you discover that you’ve overstayed your visa, you should seek help from a professional that specialises in UK immigration. The sooner you do this the better.
Overstaying isn’t only related to an expired visa. You might also be treated as an overstayer if you:
- Fraudulently acquired your visa or used false documents
- Omitted information that could have led to your visa being refused, such as having a criminal record
What are the consequences of overstaying your UK visa?
Overstaying should be avoided if possible. Should you wish to remain in the UK, it’s important that you submit your application before your visa is about to expire. It is a criminal offence to stay beyond your permitted time and it remains an offence for the duration that you remain in the UK illegally. As an overstayer, you will not be allowed to work, rent accommodation, open a bank account, drive or access medical treatment.
Returning to the UK
If you have previously overstayed, you may be subject to a mandatory re-entry ban preventing you from returning to the UK for between 12 months and 10 years depending on the circumstances. There will be no re-entry ban if the person overstayed for less than 30 days and left the UK voluntarily and not at the expense of the Secretary of State.
If you overstay for more than 28 days, you must leave the UK and make a new application from your home country. This also means that any time spent in the UK that would have counted towards qualifying for indefinite leave to remain will fall away.
When will you face a ban and for how long?
You may be allowed to apply for a visa
If you’ve overstayed for less than 90 days and left the UK voluntarily, not at the expense of the Secretary of State.
Ban of one year
If you overstayed in the UK for more than 90 days and left the UK voluntarily, not at the expense of the Secretary of State.
Ban of two years
If you overstayed and were removed at the expense of the Secretary of State, and the date on which you were removed was less than six months after the date on which you were given notice of the removal decision or no more than six months after the date of which you no longer had a pending appeal.
Ban of five years
If you overstayed and left voluntarily, at the expense of the Secretary of State.
Ban of 10 years
You were removed or deported out of the UK.
Types of exceptional cases permitted
If you can prove that there were exceptional circumstances that prevented you from applying within 28 days, your application may be taken into consideration.
This could be:
- Suffering from a serious illness that prevented you from submitting your application in time
- You lost your documents due to fire or theft
- There were travel or postal delays which resulted in your application reaching the Home Office late.
You will need to provide proof of the circumstances that affected your application and the Home Office will evaluate each application on a case-by-case basis.