Advice for Chinese Nations in light of the COVID-19 outbreak:

On Friday 13 February 2020, Luke tabled a Written Parliamentary Question (WPQ) to the Secretary of State for the Home Department regarding concerns that Chinese nationals may face difficulty conforming to visa requirements if their visas were due to expire in the month of February or March. The exact wording of the WPQ is shown below:

“To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance she is providing for Chinese nationals whose visas expire imminently and whose home provinces are affected by Covid-19. (2022)”

The Home Office provided the following response:

Kevin Foster (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Immigration):

“We are taking a proportionate approach to individuals who are unable to comply with their visas due to the coronavirus outbreak.

 

We have set up a dedicated helpline and are providing visa extensions for anyone whose immigration status has been affected. Full guidance has been published on the GOV.UK website and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-immigration-guidance-if-youre-unable-to-return-to-china-from-the-uk

 

No one will be unfairly penalised for events beyond their control.”

 

The answer was submitted on 24 Feb 2020 at 17:34.

If you have already applied to extend your visa you don’t need to do anything and if you are intending to apply to extend your stay in the UK you should continue to do so.

If you have any questions or concerns you can contact Luke by emailing luke.pollard.mp@parliament.uk