Help! Failure to Register with the Police

[SamanMJ]

Hello everyone,

I came to the UK last year to study a master's degree. Now I have been accepted to a PhD course, and hace my CAS number to apply for my visa extension.

However, I just realized that I had to register to the police upon arrival last year. I got my visa quite late and never really attended an orientation day, and no one told me about this issue. I was completely unaware of this obligation.

I came to UK in september 2018 and I have never regsitered with the police, yet have travelled in and out of UK 3 times without any problem, and no one has ever said anything to me. I didn't do this out of bad intention, it was a stupid mistake.

What should I do? I am planning to book a visa appointment soon, but do not want to be rejected because of not being registered with the police. Can I register now?

Please help!

[sah10406]

There is a detailed existing topic about it. See

uk-tier-4-student-visas/forgot-to-updat ... 32787.html

[kamoe]

I got my visa quite late and never really attended an orientation day, and no one told me about this issue. I was completely unaware of this obligation.

First of all, you don't get told this at orientation. You learn about this on the spot when you receive your visa in your home country. If your nationality is concerned, they would hand you a letter telling you you have to register with the police.

I have a friend who was in this situation, and the reason she had no idea she had to register was because she did not apply for her student visa herself, but instead hired a consultant to do it for her. This "professional" only handed her her passport back with no info pack attached. In the end, after the shock of her silliness and much stress, she registered with the police a year later, and all was well.

I came to UK in september 2018 and I have never regsitered with the police, yet have travelled in and out of UK 3 times without any problem, and no one has ever said anything to me.

This is normal if you fly via Heathrow. Through Birmingham, you would have been denied entry the first time round.

What should I do?

Go and register to the police ASAP. You might be meet with a severe reprimand, or you might be greeted by an understanding officer. In either case, they'll process the late registration as normal.

[SamanMJ]

Kamoe! Thank you so much for the detailed response!

I emailed them and they gave me an appointment in 5 months! So I would have to apply for my visa extension without a certificate and only with a future police appointment.

How can I find a faster appointment with the police? I live in Glasgow.

Any further advice is much much appreciated! Thanks

[sah10406]

Any further advice is much much appreciated!

Get advice from the international student adviser at your university. They are the expert.

[kamoe]

Any further advice is much much appreciated!

Get advice from the international student adviser at your university. They are the expert.

In my humble opinion, I doubt a student adviser at a university is an expert on immigration matters. It would be wise to take any of their advise with a pinch of salt.

They know how UK student visas work in general, and I suppose they know the application process and the responsibility of the university as a sponsor of students inside out, but when it comes to peripheral aspects of the process, or cases out of the ordinary, such as this one (a late registration with the police), chances are the student applicant themselves knows more than them.

I've been in this position; sheer first-hand experience makes up for years of robotic theory! The international advisers at my university would not know the difference between a Shengen visitor visa and a UK Tier 4 Student visa, as if they were programmed to hear the word "visa" and immediately equate it with Tier 4, and spit all they knew about it without even reading the question asked (As a side comment, I'm amazed at how many British people don't actually understand what a visa is and that not only the UK issues them).

That being said, you might be lucky and deal with an adviser that actually knows what they are talking about and can help.

[kamoe]

So I would have to apply for my visa extension without a certificate and only with a future police appointment.

This is certainly one option if time is running out, but keep in mind that the case worker has all the right to deny your visa (or even be obliged to refuse it) for the simple reason that you did not keep to the terms of your current visa (registering with the police was one of them), which was a requirement of your stay.

How can I find a faster appointment with the police? I live in Glasgow.

Another option might be to try and register at another city? I suppose police registration at a different city from where you live is better than no registration, although not sure if this is allowed.

Any further advice is much much appreciated! Thanks

I think it is worth seeing a professional immigration adviser (not just the service provided at the university, a real one), for expert help. Some solicitors even give you an hour of their time as a free first-time consultation. Try one.

[sah10406]

In my humble opinion, I doubt a student adviser at a university is an expert on immigration matters. It would be wise to take any of their advise with a pinch of salt.

That being said, you might be lucky and deal with an adviser that actually knows what they are talking about and can help.

Well, you what they say about opinions.

You may be thinking of generalist welfare advisers or about the university's immigration compliance team. They would both have a working knowledge of their own area of student visa matters, but an international student adviser is a trained immigration advice worker specialising in Tier 4 and their dependants, and in short-term student visas, and working with individual clients and working to OISC standards.

To further reassure OP, helping students manage police registration and advising on any problems associated with it is a key part of an international student adviser's work. What's more, universities put time and resources into making good working relationships with local registration offices. In bigger cities they may invite them onto the campus to make registration as easy as possible, negotiate deadlines later than the stated 7 days, or arrange special days for their students to register at the local office. This relationship also means it is usually fairly straightforward for a student, adviser and registration office to work together to manage and resolve any issues like OP's. You can be sure that any international student adviser will have plenty of experience with people who have failed to register or who have registered late, and can advise on what to do.

An international student adviser can also manage OP's expectations of the consequences of having not registered. As I say in several other topics on this matter, these fears are often out of all proportion to the reality of the breach, perhaps because of the "police" aspect and sometimes augmented by how the police or law-breaking are perceived (or how they really are) in the student's home country. For sure it is a breach of immigration conditions to not register with the police if you have that condition, and that has a number of theoretical penalties. A student should take it as seriously as their other visa conditions around working, studying and public funds. However in 25 years as, guess what, an international student adviser at a university, and having seen many dozens of people in this situation -- and having helped them finesse it with the registration office -- I have never seen any penalty enforced. Some scolding, tutting, finger-wagging, yes but a smile and an apology seems to always put an end to the matter.

[kamoe]

Well, you what they say about opinions.

If you read my post you'd know this opinion is informed on personal experience.

You may be thinking of generalist welfare advisers or about the university's immigration compliance team.

Cannot recall 100% how they were referred to, but it definitely had the word "international" on it, and they were the contact point for immigration queries.

They would both have a working knowledge of their own area of student visa matters, but an international student adviser is a trained immigration advice worker specialising in Tier 4 and their dependants, and in short-term student visas, and working with individual clients and working to OISC standards.

To further reassure OP, helping students manage police registration and advising on any problems associated with it is a key part of an international student adviser's work. What's more, universities put time and resources into making good working relationships with local registration offices. In bigger cities they may invite them onto the campus to make registration as easy as possible, negotiate deadlines later than the stated 7 days, or arrange special days for their students to register at the local office. This relationship also means it is usually fairly straightforward for a student, adviser and registration office to work together to manage and resolve any issues like OP's. You can be sure that any international student adviser will have plenty of experience with people who have failed to register or who have registered late, and can advise on what to do.

Glad to see this seems to be a working service in some universities. Again, sadly, from personal experience, I've seen none of this.

An international student adviser can also manage OP's expectations of the consequences of having not registered. As I say in several other topics on this matter, these fears are often out of all proportion to the reality of the breach, perhaps because of the "police" aspect and sometimes augmented by how the police or law-breaking are perceived (or how they really are) in the student's home country. For sure it is a breach of immigration conditions to not register with the police if you have that condition, and that has a number of theoretical penalties. A student should take it as seriously as their other visa conditions around working, studying and public funds. However in 25 years as, guess what, an international student adviser at a university, and having seen many dozens of people in this situation -- and having helped them finesse it with the registration office -- I have never seen any penalty enforced. Some scolding, tutting, finger-wagging, yes but a smile and an apology seems to always put an end to the matter.

You should have said all this from the start. Feels positive and reassuring. Glad I made my experience clear; thanks to that you elaborated on your answer. Thanks.

[SamanMJ]

Thank you both for your help

I did talk to the adviser in my uni, she only told me to email the police and explain my situation, I did that, and the police replied by simply giving me an appointment in May! I have my visa appointment in a few days, and I don't know if I have much of any other options than showing the police appointment instead of a certificate. Hope it goes well...

How can I register with a police in an area where I don't live in? Can I use a temporary stay in a hotel as a proof of address?

[Bethov76]

@SamanMJ - You can only register with the Police Force in the area you live in. So for example, if you are living in London you'd need to register with the Metropolitan Police, if you're in Brighton you need to register with the Sussex Police etc. It has to be your permanent address, you can't stay in a hotel in the region of another Police Force and attempt to register there, they wouldn't be permitted to do this.

If you need to submit your visa application, then I strongly recommend you go back to your International Student Adviser and explain all this. They may be able to find a solution that works for you because they are there to help you minimise the risk of refusal. If you haven't told them this already then it's best they have all the information. The best way that an adviser can help a student is if they have all the information. If you only told them you hadn't registered with the Police and didn't give the context of your visa application, then they'd only be advising you on the situation presented.

I should know. I'm another one of those pesky advisers who behave robotically and know nothing

[kamoe]

@SamanMJ - You can only register with the Police Force in the area you live in. So for example, if you are living in London you'd need to register with the Metropolitan Police, if you're in Brighton you need to register with the Sussex Police etc. It has to be your permanent address, you can't stay in a hotel in the region of another Police Force and attempt to register there, they wouldn't be permitted to do this.

Thanks for clarifying.
To the OP, please note my earlier suggestion did highlight it might not be possible. Obviously, a hotel registration means you are not a resident there, so not valid.

If you need to submit your visa application, then I strongly recommend you go back to your International Student Adviser and explain all this. They may be able to find a solution that works for you because they are there to help you minimise the risk of refusal. If you haven't told them this already then it's best they have all the information. The best way that an adviser can help a student is if they have all the information. If you only told them you hadn't registered with the Police and didn't give the context of your visa application, then they'd only be advising you on the situation presented.

And do stress that you already have an appointment in 5 months. What you need to inquire is not "What do I do now?" but "Is there a way I can get an earlier appointment?".

I should know. I'm another one of those pesky advisers who behave robotically and know nothing

Do note that in my post I reported on personal experience, and I admitted I am open to acknowledge the existence of good professionals who know what they are doing. No one is saying that you personally are pesky or robotic

Please receive my I apologies if my comments can be read as a general complaint against your job role, please be sure it really all comes from years of frustration. I do recognize I tend to generalize the stupidity I see, and I might have also mixed up my feelings towards HR departments in charge of work permit compliance, who cannot tell what is relevant and what isn't on your passport (attempting to scan a US tourist visa as proof of my right to work in the UK)...

[SamanMJ]

Can't thank you enough guys for your help! And being in various universities I have realized that in some places the advisers are very helpful, in some others, not very much.

Anyway, even though my university is in Glasgow, I am living with my partner at her family house, in Aberdeen. I contacted the Aberdeen police, and they gave me an appointment for tomorrow!

For proof of address, however, I can provide a letter from the owner of the house (my partner's parents), confirming that I do live with them. How should this letter look like?

I am kind of stressed that having studied in Glasgow, going to the Aberdeen police would seem a bit strange, but I do live in Aberdeen, and this is basically my only chance in getting my certificate before my visa application.

Also, I never received a decision letter. Like Kameo's friend's experience, I received my passport from a consultant, and she never gave me a decision letter with it. Will I need to provide that?

[kamoe]

Anyway, even though my university is in Glasgow, I am living with my partner at her family house, in Aberdeen. I contacted the Aberdeen police, and they gave me an appointment for tomorrow!

By all means go for that.

For proof of address, however, I can provide a letter from the owner of the house (my partner's parents), confirming that I do live with them. How should this letter look like?

Your full name as appears on your passport, nationality, passport number, birth date. Then the address of the house itself and declaration that they are the owner occupier and that you live with them. That might or might not be enough on itself, but you can always try. Contact the station and ask what else can you provide (given that your name does not appear on bills/council tax I suppose? ).

Other than that, there is not much info available. Here's the general guidance on documents and further info (which you have probably already seen): https://www.gov.uk/register-with-the-po ... o-register

I am kind of stressed that having studied in Glasgow, going to the Aberdeen police would seem a bit strange, but I do live in Aberdeen, and this is basically my only chance in getting my certificate before my visa application.

It sounds fair to me for you to attempt to register there.

Also, I never received a decision letter. Like Kameo's friend's experience, I received my passport from a consultant, and she never gave me a decision letter with it. Will I need to provide that?

No, no need for that decision letter. Only the documents listed on the page referred to above( plus anything else they specifically ask).

[SamanMJ]

Hello everyone!

So just wanted to say what happened at the police office for future reference.

I got my certifcate from Aberdeen quite easily. I had a letter from my partner's father confirming that I'm currently living there and the officer accepted it.

Thankfully, the officer did not care at all about me being late and everything went swimmingly!

Thank you for you advice everyone,
next step, apply for visa )