Travelling without my approved BRP but will potentially re-enter with new BRP. Is it possible?

[Maddi9324]

Hi All, So a unique (or maybe not) predicament here. But unfortunately, I have to leave the country very soon (23rd Dec) but got my Tier 2 Work Visa approved 8 working days ago. Unfortunately, I checked with the DX delivery service and they told me they haven't received anything from the HO meaning my BRP is likely to be delayed till after this date, and on the approval letter is states I shouldn't travel without my BRP.

The the main reason behind the no travel rule seems to be that you have to collect the BRP personally which is not possible outside the country. However, in my situation the BRP is sent directly to me but is going to be sent to xxx (Immigration Adviser) who I assume has the right to collect it on my behalf. Then xxxx have told me they will send it to my current address. And my sister is willing to collect the BRP at that address and bring it personally back to me in my Home Country.

So what I was wondering is if anyone has had their BRP delivered to a firm/legal adviser and not themselves and if that counted as valid collection or if you absolutely had to collect it personally. Additionally, if then it is possible to bring the BRP out of the country and still be valid as I will be re-entering with the BRP once my sister hands it to me. Anybody dealt with similar situations before, would love to hear your experiences!

[SKJ1984]

If you are sure your BRP would be delivered to solicitor/immigration consultant. Then your idea works.
I hope your application is approved and brp is ready for postage.

Still I am unsure what might go wrong in this plan. I could vouch for the idea of someone collecting on your behalf. But moving out of country. ? I am afraid for no reason.

Recently my friends BRP was delivered to his friend who stays with him and he collected on behalf of him.

All you need is BRP when you enter back.

[Maddi9324]

I completely understand what you mean about the fear. While in theory my idea works if anything goes wrong if there is some clerical error that I need to fix then that will basically be impossible to rectify since I willl be out of the country. And this might mean I lose the job and the visa. But there's only a 1% chance that can happen since everything else is fine. But I'm going to check in with dx before I fly to see if at least they gave received my brp but just haven't delivered it yet to my legal adviser.

[Maddi9324]

Also if it helps anyone else reading this. I called the home office and told them my plan as well and they said that there is no issue at all with it as long as I can make sure I get my BRP before re-entering!

[CR001]

The call centre is outsourced to a third-party agent,who often give out incorrect advice etc.

[Maddi9324]

Hi CR001,

Just to clarify, is this for the DX call centre or the HO call centre?

As for the HO, I did have some trouble explaining the situation and one employee I talked to said he wasn't sure and asked me to talk to an immigration adviser listed on their website. However, when I called again the second employee seemed a lot more knowledgeable and said it should be fine to exit and re-enter after collecting a new BRP, but also told me that I should get a letter form my legal adviser explaining the situation in case I get asked any questions when exiting Heathrow about my right to remain.

[Anjali7]

Hi All, So a unique (or maybe not) predicament here. But unfortunately, I have to leave the country very soon (23rd Dec) but got my Tier 2 Work Visa approved 8 working days ago. Unfortunately, I checked with the DX delivery service and they told me they haven't received anything from the HO meaning my BRP is likely to be delayed till after this date, and on the approval letter is states I shouldn't travel without my BRP.

The the main reason behind the no travel rule seems to be that you have to collect the BRP personally which is not possible outside the country. However, in my situation the BRP is sent directly to me but is going to be sent to xxx (Immigration Adviser) who I assume has the right to collect it on my behalf. Then xxxx have told me they will send it to my current address. And my sister is willing to collect the BRP at that address and bring it personally back to me in my Home Country.

So what I was wondering is if anyone has had their BRP delivered to a firm/legal adviser and not themselves and if that counted as valid collection or if you absolutely had to collect it personally. Additionally, if then it is possible to bring the BRP out of the country and still be valid as I will be re-entering with the BRP once my sister hands it to me. Anybody dealt with similar situations before, would love to hear your experiences!

Hello,
Mine is a bit similar case I guess. I’m tier 2 general visa holder, my husband is dependent. Unfortunately he has to travel aswell and I thought to courier him to his place once I receive BRP to my home address. I don’t think it is a problem if he has BRP while retuning to UK.
The problem here with us is but different. His BRP is not yet received and it’s been 12 weeks. He is stuck. All we receive emails is there has been some technical issue and there is no time line.

[Maddi9324]

Hi Anjali7,

So right now I did travel back home on the 23rd and my BRP was delivered to my advisers on the 24th and no issue seems to have arisen from my travel. All that I will need to do now is collect my BRP from the courier service (DHL Critical Express International) and I can safely re-enter the country.

However, just to be safe if your husband can postpone the trip I would recommend that, since it has been delayed for 12 weeks there might be a bigger problem behind the scenes and he might need to be present to rectify the situation as my BRP delivery was only delayed by 1 working day. I, fortunately, did not have to re-enter the country to fix any issues as that would have been nearly impossible on my end.

But as far as travelling and couriering the BRP is a potential option, I can say that it did work in my scenario but generally, I do think it is a risky play to make. Furthermore, I didn't have any issues at Heathrow regarding exit checks as I didn't have to go through any if that is a concern for you but I cannot guarantee your husband won't have to show his BRP at Heathrow if there are exit checks which again could cause issues (again this is very unlikely) since he has no proof of his right to remain.

So to surmise, quite risky but definitely possible to travel and re-enter after collecting your BRP.

Hope that helps =)

[SKJ1984]

Exit checks. I completely missed this point.

Once I was questioned at Stansted airport for Belfast travel immediately after security gate randomly.

If they checked and asked for BRP then that's a trouble. This is potential risk