Returning to the UK under Tier 2- Passport and BRP

[Gary04]

Hi there,
I am hoping that someone can help me.

I am a South African(SA) working in the UK under a Tier 2 General Visa. My family ( wife and 2 children are with me).
We have been living in the UK since 1 March 2016, so we will be able to apply for ILR in Feb 2021.
As my son’s current SA passport expires in early March 2021, I had booked a passport renewal appointment for him earlier this year ( March 2020).
Due to the lockdown situation in March, the SA Embassy closed in London, and since then we have been patiently waiting for them to re-open.
For some ridiculous reason, they have only opened for passport renewals as of last week and they state that it would take 6 to 9 months to process a new passport.
This will be far too late as we need a new passport for my son by latest early Feb 2021.

Based on the above, the only option is for me to take my son to South Africa in September, and apply for the passport there, and get a SA family member to collect it and courier it to us.
The processing time in SA is 3 to 4 weeks.

My concern though is once we apply in SA , and return to the UK in September, my son’s current passport will have less than 6 months to go prior to expiry.( expires early March 2021).
His BRP expires in Feb 2021.
So when we return to the UK sometime in September , does Home Office immigration use the BRP expiry date to grant him entry to the UK?
As he will still have a valid passport & BRP upon entry.

Thank you
Gary

[CR001]

So when we return to the UK sometime in September , does Home Office immigration use the BRP expiry date to grant him entry to the UK?

He simply needs a valid passport and visa to renter the UK. There is no "minimum passport validity' rule.

Also, you need to make sure that Home Affairs in SA do not keep hold of his current passport while they process his new passport otherwise he won't be able to return.

Also not that as SA borders are still closed except for repatriation flights, ie returning residents, your plan likely won't work anyway.

Why not simply renew in the UK and wait for the passport.

Also, the passport renewals are not "by appointment", you simply arrive at the SA Consular Service in Whitehall (not the Embassy in Trafalgar Square, they don't deal with home affairs dept applications) between 8.30am and 12.30pm and apply to renew by joining the queue as long as you have all the required documents and forms completed.

[Gary04]

thank you for the feeback. Really appreciate it.

SA embassy have introduced appointments only as of last week due to COVID-19 measures.
There are some flights to SA - limited amount of flights- AiR france, Qatar, other......but no direct flights.
Problem with applying at SA Embassy is that they have a bad attitude and will not even give you a status update and we may get the passport too late

[Tash87]

Hi there,
I am hoping that someone can help me.

I am a South African(SA) working in the UK under a Tier 2 General Visa. My family ( wife and 2 children are with me).
We have been living in the UK since 1 March 2016, so we will be able to apply for ILR in Feb 2021.
As my son’s current SA passport expires in early March 2021, I had booked a passport renewal appointment for him earlier this year ( March 2020).
Due to the lockdown situation in March, the SA Embassy closed in London, and since then we have been patiently waiting for them to re-open.
For some ridiculous reason, they have only opened for passport renewals as of last week and they state that it would take 6 to 9 months to process a new passport.
This will be far too late as we need a new passport for my son by latest early Feb 2021.

Based on the above, the only option is for me to take my son to South Africa in September, and apply for the passport there, and get a SA family member to collect it and courier it to us.
The processing time in SA is 3 to 4 weeks.

My concern though is once we apply in SA , and return to the UK in September, my son’s current passport will have less than 6 months to go prior to expiry.( expires early March 2021).
His BRP expires in Feb 2021.
So when we return to the UK sometime in September , does Home Office immigration use the BRP expiry date to grant him entry to the UK?
As he will still have a valid passport & BRP upon entry.

Thank you
Gary

I don’t know how laws work in South Africa but elsewhere it’s against the law to courier passports like that. Unless the courier is From the issuing body itself.
Secondly as soon as you apply for the new passport your previous passport is cancelled. You cannot use it.
Also I think the 6 month validity rule is for applications outside U.K. the visa needs to be stamped on the passport and the visa can’t be stamped on passports with less than 6 months validity.
Since ilr is within U.K. and you’ll get brp I doubt it will be an issue as long as passport is valid before application. Do confirm with a solicitor as well.