Immigration Concession for Syrian Nationals in the UK

The immigration concession for Syrian nationals has been renewed by the British Government for another year, until 28 February 2015 – enabling Syrian nationals to extend their visa in the UK.

If you are a Syrian national and your visa in the UK is about to expire, or has expired in the last 28 days, there are two options available to you:

Extend your visa in the UK

If you are here on a visa for a limited period you can apply for this to be extended for the same length of time as you were originally granted. For instance, if you have a 6 month visit visa, you may extend the same for a further 6 months.

Switch into a different visa in the UK

Normally you would have to leave the UK to switch to another visa. However this concession might enable you to switch from within the UK by making an application subject to certain restrictions like you cannot switch into any visa that may lead to settlement .

In order to benefit from this concession you must apply whilst your current visa is valid or within 28 days of it expiring. You must also fulfill the requirements of the visa that you wish to apply for.

If however you cannot provide the required documents and supporting evidence for your visa because of the conflict in Syria, you must explain this in your application.

You are also advised to watch the travel advice for Syria, and return only when it is safe.