How is the 60-day grace period for UK visas calculated following redundancy?

After being laid off while on a work visa, I recommend immediately starting the new sponsorship and application preparation, rather than treating the receipt of the 60-day notice as the starting point for job hunting.

From which notice does the 60-day period start?

This article discusses the situation of a person in the UK who holds a Skilled Worker visa and is subject to an ordinary redundancy. Home Office will consider cancelling or curtailing the permission; it usually allows 60 calendar days for applying for a new residence permission or arranging departure. This period is tied to the service of the formal cancellation decision; the redundancy notice, the end of the employment contract, and the employer's report of the termination of sponsorship cannot all be treated directly as the same starting date. In practice, the application should be submitted according to the expiry date stated in the formal decision, and the expiry date of the original permission should be verified; where other grounds for cancellation such as serious violations are involved, the timeline for ordinary redundancies cannot be applied directly.

Nor will 60 days extend the original visa: when less than 60 days remain on the original permit, it is usually still bound by the original expiration date.

In accordance with sections C1.13 and C1.15 of the Home Office Guideline for Guarantors, changes such as the termination of a guarantee must normally be reported within 10 working days. This is the deadline for the employer to submit the report. Confirming the actual termination date and the details already submitted with the HR department can assist in verifying subsequent correspondence; however, this does not entitle the individual to an additional 10 days’ stay. Guideline C1.17 also requires employers to provide the residential address and personal contact details on file. Verifying these during the handover process upon leaving the role helps to prevent notifications from being sent to the old address.

The deadline may already be ticking away by the time the email is sent

Delivery by post, email or when the recipient cannot be contacted may be recorded at different times.

Section 2.4 of the Supplementary Guidance on the Revocation of Licence Home Office states that service by email is calculated from the date of dispatch; the date on which the email is opened does not automatically supersede the date of dispatch. For paper correspondence sent to an address in the United Kingdom, the arrangements for delivery by post must be taken into account when calculating the new expiry date; the method used for email cannot be applied directly. Upon receipt of the notification, save the effective date, dispatch record and attachments contained in the body of the message, and then cross-check them against the original visa expiry date; if there is a discrepancy between the dates, seek verification from a licensed solicitor as soon as possible; for the time being, it would be more prudent to proceed on the basis of the earlier date.

The fact that the document was not received in person does not mean that the time limit has not yet commenced: where the conditions are met, Home Office may serve the document by post, and the time limit shall run from the date of such service.

Following the offer of employment, you will still need to complete the application

What really needs to be worked backwards is the deadline for completing the application. The UK government’s guidance on changing employers stipulates that the new position must meet the relevant criteria and be accompanied by a new CoS (certificate of sponsorship). Interviews, verbal offers and letters of appointment will not automatically extend the validity of your current permit. When communicating with the employer, I would strongly advise confirming directly who is responsible for the sponsorship, when the CoS will be issued, and whether the job code and salary are sufficient to support the application, whilst allowing sufficient time for document verification and payment. If the employer is still in the process of applying for a sponsorship licence, list the licence application, the issuance of the CoS, and the individual application separately to clearly identify which steps still carry uncertainty. Only then can you determine whether a job offer can be finalised within the existing timeframe, thereby avoiding a situation where you fill your entire available time with interviews without leaving any window for submission.

If a valid and eligible domestic application is lodged before the expiry of the existing authorisation, and no decision has been made by the time it expires, section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 allows for the extension of the original authorisation pending the outcome of the application.

The expiry dates for family members must also be checked separately. If a spouse or child holds a dependent’s permit, Home Office will generally consider cancelling it accordingly, and it will usually be set to expire on the same date as the principal applicant’s permit; family members must process their own new applications separately. If the new sponsorship cannot be arranged in time, other domestic routes for which the conditions have already been met may be assessed simultaneously, or arrangements may be made for departure by the due date. Progress regarding interviews, commitments from employers or explanatory emails alone will not automatically extend the time limit. Where special considerations, such as medical reasons, apply, evidence should be submitted as early as possible, and the competent authority will decide whether to exercise discretion in such cases.

This article is for information purposes only; please consult a qualified solicitor regarding specific matters.

[Source] Home Office Guidelines on ‘Cancellation and Shortening of Permits’, Section 2.4 of the Guidelines on ‘Supplementary Grounds for Cancellation of Permits’; UK Government Guidance on ‘Skilled Workers Changing Jobs or Employers’.

Complete these four tasks in this order

1. Obtain the redundancy notice and confirmation of termination of employment from the HR department, and verify that the termination of the guarantee has been reported.
2. Check the contact details in your UKVI records, review any spam emails and check whether your representative is still receiving correspondence on your behalf, and add the notification and the expiry date of your original permit to the same calendar.
3. Confirm the CoS issuance arrangements and job requirements with your new employer, and allow sufficient time to prepare your application.
4. Verify family consent on a case-by-case basis; where no plan can be submitted by the deadline, arrange for the individual to leave the country before the expiry date, and file the relevant notifications, supporting documents or departure records in the same folder.

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