Immigration Corner | Eligibility criteria for assistance to return home

Dear Mr Bassie,

I have a relative in the United Kingdom who I believe ought not to be there, but is now trying to return home. He needs some help, and I have heard that assistance may be available. Please shed some light on this, as he wants to come home.

– R.B.

Dear RB,

Persons can apply for help to return to their home country. This is known as ‘voluntary return’. Persons can still get help if they are already making their own plans to return to their home country. Those persons should be aware that if they are eligible for financial support, they can apply for up to £2,000, which they can use to find somewhere to live, find a job or start a business in their home country.

PERSONS WHO ARE ELIGIBLE FOR ASSISTANCE

Persons can get help to return home if any of the following is true:

• They are in the UK illegally or have overstayed their visa or permission to stay;

• They are in a family group with a child under 18 years old and are in the UK illegally;

• They have withdrawn, or want to withdraw, their application to stay in the UK;

• They have claimed asylum in the UK but now want to withdraw that claim,

Persons cannot apply for voluntary return if they:

• Are currently being investigated by the police or detained by the Home Office;

• Have been given a prison sentence that’s 12 months or longer;

• Have been convicted of an immigration offence and given a deportation order;

• Have already been given humanitarian protection, indefinite leave to remain or refugee status in the UK;

• Have been told by UK Visas and Immigration that they are a ‘third country case’;

• Are a European Economic Area or Swiss national (unless they have a letter from UK Visas and Immigration confirming they are a victim of modern slavery).

PERSONS SEEKING ASSISTANCE IN THEIR HOME COUNTRY

The voluntary returns service can support persons after they leave the UK by helping them find somewhere to live, find a job or start a business in their home country. Persons must apply before they leave the UK.

Persons can apply for this support if any of the following is true:

• They are waiting for a decision on an asylum application but want to withdraw their application;

• They have been refused asylum and have appealed, or are appealing, against the decision but want to withdraw the appeal;

• They have been refused asylum, and any appeals they have made have also been refused;

• They are part of a family group that will travel together, including someone under 18 years old;

• They are under 18 years old and travelling alone;

• They have a letter from UK Visas and Immigration confirming that they are victims of modern slavery;

• They need more help with their return; for example, because they have a medical condition;

• They were given temporary (‘discretionary’) leave to remain in the UK outside the Immigration Rules, but the leave has now expired.

Persons should contact the voluntary returns service if they are not sure whether or not they are eligible:

Voluntary Returns Service

Telephone: 0300 004 0202

Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Find out about call charges.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply online for help to return to their home country, persons will need their address in the UK and an email address. Persons cannot apply if they have booked a flight to leave the UK within the next seven days after applying.

Persons can apply for help online to return to their home country.

They can get help with completing the online form if they do not feel confident using a computer or mobile device, or if they do not have Internet access.

Please note that persons can only use this service if they are applying to extend their visa in the UK. Persons cannot get immigration advice through this service. Persons who cannot apply online should contact the Voluntary Returns Service using the abovementioned contact details.

After applying, the Home Office will make contact within three days to inform the applicants that they are in receipt of the application. Please be aware that persons might need to provide further information to support their application. If the requested information is not forthcoming, those applications can be cancelled.

Just for completeness, if persons’ passport or travel document is being held by the Home Office, it will be returned to them at the airport when they leave the UK.

Good luck.

John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practises law in Jamaica. He is a justice of the peace, a Supreme Court-appointed mediator, a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a chartered arbitrator and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com