Continuous lawful residence is not broken if the applicant has a gap of leave outside the UK of six (6) months or less. For example, applicants who leave the UK before their valid leave expires and obtain fresh entry clearance and re-enter the UK do not break continuous lawful residence, providing the absence from the UK is less than six (6) months. Therefore, continuous lawful residence is broken if the applicant:

• • Has a gap of leave of more than six months, or
  • Departs the UK after their valid leave has expired.

From the 1st October 2012, certain immigration and nationality decisions were exempt from s4 of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. As a result, the concept of a conviction becoming "spent" no longer applies when making an assessment of good character.  The Good Character or Criminality test is applied to all persons over the age of ten (10) year. 

Some of the following issues that are considered against the ‘Good Character’ requirement are -

• • They have not respected, and/or are not prepared to abide by the law; or
  • They have been involved in or associated with war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide, or other actions that are considered not to be conducive to the public good ;
  • Their financial affairs were not in appropriate order; or
  • Their activities were notorious and cast serious doubt on their standing in the local community; or/li>
  • They had been deliberately dishonest or deceptive in their dealings with the UK Government;   or
  • They have assisted in the evasion of immigration control; or

If applicants submit their application before their authorised stay ends, their existing immigration status will continue until their application is decided, even if the decision is not made until after the end of their permitted stay. Applicant can continue to work until their case is decided if the conditions of their existing leave allow them to do so.

Foreign nationals from outside the European Economic Area making certain applications to the Home Office have to apply for a biometric residence permit. This applies to both postal applications and applications made in person (known as ‘premium applications’). The biometric residence permit is a residence permit which holds a migrant’s biographic details (name, date and place of birth) and biometric information (facial image and fingerprints), and shows their immigration status and entitlements while they remain in the UK. This also means that a UK visa will no longer be stamped in applicant’s passport and all applicants will be issued one of the new Biometric visa cards instead.  These cards look very similar to a (pink) UK driving license except they have a microchip on the back.

Applicants who wish to extend their stay in the UK by post, the Home Office will send them a letter asking them to enrol their biometrics after the Home Office have received their application. Applicants will be able to enrol their biometric information one of the Post Offices offering this service across the UK using their walk-in service.

Applicants who are submitting their application in person can do this at one of the Public Enquiry Offices by using the premium service. Applicants will enrol applicants’ biometric information at the same time as making their application.

For application submitted overseas, the applicants have to provide their biometric enrolment at one of the Visa Facilitation Centres. However, they will continue to receive a sticker (vignette) in their passport.

In line with the Home Office service standards for processing UK visa applications, they decide 90 per cent of the applications within 3 weeks, 98 per cent within 6 weeks and 100 per cent within 12 weeks of the application date.

Applicants apply for the Same Day at one of Public Enquiry Office (PEO) in the UK; the application is normally decided on the same day.