Overstaying Your Visa: Consequences and Options

What Counts as Overstaying

Overstaying means remaining in the UK after your leave to remain (visa) has expired and you have not made a valid in-time application to extend or switch your visa. The date your permission expires is shown in your eVisa, in your UKVI account. Biometric residence permits stopped being issued at the end of 2024, so a card is no longer where most people find this date.

You are not overstaying if:

• You applied to extend your visa before it expired and are waiting for a decision. Your existing leave is automatically extended under Section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 until the decision is made.
• Your in-time application was refused or rejected and you make a new application within 14 days of the refusal, of your section 3C leave expiring, of the deadline for an in-time administrative review or appeal, or of such a review or appeal concluding (paragraph SUI 13.1(b)).
• You applied within 14 days of your previous permission expiring and gave, in or with the application, a good reason beyond your control or your representative's why it could not be made in time (paragraph SUI 13.1(a)).
• You have an outstanding administrative review or appeal that was lodged in time, which extends your Section 3C leave.

You are overstaying if:

• Your visa has expired and you did not apply to extend before expiry
• Your application was refused and none of the 14-day exceptions in paragraph SUI 13.1 applies
• Your administrative review or appeal was refused and you have no further leave

Consequences of Overstaying

The 30-Day Exception, First

Before the bans, the exception. Paragraph SUI 11.5 of Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules says a period of overstaying is disregarded where the person left the UK voluntarily, not at the expense (directly or indirectly) of the Secretary of State, and they overstayed for 30 days or less where the overstaying began on or after 6 April 2017 — or 90 days or less where it began before that date.

Disregarded means it is not treated as a breach of immigration laws at all, so no ban period runs from it.

Mandatory Refusal Periods (Re-Entry Bans)

Where a breach is not disregarded, paragraph SUI 12.1 sets a mandatory refusal period. It runs from the date the person left the UK, and it is set by how they left and who paid — not by how long they overstayed:

• 12 months: left voluntarily, at their own expense.
• 2 years: left voluntarily, at public expense, within 6 months of being given notice of liability for removal or of no longer having a pending appeal or administrative review, whichever is later.
• 5 years: left voluntarily, at public expense, more than 6 months after that point.
• 5 years: left or was removed from the UK as a condition of a caution issued under section 22 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, provided any condition prohibiting return has itself expired.
• 10 years: was removed from the UK at public expense.
• 10 years: used deception in an application. For visits this applies to applications for entry clearance only, and the period runs from the date of refusal.

Where more than one immigration law was breached, only the breach leading to the longest period applies. Within the period, refusal of entry clearance or permission to enter is mandatory. Outside it, refusal is discretionary where the person has acted to frustrate immigration controls, which paragraph SUI 11.7 defines to include failing to cooperate with removal, using a false or multiple identity, absconding from immigration bail, and obtaining work, rented accommodation or benefits they were not entitled to.

One naming point that matters when you search: these rules used to sit in “Part 9: grounds for refusal”, and before that in paragraph 320(7B). That page has gone; the rules are now in Part Suitability, numbered SUI. Any link or citation to Part 9 is dead.

Impact on Future Applications

Application forms ask about previous immigration breaches, and the rules treat a false representation or a failure to disclose relevant facts as its own ground for refusal — under paragraph SUI 10, whether or not it was to the applicant's knowledge. Using deception in an application also carries its own 10-year period under paragraph SUI 12.1(f). GOV.UK does not publish figures on how overstaying affects later decisions, and this entry does not estimate any.

Detention and Removal

A person without permission to be in the UK can be detained under immigration powers and removed. Being removed at public expense is the route to the longest period, 10 years, under paragraph SUI 12.1(e). Our detention rights entry sets out what is published about detention itself.

Loss of Access to Services

An overstayer has no right to work, and no right to rent in England — the Right to Rent scheme is an England-only scheme and does not operate in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Bank accounts may be closed. The immigration health surcharge no longer covers you, so hospital treatment becomes chargeable at 150% of the NHS cost.

NHS charging is narrower than it is often described. GOV.UK's migrant health guide says anyone in England can register and consult with a GP without charge, and that accident and emergency services, the diagnosis and treatment of certain communicable diseases, and treatment for conditions caused by torture or violence are free to everyone regardless of immigration status. It is hospital (secondary) care that is charged for.

Options If You Are Overstaying

If you are currently overstaying, your options are limited but not zero. The most important thing is to seek legal advice as soon as possible.

Leaving Voluntarily

The rules attach different periods to different ways of leaving. Leaving voluntarily at your own expense carries a 12-month period; leaving at public expense carries 2 or 5 years depending on timing; being removed at public expense carries 10 years. And where the overstay was 30 days or less and the departure was voluntary and not at public expense, paragraph SUI 11.5 disregards the overstay altogether.

You can arrange voluntary departure through the Voluntary Returns Service on GOV.UK, which may provide financial assistance for your return journey.

Human Rights Applications

The Immigration Rules contain routes based on family life and private life, which give effect to Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Whether any of them is open to a particular person, and on what evidence, is an assessment of that person's circumstances against the rules. That assessment is regulated immigration advice, and this site does not do it. A regulated adviser can.

Asylum Claim

If you fear persecution in your home country, you can claim asylum regardless of your immigration status. Claiming asylum while overstaying does not automatically mean the claim will be refused, but the timing of the claim may be questioned. See our asylum guide for more information.

How to Avoid Overstaying

Prevention is always better than dealing with the consequences:

• Know your expiry date: It is in your UKVI account as part of your eVisa. Biometric residence permits stopped being issued at the end of 2024.
• Apply before it expires: Section 3C leave continues your existing permission, and its conditions, only if the application is valid and made before your current permission expires. Published service standards for applications made inside the UK are 8 weeks on most routes, so the date you apply and the date you get a decision are not the same thing.
• Do not wait for a perfect application: A submitted application before the deadline is better than a perfect application after the deadline. You can always provide additional evidence after submission.
• Monitor your application status: Check the progress of any pending applications and respond to requests for additional information promptly.
• Know the 14-day exceptions: If an in-time application is refused, paragraph SUI 13.1(b) gives a 14-day window in which a new application is not treated as made by an overstayer. The window runs from the refusal, the expiry of section 3C leave, the deadline for an in-time review or appeal, or the conclusion of one — whichever applies.

Common Overstaying Scenarios

Permission Expired While Waiting for a New Passport

A delay in getting a new passport does not extend your permission to stay. Since permission is now held as an eVisa in a UKVI account rather than on a card, a new passport is updated in that account rather than replaced as a document, but the expiry date of the permission itself is unchanged by any of it.

Employer Did Not Renew Sponsorship in Time

If you are on a Skilled Worker visa and your employer fails to renew your Certificate of Sponsorship in time, you may be left without valid leave. It is your responsibility (not just your employer's) to ensure your visa is extended before it expires. Monitor the progress and escalate with your employer well in advance.

Relationship Breakdown During Spouse Visa

If your relationship breaks down before you reach ILR, you may lose the basis for your Spouse visa. The Immigration Rules contain separate provisions for victims of domestic abuse and for applicants with dependent children. Which, if any, applies to a given case is regulated advice; see our guide to advisers.

Student Visa Expired After Course

Student visas typically expire shortly after your course ends. If you want to stay in the UK (for example, to switch to a Graduate route or Skilled Worker visa), you must apply before your student visa expires.

Returning to the UK After Overstaying

The mandatory refusal period is counted from the date the person left the UK — not from the date the overstay began, and not from the date of any later application. Two things follow from how the rules are written:

• Inside the period, refusal is mandatory. Paragraph SUI 11.1 says an application for entry clearance or permission to enter must be refused where the applicant has previously breached immigration laws and applies within the relevant period. The rules attach no exception to this for compelling circumstances.
• Outside the period, refusal is discretionary in some cases. Paragraph SUI 11.2 allows refusal after the period has run where the applicant has acted to frustrate immigration controls, and paragraph SUI 11.3 allows refusal where the applicant is or has been in breach of immigration laws.
• Deception is a separate ground. Not disclosing a previous breach engages paragraph SUI 10 in its own right. See our visa refusal entry and Home Office contact entry.

Getting Help

Immigration advice is a regulated activity. This entry sets out the published rules and does not apply them to anyone's circumstances. The people who can are:

• Immigration solicitor: A regulated immigration solicitor can assess your options and advise on the best course of action. Use the Immigration Advice Authority register to find a regulated adviser.
• Free legal advice: Some organisations provide free immigration advice, including Citizens Advice and specialist immigration charities.
• The Immigration Advice Authority: The regulator, formerly the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner, which changed its name on 16 January 2025. Its register is the way to check whether an adviser is regulated to give immigration advice.

Questions and answers