You can register with a GP and access the Covid-19 vaccine regardless of your immigration status. Click here to learn more.
We cannot advise on Covid-related travel restrictions and PCR testing for travel.
Our advice line operates on Mondays AND Fridays from 9:30am to 1pm, and on Wednesdays from 12:30pm to 4pm. All other enquiries should be emailed to the info@gmiau.org email address.
We are in contact with all our existing clients and we will continue to advise and represent to the best of our ability. All our services are running.
Our office is currently closed, but we are supporting and representing clients remotely. Please use our advice line for urgent inquiries, and use our Referrals form to make a referral.
Home Office interviews for adults and children who have already claimed asylum have now resumed remotely, using video link. Face-to-face interviews have not yet resumed. Initial asylum screenings are going ahead. For children the appointments are just to have fingerprints and a photograph taken, then interviews are taking place over the phone. For adult screening, please contact the Asylum Intake Unit by phone. There may be problems getting through and we don’t know, in the current circumstances, what the Home Office will tell you to do if you can’t attend in person to register a claim. You can now claim at various places around the country.
The NHS has advised that the testing and treatment for Covid 19, for people who are may be chargeable for NHS secondary healthcare, is not chargeable and that they will not run immigration checks for this treatment. All overseas visitors, including anyone living in the UK without permission, should be aware that:
No charges apply to testing for COVID-19, even if the result is negative, or to any treatment provided for COVID-19 if the result is positive or up to the point that it is negatively diagnosed. The same is true of most other infectious diseases. NHS trusts have been advised that no immigration checks are required for overseas visitors that are known to be only undergoing testing or treatment for COVID-19.
Reporting has resumed with reduced hours, from 10am – 3pm on weekdays. People will receive a text or letter telling them if they need to go.
For Entry Clearance applications, Visa Application Centres are open. See these links to check which ones: https://uk.tlscontact.com and https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk.
Please see the section ‘legal advice and representation’ for answers to the most common concerns people are having about their immigration situation.
This post was first published on April 14th 2020 and last updated on January 26th 2021.