Immigration Advice

Drop-In Clinic

Citizens Advice BCP facilitate a free monthly Immigration Advice Drop-In clinic where clients can visit with immigration questions or issues.

All immigration advice is given by independent immigration adviser Rob Suddrey of ABC Above & Beyond Immigration Services. Rob is registered at Level 3 with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC). Sessions are time limited to fifteen minutes per client and the clinic can only provide advice, it does not offer client representation or any casework.

Sessions always end with signposting to appropriate organisations, where required.

The clinic is held at Bournemouth Library.

Although the session starts at 10am, clients must arrive early to secure a slot. Queues often form before 9am. Clients will enter the library when it opens at 9am, go to the top floor and sign up for a slot on the sheet which will be posted on the door of the meeting room. Clients will then be called in to the room one at a time. The sign up sheet is often full before 9:30am.

Dates for the clinic are:

 October 9th, November 6th, and January 8th.

If you’d like more information on the clinic email immigration@citizensadvicebcp.org.uk.

 

eVisas

Most physical immigration documents are being replaced by eVisas. This includes Biometric residence permits (BRPs), Biometric residence cards (BRCs), Stamps in passports, ‘Vignette’ stickers in passports. Getting an eVisa is free and won’t change your permission to live in the UK.

You may have received an email from the Home Office titled ‘Replace your BRP with an eVisa now’.

You’ll need to create a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account before the end of 2024 to access your eVisa. Many BRPs or BRCs show an ‘end date’ in December 2024. This does not necessarily mean that your leave to remain in the UK ends on this date. This may be the expiry date of the card only. It’s important to check your Home Office visa decision letter to check whether your leave is ending at the end of 2024. In many cases, you will not need to apply for a new visa on this date – you simply need to prove your leave to remain using an eVisa instead of a BRP or other document.

You can find more advice on eVisas here. You can watch a video from the Home Office about eVisas here.

Citizens Advice BCP will be running sessions to assist people who are struggling to move to digital immigration status. It could be that you do not have access to the technology needed to set up your account, or that you are confused with the process. If you’d like to attend one of these sessions, please email immigration@citizensadvicebcp.org.uk for more information.