For those of you are foreign nationals, when you first arrive in the UK you will probably be familiar with the need to “register with the police station” after obtaining a new visa. Even if a foreign national’s personal circumstances change, they have also previously needed to report to the registered police station.
However, after slightly under the radar communication to the individuals affected, police registration has officially entered the history books. The UK Home Office has hence removed the mandatory requirement of “police registration” for certain applicants.
From now on, if you try to make an appointment online, you will also see an announcement on the Met Police’s official website, informing you that “Registration with a Police Station” has been cancelled. This also goes for police stations in other UK regions.
This means that no matter what visa you are holding or what your current nationality is, you no longer need to register with the police as you did before. According to the announcement, if you originally needed to register, and have already registered, you will no longer need to update and notify the police station if your personal information changes in the future.
It should be noted, however, that if your personal information changes, you will still need to contact the Immigration Department to inform them of your new changes.
For example, if your residential address changes then you do not need to apply for a new BRP (Biometric residence permit) card. However, you will need to inform Immigration of your new address via: https://visa-address-update.service.gov.uk/?_ga=2.38622955.933955761.1659617248-1068361535.1651159568
Or
Complete the form and send it to the address on the form: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notification-of-change-of-circumstances-form-mcc
You will need to apply for a new BRP card if the following information changes:
- Name
- Nationality
- Facial appearance
- Date of birth (if it was wrong for example)
- Gender
The detailed application process can be found on the UK Government website: https://www.gov.uk/change-circumstances-visa-brp
Jessica Luo, an immigration consultant at Lisa Law Firm, said that since August 1 this year, when the Immigration Department issued a visa, it began to remove the requirement of “police registration” in the decision letter. For these newly approved visas, the Immigration Service has not given mandatory conditions for “police registration”.
Therefore, it is now further confirmed that the cancellation of this requirement is actually traceable.
In response to the extended questions that may be brought about by the new changes, we have specially compiled the following queries and answers:
→ If I have registered before, do I still need to keep the relevant certificates?
According to the content of the announcement, the parties will not be required to provide proof of police registration. So, if you have completed the registration, you do not need to keep the Police Registration Certificate.
However, we suggest that if keeping the certificates isn’t particularly difficult for you, it is better for you to keep hold of them just in case you need them. You could also take screenshots or photos as a backup option.
→ If I just completed the registration, can I ask for the registration fee back now?
Unfortunately, if you have already paid the fee and registered, you cannot claim your registration fee back. Even if you complete your registration the day before your Police Registration is cancelled, you will not be able to apply to get your money back.
This is because the fee includes the administrative processing fee for “Registration with the Police Station”, and since they have already processed it, you naturally cannot claim the fee back.
→ What if it is said to have been “reserved”?
If you have already made an appointment but have not paid the fee, then you will not need to go to the police station to complete the registration. As previously mentioned, the Police Registration requirement has been removed. You no longer need to complete the registration at the original scheduled time and place.
If you make a special trip out of concern, when you arrive at the police station, the police officers will still tell you that the requirement for police station registration has been cancelled and they will no longer accept it. So, you don’t need to make an extra trip.
But again, just to be on the safe side, you can keep a screenshot of the “police bulletin” to prove you’re just doing what the bulletin says. This way you can also feel more at ease.
→ What about people who originally needed to register, but did not register in time?
Suppose you were originally required to register with the police, but you did not register with the police within 7 days of arriving in the UK, or within 7 days of receiving the result of your application. Well, now you also don’t have to book and register anymore.
As mentioned earlier, we still recommend that you keep the relevant content of the police announcement as a proof if necessary in the future.
In the end, we would like to remind again that although the “police registration” has been cancelled, the requirement that you need to notify the immigration office of changes in personal information has not been cancelled.
At the same time, if your personal circumstances change when you apply for a replacement BRP, you also need to inform the Immigration Department by filling out the following form. These changes include but are not limited to: criminal record, divorce/separation from your spouse or partner, independence of children live and no longer live with you, etc.
Link to the form: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notification-of-change-of-circumstances-form-mcc
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