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My Visa for UK expires on the 25th of April. I'm from Canada. If I go to South Ireland at some point before my Tier 5 expiry, can I switch my current working holiday to a Visitor visa? If so, would I need a specific visa to enter Ireland?

If I cannot switch while my current visa is active, I would assume I have to wait for it to expire. I know there is a 14 day grace period before I have to leave the country. I'm trying to find some way to stay an extra few months after my working holiday expires.. is there any possible way to go about getting a visitor visa?

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  • Under which Immigration Rule is there a 14 day grace period? 6A (245ZL) states the validity of the visa is 2 years, no extensions allowed.Also see gov.uk/tier-5-youth-mobility ‘How long you can stay’. Ireland is part of the Common Travel Area travel.stackexchange.com/questions/138745/… (see under ‘Travel Ireland to UK’)
    – Traveller
    Commented Mar 16, 2020 at 23:57
  • @Traveller google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://…
    – Jake
    Commented Mar 17, 2020 at 2:06
  • *30 days, not 14. I read somewhere else they changed the grace period to 14 though, in 2017
    – Jake
    Commented Mar 17, 2020 at 2:33
  • @Traveller a grace period is not an extension, you seem to be misunderstanding. I'm also looking for a way to stay in the UK by means of visitor status or application, even if temporarily. Not necessarily an extension of anything. Looking for some way to change my Tier 5 to a visitor or leave to another country that will allow me to try and get one on arrival back. Until I know there is no other way at all, I won't consider Canada an option. If that's my only option fine, but best option, no.
    – Jake
    Commented Mar 17, 2020 at 2:45
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    I'm trying to remember which (all?) of the border force--UK, AU, NZ--had at least one episode on someone wanting a visitor visa shortly after a working holiday visa. They were very sceptical and I think denied entry. If you say you want to travel as a tourist, they'll say you should have done that already.
    – mkennedy
    Commented Mar 18, 2020 at 17:53

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  • Q1 Do I need a specific visa to enter Ireland?

The Common Travel Area (CTA) consists of the UK, Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man and Ireland. Non-EU/Schengen citizens receive an Irish entry stamp, even if arriving from the UK. For visa-free nationals, this lets them stay in Ireland for max 3 months. The time those without a UK visa are allowed in Ireland also includes the rest of the CTA. For travellers visa-exempt for both the UK and Ireland, the visa exemption is 6 months in the UK but only 3 months in Ireland, meaning if a Canadian citizen visitor enters the CTA through Ireland, they'll only be allowed 3 months in the whole CTA. https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/138745/what-do-non-eu-schengen-citizens-need-to-do-when-travelling-within-the-common-tr

  • Q2 Is there a way to extend my working holiday?

There is no 14 day grace period because grace periods only apply to categories of visa eligible for extension. A Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa is valid for two years, no extensions are allowed and you must leave the UK before your visa expires. https://www.gov.uk/tier-5-youth-mobility If you don’t leave by the expiry date, you will be out of status and considered to be overstaying https://www.davidsonmorris.com/overstay-in-uk/

Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, you could have exited the UK to a nearby Schengen country and re-entered as a visa-free national for up to 6 months, provided you could satisfy UK Immigration, if asked, about your purpose in returning and your intention to leave (see V4.2 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-v-visitor-rules). Given the impending EU travel ban https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-eu-to-ban-non-essential-travel-for-thirty-days-2020-3 since you are not an EU citizen, and will not be a long-term resident after your visa expires, a visa run to Schengen is no longer possible.

Your best option is to return to Canada.

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  • Wouldn't a Schengen visa run still be possible since the UK is exempt from that travel ban? From the article you just linked - "Members of the Schengen travel area — including the non-EU members Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland — will not be affected by the rules. The United Kingdom, which left the EU in January but remains in a transition period with the bloc, will also be exempt."
    – Jake
    Commented Mar 17, 2020 at 3:19
  • @Jake But you are not an EU citizen, or a long-term resident after your visa expires. Why are you so desperate to stay given the COVID-19 outbreak is worse in the U.K. than your home country and predicted to get much worse very soon?
    – Traveller
    Commented Mar 17, 2020 at 6:28
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    My girlfriend (UK) and I, (Canadian) have been planning a trip back to Canada for months.. Our flight is booked for April 6th and there's a chance Virgin Atlantic to France for the layover before Calgary, will be cancelled anyways. The airline may let us reschedule but the visa expiry is an issue so I have no idea what to to do. I don't really feel like leaving the love of my life on the other side of the planet during a global pandemic. That's why I don't feel like leaving when it's "predicted to get much worse".... Who knows how long we would be separated because of this stuff.
    – Jake
    Commented Mar 17, 2020 at 8:30
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    I'm not just wanting to stay here because I think it's fun during a pandemic in England... I'm pretty sure anyone would do the same and try to be with a loved one as long as they could during a global crisis...
    – Jake
    Commented Mar 17, 2020 at 8:33
  • @Jake I completely understand, my partner lives in Cuba and I’m in the U.K. I came back from my last visit in mid Feb, we had plans to go to Barbados on 18 April with my family, but now I’ve no idea when or if I’ll see him again.
    – Traveller
    Commented Mar 17, 2020 at 8:43

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