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My UK Tier 2 visa expires at the end of May. In the meantime, I am waiting for my work permit to Denmark.

In case I do not get my Danish work permit by the end of May, how long can I legally overstay in the UK after my visa expires?

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I called the Home Office today to explain about my case and I was told that I could stay in the UK for up to 28 days after my Tier 2 visa expires.

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AFAIK there is no such thing as a 'legal overstay' without another pending application for the UK. I was in this situation last summer; student visa was expiring and I was waiting on a French work visa, did not want to go back to the US in the meantime for financial and logistical reasons. The UK border force was extremely reluctant to even let me into the country with this information because "if your visa is delayed, you cannot overstay".

So what I take from this, and what I think you should as well, is that unless you apply for and are granted an extension, you cannot overstay whilst waiting for another visa unless that visa is a UK visa.

There is a 28 day grace period, but that is for people whose tier 2 visas are ending and who are applying for another UK visa (not the case for you).

I strongly advise you to leave the UK before your visa expires, or you could be barred from further entry and further visa applications. This overstay infraction would be noted on your UK immigration record, and there is a strong possibility of information-sharing between UK and Schengen or other countries. Therefore it would also look bad for any country you want to move to in future.

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  • Thank you for the answer. I can't seem to find the reference where it is specifically stated that the 28-day grace period does not apply to Tier 2 visa holders who are not applying for another UK visa.
    – adipro
    Commented May 1, 2016 at 4:52
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    "Thankfully, in 2012 the Immigration Rules were amended to include a provision which stated that Points Based System applicant who applied out-of-time would not fall for mandatory refusal, provided that they applied within 28 days of their visa expiry date. This provided a much needed safety-net for people who would have had their immigration status put at jeopardy for often trivial reasons." The rule was only made for people swapping visas and not losing "n days in the UK status". Not for anyone else. davidsonmorris.com/ukba-28-days-grace-period
    – la femme cosmique
    Commented May 1, 2016 at 14:14

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