Visas, exempt-vignette rules when PCSing to UK

  • Published
  • By Karen Abeyasekere
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  Changes to entry rules regarding United Kingdom visas for U.S. military dependents went into effect November 2015.

“Spouses of military members who are assigned to duty in the United Kingdom and their dependent children under the age of 21 prior to arrival, no longer require visas,” said Carol Hubbard, U.S. Air Forces in Europe-United Kingdom chief of foreign affairs litigation.

Hubbard explained that an exemption vignette is optional for military dependents and they no longer need to apply for UK visas or provide biometric data. Previously, all military spouses and dependents had to provide both prior to coming to the U.K.

“However, If you aren’t in that category, you do need a visa,” she said.

Dependent children who are older than 21 on first arrival to the UK, as well as secondary dependents, such as parents of military members, parents-in-law and wards, must have a visa prior to entering the U.K.

Although exempt vignettes are never required to enter the U.K. for military dependents under 21 or military spouses, they can be helpful to get through border control, according to Col. Stephen Shrewsbury, USAFE-UK director of legal services.

“They’re also useful if you want to rent property or work off base because you haveto show your ability to stay here,” said Hubbard. “Since there are no visas anymore, there’s no way to prove to a landlord or off-base employer that you have the right to rent or work. So an exempt vignette would be necessary for those people.”

Shrewsbury explained that coming and going from the U.K. is very different from renting a house, going to school or doing other things within the U.K., for which an exemption visa could be helpful.

“As the U.K. has added some further requirements for non-European Economic Area nationals to do certain activities here, the lack of a visa has caused issues for them, so the exempt vignette is the method to show that status,” continued Hubbard.

Dependents are required to be able to prove exempt status and that they can legally live in the U.K. Therefore, passports are required – which is also a Department of Defense requirement – plus movement orders or a command-sponsorship letter, both of which must state the military member’s and dependents’ names.

“Some dependents may not be on the original orders, in cases such as the military member getting married or a baby being born while stationed here, and the military isn’t going to correct the orders to add that dependent,” said Hubbard. “So you have to have something that connects the dots between the military member who’s assigned to duty here and that person. The passport proves the identity, and then we need other documentation which shows someone is in fact a dependent of that person assigned here. It’s very important to show that people are entitled to that exemption.”

Military members are exempt from immigration control as part of UK legislation and the NATO Status of Forces Agreement, but dependents had not previously been exempt. In 2008, the UK government implemented immigration controls for dependents; at that time, civilian employees and their dependents required biometrics before entry with visas.

“The changes were brought into effect because fees were going up; it was becoming increasingly expensive over the course of the last four or five years, to the point where we were spending almost $4 million per year just for visas,” Hubbard explained. “The second issue was a matter of how the U.K. felt compelled to implement European Union legislation in relation to the collection of biometric information for dependents.”

In 2015, the policy changed once again. Hubbard described how the USAFE-UK legal office approached the U.K. Home Office again via the Ministry of Defence, to explain how the policy was a burden on the U.S. military.

“Having military dependents provide their biometric information before arrival, meant going to a biometric collection facility. Our military families are scattered all around the world, so to do that is very expensive and disruptive,” Hubbard said. “In some cases, such as in Turkey when we had military families there, they had to travel from Incirlik to Ankara to have biometrics taken, which is a 10-hour trip!”

The USAFE-UK legal office then entered into negotiations with the U.K. Home Office, with the assistance of the Ministry of Defence, which resulted in the agreement that went into effect November 2015.

Those requiring the exempt vignette can also get it before they come to the UK, but it is optional.

To apply for the vignette after arrival in the UK, visit the passport office or commander’s support staff from whichever squadron the military member is assigned, to start the process. Those wishing to get the exempt vignette will then need visa photos and a completed form which the passport office will then send to the U.K. Home Office Visas and Immigration Service in London. Passports also need to be surrendered and sent to the office, and the process takes approximately four to six weeks.

All passports must be current for the entire duration of living in England. Anyone getting a new passport while stationed here will not have the required open-date stamps in it, so they should additionally carry the old passport. One of the rules of being stationed here is having a valid passport at all times, so in the event of an emergency and having to possibly travel back home at short notice, the holder won’t run into problems which will cause issues and prevent them from going back to the U.S.

For more information, email the passport office at 100fss.passport@us.af.mil.