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I was filling out the visit visa form as my current company wants to take a few members of the team to the UK.

There is a question that asks you about your previous history in the UK and in it, they ask, if you have ever been deported, removed, refused or "required to leave the UK"? (There are also other options)

The first 3 are a no for me, but I'm not sure if "required to leave the UK" applies in my situation. I used to be on a student visa in the UK. I applied to extend my visa to another tier the day before my student visa expired, which means I was on 3C leave and technically lawful at the time. But then I withdrew my application after a while and I departed the UK in the next 2 weeks.

Technically this could mean I overstayed and was "required to leave", however it was a voluntary departure at my own expense.

Now I'm not sure if this period counts as "required to leave" and therefore I should include this on my visa form. I do have the original case reference number from voluntary departures and what not.

phoog
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SamOne
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1 Answers1

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Required to leave means that you would have been formally told to leave the UK. The House of Lords has said that a requirment to leave the UK means being placed under a legal obligation to go. That usually means an IS151 form or deportation order. It would be wise to include the information about the previous application in the additional information section.