If you’re a foreign national living in the UK on a visa, you will typically have to apply to the Home Office for extensions on your visa in order to remain in the country.
Permission to stay longer in the UK is known as further leave to remain, and is a common process that many non-UK nationals will have to go through.
Applying for a visa extension can be a stressful process, however, and it’s important to prioritise your own health and wellbeing at the same time in order to prevent becoming overwhelmed or stressed out.
In this article, we’ll outline some tips and strategies to help you manage stress and uncertainty when you’re applying for immigration permission within the UK.
- Plan Ahead and Plan Thoroughly
The reason that applying for further leave to remain in the UK can be stressful is the potential for refusal, which can result in significant upheavals and changes in your life. In the worst case scenario, it may involve you having to leave the UK and return to your home country.
It is never a guarantee that your application will be approved by the Home Office when applying to extend your permission. For this reason, it is highly recommended to have thorough and comprehensive contingency plans in place before you apply.
For example, do you know what you will manage to do for work if you have to leave the UK? Will you have a safe place to stay? Do you have the support of friends, family or colleagues who may be able to provide you with support if the worst happens? These are all key things you should organise and confirm when applying for permission to stay in the UK.
Ideally, you won’t ever have to take advantage of these alternative arrangements if all goes well, but knowing that you have plans in place just in case of the worst can afford you significant peace of mind and reassurance throughout the process.
- Practice Mindfulness and Hardiness
Mindfulness and hardiness are two mental health strategies that are useful in life to help weather unexpected change and challenges.
Mindfulness is the practice of living in the present here and now, and trying not to stress about aspects of life that you cannot control, such as past events or future possibilities.
Practising mindfulness can provide significant benefits for your mental health, including better sleep and reduced levels of stress and anxiety. It can also help to ground you in times of significant stress or if you feel like you need to tap into quick relief from current feelings of anxiety.
Mindfulness can especially be relevant after you’ve submitted your application for further leave to remain and you’re awaiting a decision. It can be helpful to remember that as you’ve done all you can for the time being, it isn’t worth expending additional mental strain or energy worrying about the outcome. Try and relax, practice breathing techniques and remember that the decision is out of your hands for the time being.
Hardiness is a psychological personality trait that refers to an individual’s ability to process and take on challenges in life. It encompasses traits such as transformational coping, which involves reframing stressful situations from potential threats to opportunities for learning and growth.
You don’t have to be born hardy; luckily, hardiness is a skill that can be learned and developed with practice over time. By using the three C’s: commitment, control and challenge, you can develop key traits such as following through on commitments and internalising the belief that you can turn negative situations into a positive by using the skills and abilities at your disposal.
Combining both mindfulness and hardiness best practices can equip you with nearly all the essential skills you need to withstand unexpected challenges in your life – including having a visa extension application rejected.
Remember that a Failed Application is Never the End
Receiving a refusal for a visa extension can be a disappointing and demotivating experience for many, especially if their life has been firmly embedded in the UK.
However, remember that one application refusal needn’t signal the end of your immigration journey. It is entirely possible after a rejection to reapply for the same visa you’ve already held, or a different visa in order to immigrate again.
You should, however, be aware that reapplying for a visa comes with its own risks. For example, immigration officials may consider the fact that you’ve previously failed to apply for an extension before, which may slightly harm your chances of approval.
For this reason, you shouldn’t pin all your hopes on obtaining another visa after your application is rejected. What will be much more beneficial will be remembering to have a solid contingency plan in place in case of refusal, and internal coping strategies to help you through times of change and difficulty.
This can mean employing mindfulness or hardiness techniques as outlined above, or other strategies such as counselling, exercise or taking advantage of positive social connections and the support and help of loved ones.
Try to avoid turning to unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking, drugs or overeating in order to cope, as these will not benefit you or your mental health in the long run and normally don’t provide much more than quick, temporary relief.
Crucially, remember that change is an inevitable part of life and times of crisis can bring with them opportunities for learning and growth as well.
Conclusion
There’s no doubt that visa applications can be a stressful and mentally taxing part of living in a foreign country. However, if you keep in mind the stress management techniques outlined above, you can help to relieve the feelings of anxiety you might be feeling throughout the process, and even equip you with new skills to assist you throughout future changes in life.
Above all else, remember to look after your own mental health and the mental health of those around you.