Immigration Checks

[Richlist]

Are others carrying out immigration checks on tenant applicants ?

It's required prior to any new tenancy & again every 12 months .

Obviously doesn't apply to EU passport holders......as we are still currently part of the EU, but anyone from anywhere else needs to be checked.

I'm just in the process of reletting a 2 bed flat and have had a few viewings by overseas applicants.

[Mortitia]

I am just about to let my London flat to 2 Jocks - that poses an interesting scenario if we come out and Scotland stays in. 

I don't let my own to any non UK types (at present) but working for others I have had some scammy Romanians and Poles apply and not want to show ID or show strange botched ID - they are out the door pretty quick. Somehow we seem to have ended up with a lot of Euro crims here I think (and exported a few I expect).

 

[fionaf]

We have a husband and wife nurse team from the Philippines in one of our properties, they have a Visa until a defined date. They are really lovely tenants. I hadn't thought I needed to check it again until the Visa is coming upto expiry which is quite some years away, so will do some research to double check so thanks for raising that Richlist. 

In another property we have a potentially complicated situation, a couple with children, he is European, she is not, she has permission to remain but that permission refers to his status as a European. They went through a dodgy patch and she asked about taking on the tenancy alone and we said that we needed to keep them both on the tenancy otherwise we would have to explore the legalities more in-depth, it all went quiet and both remain on the agreement. Apart from that minor query, they are model tenants. 

Final  property and the non-European family after having indefinite leave to remain are now citizens. 

They have all been really great tenants so I would be sad to see any of them go and at the present time don't see any reason to upset the apple cart. 

I have been really surprised by the reactions of some non English people I know who've moved here and made it their home, they say to me, we took the citizenship test as we decided to stay here, we love it, we think others should nail their colours to the mast in the same way and stop moving from one place to another, we feel at home and want to stay and if you don't put down roots you will never invest properly in your new community. I hadn't expected that sort of reaction from non-Brits.  Quite heartening really.