UK Visas and British Citizenship

From the 1st day of 2014 all the current restrictions on work rights for Bulgarian/Romanian nationals will be lifted. This means there is no more need for a Blue or Purple card in order to seek employment in the UK. These rules don't affect those who are working as self-employed. Students will be able to work as much as they wish without having to apply for a Yellow card first (until now  students had to have a Yellow Card to work while studying and could only work part-time).  There is one small matter to remember: when a Bulgarian or Romanian citizen applies for permanent residency (or straight for British Citizenship) he/she has to show compliance with the restrictions applicable at the time. So, it means for the next 6 years we will be checking availability of Blue and Purple registration certificates during 2007-2013 even if they no longer apply now from 2014 onwards.  So far we have dealt with many immigration applications on behalf of Bulgarian and Ro...

"I would like to thank all the Multi Travel Visas team for the support and help. You were responding to my enquiries promptly. In the future, for any other service,  for myself, my family or friends, I will definitely recommend your good Office. Many thanks Chloe and Russell and Merry Christmas in advance!!!!!!!!". This came from Cherif, a British citizen residing in Saudi Arabia. The client was able to renew his British passport promptly by couriering his documents to us from Saudi Arabia just before Christmas, we submitted to the Passport Office in London, without waiting for an appointment, and when the new passport was ready, we couriered it back to the customer. To make a Schengen or another travel visa application through us please contact us: info @multitravelvisas.co.uk   or visit our website www.multitravelvisas.co.uk Besides UK passport renewal services, we also help with travel visas, such as visas to Russia (including invitations), China, I...

One of our most popular postings in the last couple of months, both here and on Facebook, was about the change in the Immigration Rules regarding switching to a Dependant visa inside the UK when the   main applicant holds or applying for a main visa under the Points-Based System (PBS). For example, when one of the partners holds a Tier 2 visa and the other holds a Post-Study Work Visa. In the past the 2 nd partner would have to apply from abroad for a Tier 2 Dependant visa, however, now it is possible to switch from a PSW visa (in this example) to a Tier 2 Dependant visa inside the UK. And it gets better – it can be done on same-day service at the UKBA. We usually work with their Croydon facility. Same rules apply to those switching to a Tier 1 Dependant visa. However, Dependants of Tier 4 (Student) migrants have a bit more restrictions, although those restrictions affect generally all Tier 4 Dependants, whether applying inside or outside the UK, such as that the course ...

"Over the past three years I have used several registered visa companies. Apparently  many seem to employ staff that are either incompetent or uninterested. One company in particular have a legal department that gave me such bad advice that my wife was almost deported. Fortunately I discovered ' multitravelvisas.co.uk' who have proven to be not only competent but act in a professional manner providing an excellent service from start to finish. Previous experience with other companies taught me to question events every step of the way; but ' multitravelvisas.co.uk' replied to my many questions promptly  (often by a return email within the hour) and gave me the confidence to trust them completely. I would not hesitate in recommending them."   This came from John, who we helped to secure a Schengen visa for his wife who is an Ethiopian national.   To make a Schengen or another travel visa application through us please contact us: info @...

Give your career a boost with our Online OISC Level 1 course! It includes  a mock Level 1 Assessment and real case studies from our practicing OISC-accredited immigration company.   You can download our OISC Level 1 training course to your computer and study in your own time - to prepare for your OISC accreditation and Level 1 Assessment. No need to travel to a classroom, no need to wait for the next date. You can start your immigration training right now! This course is also accredited to award 16 hours of Continued Professional Development  (CPD) for the accredited advisers and solicitors. Our CPD is accepted by both The OISC and SRA. As we are a practicing OISC-accredited immigration company, we have designed this basic level course to be of practical help for those who are preparing for OISC accreditation at Level 1 (Initial Advice) and for compulsory Level 1 Assessment. Or perhaps to those who are planning to open a UK immigration consultancy based ...

From Monday 16th December 2013 we are located in the new office: 68 King William Street, City of London (Monument), London, EC4N 7DZ. It is near Monument tube station and 2 minutes walk from Bank tube/DLR station.   Our phone numbers, email addresses and website addresses remain the same, only office location has changed.   Email address: info @1st4immigration.com   for 1st 4Immigration (UK visas and British Citizenship). info @multitravel visas.co.uk for Multi Travel Visas (non-UK visas and same-day UK passport renewal).   Phone numbers: 0871 472 1468 and 07795471483. Calls to 0871 number cost £0.10 per minute, calls to the mobile number has no extra charges.   Website: www.1st4immigration.com and www.multitravelvisas.co.uk   For Immigration training and Continued Professional Development for OISC-accredited advisers and SRA-regulated solicitors as well as for online OISC Level 1 course: www.1st4immigration.com/traini...

For our colleagues Immigration Advisers and Solicitors: Our online training course is accepted by The OISC and SRA, CPD ref number EJE/14IM. Download from our website, study in your own time on any computer, iPad or iPhone, complete the test and we will send your CDP award certificate. British Citizenship for EU/EEA Nationals and their Family Members. 5 hours CPD credit. This course is focused on applications for British Citizenship for European/EEA nationals and their family members. This courses recognises the fact that European law works differently from the UK Immigration Rules, such as on qualifying for residency in the UK and especially for permanent residency. It is particularly important to remember that family members often have 'visa stamps' while they did not have to apply for them, so dates when they are eligible are often different from the dates of expiry of such voluntary visas. We extensively cover the restrictions applied to Eastern European A8 n...

"A massive thank you to Natalia, Lucy and Russell for the great support on my way to British Citizenship. Always very responsive, I didn't have a single question unanswered. My requests were dealt with precision and professionalism, and very often outside normal working hours. Time was crucial for me and the team managed to organize everything within the time limits. So, thank you team 1st 4 Immigration! It was a pleasure working with you!" Elena, Bulgarian national . Elena happened to study and work in the UK for about 6 years. She secured a Yellow Card as a student which meant she qualified under the Transitional Arrangements and did not need medical insurance. Elena then secured a Blue Card and has been working as an employee and self-employed. Elena was also married to a UK citizen which meant we had to only examine 5 years of exercising Treaty rights in the UK (and not 6 years). For an individual advice or to make an application please contact us:  info...

We had written earlier about contracts for an Entrepreneur visa, for those switching from a PSW visa. Here is an updated post following some changes in the Rules in the October policy guidance which we had confirmed by the UKBA policy department. Such a switch (application inside the UK) has many strings attached. There had to be some, since 'only' £50,000 in funds is required, as opposed to the main amount of £200,000.  So, if you are thinking of switching from a PSW to an Entrepreneur visa then you need to have a business already (or register one before you apply). Registration has to be in place together with things like appointed accountant, a business bank account, business insurance and if applicable, VAT certificate.  Also, the services your business provides to the clients must be at min NQF level 4 from the Tier 2 Code of Practice (available in the UKBA website). This is the services your business provides rather than what you personally do in your busine...

This usually relates to children, so we’ll start from them. British by birth means the child is British because of his/her family. It can be because of a parent being British, or because of a parent who has an ILR and a has a child born in the UK (who will be British by birth). In this case parents can just apply for a UK passport (here meant as a ‘passport book’), in the same way as British parents apply: sending documents to IPS (Identity and Passport Service), paying a passport fee and getting a passport. Most British-born parents here would not even think about anything else but simply applying for a UK passport (‘a passport’) for their child, without even thinking how lucky the child is :o)) 'Not British but can be registered as British' means a child is not a British citizen when he/she is born, so parents could not just apply for a passport. However, in certain circumstances they can register the child, ie submit application form and pay some fee to the UK Border...

"I wanted to thank Ms Lucy Crompton and Ms Natalia Andrews for all their help. I will definitely recommend them to my family and friends. Very helpful and supportive service. I got an extension for 3 years on Tier 2 General case."  This came from Zahra, an Iranian national, who we helped to switch from a Post-Study Work visa to a Tier 2 visa inside the UK. We used same-day service in Croydon. We also assisted the applicant's employer with getting a Tier 2 Sponsor Licence and assigning a Certificate of Sponsorship including advising on Resident Labour Market Test (which was not required) and on using a Code of Practice and SOC codes. For an individual advice or to make an application please contact us:  info@1st4immigration.com  or visit  www.1st4immigration.com   If you are an Immigration Adviser or a Solicitor please visit our immigration Training and CDP website:  www.1st4immigration.com/training  

As part of our services we offer advice session, which can be at our office (Tower Hill in central London) or over email. This is available to the migrants as well as to fellow immigrations advisers and solicitors. Email advice is becoming very popular because it is available to anyone anywhere in the world, plus answers are written and you can refer to them later without a fear of forgetting the advice given. You can also show it to your partner or to your employer. We promise to provide answers to your queries by the end of the next working day after receipt of advice fee, which is £70 and is counted towards our service fee if you proceed with an application through us later. Advice fee can be paid online on our website or to our bank account. Examples on the issues we can advise during the session: absences from the UK for an ILR (are they within the limit?), what to do if you have a criminal conviction or a driving offence, how   your British spouse/partner c...

'Thanks a lot for all your support! I really appreciated your prompt replies and orderly approach throughout my citizenship application process. All ran smoothly and quickly.'' This came from a Romanian lady, Ms S, who applied for British Citizenship through us in the beginning of October 2013 and the application took only 5 weeks at the UK Border Agency. Our client arrived in the UK in 2006 and had a work visa under the Immigration rules. When Romania joined the European Union in January 2007 our client continued working for the same company, also securing a Blue Card on the basis of working in the UK for 12 months ending on or after 1 January 2007. After Exercising treaty rights in the UK for 5 years, ie having worked for 5 years, Ms S became eligible for Permanent Residence, without having to apply for it. 1 year later she was eligible to apply for British Citizenship. As usual, we submitted certified copies of the applicant’s passports, which allowed her to...

“I can't thank you enough for your hard work on this. I am so ecstatic I don't know what to say. I am actually in tears!!!”. Mrs A, national of Antigua & Barbuda who applied for a visa in the UK under the   Exception EX.1 for spouses of UK citizens applying on the basis of exceptional circumstances. In this case the Financial Requirement (£18,600) was waived as well as the requirement to be in the UK with a valid visa. In this case our client entered the UK as a visitor (nationals of Antigua & Barbuda do not need a visitor visa), then made an application for an EEA Residence Card. Unfortunately, it was refused because EEA applications for spouses of EEA (non-UK) citizens while our client was married to a British citizen. This application took the whole 9 months (and was refused), so when it happened Mrs A contacted us for a professional advice. We submitted application for a leave to remain (ie inside the UK) on FLR(O) form in the so called 10-year Parent/Partn...

We are often asked by people who are on PSW visas and who are already working as ‘contractors’, whether they also need advertising when they are planning to apply for an Entrepreneur visa. Contractors usually work as if they were employees but on paper they are self-employed. So, one may be going to the same office every day and working   at the same desk every day and doing the tasks set by his/her ‘employer’. When it is a ‘full-time’ contract then there is no need for advertising from the common sense point of view. However, visa rules are rarely based on common sense. If the rules say you need advertising then you need to advertising, even if you only produce an advert just for a visa application. Goes further – an advert must have specific details, such as your name and a business name plus description of your services and your contacts.      The good news is that it can be an online advert, can be free advertising. If your business is trading onl...

Such a switch (application inside the UK) has many strings attached. There had to be some, since 'only' £50,000 in funds is required, as opposed to the main amount of £200,000.  So, if you are thinking of switching from a PSW to an Entrepreneur visa then you need to have a business already (or register one before you apply). Registration has to be in place together with things like appointed accountant, a business bank account, business insurance and if applicable, VAT certificate.  Also, the services your business provides to the clients must be at min NQF level 4 from the Tier 2 Code of Practice (available in the UKBA website). This is the services your business provides rather than what you personally do in your business.  As evidence of trading you have to indeed provide at least 1 contract. This is compulsory, even though in your work you may not need a contract with every client. These rules are basically written for 'contractors', ie people who are ...

These are based on our experience as a London-based practicing immigration company. Confusing ‘5 years of residency’ with the ‘5 years of exercising treaty rights in the UK’. First is a myth, latter is a compulsory requirement. All EU nationals, including Romanian/Bulgarian must show they have exercised Treaty rights in the UK for continuous 5 years, rather than just being in the UK for 5 years. Examples of exercising treaty rights: working, being self-employed; plus studying and/or being self-sufficient (in both cases applicants need private medical insurance). If there is a break in exercising treaty rights then you will not qualify for Permanent Residency and therefore, won’t qualify for Citizenship either (Citizenship is mainly based on qualifying for Permanent Residency). In many cases we have to find a point where exercising treaty rights in one or more in the above activities became continuous. For example, counting from the date of start of the last job when there wa...

"Superb service and assistance! They were there to answer all my queries 24/7! Ever grateful to all the staff, especially to Lucy and Russell". A prilyn, a national of the Philippines. Aprilyn was studying in the UK on a Tier 4 Student visa. She married to a British citizen in the UK and was looking to switch to a Spouse visa. However, the couple were concerned about meeting the Financial Requirement of £18,600 because neither of the spouses had a salary of £18,600 for the whole 6 months before application. We advised that it was possible to combine their 2 salaries, and count the total of all earnings in the 12 months before application under the Category B, which takes into account salary fluctuations. We submitted this application using same-day service in Croydon. For an individual advice or to make an application please contact us:  info@1st4immigration.com  or visit  www.1st4immigration.com   If you are an Immigration Adviser or a Soli...

Our Online OISC LEVEL 1 course is offered under a Special Offer of £199+VAT for a limited time. You can download it from our website and study in your own time from any computer or your smartphone. No need to travel to a classroom or wait for available dates! The course includes a mock Level 1 Assessment and case studies from our practice. You are allowed to bring this material to your Level 1 Assessment at the OISC! Download our course material or read the detailed Table of Contents (Syllabus)   and Extracts here:    http://www.1st4immigration.com/training/online-oisc-level-1-course.php As we are a practicing OISC-accredited immigration company, we have designed this to be of practical help for those who are preparing for OISC accreditation at Level 1 in the   Immigration category and for the Level 1 Assessment. If you are already regulated by the OISC or SRA, this course is CPD-accredited and will be accepted towards your CPD credit.   This is not...