UK Visas and British Citizenship

The main Tier 2 minimum salary £20,300 goes up to £20,500. Worth reminding that the offered salary still has to be as on the Code of Practice, the £20,500 is just the minimum under Tier 2, so if the chosen SOC code requires more then the sponsored worker has to be offered more, or his/her hours have to be reduced (but not reduced too much for the annual salary to fall below £20,500). Salaries under Tier 2 Intra-Company Transfer (ITC) are also being updated, with the salary under Tier 2 ICT Long Term going up to £41,000. COS assigned before 6 April 2014 but when application is submitted on or after 6 April 2014: if you have been assigned a COS, then you can still submit a Tier 2 application based on that COS, in which case the old salary thresholds will apply (but Maintenance rules will apply as on the date of application). Maintenance rules change from 1 July 2014, such as the main ‘£900 held for 90 days’ rule changing to ‘£945 held for 90 days’ under Tier 2. Maintenance rule...

New Rules come in force on 6 April 2014. There will be no more endless extensions in Tier 1 General category. Last extension will be on 5 April 2015 and last ILR application (permanent residency) on 5 April 2018. If you don’t qualify by 5 April 2018 you won’t be able to settle in the UK! The main problem tends to be absences from the UK, mainly because of working abroad. At the point of qualifying for an ILR the main Tier 1 General applicant must have maximum 180 days outside the UK in each of his/her 5 years which led to an ILR. If your visa expires in 2014 but you’d like to have extension for as long as possible then it may be worth to extend again in April 2015. You may lose some time on your current visa, and you’ll pay the money again for an extension, but it will give you the maximum time allowed on Tier 1 General and more flexibility to qualify for an ILR. Other reasons preventing from applying for an ILR are not passing a Life in the UK Test or having a criminal convi...

These rules come in force from 6 April 2014 but will affect applications from July 2014, to give the applicants time to prepare. In many PBS categories instead of the current £900 held for 90 days more funds will be required - £945 held for 90 days. This is why there is time until July, to allow time for more savings to be held longer, so start saving now! Funds for dependants under PBS categories, if applying inside the UK, go up from £600 to £630. Tier 4 Students will need £1,020 per month in inner London and £820 per month elsewhere. Dependants £615 and £460 respectively. These are the main Maintenance thresholds, there are further changes in other categories, such as in the amount of funds for Entry Clearance. Salary thresholds are also getting updated from 6 April 2014. The main £20,300 amount goes up to £20,500. Worth reminding that the offered salary still has to be as on the Code of Practice, the £20,500 is just the minimum under Tier 2, so if the chosen SOC code ...

“Thank you so much for all your help and advice (and patience with our endless questions), and for preparing our application so well. It all went smoothly (during same-day service appointment) and we were all done in 2 hours with minimal questions. “   Ms S and family, South African nationals, applying for an Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR).    In this case the main applicant had an Ancestral visa and was approaching the point of living in the UK for 5 years.   The spouse used to be on his own visa in the past (not Dependant), which has now expired and the spouse was staying outside the UK. The couple’s child had a Dependant visa on the main applicant.    It was now time for the main applicant to apply for an ILR and the plan was to include the daughter. However, we advised that from 9 July 2012 children of Part 5 migrants could be included into an ILR application only if both parents were applying for an ILR, or were lawfully in the UK. But not if ...

"Dear team at Multi Travel Visas (especially Harpreet!).  Thank you for your extraordinary efforts in helping to process my new passport in record time! From the moment I sent through the application documents from Dubai to the UK and back again, it took 5 days! I really was not expecting delivery so quickly, and was already preparing to cancel a trip to New Zealand I had planned a long time before.  I informed your team of my dilemma, and from that moment they moved heaven and earth to get my passport processed and sent back, providing me with total peace of mind and free to focus on looking forward to my dream trip!  Thank you for being so incredible and supportive during the many phone calls I made.  At no point did you let me down. I would recommend you in a heartbeat, and have already shared my experience to colleagues here in  Dubai, all of who are shocked at the speed the passport was processed and delivered back." This came from Johanna, a B...

As usual, in the beginning of a new financial year the UK government is increasing the immigration fees. If you are eligible for a visa or British Citizenship - apply before April to save the money! For example, Citizenship fee goes up from £874 to £906. Tier 1 General extension fee for same-day service, goes up from £1,920 to £2,007. However, a fee for each dependant goes up from £1,534 to the same fee as for the main applicant's - £2,007! ILR fees on same-day service go up from £1,426 to £1,493 for the main applicant. Again, a Dependant visa goes up from £1,163 to the same fee as for the main applicant's - £1,493! For a family of 4 it would be an increase of whopping £1,057! 1st 4Immigration service fees are NOT going up. For an advice or to make your application through us please contact info @1st4immigration.com  or visit www.1st4immigration.com  

"I'd like to say a huge thanks for getting my French visa sorted out. It is very much appreciated."  Greg, a South African national who we helped with a French Schengen visa.   Multi Travel Visas Ltd has been accredited for years with various Embassies in London. FRENCH SCHENGEN VISA takes 4 working days from the date of the biometric appointment for most nationals.  We use separate appointments for agencies and can provide one much sooner than in the public system, at the moment appointments are available as soon as in the next day or few days. If you need a Schengen visa soon - beat the Easter rush and apply now! www.multitravelvisas.co.uk , email info @multitravelvisas.co.uk or phone 0871 472 1468

Online OISC LEVEL 1 Course. CPD 16 Hours. Including a mock Level 1 Assessment and real case studies from a practicing OISC-accredited immigration company. This is a most requested training course and you can now 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! 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 and for compulsory Level 1 Assessment. Or perhaps to those who are planning to open a UK immigration consultancy based overseas. It would also be of interest for practicing advisers and immigration lawyers as well as for community group advisers, council or Citizens Advice Bureau workers, volunteers etc....

Multi Travel Visas Ltd has been accredited for years with various Embassies in London. FRENCH SCHENGEN VISA takes 4 working days from the date of the biometric appointment for most nationals.  We use separate appointments for agencies and can provide one much sooner than in the public system, at the moment appointments are available as soon as in the next day or few days. PORTUGUESE SCHENGEN VISA takes 1 week from the nearest available Wednesday. No biometrics, no personal attendance needed. GERMAN SCHENGEN VISA takes 5 working days from the date of appointment, usually in the next few days. No biometrics, no personal attendance needed. SAME-DAY UK PASSPORT RENEWAL: We can assist with renewing a UK passport using same-day or 1 week service at the Passport Office in London. We submit applications on next working day after receiving your documents, there is no need to wait for an appointment. Our service fee £152 plus official Passport Office fees. For a higher fee we may b...

1st 4Immigration is an accredited CPD distance learning provider, o ur online training courses are accepted by the OISC and SRA, CPD provider ref number EJE/14IM. Current online courses:   British Citizenship - a Dream for Many! CPD 7 core hours.     British Citizenship for European/EEA nationals and their Family Members. CPD 5 core hours.   Online OISC LEVEL 1 course. CPD 16 core hour s .   Spouse/Partner Visas - Case Studies and FAQs. CPD 6 core hours.   What's next after Post-Study Work and Tier 4 visas? CPD 4.5 core hours.     Download from our website, study in your own time on any computer, iPad or iPhone, complete the test and we will award your CPD hours and send you a certificate. Or visit website our training and CPD website: http://www.1st4immigration.com/training The courses are offered by our company, 1 st 4Immigration Ltd, which is a practising immigration company, registered by The OISC at a ...

“That's great news, thank you! I guess I will be your first Nigerian client who doesn't get invited for a face to face interview!” This came from Obi, a Nigerian national, who switched from a Post-Study Work Visa to an Entrepreneur category. His previous application was refused, before coming to us, because he did not provide an advert for his company. Even though many applicants genuinely don’t need to advertise their businesses, such as they are already working as contractors, the Entrepreneur rules do require to produce one of the specified ways of advertising, ie because ‘it is a rule’ (rather than common business sense). In this case we used a free advert on a Gumtree website. As for the interviews, we already wrote in the earlier posts how the UKBA, or rather now UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) are inviting many applicants for a face-to-face interview in Sheffield. All our Nigerian clients before Obi were invited for one. Obi was also interviewed but what was unusu...