New successful case and testimonial on a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa, switching from a Post-Study Work visa

By 1st 4Immigration - #1 UK Immigration Experts -
“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 unusual in this case is that Obi was phoned by the UKVI and asked for a phone interview at that very moment, on a Saturday morning. He did not have any chance to prepare and had to answers the questions about his business and plans for the future. We had already submitted extra documents when we submitted this application, as per the Genuine Entrepreneur Test – evidence of having an accountant, business insurance, business plan, a CV and evidence of a business account. All that was provided from the start, even though it is not compulsory and not ‘specified evidence’. (Specified evidence are the documents which you must provide and without which your application is refused, even if you have provided lots of other alternative evidence. Like the applicant’s previous application was refused because of absence of an advert, which was part of the specified evidence).

In the end all went OK and our client did not have to go for face-to-face interview while a visa was granted in a couple of weeks after that along with a Dependant visa for the spouse.

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

Popular posts from this blog

Updated May 2020: UK visa work continues - latest update

By -
UK immigration authorities continue to process visa applications, albeit not as fast as they normally would. The visa centres are beginning to gradually re-opening from 1 June 2020 in the UK and abroad. Regardless of when your particular centre re-opens, it is still possible to submit your application online. If your visa expires soon, you can apply for your next visa "on-time", i.e. before your current visa expires, by making such an application online and then waiting for the further steps. This keeps you within the Rules and does not make you an overstayer.  Even better, the actual documents (supporting evidence) can be submitted later, thus giving you even more time to prepare while remaining within the Rule on visa expiry dates. We usually have 45 days to provide the documents (ie upload them online to the Government portal) after the online "submission" mentioned above. This is extended for as long as it will take to clear up the backlog.  If you
Read more

How long can a visitor stay in the UK? 6 months from each entry? In a year? In a calendar year?

By 1st 4Immigration - #1 UK Immigration Experts -
Visitors can come to the UK for purposes of tourism, visiting friends, business visits and similar. Visitors can stay for maximum 6 months in each 12 months . Not 6 months from each entry to the UK. Even if your visitor visa is for 5 or 10 years you can still stay for maximum 180 days in each of those years. How to count ‘6 months in 12 months’? A 12 months period starts from ‘now’, date in question or date of entry etc and you need to count backwards (not a calendar year). If you stayed in the UK for the whole 6 months then you have to stay away for the whole 6 months. If you come and go several times during a year then the total must be 180 days cumulatively in the last 12 months. Visitor rules are the same for all. Visitor visa rules aren’t. Visitor rules include: purpose of visits, no right to work, no right to use the NHS, no right to use the public funds (benefits), no right to switch to more serious visas inside the UK, ie no right to switch to a Spouse
Read more

💸 10 common mistakes when meeting the Financial Requirement £18,600 for a UK Spouse visa

By -
Image
#1 Most common - submitting “everything I have’.  Some payslips, a tax return, some savings plus a property deed for good measure. Surely, should work? It may sound logical to provide as much as possible, this is often a nightmare scenario for immigration lawyers and often a direct path to a visa refusal. Financial Requirement is strictly based on the ‘rules’: what income can be used, how various sources can be combined and what documents are needed. We often say there is 75-page office guidance just on the finances: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/636618/Appendix_FM_1_7_Financial_Requirement_Final.pdf  #2 Savings - it’s not £18,600 and not £16,000.  The real amount (for this purpose) is calculated using this formula: threshold you need to meet (such as £18,600) x 2.5 plus £16,000. If you are using savings alone, it would be £18,600 x 2.5 + £16,000 = £62,500!  #3 Employment -  the minimum is 6 months for the sa
Read more