UK Visas and British Citizenship

"I want to thank Joanne Wilson for the OISC Level 1 training she provided me with, it exceeded my expectations and could not have been any better considering I had a limited amount of knowledge in this subject area, the way in which she presented the course with real life case studies made the training easy to understand, Joanne's training was very thorough and professional she was very approachable and answered all of my questions, not only did she provide me with training she also provided me with timely and helpful advice. For anyone considering the OISC Level 1 training in the future I would definitely recommend 1st 4immigration. Thank you" T his came from Tanya, who attended our OISC Level 1 training course in September 2015.   As a practicing OISC-accredited immigration firm, we at 1 st 4Immigration work on various applications on a daily basis and with great deal of success.   OISC Level 1 course is our most popular course, both online and at a classroom...

“ Hi Lucy, I just wanted to say a ...... BIG THANK YOU.....to you for helping me succeed in switching my current visa in to a spouse visa. I can't believe how quick the whole process was. Also want to say thank you to Harpreet who accompanied me to Home Office, he made me feel at ease. I will definitely use 1st 4Immigration in the future and I will recommend them to others. Thank you.” This came from Nalaaluke, a Namibian national whose husband was British. In this case our client already had a partner visa for 2.5 years (30 months) but it was in the 10 year route. We submitted a ‘normal’ FLR(M) application to switch to the 5 year route. Although it means meeting the strict Financial Requirement and English language requirement, it allows to qualify for Indefinite Leave to remain 9ILR, permanent residency), after 5 years instead of 10 years. 5 years have to be on the ‘normal’ spouse visas only. Can’t be combined with the 2.5 visa from the 10 year route, even though both visas a...

UK Immigration Rules, visas, switching, visas for spouses and partners, what a great idea for a weekend! Or perhaps you would enjoy learning about British Citizenship or Points-Based System or maybe even EU/EEA applications and European law? What can be more exciting? This is a very informative and practical 2-day weekend course at our office in the City of London!  1st 4Immigration Ltd is a practicing OISC-accredited immigration company, OISC ref F200800152. After many years of experience – and hundreds of successful cases – we are sharing our experience to help you to prepare for your OISC Level 1 assessment and accreditation or, if you are already practicing, to increase your knowledge. You can read Testimonials on our immigration cases here. TRAINING DATES:     Weekend 26 - 27 September 2015 (in time for OISC exam on 28 September). Weekend 24 - 25 October 2015 (in time for OISC exam on 29 October). Weekend 14 - 15 November ...

“Hi Lucy, I wanted to email you to say a hugeeeeeeeeeeeeeee (we left the original spelling!) thank you for all your support during the visa application process. You were confident we would be successful, and I am so happy that you were correct! Thank You.” This came from Lazenya, a British national whose husband was from Haiti. In this application the British spouse was meeting the Financial Requirement using income from employment under the Category B. It was a combination of employment in Haiti, employment in the UK and then a current job in the UK. Such a combination is allowed by the Immigration Rules.    We made an application on same-day service in Croydon and all went well on the day. The next step will be to extend a Spouse visa for further 2.5 years and apply for permanent residency after 5 years.    For an individual advice or to make your application as successful please contact us: info@1st4immigration.com or visit    h...

“1 st 4Immigration were very helpful during my Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa application process and the turnaround time from Home Office was beyond my expectations at under 2 weeks! I tried submitting the application myself based on my understanding of the guidance, but after consulting Joanne and 1 st 4Immigration's strong track record with Tier 1 visas, I felt more confident with my application to use their services, and was not disappointed!  Joanne was responsive every day and organised. She was very patient with my numerous questions. I didn't have any concerns in the documentation process and she reassured me with the documents required for a successful application. For anyone looking to start their own business with a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur), I highly recommend you to opt for their Visa Application and Business Plan services as they have a thorough know-how of Home Office's requirements with a 100% track record (which we indeed had in the last few years).”  ...

Visas for entrepreneurs, investors, workers, what can be more exciting? Points-Based System categories can be great fun – if you know how to play by the rules (how to use the Immigration Rules). This course has a particular emphasis on Tier 2 General and Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa categories, applying for a Sponsor Licence and using Tier 2 Code of Practice as well as qualifying for an Indefinite Leave in these routes. It also covers (often forgotten in training) rules for family members of PBS migrants. You can earn 7 core CPD hours credit, subject to the successful completion of the test after the course. As a practicing company, we are offering to share our experience to help you deal with the applications of Points-Based System migrants, their family members and ILR applications based on PBS categories. You can read   Testimonials on our immigration cases here. Our tutors are our very own OISC-accredited practicing immigration advisers who handle the real cases during the...

One of the common mistakes migrants do, from our experience, is confusing the main visa with a dependent visa. For example, one spouse is on a Tier 2 (General) visa (that’s the main one) and the other spouse is on a Tier 2 Dependant visa (that’s a dependent visa). The visa ‘depends’ on someone else’s visa, so a Tier 2 Partner visa depends on the main Tier 2 visa. These are 2 totally separate categories: main is main, dependent is dependent. They can’t be combined when calculating qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR, permanent residency) except for   10 years Long Residence which can be based on any type of visa. Most importantly, this matters to switching rules, ie applying to change your status inside the UK, rather than having to apply from outside the UK. You can switch from a main visa to a dependent visa inside the UK, such as from the main Tier 2 General to a Tier 2 Partner, from the main Tier 1 visa to a Tier 1 Partner. Actually, it would be the...

“ Finally,  Good news we did it !!!!! I got my (Entrepreneur) visa  yesterday (14-09-2015), I applied on 17-08-2015. This email to thank you for your hard and excellent work, the Business plan was great!!!!!! This came from Sulan, a national of Libya, who approached us for help with a business plan, which is now compulsory for a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa when making an initial application. Sulan was considering opening a business to offer   a range of auto service and repair. It was a business activity related to the client’s work in the past, so we used that as another ‘selling point’ to the visa officers. A business plan is a part of the Genuine Entrepreneur Test, so we usually explain the applicant’s previous work or business experience as well as what products they are going to offer, how they are going to compete the UK market. As we are both entrepreneurs and immigration advisers, ie immigration entrepreneurs, we also insist on including the information on...

This post was a result of an online article we came across, saying how British-foreign couples, who both happened to be students, are struggling to meet the Financial Requirement for a UK Spouse/Partner visa, which requires income of £18,600. Understandably, many ask how the students were expected to qualify for this visa whilst university years are often when people meet their future spouse. We already published a post on this earlier, which addressed a common myth that the Home Office could only take into account the income of the British spouse and not of the applicant (the foreign spouse). That post was focusing on various scenarios of employment:   http://1st4immigration-visas.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/who-has-to-meet-financial-requirement.html    Here we are focusing on students. Example 1: both are PhD students , or one partner is a PhD student and the other is studying for a lower level degree. Although a PhD may sound like something only a few people d...