UK Visas and British Citizenship

We are asked this question almost every day! The purpose of a Spouse/Partner visa is for the foreign partner to reside in the UK with their British/settled spouse/partner. So, are there limits on how many days you (or your British spouse) can spend outside the UK while on this visa? Some think it is 90 days, others – 180 days per year. Both are wrong. The former is the old limit for work visas and the latter is the current limit for the visas under the Points-Based System. Neither applies to spouses and partners. The answer is: there is no specified limit on absences. In other words, there is no minimum number of days, such as “180 per year”. The only rule is that the UK remains your main home and each case has to be assessed on its merit. How does it work in practice? In our immigration practice we have to assess each case individually. For example, a case where a British spouse was sent, by their UK employer, to work in Hong Kong for 6 months, while remaining an employee for a UK co...

“My wife and I applied for the second part of our FLRM spouse visa. As a self employed sole trader, the requirements are different from that of a salaried individual. I was introduced to Neil White at 1st 4Immigration by a friend who had undertaken using Neil & his team with his application. In less than 18hours, Neil and his team had come to be with not only guidance but also a plan to right my situation and just as importantly to my wife and I, treat us human beings and understand the predicament we were in and to reassure us. Fast forward 3 weeks and our application was approved. I simply can’t “not recommend” Neil, Danny and the whole team at 1st 4Immigration. They took all the stress away and dealt with everything. I will be using them again in the future and recommending them to family and friends.”  This came from Noel, a British citizen whose wife is from Uzbekistan and had an initial Spouse visa issued in Uzbekistan. Now it was time to extend Ekaterina’s vis...

“Firstly, I wanted say a HUGE thank you to everyone in 1st 4Immigration Ltd, but especially Danny and Neil. Throughout the whole process, you have provided expert, professional and stress free guidance, it was absolute peace of mind. The process was flawless from start to finish and you really made me feel that I am in good hands. I could carry on with my busy work with the assurance of my case being handle by professionals who know what they are doing. Danny and Neil have been absolutely amazing and replied all my emails promptly. They were very patient with me. They’ve really gone above and beyond what I expected and I’m so happy to choose 1st 4Immigration Ltd to assist me with my extension application process. I really appreciate all their efforts and time on my application. I highly recommend 1st 4Immigration Ltd”. This came from Oktav, a Turkish citizen who has a British wife. Oktav had an initial Spouse visa, issued in Turkey, so it was time to extend his visa for further 2...

“ A big thank you to the 1st 4Immigration team once again! We used their services to successfully apply for my partner visa from Germany and now 2-1/2 years on we felt confident that 1st 4 were the right people to help out during round two. Neil and Danny are always friendly and prompt at answering emails and keep you informed. Also, they are always up to date with the most recent laws and regulations - they really know their stuff!! We used the same day premium service and Danny was incredibly helpful on the day, from walking us through what to expect to keeping us informed as we went along. Once all the paperwork was done, we were free to go and Danny waited for the answer and informed us as soon as he had word. I will absolutely be using their services again in 2-1/2 years time when it comes time to apply for my indefinite leave to remain.”  This came from Mckenzie, an American citizen who is an Unmarried Partner of a British citizen. We initially helped Mckenzie to secure...

“We have received the paperwork successfully! We are very, very pleased with these good news! Thank you again for all your efforts on our behalf, we will  certainly recommend your firm in the future”. This came from Erik and Siti, a Dutch – Indonesian couple who are living in the UK. Erik is from the Netherlands and was working in the UK, so we applied for a Residence Card for his Indonesian wife, Siti. Residence Card, which is a 5 years ‘visa’, allows to work, be self-employed etc. Strictly speaking, it does not ‘allow’ work but confirms the right to work, which Siti has with or without this visa. The way European law works, for direct family members the rights to reside and to work in the UK derive automatically from the law, not from a ‘visa stamp’. This Residence Card is voluntary!   If it is voluntary, was it worth applying for it? Absolutely! It is a ‘visa stamp’ (biometric visa card) for 5 years. It is well-known to employers, so its holder can simply show i...

“My first contact with the 1 st 4Immigration team was a couple of years ago when I was looking for some advice on how to get my British Citizenship. They have a special fee just for advice so I met with them and got all my questions answered instead of losing my time - and money. Because the law changed whilst I was waiting to apply I had to get my ILR first. 1 st 4Immigration did the whole process, making it so easy for me. Everything was so smooth that it felt a big relief not having to go through all the forms and documents by myself. They have experience so they have all the answers I was looking for when I wasn't sure about documents. They were just brilliant. I was worried that my passport wouldn't come back in time for a trip I had planned but as they had assured me, it did. I'm definitely using them again when the time comes for my British Citizenship. And special thanks to Neil who was always so positive and lovely to talk to. It's been a pleasure going thro...

“Thank you so much for this amazing news. And thanks to your entire team for your help with this process. I am incredibly relieved to get this news and really can't thank you all enough for your assistance in preparing my application. I look forward to seeing the card (Biometric Residence Permit) when it arrives.” This came from Mr L, an American citizen, who asked us to help with his permanent residence application under the EEA law. Our client is married to a Lithuanian citizen who has been exercising EU Treaty rights in the UK for 5 years while they were both residing here. We submitted an application for a Permanent Residence Card as a family member of an EEA citizen and after some wait (as it is often the case with EEA applications) it has been approved this week! The Biometric Residence Permit is a 'visa card' which is valid for 10 years. The next step would be applying for British Citizenship, although it is voluntary. For an individual advice or to make your...

Join us for this very informative and practical 2-day course at our office in the City of London!   UK Immigration Rules, visas, switching, visas for spouses and partners, what a great idea! O r perhaps you would enjoy learning about British Citizenship or Points-Based System, EU/EEA applications and European law?   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:    24-25th June 2016 Our tutors are our very own OISC-accredited practicing immigration advisers who handle the real cases during the week. Unlike most traditional courses, ours is conducted using plai...

We previously posted some useful information for spouses and partners of UK citizens about English language tests. This post is for everyone who needs to meet the English language requirement when applying for a UK visa (including Points-Based System migrants). As you may know, besides taking an approved English language test, you can also use a degree which was taught in English. For example, a Bachelor degree from a UK university – nice and easy. You can use it when applying for a UK Spouse visa, UK Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa, Tier 2 visa and so on. In other words, having a UK degree means there is no need to take a test. Now, what to do if you hold an overseas degree, ie a degree from a university outside the UK but it was taught in English? Until approx mid-March 2016 we could use a Points-Based System calculator on the UKVI website and we could use it for both Tier 1 / 2 visas and Spouse/Partner/Fiancé visas. A Bachelor degree from South Africa, India or Nigeria as well a...