UK Visas and British Citizenship

It seems everyone is commenting on the result at the moment, that’s 52% of the UK voted to Leave the European Union. Well, everyone but the UK Visas and Immigration, the part of the Home Office that deals with, well, immigration. At the moment of writing this post on Saturday, 25 th June 2016, there is no news story on their website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration . They are probably still digesting the news! Here is our advice to the European/EEA nationals and their family members: If you hold a valid immigration document, it is likely you won’t be affected by the Brexit vote. The immigration law tends to allow those migrants, who had entered before “the change”, to continue as before. This is known as “Transitional Arrangements” and usually work well. Particularly under the UK national law. If you do not hold any of such document, we advise to apply for one as soon as possible. Not even to wait until October when the Prime Minister...

We call it “The other way around principle’. Do not look on the Rules for a category you’re now in. You’ll find how to switch to your current visa, which you already have. It works “other way around” – look in the Rules of the category you’re looking to switch to.  Each category has a section called Requirements for a Leave to Remain. Then you’ll see a point saying around the lines “The applicant must have or have been last granted a leave (that’s a term for a visa) as a ….” and the name of the categories which allow to switch. If you find your current visa there then you can switch, if not then not. If there is no section for a Leave to Remain then no one can switch to that category (example is a Tier 5 Youth Mobility Scheme). Here are some common examples from our practice: EXAMPLE: Switching from a Tier 4 Student visa to a Tier 2 General sponsored work visa inside the UK. The category you’re switching to is Tier 2 General, so this is where we need to look – P...

Switching is not an official legal term, although we (and the UK immigration authorities) use it all the time in our immigration law practice. Switching simply means changing a visa category while inside the UK, ie switching from one visa to another, such as from a Tier 4 Student to a Tier 2 General; or from Tier 4 to a Spouse visa. Officially it is called ‘applying for a leave to remain in a Tier 2 General category’ or ‘applying for a leave to remain as a Spouse of a UK citizen’. So, we can simply say ‘Switching from a Student visa to a Spouse visa’.   The significance of switching is this: switching means applying inside the UK (as opposed to returning to   your country and applying from there), and it is only allowed if the UK Immigration Rules specifically say so. Sometimes the Rules say what visas you can switch to your desired category, or sometimes what visas you cannot switch from. If switching is not allowed then the applicant has to return to their country an...

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...

Multi Travel Visas Ltd is an accredited agency with the official French visa centre in London, we have many years of experience of working with French Consulate. We use a separate system of appointments and for a business Schengen visa we are allowed to submit visa application any working day without an appointment.    SCHENGEN VISA FRANCE: It is possible to obtain a visa within 4 working days from the date of the biometric appointment for most nationals, such as Filipino, South African, Russian, Indian, Chinese, Turkish and most others. French Embassy is the best for longer, multiple-entry Schengen visas, particularly for spouses and family members of UK / EU / EEA nationals. It takes longer for some nationals, up to 3 weeks, a list is available on our website: http://www.multitravelvisas.co.uk/schengen-visa-france.php   In case of a business visa, we can arrange submission any working day without an appointment! SCHENGEN VISA GERMANY: German Sche...

Multi Travel Visas, a prominent visa company in the City of London, is accredited with the official French visa centre in London, we have many years of experience of working with French and other Schengen Consulates / Embassies. We use a separate system of appointments and can provide an appointment sooner than available for the public. FRENCH SCHENGEN VISA: It is possible to obtain a visa within 4 working days from the date of the biometric appointment for most nationals, such as Filipino, South African, Russian, Indian, Chinese, Turkish and most others. French Embassy is the best for longer, multiple - entry Schengen visas, particularly for spouses and families of UK / EU / EEA citizens. Webpage: http://www.multitravelvisas.co.uk/schengen-visa-france.php   GERMAN SCHENGEN VISA: German Schengen visa takes 5 working days from the date of appointment.  Spouses and family members of UK / EU / EEA citizens don't have to book tickets/accommodation before ...

Multi Travel Visas, a prominent UK visa company in the City of London, can assist with renewing a UK passport using fast service at the Passport Office in London, with the authorisation from you as per the government requirements. We can usually submit passport applications within  2 working days, there is no need for you to wait for an appointment.   We can also help if for some reason you are unable to apply yourself. If you don't have time to travel to a Passport Office yourself we can apply on your behalf (you don't have to come to London). If you are living/working abroad you can courier documents to our London office and we can submit them promptly for same-day service. This includes if your passport has run out of pages or if you need to renew not only yours but also/or your child's passport urgently.  Example: British expats living or working in the USA, the Middle East, Asia and Europe.   Passport renewal: we can renew y...

The family Rules cover quite well the subject of how to calculate income for employees to meet the Financial Requirement. Every employee has (or should have) payslips and bank statements. However, it is not clear to many applicants (and many immigration lawyers) how to calculate income of self-employed people. Let us not forget that the UKVI policies are written by their staff who, by definition, are employees. We at 1st 4Immigration are very keen on working with self-employed visa applicants and sponsors, as it is very interesting and often more challenging.   Our company has extensive experience with assisting with all types of cases for self-employed people: a sole trader (self-employed in HMRC terms), a limited company owner (a company based in the UK or overseas), a partner in a partnership or LLP, including a contractor / freelancer, working through an agency or umbrella company - you name it, we've done it! We love this subject because we are immigration...

"Hi Sebastian, t hank you for the great news and your excellent service! I’m very pleased with my experience and the outcome." Vitaliy This came from Vitality who was issued a multi entry Schengen visa for 5 years by the French consulate.  It is possible to obtain a French Schengen visa within 4 working days from the date of appointment for most nationals, such as South African, Thai, Filipino, Russian, Indian, Chinese and most others. We can also assist with a German and Portuguese Schengen visas. The good thing about applying through French Embassy is that they tend to issuer longer, multiple-entry, visas. Although you have to go through a very stringent process of application, you may have a visa lasting for several years.   Contact us at Multi Travel Visas: German Schengen visa:  http://www.multitravelvisas.co.uk/schengen-visa-germany.php Portuguese Schengen visa:  http://www.multitravelvisas.co.uk/schengen-visa-portugal.php Fr...

Not a day goes by without mentioning an Australian-style points-based system for migrants.   How strange since the Points-Based System has been existing in the UK since 2009. Here is a link the Immigration Rules, Part 6A, called, unsurprisingly: “The Points-Based System” https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-part-6a-the-points-based-system The current Points-Based System is, well, points-based; it was created circa 2008 and implemented in stages during 2008-200, and back then it was also portrayed as “Australian-style”. The system, called PBS for short, has Tiers (Tier 1, Tier   etc), with Tier 1 covering entrepreneurs and investors, and previously highly skilled migrants (which was closed by Theresa May in 2011). Entrepreneurs need £200 000 to invest into their business in the UK while Investors need £2 million to invest to the UK government bonds and UK companies. Tier 2 covers sponsored employees, meaning only those migrants with the sk...

Here is an interesting article on politics.co.uk website, dated February 2016, regarding the unpopular Financial Requirement of having income of £18 600 in order to sponsor a non-EEA spouse for a UK entry clearance (visa from outside the UK, ie to bring a foreign spouse to the UK). Link: http://www.politics.co.uk/blogs/2016/02/22/supreme-court-could-knock-down-tory-anti-love-rule Perhaps for extra dramatisation, the author   says (quote): “ And the system is despairingly arbitrary. You can't, for instance, include the spouses' income. So if a millionaire marries a junior English nurse, he won’t be allowed in, despite the fact his presence would contribute considerable sums to the economy. Only the junior nurse's salary counts.” Well, not true! The £18 600 threshold remains extremely unpopular (especially when compared to the EEA law for spouses of EEA nationals who don’t need it). Although as an immigration law firm we can’t change the Rules (the law), but can a...

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 pla...