UK immigration visas: Happy New 2017 Year from us and a review of recent changes from “them”.

By 1st 4Immigration - #1 UK Immigration Experts -
The above heading was meant to re-phrase the famous catchphrase by The Two Ronnies “It’s “Goodnight” from me. And it’s “Goodnight” from him”, one of the most iconic TV shows / TV personalities in the British history. So, it is a wish of a Happy New Year for 2017 from us at 1st 4Immigration. And it is a summary of the 2016 visa rules changes from “them” at the UK Government (brought to you by us).
 
For all: there is no more grace period for “legally” overstaying in the UK for 28 days. Only a 14-day period is accepted and only if there were compassionate circumstances, such as a serious illness, Royal Mail delay etc. This is the most important change, in our view, which can potentially affect many more migrants than any other change.
 
 
Spouses, fiancées and partners of British citizens will need to achieve A2 level of English language when applying for a visa extension from May 2017. This was announced during the autumn 2016.
 
Sponsored workers under Tier 2 (General) visas (non-EEA nationals): a minimum salary for an Experienced worker has been raised to £25,000 pa in November 2016. Those applying for ILR in the Tier 2 (General) route need a minimum salary of £35,000 and even more from April 2018 onwards.
 
Appeal fees have gone up and then back down. The court fees for an immigration appeal had been increased in October 2016, but following a court challenge were brought back to where they were. The end result is no change.
 
British Citizenship for EEA citizens and their family members. The old news (November 2015) was they have to apply for a formal confirmation of a permanent residence stays in the UK. The news during 2016 was that there was still no need to wait for whole 12 months after the date of the PR document to apply for British Citizenship, assuming you had met the requirements.
 
Tier 1 Entrepreneur migrants. There was a clarification on whether the third party had to keep the funds for 90 days, or whether this rule was only applicable to the applicants. In our view, another important clarification was whether funds held in investments, such as shares/bonds, can be used as evidence of funds to apply for a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa.
 
For an individual advice or to make an application please contact us: info@1st4immigration.com  or read testimonials on  http://www.1st4immigration.com/testimonials.php
 
If you are an Immigration Adviser or a Solicitor please visit our immigration Training and CPD website: www.1st4immigration.com/training We have a weekend OISC Level 1 course as well as a Points-Based System course and we also have online training courses, including Online OISC Level 1 course and courses focusing on Spouse/Partner visas. All our training courses are CPD-accredited with CPD credit accepted by  OISC.
 

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