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.
 

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