UK Visas and British Citizenship

  1st 4Immigration is a specialist company in this area - we even train our lawyers!  In summary, it has to be income of £18,600 per year or savings of £62,500. You have to meet it at the initial visa stage, during extension and permanent residency. Then there is a rulebook of 70 pages of how exactly it is calculated. Changed your job recently? Different rules. Worked abroad? Very different rules from those for UK workers. Started as a self-employed freelancer? Follow the self-employment rules, at the minimum wait for the end of the tax year. Own a property? Sell and deposit the cash in the bank!  Here on our website we cover the common ways of meeting it : employment, self-employment, working as a contractor through a limited company or otherwise, pension, property (sale or rental income), student finance and also what to do if you cannot meet the Financial Requirement.  To discuss your options, please book an online or in-person consultation with a lawyer here. 1s...

It is well-known that it takes 5 years to qualify for settlement in the UK - in most cases. Such as 5 years as a Spouse/Partner or a Worker. But what about combining different visa categories? Worker+Spouse, Student+Worker?  The answers are in the UK Immigration Rules . Some categories can be combined, some cannot be. You can mix most work visas but cannot combine work visas with family ones. 5 years as Tier 2 General + Skilled Worker will be OK, but Tier 2 + Spouse of UK citizen won't be. Tier 1 Entrepreneur can be combined with Tier 2 (now Skilled Worker) but not other way around. Also, a main visa is different from a dependent visa, such as Tier 2 General is different from Dependant, so cannot be combined either.  If you are in the Spouse / Partner route, you cannot mix 5 and 10-year routes (unless it’s 10 years). Some categories are not counted at all, such as Student or Graduate, so Student + Spouse doesn’t work. The only exception is 10 years of legal residence where vir...

Marta: Spouse visa -> Spouse visa (extension) -> ILR -> Citizenship. My husband and I went through our entire journey ith this company. They train other migrant agents in the UK - hence, their level of knowledge and experience is on top. Our consultant was Jules Motcho. Brilliant service: always answered our questions the same day, easy to reach on email and phone, checked documents thoroughly, provided all necessary information and updated us regularly. In addition, the company offers affordable prices and even gives discounts for loyal customers. Absolutely nothing to complain about - felt in good professional hands all 6 years in the UK. Belgude: I've got an amazing help from Jules who guided me through intricacies of immigration procedures on two separate occasions. Cannot praise enough! Dewane: My experience with this company was excellent and successful on both occasions, thank you to Mr. Jules Motcho who represented me in my cases. RC 675: I’ve used 1st 4 Immgration...

  5-year route is a standard one. You can qualify for permanent residency after 5 years in the UK. The 1st visa is for 30 months (2.5 years) if you apply inside the UK, such as when switching from a Student, Graduate, Youth Mobility or a work visa. Or for 33 months (2.5 years + 3 months) if you apply outside the UK. Then extension for further 2.5 years, then settlement after 5 years.  10-year route is used when you have serious, exceptional circumstances why you cannot meet the requirements of the standard route. For example, a serious illness or similar family circumstances are preventing you or your partner from meeting the Financial Requirement £18,600. Here the 1st visa is again for 30 months (2.5 years), but you need further 3 extensions until you can settle in the UK after 10 years. There may be better solutions, however, such as switching from the 10 to 5-year route or settling after 10 years on any visas. Can you combine them when counting to settlement? In the 5-ye...

  Our OISC Level 1 training is a bestseller! With the online version, you can download it on your computer and study in your own time. The course is great for you if: - you are preparing to take a Level 1 OISC exam and become an immigration adviser. - you are a practicing adviser or solicitor and wish to broaden your knowledge about other visa categories, such as to learn in detail about the Points-Based System. You will earn 16 CPD hours! - you work in HR; you are a business owner or a landlord and need to learn about how your employees or tenants can stay legally in the UK so that you don't face penalties. With over 10 years of experience, we designed this course to be of practical help! It's full of useful advice, explanation of how to understand Immigration Rules, where to find the information during a case and many case studies. Unlike most training other there, this is not boring coverage of the Immigration Rules, we tried to keep it as entertaining as possible! Read deta...

  Why choose 1st 4Immigration? - 12 years of experience, 1000s of successful cases - Specialist in Financial Requirement £18,600 - We work with standard and fast Priority services - We reply emails on same business day and assist clients worldwide via WhatsApp & Zoom Options for my partner's UK visa: Spouse, Partner, Fiancee - Fiancé/Fiancée visa is for 6 months with no right to work. You have to get married within 6 months and apply for a Spouse visa, which ca an be on 24-hour service. Spouse visa allows work.  - Spouse visa allows working in the UK immediately. This is for married couples and also for civil partners who registered their relationship with the Register Office. If you/your partner are outside the UK, you can also use the Fiancee option to get married in the UK. A visa is for 30 months (2.5 years) but you get extra 3 months when applying outside the UK to give you more flexibility to plan the move to the UK. - Unmarried Partner visa is similar to Spouse v...

Get a faster decision on your UK visa or settlement application. Can be as fast as in 5 working days or even 24 hours, for an additional Government fee. We at 1st 4Immigration don't charge extra fees for this because the documents and the visa rules remain the same - and we always work as fast as possible! The difference is the processing time by the UK authorities. Eligible in-UK visa categories: Spouse, Partner or a Parent of a UK citizen: switching from another visa (such as Student or Youth Mobility Scheme), extension, settlement Indefinite Leave to Remain. Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker and most other work visas: switching from another visa, extension, settlement. Student visa. Start-up, Innovator, Global Talent, Tier 1 Investor. Ancestral visa. Indefinite Leave on the basis of 10 years. Categories only available on the Standard (slow) service: British Citizenship Hong Kong BNO visa Complex cases How does it work? Decision in 24 hours. We advise on the visa requirement...

Here we have rounded up the updated information on the most commonly asked questions about UK visas that are related to Covid disruption, which can also be found here . #1 I had to stay outside the UK during the pandemic, will my (longer than planned) absences affect my next application?  If you left and returned on the same visa, and had to stay abroad because of Covid, your absences wouldn't normally affect your next application. If your visa expired while you were abroad, and you are wondering whether a break between visas will affect your 'continuous residence’. Such as when counting ‘your’ 5 years for Settlement (Indefinite Leave). The answer is: if your visa expired between 1 March 2020 and 19 July 2021, a break of up to 6 months will be accepted.  #2 My income was reduced and/or I was on furlough, how can I meet the Financial Requirement for a Spouse/Partner or family visa in my next application? If your salary has reduced because you were furloughed, you can use income...