UK Visas and British Citizenship

  If you are on a UK Skilled Worker visa (or its predecessor Tier 2), your immigration status is tied to your employer. If your job ends earlier than on your COS, through redundancy or loss of Sponsor licence, what are the options?     You have a 60-day grace period to either make a new visa application or leave the UK. If you find a new Sponsor, you can apply for a new Skilled Worker visa. Or you can switch to another category, if eligible , such as Global Talent, Student, Youth Mobility Scheme, High Potential Individual, even Start-up visa.    You can also switch to a Partner visa if you are married or in a relationship with someone who is British, settled in the UK, pre-settled EEA citizen; or someone with a Worker visa so you could be their dependant.    The same grace period applies if you choose to resign from your job. If you cannot do anything on time and have to leave the UK, you can come back as soon as you can meet the requirements again - there is no cooling-off period.   

        By  Natalia Andrews ,  OISC-accredited Immigration Adviser since 2008. You can prove your right to work to an employer by sharing a code , so they could see your immigration status on the Government system: https://www.gov.uk/prove-right-to-work   You can prove your right to rent to a landlord or an agency: https://www.gov.uk/prove-right-to-rent They will only see that you have a legal status, they won’t see any other personal details or visa applications.  If your status is under EU Settlement Scheme (settled or pre-settled), you have to use this link : https://www.gov.uk/view-prove-immigration-status 1st 4Immigration  is one of the most experienced UK immigration law companies, OISC - accredited at the highest Level 3. We have been in business for over 10 years, our OISC reference is 200800152, in which 2008 stands for the year accreditation. Office: Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, London, EC2N 1HN.  www.1st4immigration.com

   We are often asked about visas to come and work in the UK, so we made an alphabetical list. Ancestral: For Commonwealth citizens with a grandparent born in the UK. Visa is for 5 years and allows to work without sponsorship. Settlement after 5 years. Global Mobility: Several temporary work visas, which don’t lead to settlement. Such as a Secondment Worker and similar categories that replaced Intra-Company Transfers. Sponsorship is required. Global Talent: For everybody, doesn’t require sponsorship but requires endorsement from an approved body, such as Arts Council or Tech Nation. These organisations assess ’talent’, then immigration authorities issue visas. Visa is for up to 5 years, allows to work without sponsorship but only in endorsed field of your ‘talent'. Settlement after 3 to 5 years. Graduate: For graduates from UK universities, who are completing a degree while on a Student visa (or old Tier 4 visa). Visa is for 2 years and allows to work without sponsorship. Doesn'

  We are often asked about visas to come and work in the UK, so we made an alphabetical list.  Ancestral:   For Commonwealth citizens with a grandparent born in the UK. Visa is for 5 years and allows to work without sponsorship. Settlement after 5 years.  Global Mobility: Several temporary work visas, which don’t lead to settlement. Such as a Secondment Worker and similar categories that replaced Intra-Company Transfers. Sponsorship is required.  Global Talent:  For everybody, doesn’t require sponsorship but requires endorsement from an approved body, such as Arts Council or Tech Nation. These organisations assess ’talent’, then immigration authorities issue visas. Visa is for up to 5 years, allows to work without sponsorship but only in endorsed field of your ‘talent'. Settlement after 3 to 5 years.  Graduate:  For graduates from UK universities, who are completing a degree while on a Student visa (or old Tier 4 visa). Visa is for 2 years and allows to work without sponsorship. D

  We are writing to update on the processing times for UK visas. At the moment, all categories in all locations are taking longer than normal. A full story is here, the Home Office is prioritising Ukraine Visa Scheme: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/visa-decision-waiting-times     Applying outside the UK:  The timing for family visas was recently extended from 3 months to up to 6 months. Unfortunate news for spouses and families of UK citizens. In most countries, you can purchase a Keep My Passport service and travel during that time (but not to the UK).   For work, study and other non-family visas, the processing time remains up to 3 weeks officially. Although we now see applications taking longer.  Priority services: suspended in all locations. Only a limited Priority service remains for visitor visas.      Applying inside the UK:  Applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain (Settlement) are taking up to 6 months. Sometimes sooner but often close to that.  Other application

  Visa rules after Brexit European citizens (except Irish) now have to meet the same Immigration Rules as non-EU citizens did before Brexit. European workers need the same work visa as non-Europeans, under the new Points-Based Immigration System, including a job offer from a UK employer, appropriate salary, English language etc. These rules now cover nationals of all countries to come, work and settle in the UK. The new PBIS is faster, more flexible and more skills-orientated than the old over-restrictive Tier 2 visa.  If you are looking to work in the UK or sponsor workers for your business, please book online consultation now ! Plus, there is an expanding range of unsponsored UK visas, such as a Graduate visa for students in UK universities; The High Potential Individual Visa for those who graduated from non-UK universities in the last 5 years; Youth Mobility Scheme, Ancestral visa; Hong Kong BNO visa. More details here .  EU Settlement Scheme The deadline for registering was 30 June

  We thought we would remind how the current application procedure works, and not just because of Covid. The UK authorities moved the casework online in late 2018, well before Covid. In that sense they didn’t have to adapt very much.  The actual visa rules haven’t changed in terms of eligibility. For example, spouses and partners of U.K. citizens still need to meet the strict Financial Requirement £18,600. Skilled Workers can still only work for their Sponsor (employer) on an approved salary , with only some supplementary employment allowed. And so on.  However, the application process , ie how to apply, is now online.  Online application form , electronic versions of documents , which get uploaded on the designated portal and which will be considered electronically by the caseworkers at the Home Office in Sheffield. The good thing is we don’t have to insist on you providing “payslips stamped by employer” or “banks statements stamped by the bank”. Ah, the joy of technology ! Unless you