UK Visas and British Citizenship

  #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 70-page office guidance just on the finances . #2 Savings - it’s not £18,600 and not £16,000.  The amount for a Partner visa application is £62,500! Higher if children are also applying.  #3 Employment -  the minimum is 6 months for the same employer.  In short, you can’t get a job today and apply for a visa tomorrow. You have to stay on that job for 6 months first.  #4 Employment again -  the maximum is 12 months for the calculation. But don’t need to be all 12 months.  If you can't meet the previous 6-month r

  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

How are they different? What are advantages of each of them? Our helpful table below gives you the visa options for partners of UK citizens. Spouse visa Fiancée visa Unmarried Partner visa Marital status  Have to be married (or get married) and apply for a UK visa as a Spouse.  Allows you to come to the UK, get married within 6 months and then apply for a Spouse visa.  Instead of being married, you have to have lived together for 2 years. Where to apply? You can apply for a Spouse visa in the foreign spouse's country. You can also apply inside the UK but only if your current UK visa allows such a "switch". You can only apply for a Fiancée visa outside the UK, usually in the foreign partner's country.  This includes a situation where your current UK visa allows to switch to a Spouse visa but you prefer to take the Fiancée route (such as if you need more time to meet the Financial Requirement).  Same rules as for a Spouse visa. Duration of the visa  2.5 years, then exte