UK Visas and British Citizenship

  Immigration work continues during the lockdown, UK visas are issued and visa centres remain open.   Visa application centres inside the UK are classified as essential services, so you can still enrol biometrics (fingerprints) as part of your application for a UK visa, settlement or British Citizenship. The casework (considering your documents) continues by the UK Government remotely, with online submission of documents - a process that has been in place for 2 years now (since before Covid).   We at 1st 4Immigration work as normal. We conduct online consultations via Zoom, WhatsApp and email for our customers worldwide, as we have been already doing during the past 12 years. We work on your cases as usual, you can provide us with your documents online via Dropbox or email, so we make the most of the modern technology in the ’new normal’. We are here to help if you are coming to the UK to work or to join your family, extending your stay or need to apply for Citizenship.   Not forgettin

  The new points based immigration system - easier, faster and more flexible !    It’s beginning to feel a lot like ... Brexit. And it starts early on 1 December 2020, a whole month before the UK officially cuts the ties with the EU. The new immigration system for work visas starts on 1 December 2020. It allows to sponsor foreign workers faster, easier and on far more flexible terms than under the current Tiered (and tired) policy. It will be the same for EU and non-EU workers.    What’s better?   No annual limit - no restricted certificates - no waiting for a place or competing on salaries.  No resident labour test - no need to advertise a job to the settled workers to justify hiring a foreigner.  No cooling-off period, meaning no need to wait for 12 months to re-apply under this visa category.  No cap of how many years you can stay in the UK as a Skilled Worker (currently 6 years).  Lower salary levels in many cases (not in all).  Plus, a much wider range of acceptable jobs, down to

  Despite everything that's going on, the immigration work very much continues, it just keeps changing! Here is our latest news roundup.   #1 Remember Brexit? The new Points-Based System is being introduced with most new categories (including work visas) starting 1 December 2020.  It will be much easier than now to sponsor foreign workers from all over the world. The same visa rules will apply to Europeans and non-Europeans, meaning the UK can benefit from the skilled workers with any passport.  UK employers will still need a licence (as now under Tier 2, the visa, not lockdown!), and workers a job offer, however, the scope will be broader with the whole process faster.    #2 What about the current Points-Based System?  If, like us, you are having a sense of deja-vu, that’s because a Points-Based System existed in the UK for more than 10 years. It will be replaced by the new one, new points and new rules.  If you have a visa under the current PBS (such as Tier 2), you will need to

UK immigration authorities continue to process visa applications, albeit still at a slower pace and without Priority services. However, the visa centres are beginning to reopen in the UK and abroad from 1 June 2020 for submission of biometrics (fingerprints). To start with, they are re-booking appointments for the applicants who had booked a slot prior to the lockdown and had them cancelled. Regardless of that, it is still possible to submit your application online. If your visa expires soon, you can apply for your next visa online and "on-time", i.e. before your current visa expires, and then waiting for 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 them. Usually, within 45 days after the online "submission". It may be extended due to the Covid situation (but no dates confir

Whilst we are pre-occupied with Coronavirus, there are other changes happening in the UK immigration field. Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is expected to soar from the £400 to £624 per year from October 2020! The Government is known for confirming such changes at a short notice, sometimes earlier than expected - to prevent the rush of applications before the change. If you are eligible - apply now to save money!  For a typical 2.5-year Spouse visa, IHS would increase from £1,000 (£400 x 2.5) to £1,560! For a 3-year Tier 2 work visa, from £1,200 to £1,872! That’s in addition to the 'application fee' and it is per person, i.e. the same for a spouse and each child.  If you are planning your UK entry visa,  such as a Spouse/Partner visa or Tier 2 work visa, you can apply ’now’, pay the current IHS amount, and wait for the next steps. When visa centres re-open in your country, you will be able to submit biometrics (fingerprints) and provide supporting doc

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

This post is referring to the UK Government's announcement here:  https://www.dailymail. co.uk/news/article-8122789/ Coronavirus-Rishi-Sunak- announces-three-month- mortgage-payment-holiday.html We are not mortgage advisers and this is not a financial or legal advice. This is a post from me, Natalia Andrews, a property investor as well as an immigration lawyer, and I am doing this in response to our immigration clients, asking for some advice during the uncertain times of COVID-19. For details, or if you are in financial difficulty, you need to seek a professional financial advice.  Mortgage Holiday - you will still owe this money!  My bank, Halifax, confirmed that they were offering a mortgage holiday for 3 months, same as other banks did. They warned, however, that you would still owe this money. They aren't cancelling these payments but adding them to the loan, so you will be paying it later. Most likely, in small instalments, so you probably won’t fe

We are asked what the UK Government is doing to help small businesses and workers. As many of our customers are business owners or employed by such, here is a summary as it stands at the moment. Please remember it can change at anytime.  The main point is that the Government is taking measures, and we believe there is no need to worry whether the current extraordinary situation will affect your immigration status in terms of meeting the visa rules. These circumstances will be taken into account when your visa application is considered in the future.  If you run your own business:    A migrant-run business will be eligible for support. This is not ‘public funds' and won’t breach an endorsement on your visa (if applicable to your situation).  There will be exemption from business rates for 12 months and grants for those who don’t pay business rates. Broadly, it will be applicable to businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure. You can read more on th

We would like to reassure you that all our immigration work continues as normal. UK visa and Citizenship applications are prepared and processed electronically. Whether you are applying for a UK entry visa to come here, or applying inside the UK to remain or settle. All cases are now considered by the UK authorities “behind the close doors”, meaning the visa officers are not seen face-to-face. When decision has been made, we will be notified by email. When working with us at 1st 4Immigration, you can submit the documents to us online without leaving your home. This is already a standard practice for our customers residing outside the UK and increasingly common for those applying inside the UK. We use Dropbox, email and similar providers. If you prefer, you can of course post us paper documents and we will scan them. For a consultation appointment, we work via What’s App, Skype, email, phone. Our face-to-face appointments are also currently running as normal but we can change yours t

Dear customers of 1st 4Immigration, We would like to reassure you that all our immigration work continues as normal. UK visa and Citizenship applications are prepared and processed electronically. Whether you are applying for a UK entry visa to come here, or applying inside the UK to remain or settle. All cases are now considered by the UK authorities “behind the close doors”, meaning the visa officers are no longer seen face-to-face, as was the case with same-day service in the past. When decision has been made, we will be notified by email. When working with us at 1st 4Immigration, you can submit the documents to us online without leaving your home. This is already a standard practice for our customers residing outside the UK and increasingly common for those applying inside the UK. We use Dropbox, email and similar providers. If you prefer, you can of course post us paper documents and we will scan them. For a consultation appointment, we work via What’s App, Skype, email, ph

We are UK’s #1 Business visa one-stop shop: immigration lawyers and business plan writers under one roof! We help to obtain an endorsement and secure a UK business visa. We have a wide network of affiliated professionals to set you up in business: accountants, web-designers, bankers, employment lawyers and many others. We help with: - UK Start-up visa - UK Innovator visa - UK Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa – open for Graduate Entrepreneur visa holders until 5 July 2021 - Representative of Overseas Business visa - Funding from a bank, investor or venture capital fund or an accelerator programme from your endorsing body  Why choose 1st4Immigration?    - OISC-accredited immigration firm at the highest level 3 - 10+ years of immigration experience and 1000s successful cases - Specialist in business visas – we are Immigration Entrepreneur - We work directly with our clients (visa applicants) and we also write plans for the clients of other immigration l