UK Visas and British Citizenship

  #1 Priority visa services are up and running, and are very popular!  Priority and Super Priority services allow to obtain a visa decision within 5 working days or on the next working day respectively, for an additional Government fee. These are for in-UK applications. Eligible categories are visas for spouses/partners of UK citizens, workers including Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker visa, Ancestral visa, Long residence 10 years and some business/investment categories. Available when you are switching from another category (Student to Spouse; Student to a Skilled Worker etc), extension in the same category and settlement / Indefinite Leave. More can be found here on the Government website.       #2 Graduate visa started on 1 July 2021. Great for international students, UK employers looking for graduates. And also for … unmarried partners of UK citizens who cannot (yet) prove 'living together for 2 years’. So, graduates from UK universities can now sta...

Dear customers of 1st 4Immigration and Multi Travel Visas,     The new Points-Based Immigration System is about to come in force in just 1 week’s time - 1st December 2020. It mainly affects the work migrants, such as those sponsored by their UK employers. As we mentioned earlier, it is being made easier and faster to sponsor foreign workers with the same rules applying to workers from all over the world, i.e. both Europeans and non-Europeans. Yes, the EU citizens will now need visas to work and live in the UK (as well as to study, join family etc).  However, the new system will make it easier for all workers - including non-EU citizens - to come and work in the UK. Or to remain in the UK by switching from another visa category, such as Tier 5 YMS, Tier 2 ICT and even from a family visa, none of these was possible until now.     A quick reminder of what’s being made easier: no annual limit on the number of work visas, no need to advertise jobs to settled workers ...

  Known as a ‘Hong Kong visa’, it is actually a UK visa category that starts on 31 January 2021. It allows to live and work in the UK, eventually offering settlement and full British Citizenship. There is no minimum income requirements, no cap on number of applicants, no minimum qualification level etc. You do not need a job offer before coming to the UK - you can look for a job once here.  Who is eligible?   Hong Kong residents who have (or had) a British National (Overseas) passport, often called BNO or BN(O). This status was given when Hong Kong was handed over from Britain to China on 1 July 1997. It is not possible to obtain this status now, although no status is not the same as no valid BNO passport. Note: it is only for the BNOs who are still residing in Hong Kong or for those who are already residing in the UK. We are often approached by BNO passport holders who since emigrated from Hong Kong to, say, Australia, so they won't be eligible.  If you are in Hong ...

  Hire and sponsor migrant workers under the new Points-Based Immigration System from December 2020. It has been made easier - and better - for the British businesses to do so after Brexit. The new rules come in place on 1 December 2020, a whole month before the UK officially cuts its ties with the EU.   The 1st step in sponsoring (employing) migrant workers is a Sponsor Licence. Your business now needs it to employ people from both the EU and outside the EU, and the same visa rules apply to everyone.   If an employer does not have a Licence, they can apply for it and our company can help with the application and the entire process. Very often we are approached by a migrant (often on a Student or Tier 5 visa in the UK), whose employer is willing to sponsor them for a work visa. The process has been made faster due to abolishing of a resident labour test (no need to advertise a job to settled workers anymore) and also due to abolishing of annual limit (no need to wait for ...

  If you happened to be on a Tier 2 Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) visa in the UK, we have great news for you! The new Points-Based Immigration System, in force from 1 December 2020, allows switching from a Tier 2 ICT to the new Skilled Worker visa . We can truly call it ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ for ICT migrants, desperately trying to switch to a visa that offers settlement in the UK.  The old, strict Tier 2 General visa under the old pre-Brexit Points-Based System is replaced with a new Skilled Worker visa under the new, post-Brexit, Points-Based Immigration System. (It does require focus to keep up!). There are many positive changes for both migrant workers and UK employers but the ICT change deserves a separation mention. For years, the ICT category was easier and quicker for UK businesses but very unfavourable for the migrants - it didn’t lead to settlement. And if you wanted to switch to the main Tier 2 General visa, that does lead to settlement, you had to leave th...

  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. ...

  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). ...

  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...

The British Government launched Health and Care Visa on 4th August 2020, it is open to all nationals , including Europeans after Brexit. It offers fast-track entry, reduced visa application fees and no health surcharge! Open to qualified doctors, nurses, dentists, midwives, therapists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, biological scientists as well as social workers and some adult care professionals - the list is exhaustive and defined by the policy. For example, the actual care workers are not included but this may change later, especially after Brexit in January 2021 (when the new points-based system will officially start). Everyone needs a job offer from an eligible employer, such as the NHS or a registered care provider.  Details: https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-health-care-visa  As always, 1st 4Immigration team are here to help with the latest developments in the fast-changing environment of UK Immigration Rules. We have more than 10 years of successful experience with work visas!...

Dear customers of   1st   4 Immigration , Hong Kong has been a focus of the new lately, with the UK Government promising special visas for  British Nationals (Overseas)  status holders, such as in this  BBC story.  Here we look at the details of the  scheme coming in force in January 2021.  1. It will only be available to BN(O) status holders, which means those born before 1 July 1997 (date of handover to China) and who actually registered for this status by 2007. It is not possible to obtain this status now.    2. The BN(O) status cannot be passed to children but eligible BN(O) applicants can bring their families with them: spouse/partner and children under 18 yo. In some limited cases, children aged 18 and over may be allowed too. 3. There is no need to have a valid BN(O) passport, it can be an old one, and there is no restriction on dual nationality. But there is a condition to be a resident in Hong ...