UK Visas and British Citizenship

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...

School sends home a teacher because she has no right to work – her Indefinite Leave is in the old passport. If your passport expired, do you need to transfer your UK visa? Yes and No, there is no short answer.   Was the school correct in applying the law? Bizarrely, yes, they were.   If you have a biometric residence permit (BRP), a visa card that looks like a bank card, you don’t have to do anything until this visa expires. If, however, you have an old Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) sticker in your passport, then the answer becomes more complex.   In this article, a Trinidadian deputy headteacher (no less) has had her ILR since 1989, is married to a UK citizen and has British children. The immigration law does not require her to transfer ILR to a new passport, she can travel with both passports. It is employment law that was ‘the problem’ here.   Some relatively recent changes in employment law made it compulsory for non-EU citizens to h...

Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa is closing on 29 March 2019; a new Innovator category is succeeding it.     This post is focusing on its criteria for settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain, IRL). Even though ILR applications won’t happen until at least March 2022, it makes sense to research now what is expected while you are in the UK as an Innovator.       During Tier 1 visa, we had a fairly short exhaustive list of requirements, and had to meet all of them.  Now, under the new Innovator category, you are given a choice of 7 criteria and you can apply when you have met any 2 of them (but minimum 3 years in the UK on this visa). Some are familiar rules on investment, turnover or creating jobs for settled workers, albeit with the different details, such as investment of £50,000 and not £200,000; or creating 5 jobs with a salary of £25,000 (instead of 2 jobs on unspecified salary).   Then there are new ones, such as on creating intellect...

This Tier 1 sub-category is one of the options for foreign students to remain in the UK after completing a UK degree on a Tier 4 student visa. It requires an endorsement from their university (the Tier 4 sponsor). If the university is impressed with your business plan, they could choose to support you to qualify under the Graduate Entrepreneur route. The visa is for 1 year and can then be extended for a further year.  Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) visa does not lead to settlement. So, the next pressing question is What’s Next? How do I switch to a visa that leads to Indefinite Leave?   If a migrant has exhausted the 2 years in this category, they have the following options: - Switch to Tier 2 General if they have a sponsor (employer). There is a special exemption from advertising a job to settled workers. If an employer wants to sponsor a Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) migrant, they don’t need to conduct Resident Labour Market Test.  - Switch to Tier 1 En...

It is often (wrongly) thought that the above minimum salary for ILR is the actual minimum. In reality, there are 2 rules on Tier 2 salary for ILR, so a sponsor has to be paying the highest of them . Rule 1: the minimum as above.  Below that minimum ILR application won’t succeed. Rule 2: the salary has to still be paid at the appropriate level, as per the Code of Practice for the given SOC code (occupation).   Example 1 : a migrant is working under code 2421 Chartered and certified accountants.  Experienced salary level is £29,000 pa (for 39 hours per week). ‘ILR minimum’ salary is £35,800 if the date of application is on or after 6 April 2019. Therefore, the Tier 2 sponsor has to increase salary to ‘ILR minimum’. Example 2 : a migrant is working under code 2419 Legal professionals not elsewhere classified  Experienced salary level is £48,200 pa (for 39 hours per week). ‘ILR minimum’ salary is £35,800 if the date of application is on or after 6 April ...

NOEL applied for ILR for his wife: Excellent service and assistance from Jules and the team at 1st4immigration. We have used them twice now and will be using again for our final application. For a individual that is self-employed and trying to meet the requirements for a spouse visa for my wife, the hurdles you have to over come are numerous and trying to do it by yourself will end up a costly exercise. I highly recommend speaking to 1st4immigration and getting the advice and plan you need for your immigration requirements. Many thanks to you all. Here is a copy of Google review, which can also be found here:  https://goo.gl/maps/mByXLgKRLkx OLGA applied for British Citizenship : Had a great smooth experience of applying for my citizenship, Jules and Andre were very friendly, supportive, answered all my questions and were very patient. Highly recommend their services. Here is a copy of Google review, which can also be found here:  https://goo.gl/maps/pzx...

Oktav, Turkish national applied for Spouse Indefinite Leave to Remain: Excellent service and very friendly staff. I felt very comfortable through the process of completing my ILR . They have also completed my FLR application two and half hears ago. It is very easy to deal with them and they made this stressful process very easy. I didn't have to think about the details in my busy business schedule as everything was sorted out for me bu 1st immigration. I do trust my visa applications to them as well since they have sorted out couple of applications for me already. I highly recommend their services and every each of the staff there. They are very friendly but highly professional. They know what they are doing. Here is a copy of Google review, which can also be found here:  https://goo.gl/maps/P3mzS3sLbQ22   For individual advice or to make your application as successful please contact us:  info@1st4immigration.com  or visit our website, UK Spouse p...

#1 Ancestral visa. You need to have a grandparent who was born in the UK. This visa is or 5 years and allows working in the UK including working for yourself. There is no minimum amount of savings or income you need to have/earn, and generally, it is a very flexible option that leads to settlement after 5 years. #2 British Citizenship for those born before 1983 to a British mother. Nationals of the Commonwealth countries tend to have the highest chances under this route. Before 1983 women couldn't pass their British nationality to their children born outside the UK (only men could). In 1983 this unfair rule was brought inline with the modern times. Those who were born before 1983 can now consider the option to claim British Citizenship (and therefore, a proper UK passport) but only if you meet all the requirements. In short, if this is your situation, you should be eligible for Citizenship if you had qualified back then (if we imagine that women could pass nationality)....

Lucy, a British citizen, and her American husband, applied for permanent residency (Indefinite Leave) , following our help with the initial entry visa in 2013 and subsequent extension in 2015. Here is a copy of Google review, which can also be found here:  https://goo.gl/maps/1FRg2YvsRjs 1st4immigration has supported my husband in successfully obtaining three spousal VISAs resulting in the final settlement VISA approved August 2018. 1st 4immigration have shown professionalism, attention-to-detail and empathy throughout the whole process. Their help has been invaluable in understanding the specifics of what documents to include and what the Home Office wants. It has been massively helpful to know we can rely on 1st 4immigrations expertise – it is so difficult to know whether you are actually reading relevant documents online or interpreting them correctly.  1st 4immigration has organised all forms and documents in preparation for our VISA appointment. We’ve also...

#1 Ancestral visa. You need to have a grandparent who was born in the UK. This visa is or 5 years and allows working in the UK including working for yourself. There is no minimum amount of savings or income you need to have/earn, and generally, it is a very flexible option that leads to settlement after 5 years. #2 Working holiday visa. Still often called this name, the official name is under Tier 5 of the Points-Based System. It is for young people aged 18-30 with no dependent children. The visa is for 2 years and allows working in the UK. It does allow being self-employed but only as a one-person business with no employees. It doesn’t lead to settlement but after 2 years in the UK, you may be able to remain here in another capacity, such as find sponsorship under the work visa. This option is good for unmarried young people who are in a relationship but are not considering getting married yet. After living together for 2 years on a visa like this, you could apply as an u...

Jasmine, Chinese national: Excellent service. Apply for ILR through 10 years route, 1st 4immigration has made it a painless process because of their knowledge, professionalism and high quality service, I highly recommend them. More reviews can be read here:  http://www.1st4immigration.com/testimonials.php For an individual advice or to make your application as successful please contact us:  info@1st4immigration.com  or visit  www.1st4immigration.com . 1st 4Immigration Ltd , authorised by the OISC, ref 200800152. We operate at the highest Level 3 of expertise. Office address: 68 King William Street, City of London, London, EC4M 7DZ.   If you are an Immigration Adviser or a Solicitor please visit our immigration Training and CPD website:  www.1st4immigration.com/training .

Outstanding service. I Would 101% recommend 1st 4immigration. We have used their services from the very beginning of my 1st spouse visa application right up to the ILR, and I have no words that can describe how professional and dedicated the whole team is. Their communication was excellent. Promptly answered to all our emails, sometimes out of hours. They simply gave us greatest peace of mind. My Citizenship application is next, and I won’t think twice about using them again.  Massive thank you Natalia, Sebastian, Andre, Jules and Danny for making our experience smooth and stress free !  Rosette, Rwandan national. More reviews can be read here:  http://www.1st4immigration.com/testimonials.php For an individual advice or to make your application as successful please contact us:  info@1st4immigration.com  or visit  www.1st4immigration.com . If you are an Immigration Adviser or a Solicitor please visit our immigration Training and CPD websi...

This time we borrowed this headline from the UK Visas and Immigration:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-a-permanent-residence-document-or-permanent-residence-card-form-eea-pr/top-reasons-permanent-residence-applications-are-rejected-or-refused We thought it would make a good post for European / EEA citizens and their family members.The page offers a list of reasons, although they are quite generic, such as no signature on the form or no correct fee paid. So, we thought we would expand on the subject and add most common non-admin reasons, ie most common eligibility-related reasons. In descending order: #5 Students being unaware of the health insurance requirement,  which was – unfairly and unusually – applied retrospectively. This rule was added in June 2011, yet it refers to those studying even before that. #4 Believing (wrongly) that this application is based on the last 5 years , ie 5 years immediately prior to the date of application. ...