UK Visas and British Citizenship

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...

Since we entered 2020, this is one of the most common questions: Return of post-study work visa. This visa category was very popular until its closure in 2012. There are now plans to revive it for foreign students (EU and non-EU) who begin a degree course during 2020/21 intake at UK universities (but not to those who are already studying here now). There are no further details yet, but if it is based on the past, graduates would be able to stay in the UK for 2 years with the right to work. It won’t lead to Settlement but 2 years could be enough to find sponsorship for a work visa. Or to set up a business. Or qualify as a parter of a UK citizen under Unmarried Partner category that requires 2 years of living together. The Guardian article  UK work visas for foreign graduates to be extended to two years As always, we are here to offer individual advice, you can  book here on our website . A consultation can be face-to-face at our London office, on Wha...

#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)....

#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...

A child born in the UK does NOT automatically become British  (unlike America). Instead, it depends on child's parents status on the date of birth. 1) If child's parent (one or both) is British, then the child will be a British citizen too. 2) If child's parent (one or both) is not British but has permanent residency in the UK, ie holds Indefinite Leave to Remain or Permanent Residency under European law, then the child will be British also (even if both parents aren't British). In case of European citizen parents, it doesn’t need to be a formal PR document on the child’s birth date, it is sufficient to have qualified for it and apply later. 3) If the child's parents are both not permanent residents and hold visas, such as Tier 1, Tier 2 etc, then the child will NOT be British, even though it was born in the UK. In such a case a child can be given a dependent visa on his/her parents’. This can be done as a separate application, though it's not compulsory and ca...

Unmarried Partner Visa is one of the most popular enquiries in our practice. Yet the number of enquiries that we advise to progress to an application is fairly low - but that number is successful in securing a visa with our assistance. The remaining clients are advised to get married and apply for either a Spouse or a Fiancée visa,   here is the page about comparison between them.  Generally, with all applicants out there, this category does have a high number of refused (unsuccessful) visa applications because of the above reason - you have to qualify precisely for this category in order to be successful. Why so? Unmarried Partner visa is not a substitute for a Spouse or a Fiancé(e) visa. It has 2 criteria on the relationship: Firstly, it is a visa for those who have lived together in a relationship akin to marriage for at least 2 years. Not dated, not visited each other, but actually lived together for minimum of 2 years. We often see couples who have lived together...

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. ...

Our most popular post ever! A child born in the UK does NOT automatically become British (unlike America). Instead, it depends on child's parents status on the date of birth. 1) If child's parent (one or both) is British, then the child will be a British citizen too. 2) If child's parent (one or both) is not British but has permanent residency in the UK, ie holds Indefinite Leave to Remain or Permanent Residency under European law, then the child will be British also (even if both parents aren't British). In case of European citizen parents, it doesn’t need to be a formal PR document on the child’s birth date, it is sufficient to have qualified for it and apply later. 3) If the child's parents are both not permanent residents and hold visas, such as Tier 1, Tier 2 etc, then the child will NOT be British, even though it was born in the UK. In such a case a child can be given a dependent visa on his/her parents’. This can be done as a separate application,...

Unmarried Partner Visa is one of the most popular enquiries in our practice. Yet the number of enquiries that we advise to progress to an application is fairly low - but that number is successful in securing a visa with our assistance. The remaining clients are advised to get married and apply for either a Spouse or a Fiancée visa,   here is the page about comparison between them.  Generally, with all applicants out there, this category does have a high number of refused (unsuccessful) visa applications because of the above reason - you have to qualify precisely for this category in order to be successful. Why so? Unmarried Partner visa is not a substitute for a Spouse or a Fiancé(e) visa. It has 2 criteria on the relationship: Firstly, it is a visa for those who have lived together in a relationship akin to marriage for at least 2 years. Not dated, not visited each other, but actually lived together for minimum of 2 years. We often see couples who have lived together...

This time we borrowed this headline from the UK Visas and Immigration:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-a-document-certifying-permanent-residence-or-permanent-residence-card-form-eea-pr/top-reasons-pr-applications-are-rejected-by-ukvi 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. It would ...

5 years and 10 years refer to the number of years a migrant needs to spend in the UK, in the given category, to qualify for permanent residency. So, in the 5-year route one needs 5 years and in the 10-year route twice more, ie 10 years. It means if you get a visa in this route, you'd need 5 or 10 years respectively from the date of the first visa. It does not relate to the number of years preceding to the first application in this route. When does each of them apply? 5-year route is for a migrant who is applying as a Spouse/Partner, or as a Parent, of a UK citizen under the Appendix FM and who is able to meet all the requirements. This is also known as application “within the Rules”. It means one can meet all the requirements, be it applying at the right place (ie switching from another category when it is allowed), meeting the Financial or English language requirements or otherwise.    10-year route applies to the applications under FLR(FP) category, as a Spouse/Part...

Multi Travel Visas o ffers bespoke Russian visa service. It is very fast and convenient and a visa applicant can submit an application - and biometrics - at our office in the City of London (Monument area). This service allows us to act as a visa centre and collect the biometrics (fingerprints) at our office in the City of London , which is easily accessible by all transport links. Under this procedure we prepare an application form, check the documents, order a visa invitation if needed. Then, rather than going to the visa centre and queuing there for hours, we will provide a biometric kit at our office. Conveniently, you would have a 1 – 1.5 hour window to come to our office (the day/time pre-arranged as convenient). Right here, on the spot, and without queuing, you will be able to provide the biometrics (fingerprints), we will ‘submit’ your documents and pay the application fees to the official staff operating the biometric kit (here at our office). If there are any issues w...

We were asked to summarise the changes to the Immigration Rules, which took place on 6 April 2015, so we re-posted a summary from 2 March and added some more, such as the new NHS surcharge. These are what we think are the most important changes: 1)              The NHS surcharge (immigration health surcharge). Applies to all visa applicants who are applying for a visa from 6 April 2015 either for an entry visa to the UK (Tiers, Spouse/Partner/Fiancée, ancestral etc) or for a leave to remain in the UK, including extending in the same visa category or switching to a new one. It doesn’t apply to those applying for a visitor visa, ILR or British Citizenship and won’t apply to Australian and New Zealand citizens. The charge is £200 per year (£150 for students) and is payable for the whole duration of the visa at the point of application (refundable if application is refused). 2)       ...