UK Visas and British Citizenship

  1st 4Immigration is a specialist company in this area - we even train our lawyers!  In summary, it has to be income of £18,600 per year or savings of £62,500. You have to meet it at the initial visa stage, during extension and permanent residency. Then there is a rulebook of 70 pages of how exactly it is calculated. Changed your job recently? Different rules. Worked abroad? Very different rules from those for UK workers. Started as a self-employed freelancer? Follow the self-employment rules, at the minimum wait for the end of the tax year. Own a property? Sell and deposit the cash in the bank!  Here on our website we cover the common ways of meeting it : employment, self-employment, working as a contractor through a limited company or otherwise, pension, property (sale or rental income), student finance and also what to do if you cannot meet the Financial Requirement.  To discuss your options, please book an online or in-person consultation with a lawyer here. 1s...

  5-year route is a standard one. You can qualify for permanent residency after 5 years in the UK. The 1st visa is for 30 months (2.5 years) if you apply inside the UK, such as when switching from a Student, Graduate, Youth Mobility or a work visa. Or for 33 months (2.5 years + 3 months) if you apply outside the UK. Then extension for further 2.5 years, then settlement after 5 years.  10-year route is used when you have serious, exceptional circumstances why you cannot meet the requirements of the standard route. For example, a serious illness or similar family circumstances are preventing you or your partner from meeting the Financial Requirement £18,600. Here the 1st visa is again for 30 months (2.5 years), but you need further 3 extensions until you can settle in the UK after 10 years. There may be better solutions, however, such as switching from the 10 to 5-year route or settling after 10 years on any visas. Can you combine them when counting to settlement? In the 5-ye...

  Why choose 1st 4Immigration? - 12 years of experience, 1000s of successful cases - Specialist in Financial Requirement £18,600 - We work with standard and fast Priority services - We reply emails on same business day and assist clients worldwide via WhatsApp & Zoom Options for my partner's UK visa: Spouse, Partner, Fiancee - Fiancé/Fiancée visa is for 6 months with no right to work. You have to get married within 6 months and apply for a Spouse visa, which ca an be on 24-hour service. Spouse visa allows work.  - Spouse visa allows working in the UK immediately. This is for married couples and also for civil partners who registered their relationship with the Register Office. If you/your partner are outside the UK, you can also use the Fiancee option to get married in the UK. A visa is for 30 months (2.5 years) but you get extra 3 months when applying outside the UK to give you more flexibility to plan the move to the UK. - Unmarried Partner visa is similar to Spouse v...

  Here are our most common posts about the Financial Requirement £18,600 for a UK visa as a Spouse, Partner of a Fiancee of a UK citizen. We are specialists in this area, we have been blogging about this subject for more than 10 years, and here are the most useful posts:  #1: 1 0 common mistakes when meeting the Financial Requirement £18,600 for a UK Spouse visa : https://1st4immigration-visas.blogspot.com/2019/09/10-common-mistakes-when-meeting.html #2: Five sure ways to meet the Financial Requirement £18,600 when both partners are returning to the UK together :  https://1st4immigration-visas.blogspot.com/2019/09/5-sure-ways-to-meet-financial.html #3: At least 2 solutions on how to secure a visa if the British partner earns below £18,600 (the article was written in 2015 but the Rules remain the same in 2021): https://1st4immigration-visas.blogspot.com/2015/09/solution-for-margaret-on-how-to-secure.html   #4: Furlough leave and UK visas , the article aimed at those ...

  We are pleased to confirm that Priority services are back for most visa categories, now including Spouse and Partner visas. This applies to application inside the UK, such as switching to a different category, extension or settlement (Indefinite Leave).    Examples of eligible categories inside the UK: Spouse and Partner of UK citizen; Skilled Worker visa (which replaced Tier 2 General); Health and Care Worker visa, Student visa (which replaced Tier 4), Tier 1 Investor and dependants of these. Priority services cost more in Government fees: 5-working-day option costs extra £500 per person; 24-hour option costs extra £800 per person.    Applications outside the UK: depends on your location, Priority services resumed in many countries for all visa categories including for spouses and families of UK citizens.    To discuss your situation with our Immigration Lawyers please Book a Consultation here: https://www.1st4immigration.com/book-a-consultation/ ...

  Here we put a summary of what changed during the past 12 months in the Immigration rules and procedures for a UK Spouse and Partner visas. #1 Application inside the UK if your current visa is about to expire. You still have to submit a new application (online) before your current visa expires. However, you have more time to book an appointment for biometrics and provide your documents. And if you had to wait for a test centre to reopen to take English or Life on the U.K. test, you won’t be penalised for that and can submit it later. Generally, there are concessions on the documents that you cannot provide on time, so you could provide them later.   #2 Absences from the UK due to Covid travel restrictions. If you happened to stay abroad longer than intended because of Covid travel restrictions, it won’t affect your future U.K. visa applications or continuous residency, as long as it was for a reasonable time (consistent with the Governments’ policies). If your visa expir...

Recent law change made it possible for all couples to register a civil partnership.  How does it affect UK visa process? Civil partners have always had the same visa rights as married couples. The difference was in family law: in the past only same-sex couples could enter a civil partnership. Now all couples have a choice of getting married or entering a civil partnership (or not doing either). Interestingly, same-sex couples campaigned for the right to get married. Then opposite-sex couples campaigned for the right ... not to get married. Fortunately, now it’s all aligned!  What’s the difference? Civil partnerships have the same benefits as marriages when it comes to tax, benefits, pension, parental rights, property, inheritance etc. They also the same procedure if the couple wants to part their way (except can’t “blame” on adultery).  They differ in not having religious or cultural attachments: no church ceremony, no vows etc. There is also dif...

#1 How long can I be out of the UK?  #2 Difference between 5 and 10-year route?  #3 Does having a British child exempt from the Financial Requirement £18,600?  #4 English language: A1, A2 or B1?  #5 When to apply for British Citizenship: 3 or 5 years?  #1 How long can I be out of the UK? By far, most common question ever! You might have heard 6 month or 90 days or 6 months per year.  The ruth is: there is no rule. Each case is considered individually. The only rule is “you live permanently with your partner in the UK”.  In practice, with the new online application forms, you will be asked about your trips abroad and reasons, such as holiday or work.  It will attract attention if you spend more than 50% of your '‘visa time” outside the UK.  We recommend to go by the same rule as for work visas: 6 months per year and your main home has to remain in the UK.  If this affects you - please contact us for an...

#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 75-page office guidance just on the finances: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/636618/Appendix_FM_1_7_Financial_Requirement_Final.pdf  #2 Savings - it’s not £18,600 and not £16,000.  The real amount (for this purpose) is calculated using this formula: threshold you need to meet (such as £18,600) x 2.5 plus £16,000. If you are using savings alone, it would be £18,600 x 2.5 + £16,000 = £62,500!  #3 Employment -  the minimu...