UK Visas and British Citizenship

It is a common question from the British citizens working abroad. They are now coming back to the UK, they met their partner while abroad and would like him/her to relocate to the UK in the future. 1) Unmarried Partner visa: this is when you have lived together, as a couple, for at least 2 years, in any country or in several countries. This is for people who have lived together for at least 2 years in a relationship like a married couple but without a marriage certificate. It does NOT cover a situation where you have been dating for a while or seeing each other as often as possible, it only applies when you have lived together for at least 2 years.    If you do not meet this requirement - and do not wish to get married yet - then you may consider other categories, such as a Student visa or Working Holiday, wit until you have these 2 years of living together and then apply as Unmarried Partners. Visa would be for 2.5 years + 3 months and allows to work. Then extension for a

 A very common situation: a British spouse lived with his/her non-British spouse in Australia/South Afruca/Brazil/Russia etc and they now both want to return to the UK together, so how to meet the Financial Requirement of £18,600? 1)       Through the British partner's work, Option 1. Only Sponsor’s work will be counted at this stage. So, a British partner needs to come to the UK and get a job in the UK paying minimum £18,600 per year before tax. Doing anything, does not matter, just salary matters. Then he/she has to work for 6 months for that employer, then take 6 months payslips (or weekly but covering 6 months), then find a 'lowest payslip' and multiply by 12 to get an annual figure (or by 52 if paid weekly). If you get the result of £18,600 or more then a non-UK partner can apply for a visa, even if you have only worked for 6 months for that company and actually earned a half of £18,600. In this scenario a UK spouse has to come to the UK first, then a non-UK

For our colleagues Immigration Advisers and Solicitors: Our online training course is accepted by The OISC and SRA, CPD ref number EJE/14IM. British Citizenship - a Dream for Many! 7 hours CPD credit. The course includes criminality changes from 13 December 2012 and rules for EEA nationals including Bulgarian / Romanian (A2) whose first applications can be submitted in 2013.   Download from our website, study in your own time on any computer, iPad or iPhone, complete the test and we will award your CPD hours and send you a certificate. Visit website now:    http://www.1st4immigration.com/training/british-citizenship-a-dream-for-many-cpd.php   The course is offered by our company, 1 st 4Immigration Ltd, which is a practising immigration company, registered by The OISC at a highly respectable Level 2, based at the Royal Mint in Central London. We’ve had 100% success rate in 2012! 1 st 4Immigration Ltd, OISC no F200800152, SRA ref EJE/14IM. 4 R

It is useful if you need to travel abroad and cannot be without your passport. But the main benefit in our opinion is, although more expensive, it allows the applicant to know result right on the day, including if there are any problems, rather than waiting for 3-4 months postal service and then possibly being told there is a problem or even that application has been refused. We at 1st 4Immigration are authorised by The UK Border Agency to submit clients' visa applications using this service in Croydon, south London. The slots (appointments) we use are separate from the ones offerred to the general public, our cases are submitted to a separate Team who deals with cases from representatives. We can submit the following visa applications every week but need to give the Home Office details of an individual client in advance. Same-day service is available for applications: - Indefinite Leave to Remain for those holding Tier 1 General, Tier 2 General, Work Permit, Ancestral vi

We are asked this question a lot as requirements seem to be confusing. 1. There is a minimum salary of £20,300, it went up from £20,000 on 6 April 2013. This is just a minimum, so all Tier 2 General applicants must be offered at least that but it does not end there.   2. At the same time the minimum salary must be as on the Tier 2 Code of Practice here : http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/business-sponsors/points/sponsoringmigrants/employingmigrants/codesofpractice/   Or if your job is on a Shortage Occupation List then salaries will also be on it here: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/business-sponsors/points/sponsoringmigrants/employingmigrants/shortageoccupationlist/   For example, if your occupation requires a minimum salary of £19,000 then you must be still offered at least £20,300 to qualify, otherwise your application will be refused.   However, if your occupation requires a minimum of, say, £30,000 then you must be offered minimum £30,000 (and not £20,300). If

1st 4Immigration is an accredited CPD distance learning provider, o ur online training courses are accepted by the OISC and SRA, CPD provider ref number EJE/14IM. Current courses: What’s Next after Post-Study Work and Tier 4 Visas? 4.5 hours CPD credit.   British Citizenship - a Dream for Many! 7 hours CPD credit. This course includes changes on criminality from 13 December 2012 and rules for EEA nationals including Bulgarian / Romanian (A2) whose first applications can be submitted in 2013. Download from our website, study in your own time on any computer, iPad or iPhone, complete the test and we will award your CPD hours and send you a certificate. Visit website now: http://www.1st4immigration.com/training The courses are offered by our company, 1 st 4Immigration Ltd, which is a practising immigration company, registered by The OISC at a highly respectable Level 2, based at the Royal Mint in Central London. We are also accredited by the UK Border Agency in

It is a common situation when the main applicant is about t qualify for an ILR on the basis of 5 years on Tier 1 General and/or Tier 2 visas, however, the spouse/partner has not spent enough time in the UK by then. Or has spent enough time but not enough on Dependant visas. Before 9 July 2012 we, advisers, had to advise the clients the following: if the main applicant chooses to get an ILR on hi/ her own, while spouse/partner has not spent the required 2 years in the UK (and on dependent visas), then the spouse/partner had to switch to a Spouse visa, FLR M application. Then, when the spouse/partner has achieved 2 years of residency (on dependent visas), he/she could apply for an ILR, making a SET M application. In the above cases the 2 years could be combined of PBS Dependant visas and a Spouse visa. All changed on 9 July 2012! Now it is possible to switch from a Tier 1 or 2 Dependant to an ILR without having to apply for a Spouse visa first. It would be a SET O application

You can use the assigned COS (Certificate of Sponsorship) when submitting your application after 6 April 2013. In other words, the new Tier 2 rules will be based on when your COS was assigned, rather than on when you are submitting your Tier 2 visa application. So, for applications based on a COS assigned by 5 April 2013 the old rules will continue to apply: old SOC codes, old salary thresholds etc.   For more advice or to submit an application, including on same-day service, please contact info@1st4immigration.com or visit www.1st4immigration.com If you are an immigration adviser or solicitor you may find useful our online training courses awarding Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours.: www.1st4immigration.com/training

  No appointments required!  Multi Travel Visas  can submit applications on next working day after receiving your documents, to the Passport Office in London, with authorisation from you as per the government requirements. For an extra charge we can submit on the same if we receive your documents, see below. No need to wait for an appointment, which can be a few days or week away and no need to travel to a passport office. We offer practical help when you need a new passport very quickly. For example, if you are living/working abroad (you can courier documents to our London office) and we can submit them promptly for same-day service, this includes if your passport has run out of pages. Or you don't have time to travel to a Passport Office yourself we can apply on your behalf (you don't have to come to London). Plus we check the documents, help complete the form and advise on requirements. FEES: Official fees of Passport Office (we pass them on to the

Who is it for? For those applying for an Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR, permanent residency). Plus for those applying for British Citizenship who did not have to do it for an ILR. When is it changing? 25 March 2013. What if I pass the old version of the test before 25 March but apply for a visa after that? You can still use the old test certificate even if you are making an ILR visa application after 25 March 2013. Test does NOT have an expiry date! You won’t be able to take the old test from 25 March onwards, ie you’d have no choice but to take a new version of the test. But if you manage to pass the old test before 25 March then you CAN use it for a visa application after 25 March. In other words, it’s all about when you passed it rather than when you’ll be applying for an ILR. The main challenge would be booking a test before 25 March! What are the differences between the old and new test? The new test is based on the new handbook, which is presumably designed to