UK Visas and British Citizenship

If you submitted your application before your current visa expired then your previous visa automatically extends for as long as it takes to make a decision on your new application, however long it will take. This happens under Section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971. In this case all conditions of the previous visa continue to apply until decision has been made on the new application. Switching from Tier 2 to a Spouse/Partner visa , such as if you don’t want to work for your Tier 2 Sponsor anymore. Until decision has been made, your status remains Tier 2, so you have to continue to comply with its conditions. Many choose same-day service for such switches because there is no risk of an employer finding out earlier than you want them to. Switching from Tier 4 to another visa: your conditions of stay remain as on Tier 4 until decision has been made on your next visa. If your Tier 4 visa allowed to work then you could keep working, same as before (usually part-time during the te

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 (EU2) whose applications can be submitted from 2013 onwards.  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 to download or to read a detailed table of contents, objectives and extracts:   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 4Immigr

This seems to be the most confusing subject at the moment – which level of English language is needed from 28 October 2013 for those applying for a Spouse/Partner/Fiancee visa? The short answer is “Still the same – A1 level in Listening and Speaking”. Yet why is there such confusion? First of all, this article only relates to spouses/partners of British citizens and spouses/partners of permanent residents (or ILR holders). This article is not applicable to partners of Points-Based System Migrants and to partners of EU (non-UK) nationals. The reason is 2 meanings of a term ‘Settlement’ when it comes to the UK visas. The Rules on English were changed indeed from 28 October 2013, however, the new Rules only apply to those applying for ‘Settlement and Citizenship’. The term ‘Settlement’ here represents ‘Permanent Residency’ in the UK, known as an Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). So, those spouses and partners who are applying for Permanent Residency from 28 Oct 2013 will need to demo

Of course everyone would like an ILR! The aim of this post is to point out most common reasons for delaying applying for an IRL because of the circumstances or not meeting the requirements (or thinking so):   Reason 1 and most common: driving offences. We are not using a word ‘criminality’ as the Rules because it usually tend to be specifically driving offences: drink-driving (most common by far!), driving without insurance and related. These offences are not considered minor, even though they usually end up with a fine. They therefore prevent a migrant from applying for an ILR for 2 years since the date of conviction.   Reason 2: fines. This is a part of a criminality rule but we’d like to explain the difference between a fine and fixed penalty notice (FPN). An FPN is not an offence and does not form a part of one’s criminal record. If you pay it on time then the matter does not go to court and FPN remains an FPN. Most common examples of receiving an FPN are speeding

“ Thanks so much for all your help during this relatively stressful period. My partner and I both appreciate everything you’ve done. Feel free to tell everyone we think you are all awesome. This is based on the extreme care you all took by making sure everything we had was in order and staying patient when we weren’t at all with all out emails etc! And I will certainly recommend you to all my friends.”   This came from Adre, a South African national who applied to retain a right of residence under the European law following a dissolution of a civil partnership. We helped to apply on an EEA4 form and the applicant received permanent residency under the EU law after 4 months. For an individual advice or to make an application 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 CDP website:   www.1st4immigration.com/training  

We often hear from the clients: “I am employed but by my own company” or “My accountant says I am not self-employed, I have a limited company”. There are 2 definitions of a word ‘self-employed’, one for HMRC (the taxman) and accountants, another for UK Home Office and UK Border Agency, which is also used as a common sense definition.   UK Immigration Rules refer to self-employed people when it comes to meeting the points for Earnings in the Tier 1 General, Entrepreneur categories as well as when applying for an ILR based on them. Furthermore, rules on meeting the Financial Requirement under Appendix FM and FM-SE when it comes to applying for a Spouse/Partner/Fiancee visa.   For Home Office (UKBA) ‘self-employed’ means a person who works for him/herself, rather than working for someone else. This includes running a company or a shop as well as being a one-man-business. It also includes ‘contractors’ – workers who are employees in practice but who are self-employed ‘on pa

This posting is for those who need to prove English language for an ILR (everybody from 28.10.2013 unless exempt) and for a Spouse/Partner/Fiancee visa.   Spouses, partners and fiancees of British citizens and ILR holders: need A1 level in Speaking and Listening.   Everyone applying for an ILR: need a B1 level unless exempt because of age or illness and unless already prove it in the previous application, such as Tier 1.   The Immigration Rules say only Speaking and Listening need to be demonstrated at the required level, however, many approved tests cover all 4 components including Reading and Writing. What to do?   In such tests you need to look at an overall score at the required level, such as A1 for spouses/partners and B1 for and ILR.   IELTS would be a good example, it   provides an overall score and this is the one you’d need for a visa.   For an individual advice or to make an application please contact us:   info@1st4immigration.com  

  For our colleagues Immigration Advisers and Solicitors: Our online training course is accepted by The OISC and SRA, CPD ref number EJE/14IM.  What’s Next after Post-Study Work and Tier 4 Visas? 4.5 hours CPD credit.   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/whats-next-after-post-study-work-and-tier-4-visas-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 in the City of London.   We are also accredited by the UK Border Agency in Croydon and submit applications using Premium service for accredited representatives. We provide biometric appointments every week (ILR, Tier 1, Spouse/Partner etc) and we have permanent slots to submit Settlement

Myth 1: “I can apply for an ILR (permanent residency) after 5 years of living in the UK”. Reality: you can apply for an ILR after 5 years on specified visas only, such as 5 years on Work Permit and Tier 1 General. Or 5 years on an Entrepreneur visa only (not combined with Tier 2 etc). This is because some categories are not even counted for an ILR, such as Student/Tier 4, Post-Study Work, most Tier 5 visas. The only way to qualify for an ILR based on residing in the UK alone is 10 years on any visas (or 20 years if illegal stay is involved). Myth 2: “I have a Tier 1 (or Tier 2) visa but I married a British citizen since then. Since we have been married for 2 years I can apply for an ILR on SET(M) form”. Reality: This is a very common misconception and such application will surely be refused by the Home Office. As above, an ILR is based on a number of years on specific visas. In case of spouses of UK citizens it is 2 years on Spouse visa only (under the old Rules) and 5 years on

This posting is for those who now need to demonstrate English language ability at a B1 level when applying for permanent residency in the UK (Indefinite Leave to Remain) and who already had to prove English in the previous applications.   If your previous visa had a condition of proving English at a B1 level or higher then you don’t need to prove it again. Example would be a Tier 1 General visa (including extensions).   If your previous visa had a condition of English at a lower level, but you achieved a B1 or higher level anyway, then you only need to provide that evidence, ie document(s) you used in that previous application. This is especially important for spouses/partners of UK citizens: for an initial spouse/partner visa only a basic A1 level was required, however many spouses achieved a minimum B1 level at that stage. Now for an ILR a spouse needs a B1 level, so to avoid taking another English test tehre is a concession – to provide evidence (such as a test certi