UK Visas and British Citizenship

For our colleagues Immigration Advisers and Solicitors: Our online training course is accepted by The OISC and SRA, CPD ref number EJE/14IM (SRA-accredited CPD providers are still accepted by The OISC in 2014-15 CPD year). Self-employment Income in Visa Applications (by a Self-employed Immigration Adviser).  6 core hours CPD credit. This course addresses the Rules, issues and documents, which are required for the visa applicants who are self-employed, such as a Sole Trader or an owner of a limited company or a partner in a partnership or  an LLP. We explain how to apply the Rules for self-employed people who are applying for a Spouse/Partner visa including the differences when self-employment was in the UK and outside the UK, when applying for either an Entry Clearance or for a Leave to Remain. Plus for those applying to extend a Tier 1 (General) visa or for an ILR based on it; for those who are applying under the European/EEA law, such as family members applying for an EEA Residenc

Tier 1, 2 and 5: Only spouse, civil partner, unmarried partner and children under 18 yo are considered to be dependants. Tier 4: Dependants are allowed, same as above, but only if the main Tier 4 applicant is studying for a degree at a Master’s level (level 7) or above and the course lasts for at least 12 months. A course has to be taught by a publicly-funded college/university, or in case of private colleges in receipt of funding from the government. Students in receipt of the official government sponsorship can sponsor dependants without most of the above restrictions. Those granted or applying for a Tier 4 visa on a Doctorate Extension Scheme can also sponsor dependants (spouse/partner and children under 18 yo). Before 1 October 2013: The first, ie initial, Dependant visa application had to be submitted from abroad. It was not possible to switch to this status inside the UK. From 1 October 2013: The Rules have been changed following a court case. It is now possi

Time and time again we have clients asking us about visas for their foreign spouses and partners, very often relying on the information from the friends who have been through this process before. Naturally,   many assume the rules for them will be the same. One of the major differences is application process for spouses of UK citizens, compared to the spouses of EEA (non-UK) citizens. This is because spouses of UK citizens have to apply under the UK law (UK Immigration Rules) whilst spouses of EEA citizens – under the EU law (EEA Regulations).   We have a good earlier post explaining why British citizens can’t be considered as EEA citizens for this purpose and the only exception when they can be (Surinder Singh route): http://1st4immigration-visas.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/surinder-singh-route-for-spouses-and.html 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 Advis

“I approached 1st 4Immigration (regulated by the OISC) for the ad-hoc consultation regarding Tier 1 Entrepreneur programme. The response was prompt and sufficient so I decided to use this company for an extensive support during my whole application process. It was very valuable and helpful as the specialists were reviewing the drafts of my documents and were helping me to get the proper ones. My application was successfully processed and visa granted. The support provided by the company was valuable indeed.” This came from Dmitry who applied for an Entrepreneur Entry Clearance in Ukraine, together with his wife and 2 children as dependants. Dmitry also had a business partner who applied later as a part of an Entrepreneurial Team. Now both partners, and their respective families, have Entrepreneur visas, so they can proceed with relocating to the UK and starting their technology business here. As always with Entrepreneur visas, we advised to submit extra documents in order to su

What has changed? From the 10th December 2014 The Russian Embassy in the UK requires all Applicants to attend in person to the Russian Visa Centre for Biometric capture (fingerprints). How does it work and what can we do to help You? As always, we will help with the Tourist and Business invitations when needed. We will also help you with the application form, making sure that all the documents are in order. On the given date, one of our representatives will meet and assist the Applicant at the Russian Visa Centre. In the unlikely event that any documents are incorrect we will assist you on the spot with making it right. The Applicant will have to attend Biometric Capture each time he/she applies for a visa to Russia (we will be accompanying and helping with the documents etc). To sum up: Most of the application process, and our assistance, remains the same except every applicant now needs to come with us to the Russian visa centre to provide fingerprints. Contact

These are the questions from the recent interviews of our clients. A Home Office employee, who is conducting an interview, will only be there "to write your answers down", they won't be looking at your documents, won't most likely have your case at all with him/her and probably won't be even familiar with your case. It is very likely that the person who is interviewing you was just sent to ask you question and write your answers down. This case was based on switching from Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) to Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa, so there was a requirement to already run a business in the UK. Where did you complete your studies, what did you study? What have you been doing since then? (Here anything  related to your business idea helps). Did you have any other work or business experience before that? (Here anything  related to your business idea helps.) What is your business name, what is your business activities? (Here you need to

One of the most common questions we are asked in our immigration practice. The short answer is: yes, you do. Although not everyone has to apply for an Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), everyone has to demonstrate that he/she has qualified for it. Sounds confusing? Read on. Why is there a confusion at first place? Because the UK Visas & Immigration guidance says you need 5 years of residency in the UK and nothing specifically about Indefinite Leave. In fact, the rules for spouses and civil partners of UK citizens state only 3 years. As a result, many migrants apply for British Citizenship without securing an ILR first. In many cases one needs 5 years for an ILR anyway, so why to pay at least £1,000 extra for it? The prospect of applying straight for British Citizenship can indeed look very tempting. Predictably, the result is refusal and loss of the application fee. The “having an ILR” requirement is “hidden” behind another rule: “you must be free of immigration restrictio

2-day weekend courses, every month, at our office in the City of London. Multi Travel Visas Ltd and a sister company, 1st 4Immigration Ltd, are both accredited by The OISC, ref F201100418 and F200800152 respectively. After many years of experience – and hundreds of successful cases – we are offering to share our experience with you to help you prepare for your OISC Level 1 assessment and accreditation. You can read Testimonials on our immigration cases here. TRAINING DATES (we have a class every month) - all available to be booked now. Weekend 31 January - 1 February 2015 Weekend 28 February - 1 March 2015 Weekend 21 - 22 March 2015 Weekend 11 - 12 April 2015 Weekend 16 - 17 May 2015 Weekend 27 - 28 June 2015 Our tutors are our very own OISC-accredited practicing immigration advisers who handle the real cases during the week and teach on weekends. You can read about them on the Tutors page.   Unlike most traditional courses, ours is conducted using plain language and does not si

“ Dear Mr Singh (that's our colleague, Harpreet), I received my new passport on January, 11, 2015 as anticipated. Thank you for all your help and  I was really pleased with the service your company provided .I found the service to be very reliable and efficient - I will definitely recommend Multi Travel Visa company to all here in Dhahran.” This came from Helen, a British national who is based in Saudi Arabia. It is possible to renew a British passport within just 2-3 working days! It is actually same-day service at the UK Passport Office, so with an appointment available as soon as on the next working day the whole process is very fast. And if we have your documents by 12pm, and they are in order (or if you quickly arrange them to be in order, such as to bring new photos), then we can submit on the same working day! Contact us: www.multitravelvisas.co.uk Phone 0871 472 1468 or 07795471483 Email: info@multitravelvisas.co.uk   Or come to our office from 9am to 6pm