UK Visas and British Citizenship

This is a very informative and practical 2-day weekend course at our office in the City of London.  1st 4Immigration Ltd is a practicing OISC-accredited immigration company, OISC ref F200800152. After many years of experience – and hundreds of successful cases – we are sharing our experience to help you to prepare for your OISC Level 1 assessment and accreditation or, if you are already practicing, to increase your knowledge. You can read Testimonials on our immigration cases here. TRAINING DATES: Weekend 16 - 17 May 2015, OISC Level 1, just in time for an OISC exam on 28 May. Weekend 23 - 24 May 2015, Points-Based System, just in time for an OISC exam on 28 May. Weekend 20 - 21 June 2015, OISC Level 1, just in time for an OISC exam on 23 June. 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 conduct

We are often asked whether the Sponsor, usually a British citizen, has to meet the Financial Requirement on his/her own. The answer is no, sometimes it can be combined with the Applicant’s income (the person’s who needs a visa). Sometimes it can be only the Applicant’s income, on its own. Example 1: if the Applicant has a UK visa which allows to work, such as a Tier 1 or 2 work visa, Tier 4 Student visa or a Tier 5 visa then the Applicant’s earnings from employment or self-employment in the UK would be sufficient, without the need of the Sponsor’s income (assuming there is enough to meet the Financial Requirement). If both partners are working legally in the UK it can be a combination of both of their earnings, although there is no much point of that if one, ie either partner, can meet the Financial Requirement on his/her own (apart from the double amount of paperwork and a satisfying feeling of exceeding the Financial Requirement). Example 2: if the Financial Requirement is b

“Initially I was going to submit my wife’s visa application myself . However, I wanted reassurance that everything is correct. I found 1 st 4immigration website online and was pleasantly surprised that Lucy replied to my emails within hours and answered all my queries. This is the reason why I chose 1 st 4Immigration over other solicitors and firms, their quick responses gave me the feeling of having their full attention.  I was then passed on to Joanne who handled our case. Joanne was very thorough and checked key details 3 to 4 times during our meeting. I thought this is brilliant. I wanted someone to treat to this case as their own, and that’s what she did. My wife’s entry clearance visa has now been granted. Thank you Joanne and Lucy.” This came from Lakhwinder, a British national whose wife is Indian and was applying for a Spouse Entry Clearance in her home country, under Appendix FM.   Happy ending! The next step will be to renew a visa after 2.5 years and then to appl

We offer an intensive Saturday course at our office in the City of London. 1st 4Immigration Ltd is a practicing OISC-accredited immigration company, OISC, ref   F200800152. We are also a recognised CPD provider and can be found on the OISC list of the training providers. This course has a particular emphasis on Tier 2 General and Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa categories, applying for a Sponsor Licence and using Tier 2 Code of Practice as well as qualifying for an Indefinite Leave in these routes. It also covers (often forgotten in training) rules for family members of PBS migrants. You can earn 7 core CPD hours credit, subject to the successful completion of the test after the course. As a practicing company, we are offering to share our experience to help you deal with the applications of Points-Based System migrants, their family members and ILR applications based on PBS categories. You can read   Testimonials on our immigration cases here. Our tutors are our very own OISC-accredi

Whether you prefer to study online or be taught in a classroom – we have it covered! As a practicing OISC-regulated company, we   have designed this to be of practical help for those who are preparing for OISC accreditation at Level 1, re-taking an exam or need to improve their knowledge. The course includes a mock Level 1 Assessment and case studies from our practice. Online OISC LEVEL 1 course – CPD 16 hours. Can be downloaded from our website and study in your own time from any computer or your Smartphone. No need to travel to a classroom or wait for available dates! And it awards 16 core hours of Continued Professional Development (CPD), which is accepted by the OISC. You are allowed to bring this material to your Level 1 Assessment at the OISC! Download our course material or read the detailed Table of Contents (Syllabus) and Extracts here:   http://www.1st4immigration.com/training/online-oisc-level-1-course.php   Classroom OISC Level 1 course on weekends at our off

“My regards to Christina for her kindness and good efforts in making my renewal successful. I really appreciate her patience and her help with my documentations and all her efforts in Croydon to make the whole thing successful.” This came from Ebere, a Nigerian national, who was claiming points for Earnings from his job in Texas, USA. We used same-day service in Croydon and all went smoothly! In this case we used Ebere’s American income to claim the points for Earnings. Although it meant no points for UK experience, there was enough points based on Earnings, Age and Qualification. However, this method won’t work for a future ILR application! ILR applications, based on 5 years on Tier 1 General visas, continue to be possible until 5 April 2018. if you qualify by then – that’s your perfect chance! If you don’t qualify, namely because of having too many absences, you may consider switching to another category, which leads to ILR. For example, getting sponsorship and switching

What‘s the difference between being ‘born British’ and ‘not British but can be registered’? We have so many enquiries about the children who were born in the UK to the foreign parents. The parents usually hope to hear “Your child is British because he/she was born in the UK”. Unfortunately, this would have been the wrong answer! Being born in the UK (as from 1 Jan 1983) does not make a person automatically British. Yet some children are born British, others can be registered and others have to wait until their parent(s) become British. If your child was born in the UK on or after you have had your Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) or permanent residency status under the European law. In case of the European law, there is usually no need to formally make an application for this status but enough to just qualify for it (but not in all cases). So, if at least one parent has a permanent residency status first, then a child born after that point will be British by birth. It means you

Dear Christina, I wanted to thank you again for all your hard work and patience. You've been so helpful and lovely and I'm very happy to have done my application with you.   You are a great professional and you knew perfectly what you were doing. I recommended you to one of my classmates (while at university on a Tier 4 visa) and she really wants to do her application with you so she will  be contacting you after the summer. Thank you again for everything!” This came from Daiana, a national of Argentina, who is married to a British national. In this case we used the Category C, non-employment income, to meet the Financial Requirement. Daiana was receiving dividends from a family business in Argentina, so we provided the specified evidence as required by the Immigration Rules, converting the foreign currency into GBP along the way. We used same-day service in Croydon and all went smoothly! The next step will be to renew a visa after 2.5 years and then to apply for perman

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)              Tier 2: new salary thresholds, the main Tier 2 (General) £20,500 threshold is up to

This is a very informative and practical 2-day weekend course 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 sharing our experience with you to help you prepare for your OISC Level 1 assessment and accreditation or, if you are already practicing, to increase your knowledge. You can read Testimonials on our immigration cases here. TRAINING DATES: Weekend 16 - 17 May 2015, OISC Level 1, just in time for an OISC exam on 28 May. Weekend 23 - 24 May 2015, Points-Based System, just in time for an OISC exam on 28 May. Weekend 20 - 21 June 2015, OISC Level 1, just in time for an OISC exam on 23 June. 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