UK Visas and British Citizenship

We had a post under this name in the beginning of 2014 and it proved very popular, so we decided to update it as it is now autumn 2015. Myth 1: “Indefinite Leave is ‘indefinite’”. Reality: it is not! You can lose your Indefinite Leave to Remain if you leave the UK for more than 2 years and don’t come back (unless you have very compassionate circumstances why you couldn’t return). This applies to non-EU nationals and also to the EU/EEA nationals who had achieved status of a permanent resident whether applied for that document or not (it is not compulsory to apply). The only way not to lose your status is to become a British Citizen, then you can leave the UK for as long as you need.    Myth 2: “Everyone needs ILR before applying for British Citizenship”. Reality: even though we often tell this to the clients who are trying to ‘skip’ it and – mistakenly – going straight for naturalisation, the fact is there are exception from this rule. European nationals (including Bulgarian an

We are asked this question almost every day! The purpose of a Spouse/Partner visa is for the foreign partner to reside in the UK with their British/settled spouse/partner. So, are there limits on how many days you (or your British spouse) can spend outside the UK while on this visa? Some think it is 90 days, others – 180 days per year. Both are wrong. The former is the old limit for work visas and the latter is the current limit for the visas under the Points-Based System. Neither applies to spouses and partners. The answer is: there is no specified limit on absences. In other words, there is no minimum number of days, such as “180 per year”. The only rule is that the UK remains your main home and each case has to be assessed on its merit.   How does it work in practice? In our immigration practice we have to assess each case individually. For example, a case where a British spouse was sent, by their UK employer, to work in Hong Kong for 6 months, while remaining an employee for a U

Points - Based System training course: Tiers, Points, Dependants, qualifying for ILR. Visas for entrepreneurs, investors, workers, what can be more exciting? Points-Based System categories can be great fun – if you know how to play by the rules (how to use the Immigration Rules). 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-

"I want to thank Joanne Wilson for the OISC Level 1 training she provided me with, it exceeded my expectations and could not have been any better considering I had a limited amount of knowledge in this subject area, the way in which she presented the course with real life case studies made the training easy to understand, Joanne's training was very thorough and professional she was very approachable and answered all of my questions, not only did she provide me with training she also provided me with timely and helpful advice. For anyone considering the OISC Level 1 training in the future I would definitely recommend 1st 4immigration. Thank you" T his came from Tanya, who attended our OISC Level 1 training course in September 2015.   As a practicing OISC-accredited immigration firm, we at 1 st 4Immigration work on various applications on a daily basis and with great deal of success.   OISC Level 1 course is our most popular course, both online and at a classroom

“ Hi Lucy, I just wanted to say a ...... BIG THANK YOU.....to you for helping me succeed in switching my current visa in to a spouse visa. I can't believe how quick the whole process was. Also want to say thank you to Harpreet who accompanied me to Home Office, he made me feel at ease. I will definitely use 1st 4Immigration in the future and I will recommend them to others. Thank you.” This came from Nalaaluke, a Namibian national whose husband was British. In this case our client already had a partner visa for 2.5 years (30 months) but it was in the 10 year route. We submitted a ‘normal’ FLR(M) application to switch to the 5 year route. Although it means meeting the strict Financial Requirement and English language requirement, it allows to qualify for Indefinite Leave to remain 9ILR, permanent residency), after 5 years instead of 10 years. 5 years have to be on the ‘normal’ spouse visas only. Can’t be combined with the 2.5 visa from the 10 year route, even though both visas a

UK Immigration Rules, visas, switching, visas for spouses and partners, what a great idea for a weekend! Or perhaps you would enjoy learning about British Citizenship or Points-Based System or maybe even EU/EEA applications and European law? What can be more exciting? 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 26 - 27 September 2015 (in time for OISC exam on 28 September). Weekend 24 - 25 October 2015 (in time for OISC exam on 29 October). Weekend 14 - 15 November 2015 (in time for OISC exam on 23 November). Weekend 1

“Hi Lucy, I wanted to email you to say a hugeeeeeeeeeeeeeee (we left the original spelling!) thank you for all your support during the visa application process. You were confident we would be successful, and I am so happy that you were correct! Thank You.” This came from Lazenya, a British national whose husband was from Haiti. In this application the British spouse was meeting the Financial Requirement using income from employment under the Category B. It was a combination of employment in Haiti, employment in the UK and then a current job in the UK. Such a combination is allowed by the Immigration Rules.    We made an application on same-day service in Croydon and all went well on the day. The next step will be to extend a Spouse visa for further 2.5 years and apply for permanent residency after 5 years.    For an individual advice or to make your application as successful please contact us: info@1st4immigration.com or visit    http://www.1st4immigration.com/spou

“1 st 4Immigration were very helpful during my Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa application process and the turnaround time from Home Office was beyond my expectations at under 2 weeks! I tried submitting the application myself based on my understanding of the guidance, but after consulting Joanne and 1 st 4Immigration's strong track record with Tier 1 visas, I felt more confident with my application to use their services, and was not disappointed!  Joanne was responsive every day and organised. She was very patient with my numerous questions. I didn't have any concerns in the documentation process and she reassured me with the documents required for a successful application. For anyone looking to start their own business with a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur), I highly recommend you to opt for their Visa Application and Business Plan services as they have a thorough know-how of Home Office's requirements with a 100% track record (which we indeed had in the last few years).” 

Visas for entrepreneurs, investors, workers, what can be more exciting? Points-Based System categories can be great fun – if you know how to play by the rules (how to use the Immigration Rules). 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-accredited practicing immigration advisers who handle the real cases during the wee

One of the common mistakes migrants do, from our experience, is confusing the main visa with a dependent visa. For example, one spouse is on a Tier 2 (General) visa (that’s the main one) and the other spouse is on a Tier 2 Dependant visa (that’s a dependent visa). The visa ‘depends’ on someone else’s visa, so a Tier 2 Partner visa depends on the main Tier 2 visa. These are 2 totally separate categories: main is main, dependent is dependent. They can’t be combined when calculating qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR, permanent residency) except for   10 years Long Residence which can be based on any type of visa. Most importantly, this matters to switching rules, ie applying to change your status inside the UK, rather than having to apply from outside the UK. You can switch from a main visa to a dependent visa inside the UK, such as from the main Tier 2 General to a Tier 2 Partner, from the main Tier 1 visa to a Tier 1 Partner. Actually, it would be the sam