UK Visas and British Citizenship

This UK visa category is becoming ever so popular, yet the refusal rate is growing just as fast. We are making these few posts to provide some practical advice based on our vast – and successful - experience with Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visas. Just what you would expect from our firm of Immigration Entrepreneurs, based in the City of London! TIP #1: Be a genuine applicant. May sound obvious but this is the most important thing in the whole application! You have to be a genuine entrepreneur and genuinely intending to come to the UK to run your own business or to join an existing one. Do not use this category “just to come to the UK”, it is fairly obvious to professionals like us (and the Government officers!) when a migrant is trying to do so. When we work on an Entrepreneur visa application, we look at least at one of the following (better both): 1)      Does the migrant have past experience of running his/her own business? If the answer is No, maybe at least their family me

A recent Daily Mail article caught our eye: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4410894/EU-couple-devastated-children-denied-UK-residency.html   A European (Dutch-Spanish) family made an application to the UK Home Office to confirm their status of permanent residents in the UK. This application, EEA(PR), has been one of the most common application since the UK voted to leave the EU in June 2016 Referendum. Many EU/EEA citizens and their family members panicked and wanted some peace of mind, hence getting this official document confirming their permanent status in the UK.   In this case both parents were granted a PR document. Their children (12 and 15 yo), however, were refused on the basis that they didn’t send enough evidence of children’s residency in the UK. Although this makes another dramatic   “good” news story headline We at 1 st 4Immigration believe it was probably the case of the Home Office just not ticking a couple of boxes. In other words, there was nothin

With our vast successful UK immigration experience, 1 st 4Immigration is offering an individual advice session to discuss your situation and visa options, whether to come to the UK or to extend your stay here in various categories, from spouses of UK citizens, EEA nationals and family members to Entrepreneurs and Investors.   For example, we have a 100% success rate on applications for spouses and partners of British citizens covering a period of almost 10 years.   Our advisers are OISC - accredited at the highest Level 3 ! A consultation one-to-one with an experienced adviser can be held at our office in the City of London, near Monument/Bank stations. An email consultation can be done anytime, and we provide the required information by the end of the next working day after receiving advice fee. Our advice fee is £150 (including VAT) and is counted towards our UK visa application fee if you proceed with an application through us after that.   For individual advice or t

When you are applying for your 1 st Spouse visa, you need the most basic A1 level. This is true whether you are applying outside the UK or switching from another category inside the UK. After the 1 st Spouse visa you will need an extension. At the moment at that stage you would still need the same A1 level, so at the moment you wouldn’t need to worry about this rule at all. From May 2017, however, you need to demonstrate a higher A2 level when applying for extension . This new rule, having to prove A2 level, applies to those whose current Spouse / Partner visa expires from 1 May 2017 onwards – even if applying for extension before that!   You can read more on this here in the earlier post: http://1st4immigration-visas.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/new-a2-english-language-requirement.html After that you could normally apply for a permanent visa. This is where an even higher B1 level would be needed.   For individual advice or to make an application please contact us: info@1st4immig

The new requirement for spouses and partners of British citizens to prove the higher, A2, level of English when applying for a visa extension in this category has been known for a while. What makes it interesting is the way it is being implemented from May 2017. Unusually, the Rules were changed in the way to prevent the migrants rushing to extend their Spouse/Partner visas before the changes have been implemented. Traditionally, the new Rules affect those who make an application after the changes. Just as traditionally, people usually rush to make an application before the changes – to benefit from the old Rules. In this case, however, the changes affect those spouses / partners, whose initial Spouse/Partner visas expire from 1 May 2017 onwards – even if they were making an application before 1 May 2017! We also have a post, describing all levels of English exams and when each level is needed for a Spouse / Partner visa: http://1st4immigration-visas.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/updated

“Great service, posted my passport from Dubai on Monday night and was renewed and back in my hand the following Sunday - 6 days total including postage from the UAE.” Oliver, British national Multi Travel Visas can assist with getting passports renewed using premium/fast track service. We are able to get it done within 3-4 working days (premium service) or 7-8 working days (fast track service) provided there are appointments available at the passport office in London.  Contact us:   http://www.multitravelvisas.co.uk/same-day-british-passport-renewal.php Phone 0871 472 1468 or 07795471483  Email:   info@multitravelvisas.co.uk    Or come to our office from 9am to 5pm (you don’t need an appointment): 68 King William Street, City of London, London, EC4N 7DZ. We’re near Monument tube station, close to  Bank and Liverpool Street, over the bridge from London Bridge station and within easy reach by DLR from Canary Wharf.

"Fast and reliable service, and get my visa without hassle, only need to have a trip to post office, must be recommended!! :)" Leo, Chinese national It is possible to obtain a French Schengen visa within 3-4 working days from the date of appointment for most nationals, such as South African, Thai, Filipino, Russian, Indian, Chinese and most others. We can also assist with the German and Portuguese Schengen visas. The good thing about applying through French Embassy is that they tend to issuer longer, multiple-entry, visas. Although you have to go through a very stringent process of application, you may have a visa lasting for several years.  Contact us at Multi Travel Visas: French Schengen visa:  http://www.multitravelvisas.co.uk/schengen-visa-france.php German Schengen visa:  http://www.multitravelvisas.co.uk/schengen-visa-germany.php Portuguese Schengen visa:  http://www.multitravelvisas.co.uk/schengen-visa-portugal.php Fast UK passport renewal th

We are now well-used to the UK Government traditionally increasing visa, immigration and Citizenship fees each year in April, just as the new UK tax year starts on the 6 th April 2017. Just as traditionally there is a rush to submit visa applications before the increase to benefit from the old (usually lower) fees.   This year the Government has revealed the new fees on the 4 th April 2017, thus giving only a 2 days’ notice. The main increase is for Indefinite Leave (Permanent Residence), up by £422 to the new fee of   £2,297 per person. Entry visa fee for a spouse of a UK citizen is up by £269 to £1,464; in-country Spouse visa or extension fee is up by £182 to £993. Same-day service surcharge (in-country applications) is up by £90 to £590. Priority service surcharge for a Spouse visa (applications outside the UK) is up by £101 to £501. British Citizenship fee is now £1,282. No changes to health surcharge amount and only small changes to Points-Based System and visitor visas.

A business plan was made compulsory for initial applications from 6 April 2015.   Over the past several years we’ve been dealing with the Entrepreneur visa applications for our clients. As a part of each application, we have to read client’s business plan, ask to make changes and generally, to include the information relevant to the Entrepreneur visa rules as well as based on the questions a client may be asked at a interview (from our experience of clients’ visa interviews). Our experience allowed us to develop an approach to creating the business plans from a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa point of view. Instead of using standard templates, we focus on what the visa officers want to see, ie on what a migrant will be required to do while holding this visa: investment of £50,000 or £200,000 and what your client is going to spend it on. For example, paying yourself a salary is not counted, yet it is very common for clients to do this.    Another example will be including a plan of creati

The timeline of Brexit events so far has been both interesting and concerning for Europeans living in the UK as well as for Britons living in Europe.   Firstly, we had a vote in June 2016, voting to leave the EU. The UK Government then took almost a month to publish a statement on the immediate effects on status of EEA citizens, which can be found here (updated now since its first publication in July 2016). At the time it was, and still is, simply saying not to worry and everything remained as before for the time being - quite rightly and legally accurate.   Yet it is not the past or present that is on the people’s mind – it is the future!     The Government triggered Article 50 (of the Lisbon Treaty) on 29 th March 2017 and again published the reassuring statement just over a week later, again telling the EU/EEA citizens not to worry for the time being while the UK remained a full member during the upcoming 2 years. That statement can be found here: https://www.gov.uk