UK Visas and British Citizenship

We received some exciting news from the French visa centre - French Schengen visa applications are back! France has just lifted all restrictions on travel between the UK and France, meaning you can travel to France for any reason, including a good old holiday! We need to act very fast to secure your appointment now, to apply later and to travel in the next 6 months. The visa slots (appointments) are very limited while the interest in travel is at all times’ high. Once the ‘floodgates’ are open, the slots will go fast!  We can submit your application as early as 6 months before your travel date. If you are planning to travel in the next 6 months - and that covers the whole summer 2021 - please get in touch NOW while visa appointments are getting booked fast!  The following Requirements apply at the moment, which may change later, or may not: 1. The minimum stay in France  on your travel itinerary has to be 7 days because you will be required to self-isolate during that time.  2. You wil

    We now offer OISC Level 1 course livestream on Zoom and Skype 20 - 21 March 2021.    It is a 2-day course, 10.00 - 16.00 with breaks. CPD 10 hours. Price £250+VAT. It is live training (livestream), where you can interact with the tutor and ask your questions. You can check the date and book here: https://www.1st4immigration.com/training/   Main training topics:   - THE BASICS – CRUCIAL TO YOUR WORK! - IMMIGRATION RULES AND HOW TO USE THEM - VISITING THE UK - POINTS-BASED SYSTEM – WORKING IN THE UK - WORKING OUTSIDE THE POINTS-BASED SYSTEM - INDEFINITE LEAVE TO REMAIN IN PBS AND WORK CATEGORIES - STUDYING IN THE UK - SPOUSE, PARTNER AND FIANCÉE VISAS, FINANCIAL REQUIREMENT £18,600 - OTHER FAMILY VISAS: CHILDREN, STEP-CHILDREN AND ADULT DEPENDENT RELATIVES - EEA LAW AND BREXIT - BRITISH CITIZENSHIP   You can read the full Description hereby: https://www.1st4immigration.com/course/classroom-and-livestream-oisc-level-1-training-course-cpd-10-core-hours-3-2/ We also continue to run our

Overview of visa options that lead to Permanent Residency in the United Kingdom through studying and working. Student visa (formerly called Tier 4) is to come and study in the UK. If you study at a degree level at a UK university, you can work part-time 20 hours a week during the term, full-time on vacation and full-time for 4 months after completion of the course.  Study – Work – Settlement  You can switch to the new Skilled Worker visa after completion of a degree course, or even within 3 months before that! There are benefits for employers to hire Student graduates – they can offer a New Entrant salary, which makes it more affordable for the employers and makes sponsorship more likely for the migrants. Employers are also exempt from Skills Charge (another Government fee) when sponsoring graduates. After 5 years on this visa you can qualify for settlement. If you are a business, looking to hire and sponsor migrant workers, including graduates, please visit our page for UK Employers

There is an exciting development in the UK immigration world - a return of what many of us remember as a Post-Study Work visa.  We remember it from before 2012, so after almost 10 years we are glad to see it back from 1 July 2021 under the new name - Graduate Route . It will be available to graduates from UK universities who have completed a degree level course (minimum Bachelor level).  Benefits:  This visa allows to remain in the UK for 2 years (3 years for Doctoral students) to work for any employer at any skill level as well as set up a business in the UK. It is also a useful visa to buy time, such as to look for sponsorship for a Skilled Worker visa, or to complete 2 years of living together for an Unmarried Partner visa.  Does it lead to settlement?  No, this visa itself doesn’t lead to settlement (Indefinite Leave) and doesn’t count as a part of the 5-year qualifying period. However, it gives 2 years to look for work, gain the relevant skills, find a Sponsor (employer) and switc

  Immigration work continues, UK visas are issued, visa centres remain open   Visa application centres inside the UK are classified as essential services, so you can still enrol biometrics (fingerprints) as part of your application for a UK visa, settlement or British Citizenship. The casework (considering your documents) continues by the UK Government remotely, with online submission of documents - a process that has been in place for 2 years now (since before Covid). Not forgetting Brexit! We have an exciting new Points-Based Immigration System for work visas that welcomes a wide range of skilled workers from all over the world (not just Europe). The new rules are more flexible, the process is faster. The rules are more technical, such as salary thresholds, but this is where we can help with our expertise. We are still expecting a return of Post-Study Work visas in summer 2021. Also, Hong Kong BNO visa commenced from late January 2021 and we have already processed some successful cas

Our OISC Level 1 training is a bestseller! With the online version, you can download it on your computer and study in your own time. The course is great for you if: - you are preparing to take a Level 1 OISC exam and become an immigration adviser. - you are a practicing adviser or solicitor and wish to broaden your knowledge about other visa categories, such as to learn in detail about the Points-Based System. You will earn 16 CPD hours! - you work in HR; you are a business owner or a landlord and need to learn about how your employees or tenants can stay legally in the UK so that you don't face penalties. With over 10 years of experience, we designed this course to be of practical help! It's full of useful advice, explanation of how to understand Immigration Rules, where to find the information during a case and many case studies. Unlike most training other there, this is not boring coverage of the Immigration Rules, we tried to keep it as entertaining as possible! Read detail

    These are real reviews from our clients over the last month! L Horn: Thank you Jules and the team for all of your help with our spousal visa extension! Always really responsive with all of our email queries and guided us throughout what would have been incredibly stressful process without them. Thank you! Review link:  https://goo.gl/maps/qWZwzL9tgybZMpXj6 Ben Walsh: We asked for their services during a difficult year (2020) and am happy to report that our visa application went off without a hitch. The team were very responsive and forthcoming with answers to our fairly ignorant questions. Will be working with them again on future stages of the settlement process. Review link: https://goo.gl/maps/CnveQdNJZdhoFWDR9   Kseniia Kalenik: Very good service, definitely recommend! I was applying for working visa extension and received the guidance all the way. Review link: https://goo.gl/maps/WMsXhar4af38EXEV7 Best Music and Rabab: my be made my future ... Review link: https://goo.gl/maps/

The Hong Kong BNO visa is now up and running, and we have been submitting the applications. Here are some interesting rules about this visa category that make it different from the others. We remind that it is only for those who hold a British National (Overseas) status. This was inspired by the recently published UK Government rules https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-hong-kong-british-national-overseas but also by some articles in the Press.  #1 Hong Kong BNO visa allows to work, study and live in the UK, and then qualify for settlement. It is a very generous provision that isn't  tied to a Sponsor, be it an employer, a family member or an academic establishment.  #2 BN(O) status doesn't need to be proven by the valid BN(O) passport, it can be an expired document.  #3 Only those who are ordinarily residents in Hong Kong or the UK can qualify. Well, if you are a resident in, say, Australia (as we are often asked), you could come to the

Despite everything going on with the lockdowns, Brexit and the ’new normal’, UK visa and Citizenship applications are being processed, visa centres remain open and generally, immigration work continues. In fact, we have had unexpectedly fast approvals lately. Even most Priority services are back!    It was common to delay an application during 2020, especially for a relocation to the UK. Now it is becoming more obvious that there is no fast solution, that restrictions may continue for a good part of 2021. There is, however, no need to write 2021 off (like many of us did with 2020). Whether your current UK visa expires soon or in a year’s time, it is never too early to plan your next one!   Often (but not always) you may have to wait for the last month of your current visa to submit a new application to the UK authorities but the key is in preparation and therefore, we can start working on your case in advance. This ensures you are ready as soon as it’s the time to apply and without the

  We now offer OISC Level 1 course livestream on Zoom and Skype 13 - 14 February 2021.   It is a 2-day course, 10.00 - 16.00 with breaks. CPD 10 hours. Price £250+VAT. It is live training (livestream), where you can interact with the tutor and ask your questions. You can check the date and book heresy: https://www.1st4immigration.com/training    Extracts from Description:   THE BASICS – CRUCIAL TO YOUR WORK! Covid-19 concessionary policies and links 2 systems of immigration law: UK law, European law and Brexit Types of visas: Entry Clearance, Visitor visa, Leave to Remain, Leave to Enter, Residence Permit, Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), Indefinite Leave is not  indefinite’ ‘Settlement’ and 2 confusing meanings of this term Common question: Passport has expired, do I have to transfer my visa to a new passport? The answer is both Yes and No What is Switching? Common examples when switching is not allowed What is the Date of Application and why it is so important? When is the Date of A