Immigration Law

Only nationals of certain countries are permitted to enter the UK without a visit visa, and even those individuals can only enter to visit for a maximum of six months. All foreigners , even those non-visa nationals, that are not required to apply for a visit visa, must now apply for an ETA ( Electronic Travel Authorisation).

If you want to come to the UK for more than six months, and or for any other reason than tourism and visiting, you will need a visa. The type of visa is dependent on circumstances. Whether you are looking to join family in the UK or for work, studies, etc.

There are multiple visas that allow people to come and work in the UK.

You will often need an offer of employment before you are able to make an application, usually under the skilled worker route.

Some visas do not require an existing offer of employment, such as the Youth Mobility Scheme, but this is only available for people of a certain age for a defined period and from certain countries.

If you came to the UK on a student visa to study a degree, and once you have successfully completed your university studies, you can apply for a graduate visa to remain in the UK whilst looking for employment.

Our team of immigration experts will be able to advise you on all of the options available and which route is best for you.

Spouse visas can sometimes be refused because the applicant fails to satisfy (or prove that they satisfy) the spouse visa requirements.

This can be as a result of not meeting some of the following requirements.

• Failing to meet the suitability requirement
• Not meeting the minimum income requirement
• Accommodation conditions
• Lack of evidence to show a genuine and subsisting relationship
• Insufficient knowledge of the English language.

If you are British, have settled status, refugee status and/or humanitarian protection, or an EU national with settled or pre-settled status, then your partner, spouse/civil partner, or fiancé can join you in the UK, providing that you meet the requirements of the rules.

There are different requirements for each of these categories. The Entry Clearance Officer will assess your application against the information given and the supporting documents that form part of the online application process.

There is more than one way to meet the financial requirement, other than income from your employment.

There are some circumstances where it is not required to meet the income threshold, but merely show adequate maintenance, such as when you are in receipt of certain types of benefits.

There may be times when there are exceptional circumstances where a refusal will cause a breach of human rights, where, for example, you may be able to rely on credible 3rd party support or future job offers.

There are mandatory and additional documents required for every visa application. It is not possible to give a general list of documents, as each case is taken on an individual basis.

Many visa applications, if refused, give a right to appeal.

Some applications, such as the visitor visa route, however, offers no right of appeal, the only way of challenging it is by way of a judicial review.

Points based visa applications (worker routes) only have a right to administrative review, where your application is looked at again to determine if the application was refused due to an error by the decision maker. No new documents or supporting statements can be used for this, unlike in an appeal.

No solicitor should tell you that your application has a 100% chance of success, as the decision lies in the hands of the Home Office, which is a third party.

It is never possible to guarantee an outcome.

The costs for each visa vary, however, they usually involve:

• An application fee
• The immigration healthcare surcharge fee for any visa that is for six months or longer
• Our fixed fee.

Sometimes there may be an additional biometrics fee, especially if you wish to attend a premium centre or pay for additional services such as: assisted document upload, retain your passport, prime time appointment, etc.

Any business that wants to recruit a foreign worker/workers from abroad, needs to first apply to UKVI for a sponsorship license.

Only if your licence is approved, will you be entitled to employ workers from abroad to come and work for your business in the UK. The same applies if you wish to employ a foreign worker who is already in the UK on another route.

Employing foreign workers without authority, is a serious offense, liable to huge civil penalty fines.

To apply for a licence, you will need to produce documents related to your company, and only after being granted a sponsor license, will you be able to assign a certificate of sponsorship to the applicant (employee). This will enable the employee to apply for a skilled worker visa. Our team of Immigration experts will be able to advise you on all the requirements and documents needed in order to apply for a sponsor license. We can also offer support and advice if you are unsure if you are breaching requirements and or facing a civil penalty.

Unfortunately, we cannot assist with finding a job for you. It’s your responsibility to find employment.

If you find a job from an employer who is willing to sponsor you, and either has a licence or willing to apply for a licence, then the skilled worker route provides for applicants to make an application for either entry clearance from abroad or for leave to remain if already in the UK to take up such employment in the UK.

We can help both the employer with a sponsor licence application and the prospective worker with a visa application.