UK Companies Denied Foreign Staff with Immigration Rules

UK business owners request an urgent reviewing of the business immigration rules since they are denied the privilege to employ foreign nationals regardless of their qualifications.

Many business owners seek to employ foreign staff; however, the high price denies them that right. Employers need to pay an annual salary in excess of 60, 000 GBP in order to have foreigners work for their companies.

This includes immigrants who meet all the requirements to enter the UK. The United Kingdom immigration cap continues to upset business owners, with the higher paying companies taking all foreign nationals in their employ. These company owners feel that the government is busy damaging their chance to create jobs and grow themselves. It simply does not make sense that employers should pay a foreign national who wants to work in the UK, double the salaries than what UK residents earn.

This place a massive restriction on employer-based visas with the current number standing at 20, 700 annually. This number is further divided into twelve months. Some months the number is full early and as soon as the number is reached a point-scoring method decides which company are allowed to employ and who is denied. This is how higher paying companies win the foreign nationals.

In the previous year, the cap has not been breached and the first time it happened was in December 2017. Since then and in December to anyone who met the immigration criteria was still denied access or granted a visa if their employer could not pay more than 55, 000 GBP.

In January 2018, the amount was breached yet again, and the salary amount increased again, this time to 60, 000 GBP.

This is not conducive to successful planning and expanding as companies are restricted to recruits as they do not know when the cap will be in months to follow.
We specialise in helping you and your family with your UK visa and immigration applications. You can follow the current developments on the subject via our site. You can contact us now for any questions you may have about UK visa and immigration services.

UK Companies Denied Foreign Staff with Immigration Rules

 

UK business owners request an urgent reviewing of the business immigration rules since they are denied the privilege to employ foreign nationals regardless of their qualifications.
Many business owners seek to employ foreign staff; however, the high price denies them that right.
Employers need to pay an annual salary in excess of 60, 000 GBP in order to have foreigners work for their companies. This includes immigrants who meet all the requirements to enter the UK.
The United Kingdom immigration cap continues to upset business owners, with the higher paying companies taking all foreign nationals in their employ. These company owners feel that the government is busy damaging their chance to create jobs and grow themselves. It simply does not make sense that employers should pay a foreign national who wants to work in the UK, double the salaries than what UK residents earn.
This place a massive restriction on employer-based visas with the current number standing at 20, 700 annually.
This number is further divided into twelve months. Some months the number is full early and as soon as the number is reached a point-scoring method decides which company are allowed to employ and who is denied. This is how higher paying companies win the foreign nationals.
In the previous year, the cap has not been breached and the first time it happened was in December 2017. Since then and in December to anyone who met the immigration criteria was still denied access or granted a visa if their employer could not pay more than 55, 000 GBP.
In January 2018, the amount was breached yet again, and the salary amount increased again, this time to 60, 000 GBP.
This is not conducive to successful planning and expanding as companies are restricted to recruits as they do not know when the cap will be in months to follow.
We specialise in helping you and your family with your UK visa and immigration applications. You can follow the current developments on the subject via our site. You can contact us now for any questions you may have about UK visa and immigration services.

Read more
No Comments

The Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa

If you are looking to invest in the UK, look no further! If you have £50,000 and £200,000 in funds to invest in a business in the UK, the Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa will allow you to do just that.

Establish or take over a UK business – either on your own or as a partner and make sure your funds are held by a regulated institution, such as a bank or venture capital firm, and are free to spend then create two new jobs for settled workers and you are off to a good start.

Make sure you have a credible business plan and proof that you have the necessary skills and experience to run a business and know where your funds were obtained. It might also be good to include an academic qualification.

You may need to complete an English language test at B1 and you must provide a criminal record certificate for any country that you have lived in for at least twelve months over the last ten years

Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa applications are assessed using a points system. You need to score a full 95 points to be granted a visa.

Tier 1 Entrepreneur points table

 

Condition
Access to at least £200,000 of disposable investment funds OR
at least £50,000 from one of the following:
One or more registered venture capital firms
One or more UK Entrepreneurial seed funding competitions
One or more UK government departments
Investment funds that are held in a regulated financial institution
Investment funds that are free to spend
Having access to the required maintenance funds
English language proficiency
You will need funds to support yourself during the stay of £3,310 for an initial visa application and, for an extension of one, you will need £945. Applicants are usually granted a stay of up to three years and four months initially, and then up to six years and four months with extensions.
Before the end of your five year stay, you can apply for permanent residence as long as you have not spent longer than 180 days a year outside the UK. This is known as ‘settled status’. If you have created ten jobs, or have a business that has had a gross income of £5 million over three years, or have taken over an existing business that has seen an increase in gross income of £5 million over three years, there is a shorter requirement in terms of days spent outside the UK.
NB If you want to invest a smaller amount like £50,000, you will need funding from a venture capital firm in the UK or to have some form of UK Government funding. If there are two of you investing £100,000. , you may come under the entrepreneurial team requirements.

 

Documents Required

 

• Current passport and/or other travel documents
• A separate passport photograph
• Proof of access to between £50,000 and £200,000 of funds to invest
• A business plan
• Proof that you can support yourself financially
• Proof of Tier 2 English Language requirements,
• A clear tuberculosis (TB) test result letter, if the applicant is from one of the countries on the Home Office’s TB testing list
• A criminal record certificate from any country that you have lived in for more than one year in the past ten years
Good luck!

Read more
No Comments

The Spouse Visa

Today we look at how spouses of overseas citizens in the UK can apply for visas and settlement under current UK Gvt legislation.

At present, you need a family visa to live with your spouse in the UK for more than 6 months. If you are currently living outside the UK, you can apply for a family visa from there before you arrive and you will get a decision within 12 weeks.
If you are currently living inside the UK on a family visa with your spouse, you can apply to extend your stay or, if you came to the UK on a different visa, you can switch to a family visa in order to stay. A decision on this will take about 8 weeks providing you meet the minimum income requirement, can prove your knowledge of English and have no criminal conviction or personal circumstance that need to be reviewed.
NB You can extend or switch a visa at any time before your current permission to stay in the UK expires. However, if you are extending a visa to stay with the same family member, you will only get up to 28 days added to your new visa.

Fees

 

Your situation Apply outside the UK Apply in the UK online
Joining your partner, parent or child £1,523 £1,033
NB You may also need to pay an immigration healthcare charge as part of your application.

 

Are there any circumstances when you cannot apply for, or switch to, a family visa?

Yes, if your family member in the UK is on a temporary or work or student visa, but you could apply to stay with them as a dependant instead.
Also, if you have a visitor visa or a visa for 6 months or less.
However, you might be able to switch to a family visa in the UK if you have either:

  • a 6-month family visa as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner
  • permission to stay in the UK for the outcome of a family court case or divorce

Are there any other ways in which I can settle in the UK as a spouse?

Yes, if you had previous permission to stay as a spouse and were the victim of domestic abuse or your partner died, or if your partner has refugee status or humanitarian protection within the UK. You can also apply for an EEA family permitif your spouse is from the European Economic Area or Switzerland.

How do I apply?

You and your partner both need to be 18 or over and your partner must also either:

 

  • be a British citizen
  • have settled in the UK (they have ‘indefinite leave to remain’ or proof of permanent residence)
  • have refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK

NB You and your partner must intend to live together permanently in the UK after you apply.

You must be able to prove one of the following:

  • you’re in a civil partnership or marriage recognised in the UK
  • you’ve been living together in a relationship for at least 2 years
  • you are a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner and will marry or enter into a civil partnership in the UK within 6 months of arriving

You also need a good knowledge of English and funds. If you do not meet these requirements you may still be able to apply for a visa or extend your permission to stay if:

  • you have a child in the UK who is a British citizen or has lived in the UK for 7 years and it would be unreasonable for them to leave the UK
  • there would be very significant difficulties for you and your partner if you lived together as a couple outside the UK that could not be overcome
  • it would breach your human rights to stop you coming to the UK or make you leave

For more information, please see: https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa)

Read more
No Comments

What is a ‘Surinder Singh Visa’ ?

A ‘Surinder Singh Visa’is a simpler immigration route than many others to entering and living in the UK. Families living in an EEA country with an eligible British family member can apply for an EEA Family Permit, using this route, allowing them to enter and live in the UK with that family member.

Spouses, partners, children, stepchildren or parents and parents-in-law of a British citizen can exercise their Treaty Rights in another EU State and can enter and live in the UK under EU law, making it easier to meet the criteria for this immigration route compared to that of the UK Family Migration criteria.

To qualify, you need to prove that another EU state was your main residence for at least three months and that you lived and were integrated there, also that the British citizen exercised his or her treaty rights in the EU state by working, being self sufficient, being self employed or studying there.

Families can then apply for the EEA Family Permit to come to the UK which is much simpler than the UK Family Migration law and which requires a minimum income.

Once you arrive, there are no work restrictions on the EEA Family Permit which is valid for six months. You can then apply for an EU residence card within the first six months of your arrival.

NB Your British family member must be one of the following: your spouse (husband or wife) or civil partner
your parent or grandparent (or their spouse or civil partner) – you must also be under 21 years old or dependent on them your child or grandchild (or their spouse or civil partner) – you must be dependent on them

Read more
No Comments

Sopra Steria – New Visa Application Centres in UK

Sopra Steria, the corporate partner of The Home Office, began to provide in person visa appointments within the UK for work and study visas, as well as settlement and citizenship applications, in Manchester on 9 November 2018.

Sopra Steria, there will be 6 core service centres offering free appointments, 50 enhanced service centres offering charged appointments, and 1 premium lounge.

The vast majority of the new visa application centres will be situated in local libraries. These centres will enable applicants to submit their biometric data (photographs, fingerprints and signatures) as well as lodging their supporting documentation with the Home Office in one visit.

As the continuation of modernising the immigration application process, The Home Office also introduced its new UK Visa and Citizenship Application Service (UKVCAS) with Sopra Steria on 2 November 2018.

Sopra Steria – The new process

 

The new process allows the applicants to self-upload digital copies of the supporting documents for their application via Sopra Steria’s website.
Once they have uploaded digital copies of their documents including their passport, they can attend a biometrics appointment at one of the new “Core Centres” or “Enhanced Service Points” and then just wait for their application to be processed.
Applicants who can’t or don’t want to self-upload their supporting documents will be able to take their original hard copy documents to their “Core Centre” or “Enhanced Service Point” appointment to have them scanned and then bring their documents home with them.
A key benefit of the new system is that applicants won’t have to send off their original documents including their passport and so won’t run the risk of their documents being misplaced by the Home Office or lost in the postal system.
The new service will definitely facilitate the process, enabling the visa applications to be transferred more quickly and efficiently for people in the UK, through increasing the use of digital services.
If you have any concern or require any assistance with the new digitisation process at Sopra Steria, please do not hesitate to contact our specialised visa and immigration application team.
If you wish, you can contact and take all the steps in this new system together with our team specialised in visa applications and immigration law.

Read more
4 Comments

Schengen Visa / How To Apply From UK?

What is a Schengen Visa And Why Do I Need It?

If you are a frequent traveller or business person who does business in specific countries covered by the Schengen decree, you will enjoy visa-free travel. A total of 26 countries fall under the Schengen area with twenty-two a part of the EU while four make part of the EFTA. Read more about Schengen Visa application.

Is the UK Part of the Schengen Agreement?

While there are several countries not falling under the Schengen agreement, unfortunately, the UK is one of them that does not allow visa-free travel.

UK Residents Application Guide and Schengen Visa Requirements

 

While other country’s residents can travel freely for prolonged periods, UK residents can travel to Schengen countries too even though it is only for a three-month period.
To get a Schengen Visa, you need to be a resident of the United Kingdom for a minimum period of three months. While we will assist you with your visa application you need to take notice that individuals who are in the UK for a three-month period only, they need to extend their UK Visa when applying for a Schengen visa.
If you do not extend your UK Visa prior to applying for a Schengen Visa, the chances are hundred percent certain that the Schengen visa would be denied if you are not a UK resident.

 

Where and How To Apply for a Schengen Visa

  • It would depend on which Schengen country interest you the most as you will need to apply at a specific embassy.
  • Should you wish to visit more than one country, the application would be handed in at the embassy where your stay will be the longest.
  • If you wish to remain equal periods in different countries, it would be ideal to apply at the embassy where you will enter the Schengen area first.

When Do I Apply?

A two-week period prior to the intended visit is appropriate

How Do I Apply?

 

Visit the target embassy in person
Contact us to assist you as third-party applicant.

 

We specialise in helping you and your family with your UK visa and immigration applications. You can follow the current developments on the subject via our site. You can contact us now for any questions you may have about Schengen Visa application and its conditions.

Read more
No Comments

New Terms Of Residence Permit For The Ankara Agreement

New terms of Residence Permit for the Ankara Agreement is announced! A new version of the Home Office guidance on applications from self-employed Turkish businesspersons for leave under the Turkish European Communities Association Agreement (ECAA), commonly known as the “Ankara Agreement”, was published on 15th of June 2018.

Under the Ankara agreement, the right to apply for indefinite leave to remain has been re-enforced with new regulations published on the 15th of June 2018.

The rights of Turkish citizens with an Ankara agreement visa have been re-enacted with some new conditions being introduced.

The new terms are as follows;

    • Visa holders in the period of one year should not exceed 180 days of their time outside the UK. This rule is also implemented for family members.
    • English proficiency exam at level B1
    • Life in the UK to pass the life Test in England
    • To pay the application fee, (Current application fee, £2.389 per person)

In addition, the Turkish worker visa holders and their wives and their children must also be in Turkish worker dependent or partner categories in order to be able to apply for the session indefinitely.
As in the old practice, they are sought to be able to get along with their own facilities without the need for assistance from the state.

We see that family members are subject to certain conditions that are not in the old regulation.
According the new rules there is now a 5 years route for settlement for such migrants. This could of course be good news, although the new rules are very similar to the businessperson rules. For instances with 180-day and English language/Life in UK test requirements. And such Turkish workers can combine their leave with previously-held leave as a Tier 2 migrant in order to achieve the five-year period.
You can follow the current developments on the subject –New terms of Residence Permit for the Ankara Agreement– via our site. You can contact us now for any questions you may have about the new terms and practices of the Ankara Agreement and its new Indefinite Leave to Remain provisions.

Read more
No Comments

National Insurance Number – All You Need To Know!

New arrivals to the UK have a problem in regard to obtaining a National Insurance Number and many do not know how to proceed to obtain one and if they need to either.

A National Insurance Number – What is It?

 

The National Insurance number issued in the United Kingdom is allocated by officials from the Department for Works and Pensions. It is a unique number consisting of numbers and letters.
Its purpose is to identify individuals living and working in the UK and the Revenue and Customs Department and Works and Pensions Department use it in identifying workers.
You cannot use another person’s unique number, and everybody gets issued a number only once which lasts a lifetime.
Any UK resident over sixteen years is issued with one in order to maintain records of Taxes and National Insurance contributions.
Revenue and Customs ensure that the right taxes are paid annually too using this specific number. You will find your NI number on forms like benefits and tax letters and your payslip.

 

Do you need a national insurance number?

 

If you are a foreign national who wants to live and work in the United Kingdom, you must have a National Insurance number.
Everybody must apply to have an NI number in the UK. You cannot apply from an NI while you are still in another country either but must be present in the UK. Your application to study or work in the UK must be approved first before you have the permission to get an NI number.

 

Could you enter and work without a National Insurance Number?

You must be in the UK to apply for an NI number and after application, for a number, you can start work, but you need proof that you are allowed to work and still waiting for your number.

How to Get an NI Number?

 

In order to apply for your NI number, you have to phone the National Insurance number application line in the UK.
Contacting the National Insurance application line on 0800 141 2075 starts your NI application.

Read more
No Comments

Immigration Health Surcharge in The UK

Recently report covers the announcement in the U.K. that the Immigration Health Surcharge will be doubled, with the change coming into effect later this year.

Immigration Health Surcharge In The UK Expected To Double In 2018

 

The UK National Health Service has announced that Tier 2 Visa applicants will pay double the fee as non -EU applicant. It appears that the UK is trying their best to discourage non-EU migrants from entering the country.
As it is are these individuals paying national insurance and income tax too as well as immigration health surcharge.
Anyone not from EEA that wants to join the family in the UK, study, work or live for a period of six months and longer will pay £400 instead of the usual 200 GBP.
The fee for persons between 18 and 30 and part of the Youth Mobility Scheme will pay £300 instead of the usual 150 GBP.
Even though it seems unfair and immigrants are protesting UK officials and residents are not happy as they wanted the fees to be tripled. Later in 2018 with no specific date set yet, it will be doubled though in order to give paying members better healthcare.
The Department of Health in the UK estimated that around 470 GBP is spent on paying members.
The increased fee for immigrants will give the National Health Service an additional 220 million GBP annually.

 

NHS Announce

 

As soon as an applicant submitted his or her application the surcharge is applied, and it remains payable while the immigrant remains in the UK or until they were granted an indefinite leave to remain in the UK. Aside from the health surcharge will an immigrant continue to pay UK taxes.
The only individuals who do not have to pay the surcharge include refugees, asylum seekers and non-EU immigrants who were granted indefinite leave to remain visa.
Caroline Nokes, the immigration minister of the UK explains that the NHS continues to provide excellent healthcare at much lower cost and much more comprehensive service which make the contribution to the consistency of the service more than fair.

Read more
No Comments

How Will EU Citizens Be Affected By Brexit?

In the light of a continuing Brexit and new legislation from the UK Gvt re: settled status, we ask how current EU citizens living in the UK will be affected and how they can ensure their rights and residency.

The Gvt has stated that,after 30 June 2021,if you are an EU citizen living in the UK, you and your family will be able to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK. If your application is successful, you will get either settledor pre-settled status.

The EU Settlement Scheme will be open fully by 30 March 2019. and the deadline for applications will be 30 June 2021. Irish passport holders and those with indefinite leave to remain (ILR) may be able to stay without applying andthe UK has also reached agreements with Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein re: reciprocal citizen’s rights which you can read about on their official website at https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families.

So how do you determine if you will get ‘settled’ or ‘pre-settled’ status?

 

Gvt guidelines are as follows:
If you have 5 years’ continuous residence by 30 June 2021 (and you meet all the eligibility criteria), you’ll get settled status. Five years’ continuous residence means that for 5 years in a row you’ve been in the UK for at least 6 months in any 12 month period, except for:
one period of up to 12 months for an important reason (for example, childbirth, serious illness, study, vocational training or an overseas work posting)
compulsory military service of any length
If you apply before you’ve got 5 years’ continuous residence, you’ll only get pre-settled status. You’ll then need to apply again later to get settled status if you want to stay in the UK permanently.
If you don’t have 5 years’ continuous residence by 30 June 2021, you will not be eligible for settled statusbefore the deadline for the EU Settlement Scheme. However if you meet all the eligibility criteria, you’ll get pre-settled statusif you apply anytime before 30 June 2021.You can then change your pre-settledstatusto settled statusas soon as you have 5 years’ continuous residence.
You may get settled statusbefore you have 5 years’ continuous residence if you had to stop working early or start working in another EU country.

 

What if I am a family member of an EU citizen?

 

You can apply with or after your family member for settlement. Your family member will be given an application number so you can use this to ‘link’ your application to theirs so your applications are considered together.
What if my family member was an EU citizen and has died?
You might be eligible for settled statusbefore 5 years but your family member must have been working or self-employed in the UK at the time of their death and you must have been living with them just before their death and either:
they lived continuously in the UK for at least 2 years before their death
their death was the result of an accident at work or an occupational disease

 

What if I am overseas and a family member of an EU citizen living in the UK?

 

If you are not living in the UK by 31 December 2020, you will still be able to apply to join your family member here after that date if all of the following apply:
your family member has either settled or pre-settled status
your relationship began before 31 December 2020
you remain a close family member, for example a spouse, civil partner, unmarried partner, a dependent child or grandchild, or a dependent parent or grandparent

 

What if I have permanent residence or indefinite leave to remain?

 

If you have a valid UK permanent residence document, you can change your permanent residence document to settled statusby applying to the EU Settlement Scheme. You will not have to pay or prove you have 5 years’ continuous residence.
You can continue to live in the UK without applying to the EU Settlement Scheme if you have indefinite leave to remain or enter. However, you can choose to change it for settled status.
This means you should be able to spend up to 5 years in a row outside the UK without losing your settled status(instead of 2 years with indefinite leave to remain or enter).How long you can live outside the UK is still subject to approval by Parliament.You will not have to pay or prove you have 5 years’ continuous residence.

 

What if I am under 21?

 

You will be able to apply for settled or pre-settled statusif you are:
an EU citizen
your parent, their spouse or their civil partner is an EU citizen
If your parent is eligible for settled status, you’ll be eligible even if:
you’ve lived in the UK for less than 5 years
you arrive in the UK after 31 December 2020
If your parent is not eligible for settled statusand you do not have 5 years’ continuous residence you’ll be eligible for pre-settled status.
If you do have 5 years’ continuous residence, you’ll be eligible for settled status even if your parent is not eligible for settled status.
Fees
The application fees will be:
£65 if you’re 16 or over
£32.50 if you’re under 16
It will be free to apply if:
you have indefinite leave to remain in or enter the UK and want to change this to settled status
you have a valid UK permanent residence document
you are applying from April 2019 to move from pre-settled status to settled status
you are a child in local authority care
For more information, please see: https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families

Read more
No Comments