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YOUR GUIDE TO YOUR APPLICATION FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN THE UK

hsmp — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 02:36:58 +0000

Free Life in the UK Test Questions, Answers, Study guides and Advice at Life in the UK Test

The following are the application types in which you can apply for indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom. If your visa category is not included in the list, you will not be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain. The list below also already indicates how long you must have at least lived in the United Kingdom (for a continuous period) in order to be eligible for permanent residence:

HSMP and Work permit = 5 years
Ancestry = 5 years
Marriage = 2 years
Unmarried partners = 2 years
Investors = 5 years
Writers, Composer, and Artists = 5 years
Sole reps = 5 years
Persons establishing themselves in business = 5 years
Unlawful stay or a combination of lawful and unlawful stay = 14 years
Lawful stay on any basis = 10 years

You will have to take the Life in the UK test to prove that you have sufficient knowledge of language and life in the United Kingdom.

Once you have been granted indefinite leave to remain, you are not allowed to spend longer than two years outside the United Kingdom. On the other hand though, you will be able to pursue work or business opportunities in the UK without limits once your permanent residence has been granted.

If you are going to spend only short periods of time in the country, you should consider applying for UK citizenship to avoid losing your permanent residence.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR APPLICATION FOR A GENERAL TIER 1 UK VISA HAS BEEN REFUSED

hsmp — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 02:35:11 +0000

In the case that you have applied for a Tier 1 visa and have been refused, you can opt to submit an appeal within 28 days from the issuance of the refusal notice.

If you are applying from within the United Kingdom, you have a statutory right of appeal and your appeal will definitely be accepted. The details of your full right of appeal will be provided once your application has been rejected, as well as the form that you will need to complete and send back to the UK Border Agency. The steps that you need to take will vary depending on the type of application that you’ve made.

If you were applying for an extension to your stay in the UK, you may have the right to appeal as well and can contest the details of why your application was not successful. The UK Border Agency will be providing you with these details along with a description of what action is available to you.

If you are applying from outside the UK and have been denied an entry clearance, you have the option to appeal on one or more of the following grounds:

The decision is unlawful due to discrimination by public authorities, which is against the Race Relations Act of 1976.
The decision violates Section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and is incompatible with the appellant’s Convention rights.

Furthermore, all applicants, aside from having the right to contest the results of their application, have the option to apply for an Administrative Review. This is free of charge and can be requested for every application for a Tier 1 visa that has been refused only once.

WHAT SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS ARE NEEDED FOR A TIER 1 GENERAL UK VISA?

hsmp — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 01:33:07 +0000

When applying for a Tier 1 visa to the United Kingdom, make sure to complete the supporting documents that are needed for the application process. Failure to comply with the requirements may result into your application for a Tier 1 visa being refused, on the grounds that you have sent insufficient evidence, in which case your fee will not be refunded.

You need to send the original copies of the following:

Two recent colored passport photos (45mm x 35 mm) with white background; must be clear, not framed and taken without any accessory that covers any part of the face, unless accessory is worn for religious reasons.
Valid passport or travel document
Proof of
- qualifications: You must send either an original certificate of award, or - if you have just successfully completed your degree and are still awaiting the certificate or if you no longer have the certificate and the awarding institution will not be able to issue a replacement - an original academic reference from the awarding institution along with an original academic transcript.
- previous earnings: You must send at least two documents from different sources. These can be payslips, personal bank statements, a letter from your employer or from your managing agent/accountant, an official tax document, dividend vouchers, invoice explanations or payment summaries, or company/business accounts. Two types of supporting documents are required for each source of earning that you claim and these documents must come from different sources.
- UK work or study experience: This must be an original letter from the UK institution or from a UK-based overseas institution at which you studied and must bear a letterhead and the official stamp of the institution.
- nationality in a majority English speaking country/passing an English language test/your degree having been taught in English
- maintenance funds showing that you have had at least GBP 800 in the form of cash funds in your account at all times over the three-month period.
- HSMP transitional arrangements (if applicable)

MAKING AN APPEAL FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN THE UK

hsmp — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 08:30:18 +0000

If you have been refused indefinite leave to remain in the UK, you may always appeal based on the following grounds:

The decision is unlawful due to discrimination by public authorities, which is against the Race Relations Act of 1976.
The decision violates Section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and is incompatible with the appellant’s Convention rights.

If the United Kingdom Border Agency has informed you that they intend to remove you from the country, you may also submit an appeal if your removal would be against the UK’s obligations under the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

You may or may not be also able to appeal for permanent residence under the following circumstances:

The UK Border Agency’s decision violated the immigration rules or was not in line with it.
The UK Border Agency’s decision was not in line with the UK law
The immigration rules allowed the person who made the final decision to exercise his/her own judgment on your case and that person’s judgment should have been exercised otherwise.

Finally, it is under the circumstances below that you will not have a right to appeal for indefinite leave to remain:

You still have permission to stay in the country despite the Border Agency’s refusal of your permanent residence.
You have made an application to extend your stay or for indefinite leave to remain after your existing permission to stay had previously expired.

The notification letter will tell you whether or not you have a full right of appeal. Appeals will be made to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, a body that is independent of the UK Border Agency.

HOW TO PROCESS APPLICATIONS BY DEPENDANTS OF TIER 1 GENERAL UK VISA APPLICANTS

hsmp — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:28:55 +0000

Different rules apply on the processing of applications for/by dependants of Tier 1 visa applicants and dependants of those who already hold one. In all cases though, the following are considered as qualified dependants and may be given entry clearance or permission to stay (leave to remain) by the UK government: children under 18 years old, Tier 1 visa applicant’s/holder’s husband, wife, civil partner, or same-sex partner).

A separate application form should be filled out by dependants and if you are already in the United Kingdom and are processing your own application, you are advised to send your application at the same time as your dependant’s (in the same envelope) to avoid paying a separate dependant fee. Furthermore, you should state whether your dependant is submitting his/her application at the same time as yours.

If you have already received an official confirmation that your application was successful and if you are now awaiting your Tier 1 visa, you should also state this information in your dependant’s application, apart from stating the category under which you have applied for a visa.

The following are the supporting documents that dependants must submit together with their application:

Personal bank or building society statements covering the previous three-month period
Building society passbook
Letter from bank confirming funds and that the dependant has been in the bank for at least the previous three months
Letter from a financial institution regulated by the Financial Services Authority confiming funds

Letters from the above-mentioned institutions which only show account balances on a particular will not be considered since they do not prove that you hold enough funds for the whole three-month period.

HOW TO FILL OUT THE TIER 1 GENERAL UK VISA (FOR HIGHLY SKILLED WORKERS)

hsmp — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:27:07 +0000

After you have ascertained that you are eligible to work in the United Kingdom as a highly skilled worker under the Tier 1 visa, here is how you can fill out the application form depending on your immigration status and your current location:

If you are applying from outside the United Kingdom, you can download the form for an initial application online. It would also be advisable to inquire about the application process in the country that you are applying from. These steps also apply if you are already in the UK.

However, if you are in the UK, already own a Tier 1 visa and would like to extend your permission to stay in this category, you only need to complete the sections in the application form (same form as the ones mentioned above) which are applicable to your category, namely Sections B, C, D, E, F, N, O, P, Q, R, S, Sections AA, BB, CC, and the summary sheet.

Lastly, if you have an existing leave to remain under the previous Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP), you only need to fill in your information in the following sections of the application form: A, B, C, D, E, F, T, U, V, W, Y, Z, AA, BB, CC, and the summary sheet.

Remember to pay the correct fee for the application process and to fill out the form with a black pen using block letters. Application fees will not be refunded in the case that your application is rejected.

HOW TO APPLY FOR INDEFINITE LEAVE TO REMAIN WITH A TIER 1 GENERAL UK VISA

hsmp — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 02:24:58 +0000

There are certain requirements that you will need to meet before you can be granted indefinite leave to remain which are all indicated in the immigration rules:

The applicant must not fall for refusal under the general grounds for refusal, and must not be an illegal entrant.
The applicant must have spent a continuous period of 5 years lawfully in the UK, of which the most recent period must have been spent with leave as a Tier 1 General migrant, and the rest may be made up of leave:

As a Tier 1 (General) Migrant,
As a Highly Skilled Migrant,
As a Work Permit Holder,
As an Innovator,
As a Self-Employed Lawyer,
As a Writer, Composer or Artist.

The applicant must be economically active in the United Kingdom, in employment or self-employment or both.
The applicant must have sufficient knowledge about life in the United Kingdom, with reference to paragraphs 33B to 33F of these [immigration] Rules, unless the applicant is under the age of 18 or aged 65 or over at the time the application is made.

As also stated in the immigration rules, a Tier 1 (General) migrant will be refused application if he or she does not meet the requirements given above. An alternative action in this situation would be to qualify for leave to remain by virtue of paragraphs 33E to 33F of the immigration rules which state additional requirements by which an applicant can be granted indefinite leave to remain.

How much you should expect to pay when applying for a Tier 1 General UK Visa

hsmp — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 11:24:57 +0000

Fees included in the application for a Tier 1 visa vary depending on where you are applying from:

If you are applying from within the United Kingdom, the application costs GBP 750. This fee also applies if you are applying for an extension within the highly skilled worker category under the previous HMSP. However, if you can submit a valid HSMP approval letter for switching into Tier 1 (General) along with your application, you will need to pay only GBP 350 since you have previously paid for the approval letter. Furthermore, applications made by your dependants sent together with your application form will be free of charge. Dependant applications sent separately or at a later time are charged a separate fee of GBP 395.
If you are applying from outside the UK, the fees are GBP 600 for all applicants and GBP 200 if you can submit a valid HSMP approval letter. All fees are payable in local currency.

Fees should be sent in together with the application form/s, otherwise your application will not be considered by the UK Border Agency. If you send in more than one application, you will be charged a standard fee for each application.

Also, make sure to fill out the payment slip correctly. Double-check the information you enter, as errors will affect your application process and delay your receiving the results of your application.

If you are a national of one of these countries, your application for a Tier 1 visa is free of charge: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Georgia, FYR of Macedonia, Moldova, Turkey, and the Ukraine.

Once payment has been received, it can no longer be refunded even if the application is not successful and gets refused or if the applicant withdraws the application.

Are you Eligible for General Tier 1 Visa for Highly skilled workers?

hsmp — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 11:18:03 +0000

For a worker to be considered as eligible for the general Tier 1 visa for highly skilled workers, that worker need to meet some qualifications in the form of accumulated points. This is because a point system is in place that will screen out those who are qualified and those who are not. There is a certain amount of score that a worker needs to meet before he can be considered for approval.

The applicant must score at least 75 points for the attributes. The attributes will include age, qualifications, and previous earnings and of course his past experience in UK. The applicant must also score 10 points for English language and another 10 points for available maintenance funds.

If for example the worker failed to score at least 74 points for the attributes and failed to score 10 points on both language proficiency and funds, then the application of the worker will be refused. The applicant can assess if he can pass it or not thru the use of the points-based calculator. Thru the use of this calculator a person can check if he can pass it with flying colors or not. Points may differ for someone who submits his first-time application to the one who files an extension application. Requirements will also vary whether you apply for the first time, for extension or just to extend the permission to stay under the HSMP program. It is suggested that the interested part should read all pertinent information, pay the correct fee and send the correct supporting evidence to support the application.

Acquiring British Citizenship through Naturalisation

hsmp — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 11:14:02 +0000

Individuals over 18 who have been living in the United Kingdom for at least the last five years (three years if you are married to a British citizen or are a civil partner of one) may apply for British citizenship through naturalization. You may also apply for British citizenship if you or your husband/wife or civil partner is in Crown or in designated service outside the UK.

To be eligible for naturalisation, you must pass the Life in the UK test. Otherwise, you must take and pass a course in English and citizenship. For those who do not have English as a main language, the ESOL course can help improve proficiency in the English language. However, if you are over the age of 65, you will not need to meet the language and knowledge in UK life requirements of the Border Agency. Just send your passport or birth certificate as evidence of your age together with your application.

The next step in your application is providing original copies of the following documents (translations must be provided if documents submitted are not in English):

Evidence of your identity
Evidence of knowledge of English and of life in the UK
Exemption from knowledge of English and life in the UK requirement (if applicable)

If your application is based on residence in the UK, you must submit the following additional documents:

Evidence of lawful residence during the residential qualifying period
Evidence that you are free from immigration time restrictions

If your application is based on Crown service or on marriage to a British citizen in Crown or designated service, you must submit a letter from the relevant employer confirming your recruitment along with the important dates, places, position held, and the extent of the employer’s interest for your application to be granted.

If your application is based on self-employment, you must submit your most recent HM Revenue and Customs self-assessment statement of account.