Below you will find answers to some frequently asked questions that our Immigration team are asked with regard to visa requirements.
Do I need a visa to come to the UK?
Only nationals of certain countries are permitted to enter the UK without a visa, and even those individuals can only enter to visit for a maximum of six months.
If you want to come to the UK for more than six months, 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.
The Immigration team at Sydney Mitchell are very experienced in assessing individual needs and can offer support and advice on all your options to make sure you do not waste time and money making the wrong visa application.
What are the spouse visa requirements?
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.
- Income from employment.
- Accommodation conditions.
- Lack of evidence to show a genuine and subsisting relationship.
- Insufficient knowledge of the English language.
Our team of Immigration experts at Sydney Mitchell can advise you on all the requirements and whether you meet them.
How can I bring my partner to the UK?
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.
Our experienced Immigration team at Sydney Mitchell, can assist you in making an application, with all the correct supporting documents to maximise your chances of success.
I don’t earn the minimum income requirement, what can I do?
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.
Our Immigration experts can advise you on what income is allowed as evidence, and when alternative sources of income can be used, and what specific documents are needed as part of your application.
Is there a specific list of documents for my visa?
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.
Our team of Immigration experts will take detailed instructions, and then advise you as to what documents are needed at the beginning of the visa process, giving you ample time to prepare before submission.
My visa has been refused; can I appeal?
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 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.
Our team of Immigration experts can assist in helping to lodge an appeal, preparing a judicial review, administrative review and prepare detailed legal representations on your behalf.
What is the likelihood of success?
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, who is a third party.
It is never possible to guarantee an outcome.
What our Immigration team can guarantee, is to leave no stone unturned in offering you the best possible service in making the strongest application possible. Our Immigration team maintains a very high success rate and we will give you our professional view on the merits of success, given the information and documents you provide us.
What are the visa costs?
The costs for each visa vary, however, they usually involve:
- An application fee.
- The immigration healthcare surcharge fee for any visa that is for 6 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.
Our legal fees to assist with your immigration matter also vary dependent upon which visa you require.
You can get in touch with our Immigration team to discuss your individual requirements or check out our website for our lists of fees.
Can I come and work in the UK?
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 or health and care worker visa routes.
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.
Can I employ someone from abroad to come and work for me?
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.
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