News

Brexit will no doubt have a great impact on the business immigration sector. The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC)’s long-awaited report on the effect of European migration to the UK has been published last month. According to reports, the MAC does not see ‘compelling reasons’ to give EU citizens any preferential treatment over non-EU citizens. Recommendations […]

Sponsors should be aware that right to work checks may be necessary if a Tier 2 visa extension is applied close to the expiry date. Tier 2 sponsored staff should usually apply to extend their visas two months before their current visa expires, which in most cases, means they will receive their new visa before, […]

In recent months UK Visas has strengthened its team of OISC accredited advisers – Kevin Carlin achieved OISC accreditation in May 2017 and Garima Arora, who is qualified to the equivalent of OISCLevel 3, joined us in January, so we now have five OISC advisers on the team. We have also settled in to our new offices close by Horsham station and […]

The Home Office have just announced that their charges will rise by, typically, 4% from 6 April 2018. Visit visas, Tiers 1, 2 and 4 visas, Spouse/partner visas, ILR and British Citizenship all increase by 4%. There are a very few exceptions to this, such as EEA residence cards and replacement BRP cards which remain unchanged, and the priority service for […]

The UK and EU have agreed on a “large part” of the agreement that will lead to the “orderly withdrawal” of the UK. The transitional period will last from Brexit day on 29 March 2019 to 31 December 2020 and EU citizens arriving in the UK between these two dates will enjoy the same rights […]

Croatians will have unrestricted access to the UK jobs market from the end of June, the Home Office has confirmed. Currently Croatian nationals seeking employment must be sponsored by their employer before they can apply for an Accession Worker Card (aka Purple Card) which usually requires a resident test to be completed prior to a […]

Demand for Restricted CoS has been far outstripping availability since December 2017. Each month the Home Office sponsor panel meets on 11th to allocate restricted CoS (needed for out-of-country Tier 2 applicants). The monthly availability reduces throughout the year, from 2200 in April down to just 1000 in March. In December 2017 the demand exceeded […]

The Home Office is planning to increase passport fees this year, with postal costing more than online applications. Currently, a standard adult passport or renewal costs £72.50 regardless of how the application is made. The fee will rise to £75.50 for online applications and £85 for postal applications. Charges for children’s passports will go up […]

Another COS lottery time is approaching, and tensions are high! Last month, for the third month in a row, and for only the fourth time since a quota was introduced in April 2011, the cap was again hit. This means that many highly skilled workers from outside the EU were unable to take up their posts. With […]

Recent reports have suggested that the government wishes to the double, the already controversial, Immigration Health Surcharge. The main rate will go from £200 a year to £400 a year, with students and those on the Youth Mobility Scheme paying £300 (up from £150). Once this increase takes effect, the IHS cost to a family of four […]