Winning the race against the Home Office is never easy. Here’s what you do once you cross the finish line…
Compass Immigration Law LTD:
“The direct route to immigration expertise.”
Category: Legal Advice
Home Office Fees
As of 29th March 2019, there have been amendments to the Home Office Fees. Whilst the changes are comparably insignificant, please be aware the price of their ‘Super Priority Service’ has risen from £610 – £800.
For a comprehensive list, please click here.
Family Reunion
Family isn’t an important thing – it’s everything. It’s where life begins and love never ends. Like branches on a tree, we may grow in different directions, but our roots remain as one. Together, we’re stronger. However, due to the reality of immigration laws, there are rules and procedures that must be followed before you can be legally reunited with your loved ones in the UK.
Here are a few things you need to know.
As the partner or parent of an applicant for a Family Reunion, you must either have refugee status or humanitarian protection within the UK. Family members must apply via the government’s visa website and are required to fill in the family settlement application form (VAF4A) and the accompanying Appendix 4.
Please be advised they are also required to get their fingerprints and photograph taken at a visa application centre.
For all applications family members must:
- apply for a visa, known as ‘entry clearance’, before they travel to the UK
- not have committed acts that fall within the exclusion clauses of the Refugee Convention, such as war crimes or non-political crimes
For spouses and civil partners:
- You must either be married to or the civil partner of the applicant
- The marriage or civil partnership must have occurred before you left your country of origin
- Both yourself and the applicant must intend to live permanently with each other and the marriage is subsisting
For children, they must:
- Be under the age of 18 at the date of application
- Not be leading an independent life, cannot be married or in a civil partnership, and must not have formed an independent family unit
- Have been part of your family unit at the time you left the country of origin. This means that they were born or conceived before you refugee fled your country of origin
As a minimum, the Home Office will require documents such as:
- Marriage / birth certificates
- DNA evidence – (optional)
- original letter from Home Office confirming the sponsor has leave and status as a refugee in the UK
For more information on Family Reunions, please come along to one of our drop in services. These are held on Mondays between 10am – 1:30pm (Bolton), and Fridays between 10am – 1:30pm (Preston). There is a £24 charge for the consultation.
Compass Immigration Law LTD:
“The direct route to immigration expertise.”
Visitor Visa
“I’d like to visit the UK”, you say to yourself. Amazing! Whether it’s a holiday to visit family and friends, business, or for another reason, for example medical purposes, you will need to apply for a Visitor Visa before you proceed to book a plane ticket.
Here are a few things you need to know.
The earliest you can apply is 3 months before travel, typically resulting in a decision being granted within 3 weeks of your application. Usually, you can stay in the UK for up to 6 months. However, if you need to stay longer or visit more frequently, you can apply for a long-term Visitor Visa.
The fees are:
- Standard visitor – £93
- Up to 11 months (for private medical care) / up to 12 months (academic on sabbatical) – £186
- 2 years multi-entry – £350
- 5 years multi-entry – £636
- 10 years multi-entry – £798
Please be advised that Home Office fees are subject to change.
As a minimum, you must provide evidence such as:
- Your ability to accommodate support yourself and any dependants for the duration of your trip
- Documentation illustrating you intend to return to your home country at the end of your visit
For more information on Visitor Visas please come along to one of our drop-in services. These are held on Mondays between 10am – 1:30pm (Bolton), and Fridays between 10am – 1:30pm (Preston). There is a £24 charge for the consultation.
Compass Immigration Law LTD:
“The direct route to immigration expertise.”
Spouse Visa
You’ve met the one. You’ve nurtured a relationship. You’ve planned a life; together. However, due to the reality of immigration laws, there are rules and procedures that must be followed before you can be legally reunited with your loved ones in the UK.
Here are a few things you need to know.
As the partner of an applicant for a spouse visa you must be, a UK citizen, have Indefinite Leave to Remain or have refugee status. Additionally, you must have either:
- £18,600 in employment income
- £62,500 in savings
Please be advised there are other ways in which you can satisfy the financial requirement.
Additionally, your partner will need to:
- Complete a level A1 CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) English Language test with a Home Office approved body
- Attend an application centre in their country of origin to provide biometric information such as photographs and fingerprints
Please be advised that any original supporting documents may be sent to Sheffield as part of the application. In addition, evidence will also be required to prove the validity of your relationship, that you are free to marry, and that you are in a genuine and subsisting relationship with your partner.
As part of the application, the fees are:
- £1000 Immigration Health Surcharge
- £1523 Spouse Visa fee
- £825 (our fee including VAT)
Please be advised that the Home Office fees are subject to change.
For more information on partner based visas, please come along to one of our drop in services. These are held on Mondays between 10am – 1:30pm (Bolton), and Fridays between 10am – 1:30pm (Preston). There is a £24 charge for the consultation.
Compass Immigration Law LTD:
“The direct route to immigration expertise.”
Settled and pre-settled status for EU citizens and their families
Fully open by 30 March 2019, the proposed deadline for the EU Settlement Scheme applications will be 30 June 2021. However, it is important to note if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the deadline shall be brought forward to 31 December 2020.
Additionally, as per the Prime Minister’s announcement on 21 January 2019, there shall be no fee for applications. Anyone who has already applied or applies and pays a fee during the test phases will have their fees refunded. Details of the refunds process will be published shortly.
If you want to apply now, the fee (which will be refunded) is:
- £65 if you are 16 and over
- £32.50 if you are under 16
Applications are free if you already have a valid ‘UK permanent residence document’ or you already have ‘indefinite leave to remain in or enter the UK’. It is important to note that the rights and status of EU citizens living in the UK will remain the same until 30 June 2021. Successful applicants will be granted either ‘settled’ or ‘pre-settled’ status. You will not be asked to choose which you are applying for.
When you apply you will need proof of:
- Your identity
- Your residence in the UK, unless you have a valid permanent residence document / valid ‘indefinite leave to remain in or enter the UK’
- Your relationship to your family member from the EU living in the UK, if you are from outside the EU
If you are from outside the EU, you will be able to use:
- Valid passport
- Biometric residence card
- Biometric residence permit
For more information on how the EU Settlement Scheme will affect you and our fees, come along to one of our drop in services. These are held on Mondays between 10am – 1:30pm (Bolton), and Fridays between 10am – 1:30pm (Preston). There is a £24 charge for the consultation.
Compass Immigration Law LTD:
“The direct route to immigration expertise.”
Sky High Immigration Appeal Fees Are Here!
Earlier this year the Government’s Consultation on proposals for the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) and Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) fees was published with an indication of a fivefold hike in appeal fees.
On reading the document it was unthinkable and unimaginable that further pressures should be placed on individuals already quite stretched to even afford the Home Office application fees.
It was not that long ago there were no appeal fees; in fact it was approximately five years ago that immigration appeal fees were introduced in October 2011.
The dawn of high immigration appeal fees is here, full details of which can be found using the following link: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/928/made
As of today, Monday 10th October 2016, it will cost £490.00 as opposed to £80.00 to request a paper appeal and £800.00 instead of £140.00 for an oral appeal in the First-tier Tribunal. A fee of £455.00 has been introduced for applications to the First-tier Tribunal for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal.
Applications to the Upper Tribunal for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal will cost £350.00 and a subsequent appeal hearing will cost £510.00. However, the date for introducing these fees has yet to be determined.
There are appeal fee exemptions for certain individuals/type of applications. For example, those who qualify for Legal Aid or have an asylum appeal or can show they are destitute will continue to be exempt from paying an appeal fee.