ACS Visas

16/10/2024

Victim of domestic abuse, but living overseas

Invariably we deal with these cases when the victim is in the UK, so this was an interesting challenge.

The client came as a spouse of a British citizen to the UK 24 years ago. They had 2 sons and she went back home, but had ILR. The husband took away her passport and she never came back. They went on to have two further girls overseas, one of them with disabilities. He brought the boys back to the UK, but the girls born overseas were left there. Usual bias in favour of males.

About 12 years ago she made an application as a returning resident, whose ILR had lapsed, but this was refused.

The relationship was abusive both in the UK and overseas. We made her application with strong statements and limited evidence. There were no police reports for the abuse. We had the fee of £2885 waived and application granted with indefinite leave to enter.

12/09/2024

EUSS applicant granted Settled Status despite 29 months absence

The EEA Applicant was married before coming to the UK on her own in 2019. She obtained Pre-Settled Status (PSS) and left after 7 months. She became pregnant and had a child a year later. We were now into Covid lockdowns.

As the travel restrictions lifted she applied for her spouse and child’s Family Permit. The child, although technically an EEA national, did not have the EEA passport since he was born outside Europe and it was not easy getting these formalities done at that time. The Family Permit was approved and the family entered the UK after 29 months continuous absence.

The spouse now has PSS, of course. With her PSS expiring and doubts about even its validity, we decided to make her application for SS.

However, a good application with supporting evidence and clear, concise representations resulted in her being granted SS. The rules say you are permitted only a 12 months absence for “an important reason”, or Covid. You cannot have both, but in this case we had 2 ½.

A case of having your cake and eat it.

05/09/2024

eVisas for those with permission in passports

I posted previously of the HO move from physical Biometric Residence Permits (BRP) to the new system. Those non-EEA nationals issued with a Biometric Residence Card (BRC) will already have an eVisa account.

There will still be many with indefinite leave to remain (ILR) vignette/sticker in their old passports and they need to taken action. They first need to obtain a BRP by applying for a No Time Limit (NTL) card. The process may take sometime since the HO will want to check that the ILR has not been lost since the grant. A useful tip is to provide evidence of residence in the UK.

Once they have the NTL then they can make the eVisa account.

31/08/2024

Change of HO commercial partners/suppliers

When you make an application overseas you will have attended either a TLSContact or VFSGlobal visa centre. From September 2024 to January 2025 there will be a gradual changeover to VFSGlobal only; please correct me if I am wrong. However, if you have already made an application to TLS then your relationship will continue with them right through to decision and picking up passports.

In country applications have been with Sopra Steria under the UKVCAS name. These operations will be taken over by TLS.

When you make a new application, the system will take you to the correct website to upload documents and book biometric appointments.

Of all of the above three my favourite was UKVCAS for its good user friendly website and ease of uploading documents. I’ll be sad to see them go. I just hope TLS change their site so that late documents can be uploaded, rather than giving you just one opportunity.

25/07/2024

ILR struggle for Representative of an Overseas Business

The Applicant made his ILR application with all the relevant evidence and you would expect it to be approved. But not so. The HO looked into the limited company and refused it on the grounds that the Applicant was not a director.

The Admin Review, unsurprisingly, resulted in the decision being maintained. Our Pre-Action Protocol challenged the decision. Then followed protracted correspondence mostly about the limited company’s previous directors, despite these being prior to the operation of the company during the Applicant’s time.

I felt we were on strong grounds that this route, although now closed, required a senior employee to come to the UK and open up a presence in the UK. There is no requirement to be a director. In fact I would go further and say that directors own the company and the line between employee and director becomes blurred depending on percentage holding. However, when you are not a director there is a clear white light.

We finally got approval almost a year to the day of the ILR refusal. A huge relief for the family. Now the next task is to see if they will backdate the ILR.

The moral of the story is that if you believe you are right, backed up by the law of course, stand your ground and argue robustly. It's a shame the HO do not give a right of appeal.

22/07/2024

Do children need to be settled when registering for nationality?

This is a question that comes up regularly. For example, a child born in the UK and has spent their first 10 years has an entitlement to be registered. Question of having indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or Settled Status under the EUSS scheme does not arise in entitlement cases.

However, for other routes where the child is born outside and applies for registration, then this is at the discretion of the Secretary of State. The requirements are 2 years residence for teenagers, at least one parent a British citizen or applying at the same time, other parent with at least ILR and the good character test i.e. no brush with the law. A recent case R (OBN (a minor) by his litigation friend ASM) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWHC 1833 (Admin) has highlighted the fact that the child needs ILR.

Hope this helps people from making unsuccessful applications. We do these and all other types of immigration and asylum applications as well as representing clients in both First and Upper Tier Tribunals.

22/07/2024

Unco-operative EU/EEA spouse

My non-EEA client is married to a European national for more than 3 years and have lived in the UK throughout. It has been 5 years since the marriage, but she filed for a divorce just after 3 years of marriage. However, she has not followed it up and the divorce has not been finalised. The retained rights criteria was partially met.

She has refused to respond to his emails or his calls for more than 3 years. I am sure this scenario is not uncommon when a relationship breaks down.

The client had lived here 5 years and asked me to apply for settlement; he had the necessary evidence of his stay. The application was made and the HO asked proof of her residence, which naturally he could not provide.

We sent very little evidence about her and certainly not meeting the requested one. We put in strong representations to explain the situation. Application was approved 3 days later.

The client is relieved and can move on in life.

10/07/2024

Virtually no words from me in successful appeal

This was a partner entry clearance with suitability/criminality issues. The applicant fell foul of the law a few times 10 years earlier. He was fined but no custodial sentence. He left of his volition.

The couple got married and made an unsuccessful application and appeal. They made another application 4 years later which was refused. At the appeal the sponsor was asked some questions about their daughter who has special needs and the impact it was having on them. The judge had clearly read the bundle and asked a few pertinent questions. The HO asked a couple and then on to their submissions. The judge did not give me an opportunity to say anything and allowed the appeal.

Good day concluded in 20 minutes at Newport.

10/07/2024

Family reunion applications and adult dependent relative (ADR)

Where a person’s protection claim has been successful, their spouse and children up to age 18 they left behind can join them on the family reunion route. Some people loosely use the term “family reunion” for normal spouse applications, but this is incorrect. What about children and adults above 18 years? These are treated under the ADR provisions and exceptional circumstances.

I have just had such an appeal allowed for the refugee’s mother who was elderly. Her application was made along with the refugee’s spouse and child who were granted entry clearance. The ECO’s generously granted the child Indefinite Leave to Enter, but no one is complaining.

For the mother we faced the challenge of the ADR and the evidence was limited to a medical report 7 years old. It was the evidence from the wife citing emotional and psychological support, being left on her own as well as first hand knowledge and experience of personal care which swung it.

These appeals are never easy.

01/07/2024

Welcome news for exploited care workers

I am sure we will all be aware of care workers coming to the UK and finding the employer has no work for them. The migrants are fleeced - I have heard of figures of £15-40k for a CoS. They should not have been charged a penny in the first place.

This judgement is welcome and a step in the right direction. Hope it helps someone.

Exclusive: ‘Vital’ recognition of migrant care worker’s plight may pave way for more cases, says union leader

18/04/2024

HO moving from physical biometric cards to digital status eVisa

Most people with permission to stay will have a biometric card with an expiry date of 31-12-2024. This year the HO is rolling out a process so that your status will be available online, this is called eVisa. The HO will also stop issuing physical cards by the end of the year.

People will start receiving emails from the HO to create or log in – yes, you may already have one - to their accounts. Go to https://www.gov.uk/get-access-evisa and you will need the following information:

• Your date of birth
• Your BRP Number
• Your passport (if you do not have a BRP)
• Access to an email address and phone number
• Access to a smartphone

If any one of the above information changes, please update your recods

Here's another link to help you step by step.

If you have a question, please go to https://www.gov.uk/evisa

HO have also produced this short video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54rPXUHuM3I

10/04/2024

Asylum approval within 3 working days

My client, an aid worker in Syria, was called for his substantive interview on Wednesday. We received his interview record on Friday. On Monday morning, just 3 working days later, we had approval. We are always critical of tardiness in the Home Office, but on this occasion no plaudit is enough.

There’s more to this story than just the headline. We prepared the case by taking a detailed statement, verified his account with external sources and provided evidence, provided medical evidence and drafted a detailed representation supporting his case. This was sent to the HO many moons ago. We follow this procedure for all our clients.

So at the interview they had all the information they needed from us well in advance. I believe they were checking and confirming his account. This, of course, helps them as well as our client. The fact that the risk aid workers run, as reported last week in Gaza, focused their minds.

The client is relieved (and elated).

31/01/2024

INCOME and HEALTH SURCHARGE INCREASES

The new heath surcharge increases of £1035 and £776 for children and students comes into force from 6 February 2024. This will apply to all applications made from this date.

For those applying to come to the UK to join their spouses/partners/fiancé(e)s, the new salary for the sponsor will be £29k from 11 April 2024. The current government has stated this will later rise to £34k and eventually £38.7k “by early 2025”. Those already on the family routes will be unaffected.

Care workers will not be able to bring in their dependents from 11 March 2024.

Skilled Workers, except those on health and care visas, will need to meet £38.7k income requirements or the going rate, which ever is the higher, from 4 April 2024.

If you want to meet the above deadlines, get in touch as soon as possible on [email protected], Messenger and WhatsApp on +44 7943 512 638.

20/01/2024

HO concession for late EUSS applications

This is a partial concession by the HO and doesn't cover those who had PR prior to 2016. Some will have the blue card and be stuck. I imagine this will be reversed after a few cases, assuming the HO doesn't invalidate applications.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/19/home-office-to-allow-eu-citizens-who-missed-residency-deadline-to-stay-in-uk?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other&fbclid=IwAR2uddBvnAgE5sFR-QcfU6uB6PBGLMj49KCDt5jRK5LkNgb9GlbxN5YQK-w

‘Lack of awareness’ of EU settled status scheme restored as reasonable grounds for late applications by permanent residence card holders

01/01/2024

Nationality approved and fee refunded

My client from the Commonwealth/West Indies came as a 10 year old in 1968. He eventually applied for ILR in 2013 before asking me to do his nationality application. He received his naturalisation certificate through the post without attending a citizenship ceremony and a fee refund. There was no explanation either.

How is this possible? A case of having your cake and eat it?

He did not know he was in the Windrush generation. Under this scheme applicants are exempted from paying the fee. However, we had to pay the fee initially to make the application.

A good way to round off 2023.

25/12/2023

Account recovered

My account was hacked earlier where "I" was recommending Bitcoin investments. Please ignore any such thing.

My apologies if you have fallen for this. I think I am back in properly