ACS Visas

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

05/12/2023

Massive income requirements from spring 2024 and other updates

Home Secretary James Cleverly announced on 04-12-2023 the following changes from spring 2024, although some are already in place:

1. Skilled Workers to be offered the highest income of: £38,700, going rate for the job or the minimum/living wage. In practice you can forget the minimum wage since the weekly hours will be about 70. The health and care sector are exempt from this.

2. Spouses/partners to also earn £38,700. Rationally this should apply to entry clearance applications, but the PM today (05-12-2023) said it will apply to others renewing their visas https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/foreign-spouse-migration-crackdown-earn-b2458988.html?fbclid=IwAR3xsBCYjQhNkK7X6dtpiY2zArdeiikZTtpori6hBVybeoumdeceoGLsRqk.

3. Health care worker will not be able to bring their dependents.

4. Jobs on Shortage Occupation List could be paid 20% less previously. In future this discount will not apply. This list is expected to be trimmed back.

5. Immigration health surcharge to increase to £1035 from £624 pa. These will come into force within 3 weeks of 16-01-2024. For spouse entry clearance, 33 months leave, will be charged £3105 instead of £1872. In the visa fees increase on 04-10-2023 the in-country fees were not increased for some legal hitch. I expect will be resolved and fees will increase.

6. The switch to the 2 years Graduate visa - colloquially known as PSW - for those who have successfully completed their degree courses i.e. will/are being awarded degrees is under the microscope. The Government says there is abuse, so expect changes.

7. Students only on research courses such as PhD and some masters by research will be able to bring their dependents. This comes into force from January 2024

8. Students were barred from switching to Skilled Worker routes before completing their studies. This guillotine came down on 17-07-2023 at 3pm.

Our advice, as always, has been that applicants should act at the first opportunity. Consequences of delays are painful.

We are ready to assist you. ACS Visas - Your Friend in Migration.

15/11/2023

Supreme Court knocks out the Rwanda plan

Finally a kick in the backside for Braverman and Patel for proposing this awful scheme. Thank goodness we have independent judiciary.

An expensive rubbish scheme from failed politicians

10/11/2023

Access to benefits for EUSS Pre-Settled Status holders

I have been asked a number of times from the above group for access to benefits because they are facing hardship, especially where children are involved. The Government’s position has always been that they are not eligible. As a result some of the people have seriously considered switching to the immigration rules route, assuming they are eligible, to be able to access public funds.

We have welcome news from the Court of Appeal, which is only below the Supreme Court, that the Government is wrong and people are eligible. I would commend those in need to read this very helpful sheet from the Child Poverty Action Group https://cpag.org.uk/welfare-rights/resources/test-case/destitute-eu-nationals-pss-can-rely-eu-charter-fundamental-rights

The Government lost its case at the First and Upper Tier before losing at the Court of Appeal. Personally I cannot understand how they were given permission to appeal to go to the higher courts. Let’s hope they have the good grace not to take it to the Supreme Court because that will only continue the suffering.

Case Name: SSWP v AT (AIRE Centre and IMA Intervening) [2022] UKUT 330 (AAC); SSWP v AT (AIRE Centre and IMA intervening)Current Status: Judgment of the Upper Tribunal three judge panel dismissing the Secretary of State’s appeal against the decision of the First-tier Tribunal was given on 12 Decem...

23/10/2023

Fleeing domestic abuse to claim international protection

My client suffered domestic abuse in her relationship at the hands of her husband and in-laws. They also made her responsible for bank loans for her husband’s business. This was a way to extort money from her parents. So when they defaulted, the banks came after her. From the domestic abuse she barely survived. She came to the UK on a visit visa to recover and left behind her young son. She did not claim protection until a year passed by.

She went to a firm of solicitors who made up a bogus story for her to sign as her statement. Some evidence was also submitted. No explanation or anything provided to support her claim. While she was waiting for her main interview she came to me.

I reviewed her case and said I could not support her since the claim was untruthful. I said to her she had a credible claim and must tell the truth. She agreed and we corrected the false statements with the correct version. I asked her to obtain hospital reports from back home. I drafted representations to support her claim. I accompanied her to the interview.

She waited just over 2 years and her claim was approved today. She was granted humanitarian protection (HP) which means she can travel back home. This is preferable in her case than asylum.

She is finalising her divorce and seeking custody of her son. As soon as that is done then we shall make a family reunion application for him to join her. We are well on the way to another good outcome.

ACS Visas, your friend in mogration

23/10/2023

The impossible visa approved on appeal

The Adult Dependent Relative (ADR) visa is rightly dubbed as the impossible visa since the success rate is about 2%. It that was not enough, the visa fee is the highest at £3250. I have always said you have more chances of winning the lottery than getting this visa approved.

I made the application for a Sudanese national who is suffering from a brain tumour, is diabetic and has lost strength on the left side of the body. When she arrived in Turkey, she broke her hip at Istanbul Airport. We provided nearly 400 pages of evidence and expert reports. You would think an open and shut case. The HO still refused it.

We sought an urgent hearing which was granted. Today the appeal was allowed allowing her to join her daughter in the UK Her son will be relieved of caring duties so that he can commence his studies in Malaysia. A good outcome for everyone.

Despite good evidence these applications are routinely refused. Fortunately we have the courts to remedy matters, but we should not have needed to go to appeal.

All’s well that ends well.

ACS Visas, your friend in migration

11/10/2023

EUSS Pre-Settled for Syrian Visitor

The person's visa was initially refused, but we managed to overturn the decision on Pre-Action Protocol. Getting visit visas approved for Syrian nationals is notoriously difficult.

Since her son in law was an EEA National, they wanted to apply for the EUSS Scheme. We needed good evidence of dependency in Syria. However, we had covered this in the visit visa which was the difficult part. One is never sure whether it will be enough in a country where no one trusts banks and transactions are far and few between. There was no difficulty showing dependency in the UK.

The application was approved today after 2 months without any interim request for further evidence. The family is over the moon.

10/09/2023

Overturning a previous Tribunal marriage of convenience decision

The Applicant came as a student and did not renew his permission. He met an EEA national briefly, without cohabitation, and she returned back home for the next 15 months. Her command of English was non-existent then and even now is poor. There was no communication during this period,

She returned in April 2015 and the cohabitation commenced. Three months later they decided to get married and gave the council the Notice of Marriage. Their lawyer – definitely not me – made a durable partner application. The HO called them for a marriage interview and declared this to be a marriage of convenience (MOC) and the application refused. He was detained immediately for the next 4 months.

They managed to get married in January 2016. He now applied now as a family member. This was refused with a hearing in October 2017. The judge agreed with the HO and the appeal was dismissed as well as permissions to Upper Tier Tribunal (UTT) refused. The judge said both should be removed because of abuse of free movement rights. He was detained yet again, this time before the decision even being promulgated; but she was not. He spent about 6 months in detention when the HO tried to remove him.

Since then she obtained EUSS Pre and full Settled Status. He made a further application in March 2022 and this was refused in December 2022 on the same MOC allegations. I was instructed at this stage to manage their appeal hearing including advocacy.

I argued various flaws in the earlier FTT decision. Insufficient weight was given by the judge for their relationship which was then 2.5 years as well as 21 months of marriage; they had now clocked up 8.5 years. We made an SAR to get the audio records of the interviews, but the HO claimed these were not available.

The poorly written manuscript record was indecipherable. There were repetitive questions, akin to an interrogation. The EEA national had mental health issues and inability to fully comprehend questions, even though an interpreter was available. We argued that the previous judge had failed to give due weight to her condition. She provided a statement and was present for the hearing, but I did NOT put her forward as a witness due to her vulnerability.

I argued the HO was still relying on the same grounds almost 6 years later. The relationship was genuine then, is now and the Appellant said it would continue into the future. He had learnt her language and was fluent.

The judge sent the decision on a Sunday afternoon allowing the appeal, barely 48 hours after the hearing. It’s an understatement to say that the Client is relieved. Let’s hope the HO do not seek permission to appeal to the UTT.

For the geeks, overturning an earlier decision when reliance is place on the Devaseelan principles makes the task exponentially more difficult. These cases require a lot of time to understand, research helpful cases, and prepare a skeleton argument. I have burnt the midnight oil, but it was worth it to see the happiness on the couple’s faces.

01/09/2023

EUSS Pre-Settled Status granted after 4 years

Correction. The client was granted Settled Status.

My client was arrested and convicted for 3 years. He agreed to a deportation order (DO) and was returned home His EEA national girl friend also left the country, they got married and he took up her name to keep her family name alive since she only had a sister.

In breach of the DO, they travelled to Ireland in 2019 and entered UK by the back door. He applied for a revocation of the DO and a Residence Card (BRC) under the EEA Regulations. They were invited for an interview to check whether this was a marriage of convenience (MOC). On taking fingerprints they realised who he was and was arrested to complete the balance of his sentence. I was instructed at this stage.

The Residence Card application was refused on the grounds the Sponsor was not exercising treaty rights i.e. was not earning much and this was a MOC. At the end of his sentence he was detained under immigration rules with a view to removal.

I managed to get him immigration bail, so at least he was free to join his wife. At the First Tier Hearing for the refusal of the BRC, the judge accepted that this was a genuine relationship, but refused us on the earnings issue.

We made an application under the EUSS for his Pre-Settled Status regardless.

We successfully appealed for a hearing at the Upper Tier. The judge agreed that although the income was low, it was still above the minimum and allowed the appeal. The judge made a remark that he had entered whilst the DO was still in force.

The HO took this as a cue to issue a second refusal for the same original application. I sought a case management hearing and the judge agreed that it was unlawful for the HO to make a second decision. I asked for a wasted costs order, which was successful. It’s not every day we get money out of the HO!

This should have been the end and the BRC issued, except that the EEA Regs no longer existed after Brexit. The transitional arrangements allowed for the consideration of the BRC, something the HO were oblivious to. The other barrier was the unresolved DO to any move on the issue of his status.

We did a Pre-Action Protocol (PAP) and the HO revoked the DO at the start of 2023. The criminal records had still not been updated the Police National Computer and it still showed his conviction. We did a Subject Access Request to the police and got it corrected.

We did yet another PAP and finally today the HO granted him SS. It took over 4 years to get this resolved. Nightmare over.

A few lessons from this:
1. A DO has no time limit and must be revoked before attempting to re-enter.
2. Crime does not pay. He still has to wait 15 years from the end of his sentence to apply for nationality.
3. Do not assume the HO is right. Check the legislation, research relevant caselaw, develop a good network and get views from your peers and draft good representations/skeleton arguments
4. Be open with your client, even if it is not the news they want to hear. Do not build unreasonable expectations. I am the cautious variety.
5. I cannot stress enough the support from the spouse. She stuck with him throughout the difficult times and I truly admire her. They have a young baby now!

21/07/2023

Crash course for OISC Level 1

I am running a 1 day course on Saturday 29 July 2023. If you are interested, please get in touch

14/07/2023

Significant rise in fees

Those are the words of the Government. On 13-07-2023 the Government announced that the visa fees will be increasing by at least 20% and health surcharge will be £1035/year, up from £624. Children and students will pay £776, up from £470. These increases will fund the pay rise for public sector workers.

The Parliament rises for the summer recess on 20-07-2023 and the Government will probably lay the new fees before then. They can come into force after 21 days.

We appreciate these new fees will be a struggle for many people. Fee waivers are possible for some categories if you can demonstrate that the costs are unaffordable. The downside is that this will put you on the longer 10 year routes for some applications. We can do the fee waiver and main applications.

Our advice is that you should apply as soon as possible and, of course, before the increases come into force. Do not leave matters to the last minute,

21/06/2023

VISIT VISAS

Despite being one of the cheapest applications, it’s one of the most challenging for certain countries and the refusal level is high.

We have just had a clutch of them approved.
• Two lots of Syrian parents approved
• Syrian mother refused for speculative reasons such as why is your sponsor spending 15 times your income? Decision challenged by Pre-Action Protocol and granted within 2 weeks
• Pakistani mother visiting her sons with most of the family in the UK
• Pakistani elderly couple – I should be careful with some words – in their 70s granted with both children in the UK. They had been refused 5 times before.

Success is dependent on good evidence and presentation.

21/03/2023

Right of Abode for someone who left UK 50 years ago

This is a case of someone who came to UK in 1958 when her country was still under British rule. On independence in 1961 it became a Commonwealth country. She met and married a British Citizen and had children. The marriage broke down ending in divorce and she emigrated in the early 1970s.

She had copies of some of the pages of earlier passports, but not all of them. We contacted her country’s immigration department and they were not helpful. However, they referred us to some of their legislation about not losing nationality.

Armed with this information and tons more, we submitted her application despite the 50 year gap. It was approved within 2 weeks. She can now come and go freely into and out of the UK, spend quality time with her children and grandchildren which is what she really wanted. She has the right to work, but I suspect she will not be too keen to take it up at 82.

28/02/2023

Married man brings in his partner

You have read it correctly. The man is not a Muslim permitted to have 4 partners. The normal answer to a person bringing in their second partner is a big NO. This is a case of man whose marriage finished many years ago but they continued to be successful business partners and have built up a local empire with fingers in many pies.

A number of partner applications were refused doubting the genuineness of the relationship since the visits by the UK sponsor were a month or so on a couple of occasions every year. Then to complicate matters a past drugs conviction in another EU country was detected which had not been declared

The sponsor came to us with the above history. We made a partner application which was refused on the grounds:
1. that the cohabitation was not continuous for 2 years at the time of the application;
2. the details of the conviction were not provided.

On the first point we had provided evidence that the cumulative number of days over a 10 year period were 900+. We also argued that the quality of the relationship was akin to marriage. At the appeal this was accepted.

On the second point we had no evidence since the Applicant had blocked this event out and could not provide anything. We invited the HO to provided the length of the sentence and when it occurred referring to the Amos case. The judge concurred with the HO that the onus was on us to supply the information and appeal was dismissed since this was vital in part of the suitability assessment.

This time the applicant had received psychiatric treatment and was able to recall some details. She managed to contact a fellow inmate – social media has its positives. With her new found contact, they came up with the name of the lawyer who had represented her even though 10 years had elapsed. The lawyer provided us with all the missing information on the length of the sentence, when it was handed down and her date of release.

Armed with the missing information we made a second application and made clear to the ECO that all the other issues were met, including the issue of recognising this as a genuine relationship. Last week we received a favourable decision.

01/02/2023

Long journey, but success at last

My client is non-EEA national who entered country illegally. He formed a relationship with an EEA national. He was convicted for 3 years for drugs, false ID, and money laundering. After serving 1 year he opted to go back and was served a deportation order.

He married the same EEA national. They travelled to Dublin and hopped across into N.Ireland and mainland UK. On arrival he applied for his Residence Card. The couple were called for an interview and he was detained. The HO alleged a marriage of convenience and that the EEA National was not working (or qualified person for the geeks). He was arrested sent to prison to complete the balance of the 3 years sentence outside.

I made a bail application and got him out. We had his appeal hearing and the sham marriage was accepted as genuine, but failed on the EEA not earning enough. We made his EUSS Pre-Settled Status application after the FTT hearing. We managed to get to the Upper Tier and the appeal was allowed. However, the judge made a remark about him being subject to a deportation order.

The HO took this as a cue to refuse his original application on different grounds. We sought a Case Management Hearing and I argued that the application should have been decided at the first attempt, not revisited by the HO again. We successfully made a wasted costs order. We asked the HO to issue him with a Residence card on no less than 3 occasions, but the HO stonewalled us.

Finally we did a Pre-Action Protocol (PAP) and the HO revoked the deportation order and promised to make the EUSS application decision. We expect this to be granted.

This was a journey for nearly 3 ½ years. In the end we got what we wanted but it was not easy. The client is relieved – that’s an understatement.