Administrative review – who, what, how?

If you have been denied a UK visa, an Administrative Review is a way to challenge the decision of the Home Office. Your application will be reviewed by a Home Office official. However, you must be aware that you cannot submit any new evidence in order to challenge the decision or rectify the shortcomings at the time of the initial application.

What kind of visa applications have the option of administrative review?

in country Tier 4 applications made on or after 20 October 2014 by either a main applicant or dependant
in country Tiers 1, 2 or 5 applications made on or after 2 March 2015 by either a main applicant or dependant, including indefinite leave to remain applications under those routes
in country applications where the decision was made on or after 6 April, unless the applicant applied as a visitor or made a protection or human rights claim

You can ask for your application to be reviewed if one of the following apply:

your application was refused
your application was granted but you’re unhappy with the amount or conditions of your leave

If you’re outside the UK, you can only ask for an administrative review if all of the following apply:

you’re outside the UK
you applied outside the UK
your application was refused on or after 6 April 2015
you do not have a right of appeal against the refusal
you did not make an application as a visitor or a short term student

How to apply for administrative review?

If your application was refused, you must apply for an administrative review within 14 days of getting the decision if you’re in the UK, within 28 days if you’re outside the UK.

Your refusal letter will tell you how to apply. You may be able to apply online. It costs £80.

You must apply within 7 days if you’ve been detained.

If your application was granted but you’re unhappy with the amount or conditions of your leave, you must email the Home Office within 14 days of getting your biometric residence permit.

Important things to remember…

The decision will be checked for the errors you point out.

Do not send the Home Office new information or documents for review unless you’ve been asked to.

You’ll usually receive the result of the administrative review within 28 days. You cannot request a second review (unless the result included new reasons why you were refused).

If your visa’s expired, you will not usually be removed from the UK until your review has been completed.

Your request will be withdrawn if you…

make any other immigration or visa application
ask for your passport back so you can travel
leave the UK

Other things to think about…

More often than not, applicants will not be removed from the UK until their review has been completed.

However, if they ask for a review but the Home Office position is that its outcome would not make a difference to the decision to remove/deport them, a review will not prevent removal taking place.

This includes if they are facing automatic deportation or their case is a national security case.

Potential outcomes of Administrative Review:

If an Administrative Review is successful, the initial decision may be withdrawn. If it is not successful, the initial decision may remain as it was, with the reasons for the decision either being the same as before, altered, or added to.

What if you don’t agree with the decision?

You can seek a judicial review if you’re not satisfied with your administrative review result. We will discuss more about it in our future articles.

More information relating to appeals can also be found here: Home Office can make serious errors, but how can we deal with them?

Contact us!

Please do not hesitate to get in contact with us on 020 7928 0276 or email in to info@lisaslaw.co.uk if you have any legal enquiries at all.

We are here for you!

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November 19, 2019
Appeals, Home Office, Immigration, Mistake, Refusal, Visa

Home Office can make serious errors, but how can we deal with them?

A recent Home Office blunder meant that a man was refused leave to remain to care for his terminally ill partner.

The Home Office denied O’Neill Wallfall’s application because he could not prove that ‘travelling back to the Iraq would put his life at risk’.

However, Wallfall, as a Jamaican national who had come to the UK in 2002, had never even been to Iraq. This refusal was clearly based on a Home Office employee copy and pasting a reply meant for someone else.

This has attracted some attention, as it is worrying that Home Office officials would be so careless in their work. The error was made toward the end of the refusal letter, in which they had already stated that it was not unreasonable to assume his partner could relocate to Jamaica and receive healthcare there. It was a clear mismatch of information.

We must remember that the Home Office is made up of humans…

…and humans make mistakes! It is well known that the Home Office is regularly understaffed and deal with an extremely high amount of applications. They are given targets to meet and frequently are working in a high pressure environment.

As a law firm dealing with a variety of cases, we are not surprised when we hear of mistakes such as these being made by the Home Office.

However, it does not excuse them and there are options available to people who find themselves being refused for incorrect or unclear reasons.

Can you appeal?

You potentially qualify for an appeal if the Home Office has:

refused your protection claim (also known as ‘asylum claim’ or ‘humanitarian protection’)
refused your human rights claim
made a decision under the European Economic Area (EEA) Regulations, for example the Home Office has decided to deport you or refused to issue you a residence document
decided to revoke your protection status
decided to take away your British citizenship

If you are not informed of your right to an appeal, do not worry. There are still some other options available to you such as administrative reviews and judicial reviews which we will be covering in articles to come.

Appeals:

You have the chance to appeal any decision that the Home Office makes against you. You have 14 days to appeal after the date of your decision.

Applying online is always the quickest option, you can find the relevant documents on this page. If not, you can post or fax your appeal.

Ask for an oral hearing

You can ask on your appeal form for a decision to be made either:

just on the information in your appeal form and any documents supplied to the tribunal
at a hearing that you or your representative can attend

The tribunal can decide to have a hearing even if you do not ask for one. You’ll be told if this is the case and invited to attend.

Fees

It costs:

£80 without a hearing
£140 with a hearing

How to pay:

You can pay your fee with a credit or debit card when you make your appeal online or by including your details on your appeal form.

If you’ve already made your appeal you can also pay your fee online.

Is your appeal urgent?

You need to write to the tribunal with:

the reason why your case should be heard urgently
evidence of compelling or compassionate grounds, for example letters from a doctor or hospital

Your case will be reviewed by a judge, who will then decide whether you should be heard sooner than usual.

Contact us!

If you are confused or just want to have a chat about any of the above please do not hesitate to get in contact with us on 020 7928 0276 or email in to info@lisaslaw.co.uk.

We are here for you!

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Success story from Lisa’s Law – Settlement visa attained for mother and child

The overarching reason why Lisa’s Law exists is because we want to help people. Whether this be supporting someone just starting out to get their first business up and running or assisting a family in moving into their first home, we aim to be a pillar of support throughout the entire journey.

We recently had a touching case come through, and we are really pleased with how it turned out.

Names and details of the case have been altered to respect our client’s privacy.

The case in question…

A mother of a 14 year old girl is applying for settlement on the basis that her child is a British Citizen who cannot live independently and requires her full support and care.

For the purposes of this article we will refer to the mother in this case as Claire and her daughter as Daisy.

The applicants past…

Claire is originally from China and was originally granted an Entry Clearance visa in 2002 as a Tier 4 (General) Student, which was valid until December 2006.

Claire met a Mr David Yung, who is the biological father of Daisy, in January 2006. She applied for further leave as a skilled worker before her original leave expired, but this was denied.

Claire fell pregnant before her application was denied and subsequently stayed in the UK another year, giving birth to Daisy in 2007. Then she took the voluntary option to return to China with her child.

Claire then returned to the UK with her daughter a few years later on a visitor visa to visit Mr Yung. While here, she reapplied for further leave to remain on the basis of her relationship with Mr Yung (a British citizen) and as Daisy’s (a British citizen by birth) primary caregiver. During this time Mr Yung passed away.

This application was refused as Claire had changed address and failed to receive the necessary materials in time. She therefore returned to China with her daughter.

What happened next?

Claire and Daisy moved to New Zealand where Claire worked as a chef, earning a respectable wage of around £30,000. Daisy is in possession of a British passport on account of her being born in Newcastle.

Success at last!

Still wishing to settle in the UK they reignited their application once more. This time with the help of a friend in the UK.

Claire was offered a full time position as a receptionist for a construction firm, which would earn her £23,500 a year. More than the £18,600 minimum requirement. This means they are financially independent, requiring no help from the state.

What’s more, the same friend who offered her the job has provided Claire with a place to stay, which is fit for both her and Daisy to live in.

Claire also passed the English requirement test (A1 level IELTS).

So, finally after many years of trying Claire and Daisy were able to settle in the UK. A happy ending at last!

Problems and solutions…

This case was complex due to a few reasons. Getting a carer visa is very difficult at the best of times as the Home Office is always wary of people trying to get one under fake pretences. This is why we had to be militant in providing evidence that the relationship between the mother and daughter was strong and long lasting, and that they had a proven history of living together as a family. We made sure the correct mixture of proof was presented to the Home Office.

It is very important that the immigration officer sees that the parent is taking an ‘active role’ in the child’s upbringing and planning to continue after the application, so proof of financial as well as spiritual care is important. This can be images of trips together, proof of providing school equipment and clothes etc. Letters from the child’s school and GP/dentist confirming the parent take the child to school/appointments or go to parent evenings can be helpful as well.

Another important part of getting this type of visa is the ability to proving the applicant can look after themselves and the child without claiming any benefits or relying on the state for housing. You need to be earning at least £18,600 and have a suitable place to live, which is not too small and cramped, or run down, which has suitable sleeping areas for all who live there.

What’s more is that in our particular case discussed above, the mother and daughter had already been living in New Zealand which is an English speaking country. It is sometimes easier to win cases such as this if the family are living in a country which is further removed from the UK (or whichever country the applicant wants to settle in). This is because it would be more difficult and harsh on the child to try to adapt to a land so different from the one they were born in. So, it was fortunate that in this case the Home Office did not challenge this too much, and chose to focus on what would be truly best for the child.

Solo guardianship of the child could not be questioned, as the biological father of Daisy had already passed away. Circumstance such as these can sometimes evoke compassion from the Home Office.

The role of Lisa’s Law:

It is a very complicated business, as you can see from the story above, to actually be successful in your journey to settlement. You need someone who knows what the Home Office is looking for, someone who knows immigration law like the back of their hands, to ensure that the right documents are submitted and the correct information is given. Otherwise it is like walking through a minefield with a blindfold on!

In this case we made sure that all necessary and original documents were submitted to the Home Office in a timely and organised manner, leaving no excuse for things to be missed or any incorrect information to slip in.

Contact us!

We are ready and well equipped to handle your case, with specialist solicitors just a phone call away, so feel free to call us on 020 7928 0276 or email into info@lisaslaw.co.uk if you need any legal advice.

For more legal news and updates be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube!

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£1m investor visa – time is of the essence!

A few years ago, an investment of £1m into the UK was enough to ensure a right of residence for the investor. Since November 2014 the required amount has been increased to £2m, but for those who already hold a Tier 1 (Investor) visa on the back of the original £1m route are still able to extend that visa or make the swap to indefinite leave to remain (ILR).

However, these £1m investors need to act swiftly if they want to secure their place in the UK.

Those concerned…

Many of the people who made the £1m investment will have qualified for ILR due to the amount of time that has passed since the required amount has been increased. Yet, a significant portion will not have for a few possible reasons, such as:

they have had excessive absences from the UK in the qualifying period for ILR (more than 180 days per year, or, since January 2018, 180 days in any 12-month period); and/or
their English is not at an acceptable level; and/or
they are under 65 and are unable to pass the Life in the UK test unless under any exceptional circumstances or with any physical or mental disability

Important changes:

Changes have been made to this visa route. There are now certain deadlines that these investors on the original £1m route must adhere to, and some factors that also affect those on the newer £2m route.

Extension deadlines:

An application for extension for those on the £1m investor visa must happen before 6 April 2020.

To extend after that date, they would have to increase their investment to at least £2m.

If an application cannot be made in time because the investor does not meet the requirements, the investment will have to be increased to £2m.

So, the best thing to do is to apply for the extension ASAP and save having to increase your investment.

Money is not enough…

If the applicant does have to increase their investment, the time that they spent on the initial £1m visa route will not count towards the time needed for ILR.

They will only be able to qualify for ILR when they have also clocked up the relevant qualifying period starting from the date they increased their investment: five years if £2m, three years if £5m, two years if £10m).

What about government bonds?

In March 2019, government bonds (known to many as gilts) were removed as a qualifying investment for a Tier 1 (Investor) visa. This is part of the Home Office’s general aim to limit who this visa option is available to.

For anyone who entered the route before 29 March 2019 (not only those on the initial £1m route), extension applications where the investment still includes government bonds must be made before 6 April 2023. ILR applications relying on government bonds must be made before 6 April 2025.

Applications filed after the above dates that rely on government bonds held after those dates will be refused.

The investment must then be moved away from government bonds and into share capital or loan capital in active and trading UK registered companies.

Be sure of where you stand…

These new requirements will be easy for unsuspecting applicants to trip over. It is highly advisable to assess what you need to do if you are on the original £1m route or have invested in government bonds. You may need to increase or alternate your original investment, or you may need to take steps to ensure you meet the other requirements, such as amount of absences and your level of English.

Contact us!

Our team of specialist solicitors are here to help you every step of the way; with us there will be no more confusion about what to do next or worry about the state of your visa. We can handle extension applications as well as brand new applications for the Tier 1 investor visa.

Call now on 020 7928 0276 or email in to info@lisaslaw.co.uk

Reference list:

Tier 1 investor guidance: https://www.gov.uk/tier-1-investor

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10 years continuous residency – the do’s and don’ts

After living anywhere for an extended period of time, immersing yourself in the surroundings and carving out a place for yourself the community, you will begin to think of that place as your home. It is with this in mind that the Home Office offers the 10 year continuous residency route to indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

Who qualifies?

As the name suggests, migrants who have accumulated ten years continuous lawful residence in the UK, under any combination of UK visas, may qualify for ILR on 10 years basis.

However, there are strict rules on what constitutes a continuous and lawful residency in the UK, and with a 10 year timeline attached to this visa, it can be easy to break some of the rules even if it is unintentional.

The meaning of continuous lawful residency:

Applicants will only have fulfilled the requirements if they have…

Not been out of the UK for more than 18 months (540 days in total) during the 10 year period.
Maintained valid leave to remain status under any immigration category for the entire period.
Not been out of the UK for more than 6 months on any one occasion during the 10 year period.
Not left the UK within the relevant period having been refused leave to enter or remain.
Not been removed or deported from the UK during the 10 year period.

You can still qualify if you:

Have spent less than 6 months outside the UK at any one time during the 10 years residency in the UK.

Had existing leave to remain when both exiting and re-entering the UK.

Is there any leeway?

It is not uncommon for applicants to have exceeded the 540 days of absence from the UK over the 10 year period. So, if this is the case with you it may not be the end of the road as discretion can be used by the Home Office.

It will be taken into consideration when the bulk of these absences took place. The closer the absence to the end of 10 year period, the less likely the discretion to be exercised for your ILR application. In other words, it’s better if these absences took place a long time ago.
If the absences were recent, the person will not qualify for a long time, and so you must consider whether there are particularly compelling/compassionate reasons. Compelling reasons mean when an applicant was prevented from returning to the UK through unavoidable circumstances.

Prisons and institutions

Continuous residence is broken and the time spent is not counted if an applicant receives a custodial sentence by a court of law and is sent to:

prison
a young offender institution
a secure hospital

Temporary admission counts!

Temporary admission or release or immigration bail qualifies as lawful residence when leave to enter or leave to remain is later granted. For example, if an applicant is granted leave following a period of temporary admission, the time on temporary admission counts as lawful residence.

If you are not too sure about when temporary admission counts as lawful residence, you can see some examples here (example 4 from the long residence guidance). Or, you can ask for legal advice from us directly!

When is a good time to apply?

The application for 10 year ILR should be made before your current leave to remain expires. You also cannot apply more than 28 days before you fully complete the 10 year continuous residency requirement.

It is important to know where to start counting your time in the UK from, if you apply with an incorrect start date you will be refused and will not be refunded.

Your official 10 year period starts from the visa date on which you entered the UK or the date you were granted permission to remain in the UK (if you didn’t enter the UK on a visa).

How long does it take?

The time taken to complete the application process and receive your result will vary from case to case. However, it usually take around 6 months for a decision to be made on an application. This is unless you want to pay for the Super Priority service for an extra £800, which will greatly increase the speed at which your case is dealt with (usually to only 1 or 2 working days).

Priority service update:

Note: There is now only a limited amount of spaces per day for priority service, this means that not everyone who applies for it will get it and some people may have to reapply for it on a different day.

What documents do you need to have?

There may be some case specific variation here, but the below documents should form the base for you application:

Your current Passport or other valid travel ID (old passports you’ve had since you’ve been in the UK are helpful as well)
BRP (biometric residence permit ), if you hold one
Two identical passport size colour photographs
Police registration certificate, if you have one
Other supporting documents with the application (bank statements, other travel documents if you have them etc.)

Contact us!

For more legal news and updates be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube!

Reference list:

Long Residency UKGOV guidance:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/841917/long-residence-v16.0ext.pdf

Apply to settle in the UK: Long Residency

https://www.gov.uk/long-residence

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October 31, 2019
Brexit, EU, Immigration, No Deal Brexit, Updates

No-deal Brexit possibility sparks further changes to the immigration rules

While the chances of a no-deal Brexit are growing increasingly slim, the Home Office have issued some changes to the immigration rules which will only come into play should the UK leave the EU without a deal.

Brandon Lewis, the Minister of State for Security and Deputy for EU Exit and No Deal Preparation, said this regarding these changes:

“The Government’s priority remains to leave the European Union on the basis of the draft Withdrawal Agreement reached on 17 October 2019. However, it is appropriate that we also continue to make the preparations necessary in the event that we leave without a deal.”

The changes in brief:

Approved UK criminality and conduct thresholds of EEA citizens and their family members moving to the UK after Brexit must be met for increased security purposes.

Certain types of family members of EEA citizens resident in the UK will be able to access the EU Settlement Scheme, and these family members can use previous UK residency that occurred before Brexit as part of the relevant five-year continuous period needed for settled status.

Establishing the European Temporary Leave to Remain Scheme. This allows European citizens and their family members moving to the UK after Brexit to be able to lawfully reside in the UK beyond 1 January 2021. This enables them to obtain a UK immigration status so that they can continue living and working here for a temporary period after 2020

Deportation and the criminality thresholds:

The changes surrounding the use of UK criminality and conduct threshold essentially make it easier for the Home Office to deport people for more minor offences than what is allowed in EU law.

If an EU citizen living in the UK commits a crime, they can be deported in the following circumstances:

If they have lived in the UK for less than five years, they can be deported only where their conduct represents a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting the fundamental interests of society.
A person who has lived in the UK for five years or more and has acquired a right of permanent residence, then their conduct must present serious grounds of public policy and public security. In other words, their offending must be much more serious
A person who has lived in the UK for ten years or more needs to show the highest threshold for removal: imperative grounds. This means that it is extremely difficult to deport them

When deporting anyone the decision maker must take into account the entire picture of the deportee’s life. This includes this such as age, state of health, family, economic situations, cultural integration, links to the country of origin and the possibility of rehabilitation.

The UK rules in this area are harsher than the EU rules. For example, there would be a fairly high chance that an EU citizen in the UK caught in possession of drugs and a knife would be deported under UK rules, but would be unlikely to be deported under EU rules.

It is important for Europeans living in the UK to be aware of these new thresholds, should a no deal Brexit occur.

Family members and Settled Status:

This information relates to the spouse, civil partner or durable partner of a European citizen, or anyone in the ascending or descending lines of the European citizen or the spouse or civil partner, so great-grandparents to great-grandchildren etc.

Should these family member move to the UK after Brexit to join a relative who is settled here, the time they have spent residing in the UK from entry can be counted towards the five-year residence period required to achieve settled status.

This is true as long as they make their application for pre-settled or settled status before 31 December 2020 (which is the deadline for all applications under the EU Settlement Scheme in a no-deal Brexit).

What if they miss the deadline?

If they miss it their residence period will begin from the date they re-joined their European family member. So they can still achieve settled status, but it will take more time.

The deadlines by which these family members will need to come to the UK to fall within the EU Settlement Scheme will be:

by 29 March 2022, where the relationship existed before Brexit and continues to exist when the application is made, in the case of spouses, civil partners, durable partners, children, parents and grandparents, and of children born overseas after Brexit; and

by 31 December 2020, where the relationship as a spouse, civil partner or durable partner was formed after Brexit and continues to exist when the application is made, or from other dependent relatives.

European Temporary Leave to Remain

It is important to stress that this will only become a reality in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

The European TLR will enable European citizens and their close family members who move to the UK for the first time to lawfully reside in the UK beyond 31 December 2020. It grants them 36 months (non-extendable) leave to remain.

If they want to stay longer they will have to apply and qualify under a new immigration system planned to be in place from 2021.

This is a free service and has been promised to be a simple online process. Of course, things are not always as easy as they could be so we will have to wait and see.

Again, this time spent on the temporary visa will count towards the final time requirement for full settlement.

So it is definitely worth applying for this as soon as possible, should a no-deal Brexit occur!

Contact us

We understand that keeping up with these changes can be challenging. We are always here to help, so feel free to call us on 020 7928 0276 or email into info@lisaslaw.co.uk if you need any legal advice.

For more legal news and updates be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube!

Reference guide:

Explanatory memorandum of these new rules:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/841701/CCS207_CCS1019317228-001_EXPLANATORY_MEMO_to_HC_170_Web_Accessible.pdf

Statement of changes in Immigration Rules:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/841695/CCS1019317048-001_Statement_of_changes_in_Immigration_Rules_Web_Accessible.pdf

Electronic immigration network:

https://www.ein.org.uk/news/new-statement-changes-immigration-rules-released-case-no-deal-brexit-31-october

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New changes to the Tier 4 Visa Route – International students to receive warmer welcome!

As many of you will be aware the immigration rules have seen many important changes that came into force at the beginning of October this year. Some of these rules directly affect students wanting to study in the UK.

We know how stressful student life can be at the best of times, so we thought we’d lend a hand in keeping everyone up to date with the recent amendments made to the Tier 4 (Student) visa routes!

The changes:

Good news for students looking to pursue a doctorate!

Students with immigration permission in the Doctorate Extension Scheme (DES) category of Tier 4, will now be permitted to apply for immigration permission in the Start-up category despite having previously set up a business. Students’ last grant of immigration permission must have been in the DES category of Tier 4 for this concession to apply.

Get into work quicker through a sponsor!

Tier 4 (General) students granted their leave on or after 1 October 2019, who later submit an application for Tier 2 leave within 3 months of the expected completion of their course, will be able to start work with their Tier 2 sponsor as soon as they have made their Tier 2 application.

Self-employment restrictions.

The only self-employment permitted for Tier 4 students is for those who have made an application in the Start-up category. Students must have made an application prior to the expiry of their Tier 4 immigration permission.

Students and sports.

The Professional Sportsperson definition will be revised again to exclude Tier 4 students who are studying a course at degree level or above at a Higher Education Provider. If such students are playing or coaching sport as an amateur or as part of a work placement, such students will be excluded from the Professional Sportsperson definition.

Administrative reviews will now be done online!

Tier 4 students wishing to submit Administrative Review applications will have to do so online. This will continue to be a free service.

Sticking with your current sponsor is rewarded.

PhD students will only be exempt from the academic progression requirements if they wish to extend their immigration permission to study at their current Tier 4 sponsor. This narrows the exemption which previously meant PhD students could extend their stay in the UK by applying for further immigration permission at their current Tier 4 sponsor or at a new Tier 4 sponsor.

Switching from a Tier 4 visa to a Tier 2 visa has some benefits:

There are a few helpful perks that come with switching this way, rather than switching from another type of visa or applying for Tier 2 from outside the UK:

The minimum salary is £20,800 for those switching from Tier 4, £30,000 for everyone else. This means more positions are available!
The employer does not need to run the Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT) before issuing the student a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). RLMT is the test of whether there is a local worker who can do the job.
The employer does not pay the £1,000/year Immigration Skills Charge which is needed when someone applies outside the UK.

Public petition for the post study work visa:

There is currently a petition to move the launch date of the Post Study Work Visa (PSW) in order for current students to benefit from the scheme as well. You can sign it here if you like: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/273801?reveal_response=yes&from=singlemessage&isappinstalled=0

It is worth noting that most of the available information about PSW is taken from the Home Office’s response to this petition, which now has nearly 30,000 signatures out of the required 100,000.

What is PSW?

Currently, the new route is set to launch in the summer of 2021. Any student who successfully completes their degree-level course at a qualifying institution in the summer of 2021 or thereafter will be eligible to apply. This includes students who are already studying.

All students accepted for the Graduate route will receive two years non-extendable leave. During that time, they will be able to work, or look for work, at any skill level. Graduates will also be able to switch into skilled work once they have found a suitable job.

This reverses a decision made by Theresa May back in 2012, which she forced international students to leave the UK only 4 months after completing their studies. So for many people, bringing PSW back will be seen as a step forward and a more welcoming environment for overseas students.

A few grey areas…

At the moment, the Home Office’s line is that “any student who is set to graduate from summer 2021 onward should be eligible for post-study work”.

However, it is unclear whether the masters’ students graduating from a January 2020 start will be eligible. We will have to wait for the official legislation to come out, then we will know exactly where everyone stands with this new visa route.

Contact us!

For more legal news and updates be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube!

Please also feel free to contact us on 020 7928 0276 or email into info@lisaslaw.co.uk if you ne

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Mastercard Madness – Are you due compensation?

The vast majority of adults living in the UK could be entitled to compensation of up to £300 after a David and Goliath style court dispute led to a £14bn class action lawsuit.

Picture the scene: you are in your local convenience store buying some supplies for the week ahead. You place your items on the counter and get out your card to pay, only to be told that not only do you have to pay the cost of the items themselves, but also an extra charge for the transaction itself.

It is annoying, but we have all experienced it. Walter Merricks, a former financial ombudsman, claims that 46 million UK consumers paid higher prices in shops over a 16-year period (1992-2008) because of allegedly excessive transaction fees charged by Mastercard.

Merricks originally brought this case to court two years ago, where it was thrown out by the Competition Appeal Tribunal, but it has recently been reopened by the court of appeal and is now considered to be the biggest class action in British legal history. Merricks is hoping to secure a multi-billion pound pay-out from Mastercard, which will be distributed back to the public.

He said: “I am very pleased with today’s decision. It is nearly 12 years since Mastercard was clearly told that they had broken the law by imposing excessive card transaction charges, damaging consumers over a prolonged period… It’s now time for Mastercard to admit the damage they did, to apologise to the British public, and to agree to pay the compensation they owe.”

Mastercard have responded that they will be contesting this claim and that the UK public benefit from the level of security and reliability that their service provides.

So, what is the issue with the fee and how does Mastercard work?

When you use your card in the shop, a series of transactions takes place so that everyone involved in that transaction is charged or gains the right amount of money. This is called an Interchange Fee. Mastercard, during this 16 year period, was charging higher interchange fees than other platforms (such as Visa) for no good reason. This meant that over a long period of time they wrongfully gained a large amount of money from unassuming consumers. This is why they have faced with these accusations and are being sued for compensation.

This is an example of a Class Action Lawsuit, but what does that mean?

Class Action Lawsuit, sometimes known as Group Actions are a way for individuals with similar complaints to join together against their common enemy and sidestep some of the traps that can be associated with individuals having to make their own separate claim each time. In other words these kinds of cases offer strength in numbers and a saving on legal costs.

Entering into litigation is a scary thought, even when a person is 100% sure they are in the right. This can be made even worse when the Defendant is very large and well resourced (such as Mastercard is this case). This is where group litigation redresses the balance. It puts some of the power back with the people.

So, never be afraid to act as a group if you find yourself in a legal battle!

There are many ways to go about raising awareness and getting people on your side if you think an issue you are having is affecting other people too. For example group actions, crowd funding’s, and social media groups are good places to start. If it is an important case which involving pubic interests, the more people you have on your side the better to share the costs of litigation. It also minimises time, resources, and the costs of going through the Courts if more litigants pursue the same cause of action together, combining their resources and issues into one.

Also, the Courts will give more weight to the issues at hand if more people are being affected by them. Evidence is often more persuasive if any wrongdoing on the part of the companies in question affect more than just a few people.

Contact us!

We welcome any clients who want to come together in a case, and our new litigation team is fully equipped to deal with enquiries of every kind.

Please do get in contact with us on 020 7928 0276 or email into info@lisaslaw.co.uk if you need any legal advice. We are always here to help!

lisaslaw@web

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Tier 1 Visa Routes Updated: What has changed?

The Home Office published some new changes to the UK Immigration rules recently, and many of them have now come into effect this month. The purpose of this article is to communicate the changes made to the Tier 1 visa routes that are on offer.

Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa:

The Tier 1 Exceptional Talent Visa enables people with a recognised talent to live and work in the UK without needing to find sponsored employment. They can be a free-lancer or work for themselves, or they can work as an employee for a UK based company.

To qualify, people must be successful in a fairly rigorous application process, meet certain criteria and then achieve endorsement from a Designated Competent Body.

There has been increased enthusiasm for people coming to the UK recently to pursue scientific and medical careers, but this visa is not exclusive to that kind of occupation. A person can qualify for endorsements within careers in science, humanities, engineering, the arts, and digital technology.

So, it really is a 2 stage application procedure:

Find endorsement through an online application
Apply for visa once the endorsement is granted

It is worth noting that only 983 of these visas were issued in 2018 out of a possible 2,000. It is underused and the government wants to increase the amount of people it takes on. The endorsement procedure is a factor as to why some people are deterred from pursuing this visa.

So, what’s changed with it?

Three letters of support, as opposed to the current requirement of two, from established digital technology organisations, will be required. An extra letter will allow for a more in-depth analysis of the applicant’s achievements and contributions to the sector.
The phrase ‘product-led’ has been added to the requirements to ensure migrants with the appropriate skill set use the route.

To increase the number of applicants in science, engineering, and humanities, The Royal Society, The Royal Academy of Engineering, and The British Academy have championed the following changes:

Expanded the list of peer-reviewed fellowships to include fellowships awarded by the National Institute for Health Research;
Expanded the criteria to include applicants who have held a peer-reviewed fellowship in the 12 months immediately before the date of application; and,
Expanded the application criteria to allow a wider range of eligible senior academic or research positions to qualify; and,
Design and architecture are now included from 0ct 2019 (make it more accessible, and to increase usage of this category.)
Digital technology candidates were previously given fast track endorsement options, but these have now been cancelled. Fast track is now only available to applicants who get accepted onto recognised training programmes. These are known as UK Accelerated Programmes.

Please remember that we are here to help you through these procedures. They can be very daunting and complicated. We can guide you through it from beginning to end, filtering out anything unnecessary, and help you find the best way forward.

Tier 1 (Investor) category – Some important things to note:

This category is for individuals who are very wealthy and who are able to make an investment in the UK worth at least £2 million.

Here are the changes made to this visa type:

The changes made in March 2019 to closing dates are being flexed to allow applicants to make extension or settlement applications after these dates, provided that they move their qualifying investments out of UK Government bonds before either 6 April 2023 in the case of extension applications, or 6 April 2025 in the case of settlement applications.

Another change will allow investors who do not meet those deadlines to apply for further extensions and settlement if they meet certain conditions; i.e. invest the full £2 million in qualifying investments before they apply for further extensions and maintain the full £2 million investment for the qualifying period required for settlement.

The changes in March 2019 also increased the period for which applicants must provide evidence of their available funds from 90 days to 2 years. Some references to three months were missed in March’s rules changes and these are being corrected in line with the other references to 2 years.

Investing in gilts is no longer accepted:

Applicants for Tier 1 (Investor) visa who submitted their visa/residence permit application before 29 March 2019 were able to invest in gilts but they must extend by 5 April 2023 and apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) by 5 April 2025. Gilts will no longer count as qualifying investments for any applications undertaken after this date. Thus, an applicant for an extension on or after 6 April 2023 must ensure that investments are moved to other qualifying investment categories (e.g. share / loan capital of an active and trading UK registered company) on or before 5 April 2023.

Also, in cases where the initial grant of leave was before 29 March 2019, and the date of the ILR application is on or after 6 April 2025, the applicant cannot rely on investments that were held in gilts on or after 6 April 2025. The applicant must ensure that investments are moved to other qualifying investments on or before 5 April 2025.

People who applied for the £1 million investor visa under the rules in place before 6 November 2014 must extend before 6 April 2020 and apply for ILR before 6 April 2022.

Finally, those who keep extending their visa due to inadequate absence records, will not be able to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Tier 1: Entrepreneur: Some minor amendments

The Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) category is now closed completely. However it remains open for extension for the 2 and a half years under tier one extension route, which remains qualified for the ILR.

Graduate entrepreneur scheme has been closed since July 6, and is now only available through extension.

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For more legal news and updates be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube!

Please also feel free to contact us on 020 7928 0276 or email into info@lisaslaw.co.uk if you need any legal advice. We are always here to help!

lisaslaw@web

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New additions to post-Brexit immigration policies unveiled!

Yesterday, the Queen made a speech which contained details of rather large scale reforms brought in by the Conservative government. More than a third of the new and returning bills are directly involved with new arrangements following Brexit.

The proposed immigration bill highlights its purpose to bring an end to free movement and will lay the foundation for a fair, modern and global immigration system. It is similar to the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill published in December 2018, but with new additions:

The power to align the treatment of EU citizens arriving after January 2021 with non-EU citizens in order to deliver a single global immigration system based on people’s skills.
Confirming the deadline for applications to be made under the EU Settlement Scheme.
Giving EU citizens and their family members who apply a right of appeal against EU Settlement Scheme decisions (as currently only administrative reviews available).

The Queen went on to say that the benefits of these changes would include paving the way for a new and more effective Points Based System, which would mean the UK attracting only the brightest and best people who will strengthen the country. Free movement as it currently stands will end on 31 October 2019. The new system is so be fully in place by 2021.

Priti Patel and the Points Based System:

Home Secretary Priti Patel spoke yesterday about this new Points Based System, a plan that we have heard about before in the recent past.

Under a new points-based system, people will be allowed to live and work in the UK if they score highly enough on measures including education, salary level, and skills. Younger workers will also be seen as more appealing than ones in their middle to later years.

Patel has been inspired by the Australian system which awards 20 points for skilled migrants with ‘superior’ English and ten points for those who are ‘proficient’ in the language. Those with just ‘competent’ English do not score any points.

Similarly, migrants whose occupations are considered highly skilled and in-demand such as doctors, nurses or computer programmers, also score more points.

Spreading immigrants around the UK:

Of course, many people come to the UK with the idea solidified in their mind that they will be living in the capital.

Part of the new plans mean that immigrants coming to the UK will be rewarded if they are willing to live in less affluent parts of the country. The aim of this plan is to make sure that the deprived areas of the country which backed Brexit receive a fair share of the influx of skilled staff from overseas.

A spokesperson for the Conservative Party said:

“We’re in the early days of drawing up the new points-based immigration system, but are thinking about how it could be designed to make sure places other than London feel the benefits.”

Other announcements:

The government separately plans to legislate for tougher sentences for foreign criminals who re-enter the UK in breach of a deportation order. This generally points to a less lenient government when it comes to foreign nationals coming to the UK and being committed of criminal offences.

For more legal news and updates be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube!

Please also feel free to contact us on 020 7928 0276 or email into info@lisaslaw.co.uk if you need any legal advice on post-Brexit immigration applications. We are always here to help!

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News and Insights

What kind of visa applications have the option of administrative review?

You can ask for your application to be reviewed if one of the following apply:

If you’re outside the UK, you can only ask for an administrative review if all of the following apply:

How to apply for administrative review?

Important things to remember…

Your request will be withdrawn if you…

Other things to think about…

Potential outcomes of Administrative Review:

What if you don’t agree with the decision?

Contact us!

We must remember that the Home Office is made up of humans…

Can you appeal?

Appeals:

Ask for an oral hearing

Fees

How to pay:

Is your appeal urgent?

Contact us!

The case in question…

What happened next?

Success at last!

Problems and solutions…

The role of Lisa’s Law:

Contact us!

Those concerned…

Important changes:

Extension deadlines:

Money is not enough…

What about government bonds?

Be sure of where you stand…

Contact us!

Who qualifies?

The meaning of continuous lawful residency:

You can still qualify if you:

Is there any leeway?

Prisons and institutions

Temporary admission counts!

When is a good time to apply?

How long does it take?

Priority service update:

What documents do you need to have?

Contact us!

The changes in brief:

Deportation and the criminality thresholds:

Family members and Settled Status:

What if they miss the deadline?

European Temporary Leave to Remain

Contact us

The changes:

Public petition for the post study work visa:

What is PSW?

A few grey areas…

Contact us!

So, what is the issue with the fee and how does Mastercard work?

This is an example of a Class Action Lawsuit, but what does that mean?

So, never be afraid to act as a group if you find yourself in a legal battle!

Contact us!

Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa:

So, what’s changed with it?

Tier 1 (Investor) category – Some important things to note:

Investing in gilts is no longer accepted:

Tier 1: Entrepreneur: Some minor amendments

Contact us!

Priti Patel and the Points Based System:

Spreading immigrants around the UK:

Other announcements:

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