CASE STUDIES

Question:
My work permit application is being refused twice on the basis of inadequate recruitment search? Is there any possibility that a fresh work permit application can be made ?

Answer:
If the only objection is the advertisement, then it would be more appropriate if the employer places the advertisement again on suitable media and wait for the response from the resident workforce. If the employer still could not get a suitable person for the job, then only he can apply for your work permit. But we would advise to take professional help, as there might be something wrong with the advertisement itself or the medium the employer is using to advertise the position. 

Question:
I am on a work permit visa and living in the UK for the last 3 years. I am divorced from my husband and have got two children under the age of 18 years residing with my ex-husband. I would like my children to join me in the UK. What is the procedure?

Answer:
Apart for the standard requisites of a visa application, you need to establish that you have got the sole responsibility of upbringing of your children. But in view of the information you provided that you are residing in the UK for three years, divorced with your husband and your children are residing with their father, it is clear that you do not have sole responsibility of the upbringing of your children. In these circumstances, law considers it inappropriate to separate children from the father who is taking care of them and have got major responsibility of their upbringing. Your children however can come to the UK on a different immigration category such as student visa.

Question:
I am a British / Pakistani Citizen and residing in the UK for 6 years. I regularly go to my home country every two to three months and stay at my parents` house there. I bear all the expenses of the maintenance and accommodation of my parents there. I have also employed two domestic servants for my parents in my home country who have been working there for two and a half years. Is it possible for me to bring one of the domestic workers here in the UK to work at my house in the UK?

Answer:
Yes. It is possible but it requires a large number of documentations to be prepared and put in the right order. We strongly advise that you should take professional representation in preparation of this case, as it requires great attention to the details, information and documents. This space here does not allow us to go into that much detail. 

Question:
I have recently got indefinite leave to remain in the UK on the basis of residing in the UK for a complete 5-year period in a combination of work permit and HSMP. My question is regarding my child who was born in the UK before I got ILR. Do I now need to make Indefinite leave to remain application for my son as well?

Answer:
No. You do not need to make a separate application for your child now. Your child can be registered as a British Citizen as he is born in the UK to the parents who have now got ILR in the UK. You however, can only apply for British Citizenship once you have completed 12 months time after the issuance of your ILR and also fulfil other requisites.

Question:
I am a British Citizen and would like to invite my fiancée to come to the UK to meet my family. But we have not yet planned to get married. What is the procedure?

Answer:
As you do not have intentions to get married yet, your fiancée should not make a fiance visa at this stage. She should apply for a visit visa from the embassy. Please note that she cannot switch to Finance visa while remaining in the UK and have to return to her home country to obtain one. So, she should only apply for visit visa, if you have clear plans not to get married now.

Question:
I am a student here and recently got married with a Latvian national who is registered under the Worker registration scheme and working in the UK. My visa is expiring next month. What should I do to become my wife`s dependant? Would I get permission to take full time employment?

Answer:
You need to fill out the relevant form together with the required documents to obtain a residence stamp in line with the worker registration of your EEA national spouse. You can take full time employment during the pendency of your application and also after you receive a positive outcome of your application. This would also allow you to be self - employed in the UK. Once your application is approved you`ll receive one year residence stamp and before the expiry of this residence stamp, you can apply for residence card for five years.

Question:
I came on a spouse visa valid for two years in September 2005 and have been residing in the UK with my husband. Now my husband has commenced divorce proceedings as he has found new girlfriend and is no more interested in keeping this relationship. Can I switch to work permit or HSMP while remaining in the UK? If yes, can my stay in the UK on a spouse visa would be counted towards my application for ILR in the UK?

Answer:
Both work permit and HSMP are two-stage procedures. A work permit application can be made while you are in the UK but you would be required to obtain entry clearance from the country of your origin. It is also the case with an application made under HSMP. You can lodge an application under HSMP but would be required to make entry clearance application from outside the UK.

Even if you are permitted to make an in-country application in line with your approved work permit or Highly skilled migrant status, the period that you have spent on a spouse visa would not count towards the 5-year requirement to apply ILR. You would be required to complete 5 years from the date of your leave to enter / remain that you get inline with your work permit or highly skilled migrant status. 

Question:
The home office was considering increasing the age limit for fiancée visa / spouse visa from 18 to 21 years and also proposing to introduce language test. When these proposals would be introduced?

Answer:
There is no time estimate of introduction of the said proposals as nothing has been finalized yet. 

Question:
I came on a spouse visa and entered the UK in Nov. 2005. I lived together with my husband in the UK since that time. Unfortunately my husband is diagnosed cancer in Dec. 2006 and he died in April 2007. I do not wish to go back, is there any application that I can make to stay here in the UK?

Answer:
Yes. You can apply for ILR in the UK. It does not matter whether you have completed your 2 years on spouse visa or not and you also do not need to do life in the UK test to apply for settlement. And once you have got ILR, you can apply for naturalization after a total of five years of your stay in the UK provided you fulfil other requisites as well.

Question:
We have got a business in the UK and Ukraine. We require our business development manager who is working in our Ukraine branch office, to work for our London head office. Do we still need to advertise this position? What is the procedure?

Answer

No. You do not need to advertise the position and an application can be made for the overseas employee of the same company under the Intra – Company transfer work permit. Although the advertisement is exempted but the rest of the requirements must be fulfilled accordingly to the standard procedure.

Question:
I am on a student visa and my visa is expiring in November 2007. I have recently got married with my boyfriend who is on a work permit and have got visa till June 2011. Can I switch to a dependant of a work permit holder from my student visa without leaving the country?

Answer:
No. You cannot switch to become a dependant of a work permit holder from a student visa while remaining in the UK. You need to obtain entry clearance from the country of your origin to join your husband in the UK. But if there are some truly exceptional circumstances that you are unable to make travel arrangements then you can still make an out of rules application from the UK, in that case we would recommend that you should take independent professional advice before doing that.

Question:
I have got a work permit to work as chef for an Indian restaurant in London. Can I take part time employment to work as a sales assistant at my brother`s grocery shop?

Answer:
No. You have been given work permit to work only in the capacity of Chef for a particular employer and not to work for any one else in any capacity. If you work anywhere else without permission you would be liable to be removed from the UK. Although part time employment is permitted but it must be not more than 20 hours per week, a position at the same level and trade, and work outside your normal working hours.

Question:
I want to apply for HSMP but do not have earnings for a continuous 12 months out of the last 15 months to claim points under the past earning section. I only worked for the first six months and then there is a gap of 3 months before I recommenced work for the last 6 months. Can I still claim points under the past earning section?

Answer:
No. Your past earnings must be from a consecutive period of 12 months out of the last 15 months period. Any gaps would be counted in considering the 12-month period and points would be given accordingly. You cannot ask the Home office to count only the best 12 months out of 15 months.

Please note that the above questions and answers have been prepared from the emails, telephone calls and actual cases that we have dealt and have therefore not provided any names and addresses in order to keep cleint confidentiality.