Immigration Services

The UK Immigration Tier System

The Immigration Tier System is broken down into five tiers. Each of these tiers will require the migrant to score a sufficient amount of points to gain entry in the UK and remain there. These points are awarded for various criteria specific to each tier. All of the points that will be awarded in each of these tiers will be done so to indicate that an individual is likely to comply with immigration requirements. Points will be awarded to reflect aptitude, experience, age and also the level of demand in any given sector.
Read more on The UK Immigration Tier System.

• Tier 1 of the UK immigration tier system has replaced Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) but is still designed to attract top talent from outside the European Union who can contribute the most to the UK economy. It is designed for UK visa applicants who can bring desirable
  Read more on Tier 1.
  
  
• Tier 2 covers migration into the UK for skilled migrants who have a job offer. This tier is used to fill jobs where there are shortages in the labour market, i.e. engineering, information technology, education and nursing.   
  Read more on Tier 2.
  
  
• Tier 3 of the new UK immigration system allows migrants who are unskilled/low skilled to apply for work within the UK. Tier three however only allows applicants to apply for temporary work, which is largely seasonal work.
  Read more on Tier 3.
  
  
• Tier 4 is exclusively for students hoping for study within the UK. Migrants hoping to study within the UK under tier four of the new UK immigration system will require the need to get sponsorship from a university or other qualified UK educational institution.
  Read more on Tier 4.
  
  
• Tier 5 is for use by youth and mobility workers. The tier allows people to work in the UK for a temporary period of time.
  Read more on Tier 5.

 
Work Permits for the UK

To apply for a Work Permits for the UK there are several options depending on your skills and qualifications. If you are highly skilled with a degree and UK work experience, you may wish to apply via the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP). This will enable successful applicant’s freedom to come to the UK and seek work wherever they choose.
Read more on Work Permits for the UK.

• Alternate Options to Work Permits that are open to migrant workers is the opportunity to come to the UK on a Business Visit Visa; this visa is however limited and you have to conform to strict regulations in order to apply for it. Trips to the UK under a Business Visit Visa can be of any length up to six months. They can be used in any part of the UK where work or training is limited.
  Read more on Alternate Options to Work Permits.
  
  
• The Requirements for gaining a Work Permit to the UK are that the chosen candidate is experienced enough to be granted a work permit. The candidate must have a UK degree equivalent qualification or three years senior level experience or a HND level occupation or an NVQ at level three or above.
  Read more on Requirements for gaining a Work Permit.

• The process of applying for a Work Permit is to fill in the application form WP1. Our experts will then ready through and resolve any issues. We will then send your application off to the Home Office Border and Immigration Agency in order for it to be approved; you should allow a time frame of anything up to four weeks for your application to be approved.
  Read more on The process of applying for a Work Permit.

• Top be able to come to the UK on a Work Permit you will need your work permit in your possession before you enter the UK. When you arrive in the UK you will need to present your documents, your work permit, passport and any necessary Visas to the immigration officer based at the port of entry. Once you have done this you will be granted entry for the duration of the work permit.
  Read more on Coming to the UK on a Work Permit.

• As an employer in the UK you can apply for a work visa on behalf of a migrant without previously having to advertise the vacancy if the job is listed in the official Occupational Shortage list. Some of the occupational categories are Engineering, Ground Engineering, the Healthcare profession, General medical and educational.
  Read more on  Work Permit – list of Occupational Shortage.
  
  
  

UK Family Visa

The UK Government recognises the important of family life, which is why it is possible for family members to join each other within the UK. In order to do this there are a number of UK Family Visas on offer to migrants hoping to come to the UK.
Read more on UK Family Visas.

• The UK Marriage visa allows spouses or civil partners of UK citizens or permanent residents (people who have Indefinite Leave to Remain) to come to the UK under the marriage visa category. As soon as a UK marriage visa is granted you will be able to find work straight away.
  Read more on Marriage Visas.
  
  
• Unmarried Partners Visas exists for people who have been in a genuine relationship with a UK citizen or permanent resident (person who has been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain, ILR). This visa is more difficult to obtain than a marriage visa as you have to show that you have been together for at least two years and that you are in a permanent relationship.
  Read more on UK Married Visas.

• The Fiancée Visa allows applicants who are planning to marry a British citizen or permanent resident in the UK to apply on the basis of being a fiancée. The requirements of applying for this visa are a lot like the requirements surrounding the application of a UK marriage visa; there is however one significant difference, which is that, unlike many family visa, there are no requirements that state the applicant and partner have to live together before applying.
  Read more on the UK Fiancée Visa.
  
  
• The elderly dependent relative visa exists for individuals who are settled in the UK and want to apply to have their elderly dependent relatives join them in the UK. Applicants can apply, for example as a grandchild or child, for their parents or grandparents to join them in the UK.
  Read more on the Elderly Dependent Relative Visa.
  
  
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  Read more on Other Relatives Visa.
      

EEA/EU and Swiss Nationals

As an EEA/EU and Swiss national you have a right of residency in the UK, which entitles you to live and work in the UK as long as you have a valid passport and identity card, which you will have to present when using ports and airports within the UK.
Read more on EEA/EU and Swiss Nationals.

Worker Registration Scheme

The Workers Registration Scheme was introduced on the 1st of May 2004 at a time when eight new countries joined the European Union. If you are a citizen of any of these countries you will need to register under the Worker Registration Scheme to work for an employer in the UK for more than a month.
Read more on Worker Registration Scheme.

Graduate Students - Post Study Work

The Post Study Work has replaced the Science and Engineering Graduates Scheme and the International Graduates Scheme. This is ideal for a non-renewable two-year period but at the end it does not count towards permanent residnece. After the two year period you are expected to transfer to another immigration category.
Read more on Post Study Work.

Permanent Residence - Indefinite Leave to Remain

Indefinite Leave to Remain is a UK visa service that grants successful applicants permanent Residence in the UK. Applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain can be made by people who have previously been successful in applying for a visa in the UK as long as they have done so in a category that has the option of leading to permanent settlement.
Read more on Permanent Residence - Indefinite Leave to Remain.

UK Citizenship (Naturalisation / Becoming British)

UK Citizenship is classed as the concluding UK immigration service, which is available to foreign nationals who have already gained a permanent resident status in the UK through being granted Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR).
Read more on UK Citizenship (Naturalisation / Becoming British).

Student Visas for entry into the UK

A student visa doesn’t constitute a route to settlement within the UK and doesn’t lead to an opportunity to become a UK citizen. However upon completion of your course you are able to switch to another immigration service without having to leave the UK.
Read more on Student Visas for entry into the UK.

UK Working Holidaymakers

A working holidaymaker visa is an arrangement where a person who is aged between 17 and 30 can come to the UK for an extended holiday. This visa allows you to enter the UK for a maximum of two years.
Read more on UK Working Holidaymaker Visa.

• To apply for a UK Working Holidaymakers Visa there are certain requirements and conditions that you will have to meet in order to be granted the visa.
  Read more on Requirements and Conditions of obtaining a UK Working Holidaymaker Visa.
  
  
• The process of gaining a Working Holidaymakers Visa tends to vary depending on where you are applying from, which is why it is highly important that you check with your relevant UK embassy or consulate about what is involved when you are applying for a UK Working Holidaymakers Visa.
  Read more on UK Working Holidaymakers Visa Process.
  
  
• The commonwealth countries include Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Namibia, Pakistan, Tonga, Kenya and many more.
  Read more on UK Working Holidaymakers Visa – Commonwealth Countries.

Ancestry UK Visas
    
An ancestry UK visa will grant you residence in the UK for five years; however this is only accessible if you are a commonwealth national (check our Commonwealth Country list).
Read more on Ancestry UK Visas.

• Applying for an Irish ancestry visa is almost the same process as applying for a UK ancestry visa. As a foreign national you are able to apply for an Irish ancestry visa if you are a commonwealth citizen (please see the commonwealth country list) who has grandparents who were born in Ireland before 1922.
  Read more on Irish Ancestry Visas.
  
  
• You can apply for a UK Ancestry Visa if you are from Antigua. Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Cyprus
  Dominica, Fiji Islands and many more countries.
  Read more on Commonwealth Countries for a UK Ancestry Visa.
      

Other Options for Immigration to the UK

There are many different options open to you when it comes to immigrating to the UK and the route that you choose depends on your circumstances, i.e. if you have skills that are needed within the UK or if you are a student who is hoping to study here.
Read more on Other Options for Immigration to the UK

• An Au Pair visa allows people between the ages of 17 and 27 who are unmarried and have no dependants to come to the UK for a maximum of two years. An Au Pair will come to the UK to live with an English family. The main job of an Au Pair is to assist the English speaking family with housework and to look after any children that the family have.
  Read more on  Au Pair UK Visa
  
  
• A Domestic Workers UK Visa exists to allow domestic workers such as chauffeurs, gardeners, cooks and nannies etc to enter the UK for between 6 and 12 months. If you are a domestic worker who is hoping to come to the UK on a domestic workers visa there are certain restrictions that you must follow; one of the main ones being you are only permitted to come to the UK if you are coming over with your current employer to work for them as a domestic/household worker.
  Read more on Domestic Workers UK Visa.

UK Medical Profession Visas

Medical professions make up part of the occupational shortage list in the UK as there are a significant shortage of doctors and nurses and dentists as well as other medical professions such as; Anaesthetics, Cardiology, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Clinical Oncology, General Surgery, Neurology, Oral & Maxillo-facial Surgery, Psychotherapy and Rheumatology to name merely a few.
Read more on UK Medical Profession Visas.

• Foreign doctors from outside of EU countries must be registered with the UK General Medical Council (GMC) in order to practise medicine within the UK. There are also three types of registration that doctors must have prior to their UK immigration. The type of registration that they have depends on the responsibilities they will have while working in the UK.
  Read more on UK Visa Requirements for Non-EU Doctors.
  
  
• For foreign dentists to be able to take up employment within the UK they must be registered with the General Dental Council (GDC). There are also two types of registration that dentists must have prior to their UK immigration; they must either have full registration or temporary registration, the registration depends on the role and level of responsibility they will have while working in the UK.
  Read more on  UK Visa Requirements for Non EU Dentists.
  
  
• Nurses and Midwives from non EU countries need to be registered with the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to be able to take up employment in the UK; however in order to register with the NMC you will need to meet certain requirements.
  Read more on UK Visa Requirements for Non EU Nurses/Midwives.

UK Business Visa

The UK encourages anyone who can contribute to British economy to apply for business visas just as anyone who is core to the UK’s business ideology are welcome to join the business professionals here in the UK.
Read more on UK Business Visa.

• Those wishing to come to the UK to start a business should apply for an entrepreneur business visa. If this visa is granted to you it allows you to start any type of business provided you work full time in the management of the business.
  Read more on UK Business Visas for Entrepreneurs.
  
  
• The UK Buisness Visa for Investors is aimed at people who are hoping to come to the UK as passive investors. As with most countries the UK welcomes wealthy individuals and if you have the necessary funds it is relatively easy to get a visa for investor purposes.
  Read more on UK Business Visa for Investors
  
  
• The Sole Representative Visas for Employers was put in place to help trading companies outside of the UK who have no current UK presence. This visa makes it possible to send a member of staff to the UK in order to gain a UK presence.
  Read more on  Sole Representative Visas for Employers.
  
  
• The European Community Association Agreement Visa is a British immigration service specifically for nationals of countries with the relevant European Community Association Agreement in place. These countries are currently Romania and Bulgaria.
  Read more on European Community Association Agreement Visa.