Barar and Associates News

As of 1 June 2020, some UK Visa and Citizenship Application (UKVCAS) Centres will re-open for applicants who had existing appointments but had their appointments postponed due to the suspension of service. The UKVCAS will be sending all the abovementioned applicants an email explaining the next steps they need to take to rebook their appointments. […]

The Home Office has published an updated guidance for temporary residents whose visa expires between 24th January 2020 and 31st July 2020. Previously, for those who had their visas extended until 31st May 2020 due to travel restrictions or self-isolation, the Home Office will automatically extend their leave until 31st July 2020. Additionally, the Home […]

Today, the Home Office has published a Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules. Apart from changes in relation to the EU Settlement Scheme that shall take effect on 24 August 2020, all other changes shall take effect on 4 June 2020. Changes to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) Eligible family members of the people of […]

The Home Office has recently published a new guidance that explains the support migrants living in the UK can get under this current climate. Possibility to access public funds You can make a ‘change of conditions’ application for access to public funds if you have a UK family or private life visa and that you […]

The Home Office has published a new guidance for Tier 4 sponsors, Tier 4 migrants and short-term students for those who cannot travel or in self-isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Extension of Tier 4 visa If your Tier 4 student visa expires between 24th January 2020 and 31st May 2020, where you would normally […]

Sponsor Licence under the new UK immigration system A new UK immigration system will come into effect from 1 January 2021 and will affect Sponsor Licence applications. A UK employer who wishes to hire non-British nationals needs to first apply for and be granted a Sponsor Licence. Sponsor Licence applications A Sponsor Licence application is […]

Under the Home Office’s recently published guidelines for advice to Sponsors amidst the coronavirus COVID-19 crisis, Sponsors can place their sponsored employees on Furlough. What if the Sponsor had to reduce their salary? If the sponsored employee’s salary had to be temporarily reduced to 80% of their salary or £2,500 per month, whichever is the […]

This advice is relevant to you if you are affected by travel restrictions associated with the COVID-19. If you are in the UK and your visa expires between 24 January 2020 and 31 May 2020 As mentioned in our previous article, if you cannot leave the UK due to travel restrictions or self-isolation related to […]

COVID-19 advice for Tier 2, 4 and 5 sponsors The UK government has published advice for sponsors amid the coronavirus COVID-19 crisis for their Tier 2, 4 and 5 migrants. Absences Sponsors do not need to report absences for their students and workers if their absences are due to coronavirus. For example, if the students […]

NHS workers will have their visas extended The Home Secretary has announced yesterday that NHS staffs including doctors, nurses, and paramedics whose visas expire before 1st October 2020 will automatically have their visas renewed for one year. Additionally, this automatic extension will automatically apply to their dependent family members. The Home Secretary hopes this move […]

UK visas extended because of COVID-19 The UK Government has declared that visa holders in the UK who cannot leave the UK to return home due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) will be able to extend their visas. This must be because of self-isolation or travel restrictions related to the pandemic. If you are in this […]

Impact of the coronavirus on Immigration Tribunals One other important impact of the coronavirus is on the running of Immigration Tribunals. Indeed, to challenge a Home Office’s decision refusing a visa or British citizenship, the person concerned (who is called the ‘appellant’) must apply to the Immigration Tribunal (First-tier Tribunal) for permission to appeal the […]

Changes to the Immigration Rules The Home Office has recently published a Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules. The major changes relate to the EU Settlement Scheme (hereinafter EUSS) shall take effect on 6 April 2020. The scheme enables EU, other European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss citizens (hereinafter EEA citizens) living in the UK […]

Criminal record checks for overseas applicants The Home Office has recently issued some guidance on how to apply for a criminal record check for someone from overseas. Under the UK immigration rules, people aged 18 or over applying for a UK visa as a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur), Tier 1 (Investor) and Tier 2 (General) worker […]

Under section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, most immigration categories have the requirement that the individuals granted leave to enter or remain have no recourse to public funds. This means that immigrants will not be able to claim most welfare benefits provided by the Government. Paragraph 6 of the Immigration Rules defines […]

New UK points-based immigration system The Home Office has announced that a new UK points-based immigration system for highly skilled migrants will be implemented on 1 January 2021. The new immigration system has for aim to attract top highly skilled individuals around the globe and end free movement rights for EEA nationals. Under the new […]

Due to travel restrictions owing to coronavirus, certain individuals in the United Kingdom may be facing uncertainties regarding the expiry dates of their current visas or leave to remain in the UK. Therefore, the Home Office has published a guidance on Monday, which states that most people in the UK whose immigration statuses are affected […]

Document Reduction Pilot for Appendix FM applications The Home Office has launched a Document Reduction Pilot to reduce the number of documents provided with applications under Appendix FM: mainly family life with a partner or as a parent and adult relative applications. Thus, the Home Office wishes to not accept the following documents for those […]

Coronavirus and UK visa applications from China The recent Coronavirus outbreak is causing complications for people with UK visas and for UK visa applications from China. The Home Office aims to mitigate those issues by publishing an interim short-term guidance on 7th February 2020. Currently, all UK visa application centres in China are closed. Therefore, […]

A new statement of changes to the Immigration Rules published to introduce the Global Talent category Last Thursday, the Government has published a new statement of changes to the Immigration Rules. It is expressly stated in the explanatory memorandum that the purpose of publishing the statement is to “introduce a new Global Talent category for […]