On 14 May, the Home Office released a Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules. Most of these changes come into effect from 4 June 2020. Changes to the EU Settlement Scheme come into force on 24 August 2020. These dates apply to all the changes listed below unless stated otherwise.
A summary of the changes and their ramifications are as follows:
In a series of mostly positive changes, family members of Northern Ireland citizens can apply to be sponsored under the Settlement Scheme, rather than having to work through the non-EU/EEA immigration system.
This will mean that eligible family members of the people of Northern Ireland will be able to apply for UK immigration status, under the EUSS, on the same terms as the family members of Irish citizens in the UK. This immigration status will be available to the family members of all the people of Northern Ireland, no matter whether the person of Northern Ireland holds British or Irish citizenship or both, and no matter how they identify.
All victims of domestic violence who qualify for the EU Settlement Scheme will be permitted to retain their rights of residence if their relationship broke down because of domestic violence. Beneficiaries of the change include durable partners, children, dependent parents, and dependent relatives.
If a decision-maker is not confident that an endorsement is genuine, they now have the power to request more information from the applicant. They are also able to refuse applications if they do not believe that the endorsement body accurately assessed whether the criteria were met.
Changes are being made to make it clearer that, to be endorsed, applicants must be founders of their businesses and be relying on their own business plans. These changes also clarify that an Innovator applicant's business may be already trading, providing they were one of its founders.
This provision has not been added to the endorsement section of the Global Talent Visa requirements.
Furthermore, it must now be shown that the applicant's business plan is realistic and achievable based on the applicant's available resources. Also, the applicant must have generated the ideas in the plan (or made a significant contribution to those ideas) and must be responsible for executing the plan.
Higher Education Institutions will be able to endorse Innovator Visa applicants (previously they could only endorse those applying for Startup Visas).
The point was clarified that if an Innovator Visa applicant's business is already trading in the |UK, the applicant will be eligible if he or she was one of the founders.
There were only a few minor changes to this category, including:
The Representative of an Overseas Business Visa has seen an increase in popularity since the closing of the Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa. The criteria for the Startup and Innovator Visas is stricter, so some migrants have been utilising Representative of an Overseas Business entry route.
A genuineness test has been introduced:
An amendment is being made to prevent an overseas business sending a representative to facilitate their entry to the UK when there is no genuine intention for them to establish a branch or subsidiary in the UK.
This will give scope to decision-makers to refuse applicants if they do not believe that the applicant has any intention of setting up a branch or subsidiary in Britain.
Furthermore, applicants must provide evidence that the subsidiary or branch office cannot be established solely for the purpose of facilitating the entry and stay of the applicant.
And to prevent those who may have qualified under the now-defunct Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa from using the Representative of an Overseas Business Visa as a way of entering the UK, the Rules have been amended to:
prevent majority owners from entering as the dependent spouse, civil partner, unmarried or same-sex partner of a representative of their own business.
We will discuss the changes to the Representative of an Overseas Business Visa in-depth in another post to be published in the next few days.
If an applicant has been sent to prison for a period of twelve months and four years, any application for limited leave to remain should only be refused for ten years after the applicant has completed their sentence.
For self-employed people who require a set of accounts to prove they can meet financial requirements such as the minimum income requirement for a Spouse Visa, the list of accountants they can approach has been extended.
Four of the organisations are members of a UK supervisory body. The other six organisations are not but have previously satisfied the requirements for suitable supervision of their member accountants.
It was also made clear that leave as a fiance or proposed civil partner is to enable the marriage or civil partnership to take place in the UK.
If you require any further information about the changes to the Immigration Rules, please contact one of our team. We can quickly explain how the changes could affect your application. Our multi-lingual team of immigration solicitors will take the time to ensure you fully understand the legal advice provided so you can make the right decision to increase your chances of success.
It's a shame that you dont have an 'Excellent' star rating on here, as my experience with Reiss Edwards is nothing short of an excellent rating. They handled my application for an Indefinite Leave to remain in April 2014 and did my husband's one very recently including my daughter. Every time i have approached them, they have continued to treat me with courtesy, respect and patience. Amar was indeed a very thorough and professional gentleman. He is very knowledgeable, corporative and engaging. He responded to my emails, calls and enquiries promptly. He was always reassuring. I could not have asked for a better Immigration service. I would recommend them over and over again for anyone looking for an immigration advice. They gave me a free immigration advice when i called them, and the quality of the advice was something other charge thousands for. If you need a particular, name, Amar would be it. He exemplifies, for me, the true, professional gentleman. He is a valuable asset to Reiss Edwards.
I am glad that i instructed Reiss Edwards on my visa matter. It started with a 20 minutes free immigration advice. I met with Amar to discuss my ILR refusal. He gave me a great deal of quality advice and decided to take on my messy case. I had doubts on the merits of my case by he was relatively convinced he could win it. That made me quite secure. To be honest, things did not start as quick as I would have wanted, but they kept on communicating the process and state of things to me.A big thank you to Verusha and Foram. They were also very helpful. Brilliant and informative. Their fee was fair and reasonable, especially if you compare them to other law firms and immigration law firms in London; some of whom even told me that i would not be able to get an indefinte leave to remain in this country. The process was long but was worth it. In the end, a big thank you to Reiss Edwards.
Investing over 2 million pounds is defintely not a routine decision. We had to make sure that the Tier 1 investor immigration lawyers that we'd be picking has to be one of the best within the Tier 1 investor category. We contacted Reiss Edwards and they were able to get us not only the Tier 1 investor visa but also suggested profitable investment portfolios in addition to what we already had in mind.
TI have just had British Citizenship application approved. Prior to making the application, i was not sure which law firm i should hire to facilitate the paperwork. After a few hours of research, i decided to go with Reiss Edwards and i must confess that i wasnt disappointed. The immigration lawyers at Reiss Edwards handled my case well and they really knew what they were doing. They were fully aware of what documents I needed and it was easy for them to tell if my case was going to be easy or not. At the end of the day, I have not received my British citizenship within 3 months. If anyone is looking for a good immigration lawyer to handle thier case, contact Reiss Edwards.
Fantastic Solicitors!!!
My wife's spouse visa extension application was refused by the Home Office and they gave her 14 days to leave the country. We contacted Reiss Edwards and they said "OK don't worry we will sort this out". They put together the list of documents for me to obtain and they prepared a bundle which was as thick as the printer it came out from.We followed everything they asked us to do and in the end we won our appeal and got our spouse visa. We can't recommend them enough and we have promised ourselves never to make any more UK visa applications without them.
The team of lawyers at Reiss Edwards are very professional and friendly people. Their experience in and around UK immigration law is quite extensive; be sure that you application is in safe and competent hands. My immigration matter was an indefinite leave to remain application based on Tier 1 on a self-employment basis. The immigration lawyers at Reiss Edwards made sure that the application was perfect and ready to be accepted. I got a positive decision and I recommend them highly for anyone who needs a UK immigration help.
I contacted Reiss Edwards to help me with my wife's UK settlement visa. They acted with utmost professionalism throughout the entire application. I spoke with Joe Dinh, he is an immigration solicitor and he is one of the best solicitors out there. He ensured that there was little to no room for error. At some point I thought he was over cautious. He remained calmed and continued to assure us on our immigration matter. Most people in his position would have panicked but he was calmed and continued to assure us. We received out positive outcome very quickly.
I have been using Reiss Edwards for three years now for my family's immigration application. Both for my initial application and extension. They are really affordable. The team of solicitors at this firm are probably one of the most efficient and economical in terms of cost. They offered free advice over the phone and spent good time with us before inviting us for consultation.
Reiss Edwards is a top notch immigration service company. The way they handled our documentation and also the list of documents they sent was efficient and top quality. They helped us professionally throughout the process. We are very happy with the immigration advice we received from the team. We highly recommend them.
I used Reiss Edwards immigration lawyers to assist with my immigration matter and that of my family. It was an EX1 application. They dealt with the matter properly and even when complications were coming up from the Home Office, they helped resolve the issue properly. They are very professional and are very popular in London. I am happy to have worked with them.
This is the only firm that i spoke with that didn't ask for money before listening to me, will be using them again.
I used Reiss Edwards for my Tier 2 visa application and it was successful. The team was ever present and happy to answer my question. The caseworker that dealing with my case went on holiday yet by case did not suffer one bit. Another lawyer stepped and took over the case without any hassle.
My Tier 1 Investor Visa was dealt with quickly and without issue. Would recommend Reiss Edwards as an Immigration law firm in London. Thank you to the team.
1st Floor, Holborn Gate, 330 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7QT, United Kingdom
.png)
