We know first-hand from our clients that obtaining a Fiancée/proposed Civil Partnership visa can sometimes be more stressful than the Spouse/Civil Partnership (for same-sex partners) visa itself. I am often asked “How can I show we have a wedding planned? How long have I got to get married once in the UK?”. Don’t worry, it’s not a sprint from the runway at Heathrow airport to your nearest Registry Office. The Immigration Rules allow an Applicant and their Sponsor six months to marry from the date of arrival.

Wedding planning can be the most exciting yet stressful time in a couple’s relationship. We know from the applications that we have made on behalf of our clients that the Home Office simply want to see that there are arrangements in place for a marriage to take place within the proscribed six months. I choose my words carefully as it is not necessary to show all intricacies of the wedding day have been detailed in your application. It is worthy of note at this stage that the Home Office’s own Guidance does state that it is not acceptable to simply show a Registry booking. As such, I would advise clients (and indeed potential clients) to evidence their application with documents showing reception venue booking, flowers, dresses, etc. For our own clients, we prepare a checklist of appropriate documents that you can submit with the application after discussing this with you.

After you have married, you must make an application to switch into the Spouse visa. We offer our clients one of two options: a same-day service or postal application. Please note that this is subject to us being able to secure an appointment with the Home Office in Croydon. It is therefore recommended that you make this request of us at least four weeks prior to switching.

If you are interested in any of these issues, please do not hesitate to get in touch

Sophia Gandhi
Associate

These immigration law seminars will be free of charge for stakeholders, key introducers and others.

All seminars are held in our Hanover Square offices and commence at 5.30 and end at 7.00pm

15th June 2012 – Overstayers and Regularising Status – by Kelly McClarey

28th June 2012 – Investor Visas in the UK – By Amir Zaidi

13th July 2012 – Tier 2 and Employment Law Issues – By Hateem Ali

26th July 2012 – Entrepreneur Visas – by Houman Mehr and Sophia Ghandi

10th August 2012 – Detention and Emergency Cases – By Yomi Yusuf

Seminars will hold around 50 persons each and will provide ample opportunity for learning, question and answers and feedback.

Please contact Mr Amir Zaidi if you wish to attend these seminars. Please visit our immigration law seminar page for full details.

For many, it remains a viable option so long as they have disposable funds and of course the ability to invest those funds over time. Here are 10 facts about Investor Visas that are less well known.

1. How much do you need to show?

You have to evidence disposable funds at either 1 million pounds, 5 million pounds or 10 million pounds.

2. How much do you need to invest?

Once you have the Uk Investor visa, you will be expected to invest 75% of those intital figures mentioned above for a period.

3. How long is the period of investment?

If you invest 75% of 1 million, then 5 years,
If you invest 75% of 5 million, then 3 years, and
If you invest 75% of 10 million, then 2 years.

4. Then what happens?

You obtain permanent residency, known in the UK as Indefinite Leave to Remain, or ‘ILR’.

5. What can I invest the 75% in?

Under the Uk Investor Visa you can invest in

UK Government Bonds (Gilts)
UK Corporate Bonds
UK Equities
UK Private Companies

6. Where does the other 25% go?

You can leave this in cash, the unmortgaged part of a property, other UK based investment or in the above investment – all so long as they are in the UK.

7. When to I get a British passport?

You can obtain this one year afer permanent residency is granted, but no earlier than 6 years on the law as it stands.

8.What if the value of the investment goes down?

You would need to top it up at the end of the next reporting quarter.

9. Can i invest in property?

The Investor Visa does not allow investment into property, once you have invested the 75%, you can buy property on top at what ever value.

10. What next?

Give us a call, we can usually have these investment visas obtained in less that a month.

But tradition in a modern world can be hard to achieve. This is true of reviews. Online businesses like Amazon.com have changed all of that and added a new stage to the buying experience: checking out the reviews.

Is this appropriate to immigration law?

We believe so, although there are clear examples of immigration law firms filing fake reviews, these are usually easy to spot. Overall, we think having reviews are a good thing.
Here is why:
1. It provides our potential clients with clear examples of the work we do and reassurance that we are good at our jobs.

2. It also allows clients to actually choose which of our lawyers they think would work best for their immigration case. These can be segmented by the type of case or by the type of service each lawyer provides.

3. It also provides us with internal feedback on how our lawyers are doing. This means we can correct any issues that might have arisen or also give some of our immigration lawyers prizes. Last year Hateem Ali won a Nespresso coffee machine for outstanding reviews!!

But perhaps the most important reason is that it provides lines of communication between Westkin and our immigration law clients. The days of top down communication is over. We have to see our clients as equal partners. They improve our business as we improve their lives.

So when we have provided you with advice or won your case for you, we will be happy. We may ask you for a review, if we do ask, please say yes.

It helps fellow migrants stay away from bad advisors, it allows us to improve our standards and it might just win your immigration lawyer a new coffee machine !

Amir

Your services are an unknown quantity – for example there is no top 10 list for immigration law firms.

In a very real sense a client is simply unaware if you are going to be be able to do a good job on their case until such time as they have already signed up.

Clients are aware of this. They are also aware that many immigration lawyers have poor reputations. How to correct these failures?

Well the first method is to recognise that there has been a market failure in immigration legal services. For a market to work, there has to be transparency and equal access to information.

There is no transparency in immigration legal services. For example, if I wanted to choose between a iPhone or other device, I could easily call up the reviews. Although there are reviews on immigration law forums, with comments from immigration lawyers and immigration solicitors previous clients, these forums are often skewed by immigration solicitors placing false reviews.

Further, there is very little knowledge on the part of clients. They often come from environments and cultures that are alien to the UK. They are then easily exploited by members of their own communities, when they look for a friendly face amongst all the immigration lawyers they are looking for.

Finally, the sheer amount of immigration lawyers in London can cause a tyranny of choice. There are simply so many lawyers that there cannot be an easy way to make a choice.

How to find your way round these issues is difficult. I would use the following methods to choose a law firm:

1. Don’t have one criteria – if you only look for a lawyer who is cheap, or is Russian or is in your area you may often have a problem.

2. Insist on meeting the lawyer before paying any money.You wouldn’t buy a car without seeing it, why not a lawyer?

3. Ask for a client care letter before paying any money.This should cover all you have discussed with the lawyer.

4. Always insist that they letter contains the promises that you have been given orally. For example, if you were told the case was no win no fee, or it was very strong, then insist that is reflected in the client care letter.

5. Always ask to meet the lawyer, not a sales person. Sales persons are great at selling, what about the legal work – that is what you are paying for.

6. Always trust a lawyer, not a case managements system. Legal skills are built through careful work by lawyers, would you rather have a real lawyer or a computer system running your case.
Lots more tips next time.