Sometimes a news story catches your eye. Many top London immigration solicitors read with interest that Seema Kennedy had been appointed as immigration minister in place of Caroline Nokes. For most, the unusual aspect of the report was that Caroline Nokes is said to have learnt about her removal as immigration minister via social media.

With reference to the famous quote by Harvey Mackay: “Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it, you can never get it back”  As Immigration Lawyers, we understand the importance of time for our clients. Upon instructions it is our duty to ensure that unnecessary and controllable delays are not cause to our client’s case, especially not at our hands. 

What does the question “are you of good character” mean? Why is it so important? If you are not a London immigration solicitor, you might think “good character” is rather old fashioned. 

As London immigration solicitors, we come across the phrase “good character” almost on a daily basis whilst handling applications for British citizenship.

Home Office figures reveal that 600,000 EU citizens have applied for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. You would think that with over 600,000 applicants for Settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme that the top London immigration solicitors would no longer be receiving enquiries about EU citizens applying for Permanent Residence. However, with the continued uncertainty over Brexit, EU citizens are continuing to ask the question whether it is preferable to apply for Settled Status or Permanent Residence.

Top London immigration solicitors read in the news that recently three people have been convicted of criminal offences relating to providing migrants with incompetent and unsupervised immigration advice. The three were found guilty of providing unqualified immigration advice and/or services in contravention of section 91 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. 

Let’s face it the phrase “Zambrano Derivative Residence Card” is a bit of a mouthful that does not easily trip off the tongue. However, as the best London immigration solicitors use the phrase a lot, this blog looks at what a Zambrano Derivative Residence Card is and what it does. 

• Non-EEA national primary carers of British citizens; and 

Spring is in the air; thoughts are turning to holidays and spending time with friends and family. However, if you are a global family it is not so easy to keep in touch or to visit a loved one. Many families require a UK standard visitor visa in order to travel to the UK to spend time with relatives or to combine a trip with attending a family or friend’s wedding.  

When a company gets its first Sponsor Licence, business owners tend not to think about the expiry of the Sponsor Licence. However, top London immigration solicitors   advise that Sponsor Licences only last for four years. That may seem a long time at the outset of the Sponsor Licence but the date for renewal of the Sponsor Licence can come around very quickly when a company is focussed on the daily challenges of supply and demand or recruitment and HR issues.

Many people think that marriage and immigration is complicated. After all, you have to jump through hoops to get a fiancée visa or spouse visa. However, top London immigration solicitors say that divorce and immigration is just as complex.

If you have an “exceptional talent” and you want to come to the UK from a non-EEA country then you may be able to enter the UK on a Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) Visa  rather than applying for a Tier 2 (General) Visa. 

If you are reading this after you have just had learned that your company’s Sponsor Licence has been suspended, you probably are at your wits ends about what you should do and are worried about your employees’ immigration status and the future of your business. 

For business owners struggling to get to grips with whether or not Brexit will happen and, if so, when and how to prepare their business for a post Brexit world in either a deal or no deal scenario it is hard to keep on top of business immigration news. 

The family law and Immigration law matters in International Adoption cases are probably not the things you think of when you are showing off your new baby to friends and family. But the pleasures of that new arrival are what new parents should be able to experience in the first few weeks of a baby’s arrival. 

University and college exams are ending, and London employers are thinking about recruitment in either seasonal tourist industries or to help cover for staff holidays over the summer season when Londoners are trying to escape to the sun.

Stephen Slater is a senior lawyer and in-house advocate at OTS Solicitors and someone with a passion for helping the underdog. He has therefore found his niche area of law in helping the Windrush Generation with their nationality law and hostile environment challenges and in securing justice and compensation for Windrush victims.

There has been negative press about the new Innovator Visa, so OTS Solicitors thought we would share an Innovator Visa case study to show that applicants are successfully starting to make UK Innovator visa applications.

The adverse publicity surrounding the Innovator visa stems from:

"came to the UK from the Caribbean before 1973 and stayed here permanently but were unable to demonstrate their continuous residence here which led to action being taken against them".

It is headline news in some newspapers that the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has recommended that migration rules, and in particular the Shortage Occupation List should be extended. If the government accepts the committee proposals then it will be easier for a non-EEA migrant who wants to come to the UK to do so, provided they have the skills and qualifications to apply for a job on the Shortage Occupation List. 

When it comes to business visas, the business immigration team at OTS Solicitors have had another highly successful year in applying for business visas.