Top tips on making an immigration application
It is vital that if you are making an Immigration application that you do your utmost to get the application right first time around. Why is it so important to take care with the application and to get it right? Well, if you do not do so, then top London immigration solicitors advise you that you risk inadvertently being classified as an “overstayer”. Many Immigration applicants would question how they could possibly be labelled as an overstayer if they have submitted an Immigration application prior to the expiry of their current visa.
The best London immigration solicitors advise Immigration applicants that if they make a mistake on their Immigration application form they risk their application being determined by UK Visas and Immigration to be an invalid application. Most migrants assume that any mistakes on the Immigration application form can easily be remedied and that it is just top London immigration solicitors who are overly pedantic when form filling and scaremongering when they warn about the importance of correctly completing an Immigration application form. However, that is not the case as the Immigration Act 1971 and Immigration case law says that if an Immigration application is made before Immigration leave expires, the migrant is not classed as an overstayer if his application is submitted before the expiry of his or her visa provided that the Immigration application is not procedurally faulty and the application is therefore treated as an invalid application.
If an Immigration application is classed as an invalid application, then the migrant can suffer the consequences of failing to properly prepare the Immigration application namely:
• Classification as an overstayer; and
• Potential for detention and removal from the UK; and
• Impact on future Immigration applications.
That is why the best London immigration solicitors place such importance on form filling, mundane and boring as it is, because by failing to complete an application form correctly, a migrant can provoke a lot of unnecessary bureaucracy, time and expense in then resolving the mistake in the form filling.
So what are the top London immigration solicitors’ tips on making an Immigration application?
If in doubt, take legal advice
If you have any questions about whether you should make an Immigration application or the timing of the application or the consequences of making the wrong application, you should take specialist legal advice from an experienced Immigration solicitor before you submit your application. The important thing to do is to choose your Immigration solicitor with care given the importance of the success of the Immigration application to you. Ideally, you should instruct an Immigration solicitor who is:
• Known for their expertise in Immigration law rather than an “all-rounder” who sometimes makes an Immigration application; and
• Recognised for their Immigration expertise in a legal publication, such as the Legal 500; and
• Specialist qualifications in Immigration law, such as the Law Society accredited solicitors’ status as trusted specialists in Immigration law;
• Working with a team of experts in Immigration law.
As well as choosing your Immigration solicitor with care, it is also vital that you work with the solicitor and provide them with the paperwork that they ask for and answer any questions as honestly as you can so that the solicitor can give you thorough advice to maximise the prospects of making a successful Immigration application.
Use the correct application form
It seems self-evident to say to use the right Immigration application form, but the best London immigration solicitors will say that it is surprisingly common for an application to be made on either an out of date or incorrect form.
Complete the form correctly
We have all done it, sat at the computer screen and pressed send, without first triple checking that the paperwork or form is correct. There can be no room for error with an Immigration application form so the top London immigration solicitors would always advise that care should be taken when completing an Immigration application form as it is surprisingly easy to forget to tick a mandatory box on the visa application form or to not double check the information. Proofreading is the key to successfully completing an Immigration application form.
Pay the right fee
You would think that if an Immigration applicant paid the wrong fee when submitting their Immigration application form that there would be a bit of lee way, after all we can all make mistakes. However, if you make a mistake and send the wrong fee then, under the Immigration rules, the application can either be classified as an invalid application or the applicant can be given 10 days to pay the right fee. Failure to pay the correct fee within the 10-day deadline means, according to the Immigration rules, that the application should be treated as invalid.
Do not forget to pay the Immigration health surcharge
Even if the form has been filled in correctly and the right Immigration application fee has been paid, an applicant can still go wrong and make an invalid Immigration application if they fail to pay the Immigration health surcharge and provide their Immigration health surcharge reference number. Again, this is basic stuff, but the best London immigration solicitors will tell visa applicant time and time again that basic errors result in Immigration applications being rejected and treated as invalid.
Provide your evidence
The evidence required may be:
• Proof of identity; and
• The written consent of a parent or guardian if the applicant is under the age of 18; and
• Compliance with biometric requirements.
If an applicant does not provide the right evidence or paperwork, their Immigration application may not be treated as invalid, but they run the risk that it might be.
What to do
If in doubt, take expert legal advice from a top London Immigration solicitor on your Immigration application before it is submitted to UK Visas and Immigration.
If you have been notified that your Immigration application is invalid, then do not delay in seeking advice. If an Immigration application is treated by UK Visas and Immigration as invalid, then an applicant may be notified about the error and given only one chance to rectify the error within a deadline specified by the Home Office.
OTS Solicitors regularly advise on all aspects of personal and business immigration and have substantial expertise in advising on and preparing all types of visa application. OTS Solicitors expert advice on Immigration is recognised by the legal directory of leading UK lawyers, Legal 500. In addition, OTS Solicitors have Law Society accredited solicitors’ status as trusted specialists in Immigration law.