Saturday 29 November 2014

Different Categories under UK Tier 2 Visa

,
The Tier 2 visa is the most popular way to migrate to the UK. This visa allows skilled workers of non-EEA (European Economic Area) countries to work in the UK. However, to become eligible for this visa you must first be sponsored by a UK employer for a vacant post in the UK. Your sponsoring employer must have a valid Tier 2 sponsorship license. Also, you need to submit the Certificate of Sponsorship (provided by the employer) while applying for the UK Tier-2 visa.

The Tier 2 visa has four categories.

General

This category is for those foreign nationals who are migrating to the UK to fill skilled positions which cannot be filled by native and settled skilled workers in the UK. The annual cap on the number of Tier 2 visa for general category is 20,700. However, people with an annual salary of more than £150,000,who migrated to the UK under this category,are not included in the cap. The maximum stay under this category is 5 years and 14 days, which can be extended by another 5 years.

Intra Company Transfer

This category is for those foreign nationals who are being transferred to a UK branch of a multinational company. This category is further divided into 4 sub-categories. The validity for each subcategory is different. Here are the details.
  • Long-term Staff: For employee transfer of more than 12 months with maximum stay period of 5 years and 14 days
  • Short-term Staff: For employee transfer of up to 12 months with maximum stay period of 12 months
  • Graduate Trainee: For employee transfer to graduate trainee program for specialized roles with maximum stay period of 12 months
  • Skills transfer: For employee transfer to gain and pass knowledge and skills in the UK with maximum stay period of 6 months

Sports People

This category is for elite sports persons and internationally recognized coaches. The visa application must be endorsed by the concerned sports governing authority. It must also prove to the UK immigration department that applicant’s employment will promote that sport in the UK. This visa remain valid for 3 years, however, you can also apply for a 3 years extension on it.

Minister of Religion

This category is for those foreign nationals who have been offered a position in the UK within a faith community such as minister of religion, missionary, or a member of religious order. Under this category the Tier-2 visa remains valid for 3 years, which can be extended for another 3 years.

If you are eligible under Sports People category but your intended stay period is less than one year, then you should apply under the Tier-5 visa. Similarly, people who are eligible for Minister or religion category should apply for Tier-5 visa if their intended stay period is less than 2 years.

Having knowledge of different categories under the Tier-2 visa will help you selecting the right visa category while applying for a UK visa as a skilled worker.
Read more →

Monday 24 November 2014

Understanding the UK Immigration System

,
Anyone who is not a citizen of a country under European Economic Area (EEA) has to go through the UK’s point-based 5-tier immigration system to migrate to the UK. As is clear from the previous statement, there are 5 categories to immigrate to the UK, with each tier representing one category. For each tier there is a separate point-based evaluation system, with different sets of factors on which the points are awarded. Also, the minimum points that applicants are required to earn to have their visa approved are also different for different tiers.

Let’s discuss each tier one by one.

Tier 1

The Tier 1 visa is for those non-EEA citizens who can be considered as ‘high-value’ immigrants. This includes entrepreneurs, investors, artists, and other individuals with exceptional talent. On this visa, you can work in the UK in many jobs without being sponsored for them, as well as be self-employed. You can also bring your family members on this visa. Initially this visa remains valid for 2 years, but you can apply for extension to stay in the UK for up to 5 years. However, from 6 April 2015 the visa extension on Tier 1 visa will be closed.

Tier 2

To migrate to the UK under this category, you first need to get sponsored by a UK employer. Your employer also needs to prove to the government that the nominated position cannot be filled by any native or settled skilled worker in the UK. While applying for this visa you need to submit your certificate of sponsorship. This visa remains valid for a maximum period of 5 years and 14 days. However, you can apply for a 5 years extension if your total stay in the UK is not more than 6 years.

Tier 3

The Tier 3 visa was for low-skilled overseas workers to fill the shortage of unskilled workers in the UK. However, on 25 March 2013 the Tier-3 visa was shut down completely, since according to government the UK no longer need unskilled workers from outside the EEA.

Tier 4

This tier is for overseas students who want to study in the UK. To apply for this visa, you first must be offered a place on a course at a UK educational institute. Also, you can only apply for this visa if you are older than 16 years. Additionally, you must have a sound knowledge of English language. The validity of this visa depends upon the length of your course. The student visa also allows you to work in the UK with some restrictions.

Tier 5 

This category is for temporary workers and is divided into 6 subcategories - creative and sporting, charity workers, religious workers, government authorized exchange, international agreement, and youth mobility scheme. On this visa you can stay and do voluntary or temporary work in the UK for 12 months. You can also bring your family members to the UK.

Understanding the UK immigration tier system will help you in choosing the right visa while migrating to the UK.
Read more →

Friday 21 November 2014

Guidelines on Danish Citizenship

,
In the recent years, Denmark has been continuously ranked as the happiest nation in the world. In fact, it is not surprising that most people who migrate here on study, work or residence permit eventually become Danish citizens.

There are many ways to acquire Danish nationality. A child born to a Danish parent, whether outside or in Denmark, automatically becomes a Danish citizen. Also, a child adopted by a Danish parent through a legal adoption process acquires Danish citizenship automatically. Citizens of Nordic countries, including Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden can become Danish citizen by declaration. And people who have migrated here from other than Nordic countries can become Danish citizens by naturalization.

To become a Danish citizen by naturalization, you first need to have permanent residence in Denmark. To become eligible to apply for Danish citizenship, migrants have to show specific tenure of Danish permanent residency. This tenure varies according to the nature of their migration. Also, the residence should be uninterrupted, although under special circumstances such as family illness and child education, the government can allow an interrupted residence of up to 2 years. Here are permanent residency requirements for different categories: 

·         9 years in general cases
·         8 years for people residing in Denmark on refugee status
·         6 years if you are married to a Danish citizen for at least 3 years, (since for each year you are married to a Danish citizen you get a relief of one year from the 9 years permanent residence requirement)

If you are married to a Danish citizen, then the government may allow you a residence absence of more than 2 years. For that, you must have a continuous residence of at least 3 years, and must exceed your period of absence in Denmark. Additionally, if you marry a Danish citizen working in a foreign country then your marriage period in the foreign country can be considered as residence in Denmark. It is also important to note here that Nordic country citizens must also have a minimum permanent residence of 2 years before they can acquire Danish citizenship. 

Usually, people have to lose their original nationality in order to obtain Danish citizenship, since Danish immigration policy is quite restrictive about dual citizenship. However, the new government is trying to bring some reforms in Danish immigration policy to make it more liberal towards dual citizenship. In June 2014, the government was able to have the multiple citizenship bill passed in the Parliament, which is expected to come into force in summer 2015. It will also allow Danish people, who had given up their nationality to gain nationality of a foreign country, to reclaim their Danish citizenship. 

While applying for Danish citizenship you must ensure that, you fulfill the eligibility criteria, since the application fee is not refundable. Additionally, you only come to know that your application is refused when the results are declared.   

To ensure that you have filled in the right application form and put together all the necessary documentation, it is recommended to take guidance from a credible immigration consultant.
Read more →

Sunday 9 November 2014

How to Migrate to Australia on Skilled Independent Visa

,
Australia has a robust job market, which usually remains relatively untouched at the times of global economic crisis. In addition, Australia has a quite low unemployment rate, which according to a recent report was a little above 6%. Interestingly, the reason for even the 6% is not the lack of job opportunities, but the lack of local skilled workforce.

Australia government continues to bring new reforms in its immigration policy to attract foreign skilled workers to come and become a part of Australia’s thriving economy. The government also encourages its employers to hire skilled workers from across the world. To achieve this target, government offers quick visa processing for those foreign nationals who have been sponsored by an Australian employer to work in Australia. However, there still remain a lot of vacancies for foreign skilled workers. And to solve this issue, the government offers the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189), so that those overseas workers who are not sponsored by an Australian employer can apply to work in Australia.

If you are below 50 years of age, have vocational knowledge of English language, and have professional skills that are in high demand in Australia, then you are eligible to apply for the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189). To apply for the subclass 189 visa, you first need to submit an expression of interest (EOI) in which you need to provide your personal and professional details. Before submitting your EOI application you need to go through a suitable skills assessment in which you are awarded points based on your age, education qualification, work experience, and English language proficiency.

The EOI you submit will then be added to the EOI pool, where your application will be ranked against other EOI applications. Potential EOIs will then be selected by Australian employers. After that the selected EOIs will be sent the letter of invitation by Australian government to apply for this visa. However, you become eligible to apply for this visa only after providing the following proofs.
  • You are nominated by an Australian employer for an occupation in a relevant skilled occupation list
  • Your skills assessment score is as per mentioned in your EOI
  • Other proofs for all the information you have provided in your EOI
The subclass 189 visa is a permanent residency visa, which lets you bring your dependent family members to Australia. The maximum period you can stay in Australia on this visa is 5 years. After this period you need to either renew your visa or apply for another valid Australia visa to continue your stay. While your visa is valid, you can work, study and live in Australia without restrictions. On your subclass 189 visa you can also apply for Australian citizenship, as well as sponsor your eligible relatives for permanent residency in Australia.

Your EOI plays a crucial role in visa processing of subclass-189 visa. Therefore, it is recommended to hire an experienced visa consultant while preparing you EOI application to make it more credible.
Read more →