Visa Services | Gherson

South Africans need visas to visit UK - but see below

Updated by Gherson on Tuesday 10 February 2009. All Articles | Featured Articles | Visa Services

From 3 March 2009 nationals of Bolivia, Lesotho, Swaziland and Venezuela will all have to apply for visas if they wish to visit the United Kingdom. So will South Africans, unless they have visited the UK before using the passport they currently hold.

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Tier 4 deadline for sponsor applications nears

Updated by Gherson on Thursday 29 January 2009. All Articles | Featured Articles | Students | Visa Services

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has announced that Tier 4 of its “points based system” will become operational at the end of March 2009.

Tier 4 will replace the current immigration rules relating to people wishing to come to the UK as students. In common with Tiers 2 and 5 of the points based system applicants under Tier 4 must be sponsored – in their case by a licensed education provider.

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Refusals based on failure to register with the police

Gherson is aware of an increasing number of refusals of applications made by people from within the United Kingdom to “vary” their existing leave to remain (either by extending their leave to remain in the same immigration category or by switching into a different category) where the refusal is because the applicant has failed to register with the police.

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Citizenship bill gets first reading

Updated by Gherson on Friday 16 January 2009. All Articles | Featured Articles | Nationality | Visa Services

As the Path to Citizenship Green Paper announced nearly a year ago – the new Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill introduces the operation of a kind of “earned citizenship” of the UK. The bill was partially published in draft form in July of last year. The complete bill received its first reading in the House of Lords on Wednesday 15 January of 2009.

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Update On The New Immigration Rules- Tier 2 Over Age Dependants

Updated by Gherson on Tuesday 18 November 2008. All Articles | Featured Articles | HSMP | Visa Services

The UK Border Agency has stated that over aged dependants of Tier 2 (ICT) applicants will not be granted permission to enter the UK. This is a marked difference from the previous work permit scheme. This applies even in the case of an over age adult child who is a dependant, due to a disability for instance.

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Important Changes To The Immigration Rules For The Diplomatic Domestic Workers

Updated by Gherson on Thursday 6 November 2008. All Articles | Featured Articles | Working for UK Employers | UK Employers | Visa Services

From 27 November 2008 Migrant Domestic Workers who work for diplomats and have a diplomatic domestic worker visa will be incorporated into Tier 5 of the Points Based System. This means they will only be able to remain here in a temporary capacity and will not be able to obtain Indefinite Leave to Remain (permanent residence) in the UK.

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Assistance to work permit holders in uncertain positions - tier 1 (general) applications

Gherson’ specialist immigration team is on standby to assist individuals who currently have a work permit and who would prefer the security of a Tier 1 (General) visa, which replaced the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme in June 2008.

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Hidden Risk - applying for "extension" of leave under Tier 1 from outside UK

There is a "Hidden Risk" for those with permission to stay in the UK who are thinking

of applying for an "extension" under Tier 1 of the Points Based System from

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Gherson succeeds in cancellation of a civil penalty

Gherson has succeeded in a case where the UK Border Agency had issued a notice of liability for a civil penalty to one of its corporate clients under section 15 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 2006.

The UKBA issued the notice in relation to an employee whose employment had  commenced prior to 29 February 2008, when the civil penalty regime came into  force. The client, a successful and well known UK brand, was at risk of  being 'named and shamed' on the UK BA's website which lists those employers  which have received a civil penalty. This would have had a disastrous impact  on the client's brand and reputation. Gherson argued that under the  legislation, civil penalty notices cannot legally be imposed if the employment commenced prior to 29 February 2008 and UK BA was forced to  accept that this interpretation is correct. Gherson's client had undertaken appropriate pre-employment checks but the employee had provided a forged  identity document.

For further information on employee vetting checks please contact the corporate immigration team at Gherson. Emails can be sent to Kathryn Bradbury at   or by telephone on 020 7724 4488

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Ankara agreement - no entitlement to breach conditions of leave to enter

In FS (Turkey) [2008] UKIAT 00066 the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal found that the principle of ex turpis causa non oritur actio – or “no court will lend its aid to a man who founds his cause of action upon an immoral or illegal act” enabled it to dismiss the Appellant’s appeal against the Secretary of State’s refusal to vary her leave to remain from that of a visitor to that of a self-employed person.

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