UK Immigration

Required Documents

• Your passport or travel document;
• The application forms VAF9 and Appendix 1 with all mandatory sections completed;
• The fee which cannot be refunded and you must pay in local currency;
• Your biometric details (see below);
• A recent passport sized photograph (please note that photographs should measure 45mm x 35mm and be:
  • in colour taken against a white background;
  • clear and of good quality and not framed or backed;
  • printed on normal photographic paper;
  • full face and without sunglasses, hat or head covering (unless it is worn for cultural or religious reasons but the face must not be covered)
    (If the application is successful, the photographs provided will be reproduced on the visa vignette).
• If you do not submit relevant documents, your application is likely to be refused as we will be unable to award the relevant points.

Biometric details

Biometric details are scans of all 10 fingers and a full-face digital photograph. You will need to provide your biometric details in person. The whole procedure should take no more than 5 minutes to complete. Your visa application will not be processed until you have met this requirement.

Visa Application Centres (VACs)

In some countries we are working with commercial companies to run Visa Application Centres. The VACs are in largely populated areas making it easier and more convenient for people to apply for a UK visa. Trained staff at each VAC deals with all visa enquiries and applications. They collect your biometric information along with the relevant fees and provide unbiased advice on the application process, including whether or not you have included all the necessary documents. Entry clearance staff at the British mission will then consider your application and decide whether to issue or refuse your visa. VAC staff will have no say in this decision.

The points calculation

Points are awarded for what are called "Attributes", for which you need to score a minimum of 75 points. These are awarded for:

• Age;
• Qualifications;
• Previous earnings and
• UK experience.

Separate points are given for English language ability (10 points) and the availability of funds for maintenance (10 points).  In addition to reaching the pass mark for the attributes you must demonstrate that you have the level of English prescribed in the Immigration Rules and produce evidence of the required funds. Entry Clearance Officers will only award points for the sections for where you have indicated that you wish to claim them, and for which you have supplied the required supporting evidence.

Points scoring

Attributes: Age

Points are awarded according to your age at the time the fee is paid and your biometrics received in the Visa Section of the British mission.  Applicants aged 32 and over do not score any points for age, but may still score enough points from qualifications, previous earnings and UK experience in order to make up the required 75 points.

Attributes: Qualifications (*can include equivalent level professional qualifications)

Points are only awarded if your qualifications are equivalent to British Bachelors, Masters, PhD, or in some cases an MBA (see below).

Attributes: Previous earnings (from 12 out of the 15 months preceding the application)

Points are awarded for your previous earnings from work for a period of up to 12 months out of the 15 months preceding your application. This applies to both salaried staff and self-employed persons. You may claim for a period of less than 12 months, but these earnings will not be considered on a pro rata basis. Earnings from salaried employment will be assessed before deduction of tax. If you are self-employed and the business profits are retained within your business, your share of the business’s net profits generated over the earnings period can be considered. If you take a salary from your business you will need your managing agent or accountant to confirm this in writing, indicating the precise amounts received.

Earnings

Country bands

Attributes: UK experience

5 points can be claimed if either:

• the earnings for which you successfully scored points  under Previous Earnings  were for  UK employment or
• you studied at Bachelor degree level or above in full-time higher education in the UK; or at an overseas campus of a UK-based educational institution for at least one full academic year or three consecutive academic terms during the last five years.

Points will be awarded only if you were legally entitled to work or study in the UK throughout the period when these earnings or studies took place.

You are advised to confirm the level of your qualification on the UK NARIC database before claiming points under this attribute.  If you are unable to find details of your qualification, please contact UK NARIC for an assessment of the level of your qualification.  If this is the required level, you should obtain a confirmation certificate from UK NARIC and submit this with your application.  There will be a charge for this service.

English language [10 points available]

The ability to meet the required English standard is a mandatory requirement.  If you cannot meet this level, your application will be refused regardless of any points you may have scored in the Attributes section. 10 points are awarded in this section if you meet the required standard and 0 if you do not.

There are three ways in which you can meet this requirement.  You can:

• be a national of a majority English speaking country on the following list - Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, New Zealand, St Christopher (Kitts) and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States of America or
• hold an English language qualification equivalent to the Council of Europe's Common European Framework for Language Learning level C1 (approximately IELTS level 6.5, GCSE Grade C) or
• hold a degree that was taught in English as confirmed by the UK NARIC database as equivalent to a UK Bachelors degree.

Maintenance (Funds) [10 points available]

Even if you have attained the pass mark of 75 in the Attributes section and have the required standard of English, your application will be refused if you do not pass the Maintenance (Funds) requirement.

You must be able to support yourself for the entire duration of your stay in the UK without needing any help from public funds. In order to qualify under Tier 1 (General) Migrant you must be able to demonstrate that you have £2,800 for yourself and (where applicable) £1,600 for each dependant accompanying you and that you have held these amounts for a minimum period of 3 months immediately preceding and dated no more than 1 month prior to the date you submit your application.  The balance should not fall below the required minimum at any time during the 3 month period.

Supporting documents

You should include originals of all documents specified.  They must be on the official letter-headed paper or stationery of the organisation and must have been issued by an authorised official of that organisation.  You should also provide a copy of each document. Where a document is not in English or Welsh, the original must be accompanied by a fully certified translation by a professional translator.  This translation must include details of the translator’s credentials and confirmation that it is an accurate translation of the original document.  It must also be dated and include the original signature of the translator.  If you do not provide the specified documents, we will not contact you to ask for them. Therefore, if you fail to send the correct documents we may refuse the application.

You should provide full contact details for each document supplied.  You should also provide any information/explanation of the documentation submitted, that may assist us in our consideration.

Attributes: Age

Your passport /travel document will normally be used to establish your age.

Attributes: Qualifications

Documentary evidence for those with an academic or professional/vocational qualification
Original certificate of award showing:
• your name;
• title of the award;
• date of award;
• name of the awarding institution.

You will also need to verify your qualification on the UK NARIC database, or otherwise provide written confirmation from UK NARIC of your qualification’s equivalence to UK academic level.

Where the above is not available, you should obtain written confirmation from the appropriate UK professional body of the qualification’s equivalence to UK academic levels. 

Documentary evidence for those who have just graduated (or where the certificate is not available) 
An original academic reference from the institution awarding the degree on the institution’s official headed paper clearly showing:
• your name;
• title of award;
• date of award confirming that it has been/will be awarded; and
• date certificate will be issued or confirmation that the institution is unable to re-issue the original certificate or award
and
An academic transcript on the institution’s official paper showing:
• your name;
• name of the academic institution;
• course title; and
• confirmation of award.

Your qualifications will be assessed against the data held on the UK NARIC database.  You should therefore check UK NARIC and confirm that you successfully did so.  If you are unable to find details of your qualification on UK NARIC you should contact them for an assessment of the level of your qualification.  If this is confirmed to be of the required level, please request a confirmation certificate and enclose this with your application.

If you cannot find details of your professional/vocational qualification on the points based calculator, you should submit an original letter from the appropriate UK professional body confirming the equivalence to UK academic levels of your qualification.  This must clearly show:

• the name of the qualification, including the country and awarding body; and
• confirmation of which UK academic level the qualification is equivalent.

Attributes: Previous earnings

You should provide at least two pieces of evidence covering the full period for which you are claiming.  The evidence must be from separate sources and support all of the other evidence.  Your circumstances will determine what you can provide and how you earned the money. You should also provide any information or explanation of the documents submitted that may help us to consider the earnings claimed. You must also provide full contact details for each source of income given so we can verify all supporting documents, if necessary.

Documentary evidence for those who have been in salaried employment

You should not send payslips with a letter from your employer, because we consider both of these documents to be from the same source.

• personal bank statements showing salary received – these should be on official bank stationery and show each of the payments you are claiming.  Electronic statements should be accompanied by a supporting letter from your bank on company headed paper confirming the documents’ authenticity or each page of the statement should be stamped by the bank;
• payslips – either formal payslips or on company-headed paper.  If payslips are not on headed paper or are received online they should be authenticated by your employer with signature and stamp.  You must provide payslips for each month claimed;
• a letter from your (previous and/or present) employer(s) on company-headed paper clearly stating your earnings 
  during the chosen period of up to 12 months, and the date and amount of each payment.  The letter should be dated after the period for which earnings are being claimed and show your gross and net pay.
• official tax documents – must cover the entire period for which you are claiming previous earnings.  Acceptable documents are those produced by a tax authority showing details of declarable tax income (for example a tax refund letter or tax demand) and/or document produced by an employer as an official return to a tax authority showing details of earnings on which tax has been paid in a tax year;
• dividend vouchers – if you were paid through a combination of salary and dividends and the dividend details are not included on the wage slips.  These should confirm both the gross and net dividend paid.  You should provide a separate dividend voucher (or payment advice slip if shown there) for each dividend payment to cover the whole period claimed.

Documentary evidence for self-employed

• a letter from your managing agent or accountant (confirming you received the exact amount you are claiming or the net profit for which you are entitled). This should be on headed paper confirming the gross and net pay for the period claimed.  It should give a breakdown of salary, dividends, profits, tax credits and dates of net payments earned.  It should also explain if your earnings are a share of the net profits of the company and the proportion of net profits to which you are entitled for the earnings period claimed.
• invoice explanations or payment summaries from your managing agent or accountant – these should include a breakdown of the gross salary, tax deductions and dividend payments received.  The total gross salary and dividend payments should be the same as your earnings.
• company or business accounts that clearly show the net profit of the company or business – the accounts must show both a profit and loss account (or income and expenditure account if the organisation is not trading for profit) and the balance sheet signed by a director.  Accounts should meet statutory requirements and clearly show the net profit over the earnings period to be assessed.
• official tax document produced by the tax authority – this is a document produced by a person, business or company as an official return to a tax authority showing details of earnings on which tax has been paid or will be paid in a tax year.  The document must have been approved, registered or stamped by the tax authority.

Documentary evidence for contractors

If, as a contractor, you do not operate through your own company or consider yourself to be an employee, you should provide the following:

• an accountant’s letter confirming a breakdown of your gross and net earnings for the period claimed and
• personal bank statements highlighting all credit payments made to your account from employment undertaken during the earnings period claimed.

Documentary evidence if you were in full-time study during the last 15 months and wish another period of earnings to be considered

You will need to provide an original letter from the academic/educational institution confirming the period of full-time study.  It must be original, on the letter-headed paper of the academic/educational institution and include the official stamp of that institution.

The letter must confirm the following:

• your name;
• course of study undertaken;
• start and end dates of the period of study (or confirmation that the study is ongoing);
• confirmation that you were a full-time student throughout this period.

If the course has been completed, the date on the letter provided should be after the course completion date.  If the course is ongoing, this letter must pre-date the date of application by no more than 12 months.

If you wish to have more than one course of full-time study taken into account, you must supply an original letter in respect of each separate period of study.

Documentary evidence if you were on maternity or adoption leave during the last 15 months and wish another period of earnings to be considered

You will need to provide the following:

• original birth or adoption certificate for the child for whom the period of absence was taken;

and one of the following (or both if the birth certificate or certificate of adoption is not available):

• original letter from your employer on company letter-headed paper confirming the start and end dates of the period of maternity/adoption related absence; and/or
• original wage slips/other payment or remittance advice covering the entire period for which the maternity or adoption related absence is being claimed. These should show the statutory maternity or adoption payments made to you.
   

Other documentation:
If you are unable to supply the combination of documents above (e.g. if you are still on maternity leave and no birth certificate has been issued), you should explain why and provide alternative documentation. This must be from an official source and must be independently verifiable. These might include official adoption papers or any relevant medical documentation. An extract from a register of birth must be accompanied by an original letter from the issuing authority.

Documents which are not acceptable include personal letters of confirmation, newspaper announcements and other unofficial documentation.

It will only be possible to accept alternative documentation as evidence of maternity or adoption related absence, where the Entry Clearance Officer is satisfied that the required documentation cannot be provided.

Attributes: UK experience 

Documentary evidence for those claiming points for previous earnings in the UK
The same evidence supplied for your Previous Earnings will be used to establish whether these relate to employment in the UK.

Documentary evidence for those claiming points for previous full time study in the UK
An original letter from the UK institution/UK based overseas institution at which you studied.  This should be on the official letter-headed paper of the institution, bearing its official stamp.  It must have been issued by an authorised official of that institution and must confirm the following details:

• your name;
• title of the qualification;
• confirmation of full time study equivalent to at least one full academic year or three consecutive academic terms;
• date of award of qualification;
• start and end dates of the period of study in the UK.

English language

Documentary evidence when applicant is a national of a majority English-speaking country
If you are a national of one of the countries below, your passport/travel document will normally be used to establish your nationality:
Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, New Zealand, St Christopher (Kitts) and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States of America.

Documentary evidence for English language tests
Only tests that have been assessed as meeting UK Border Agency visas requirements will be accepted as evidence that you meet the standard required.  This is equivalent to the Council of Europe's Common European Framework for Language Learning report at level C1 or above (approximately equivalent to IELTS 6.5, GCSE Grade C).  In order to meet the requirement you will need to produce an original test result certificate showing:

• your name;
• the qualification obtained;
• the date of the award.

Those with hearing difficulties or other disabilities are not exempt from the English language requirement.

Documentary evidence for a degree taught in English
For this section, the country in which you took your degree determines how you qualify.

• If you took your degree in one of the countries listed below, we will assume the degree has been taught in English. Therefore the documentary evidence you supplied for your qualification will satisfy the English language requirement.

Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, St Christopher (Kitts) and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States of America. The list excludes Canada because degrees in that country will not necessarily be taught in English, but with a Canadian degree you may still qualify (see below).

• If you took your degree in another country, we will rely on an academic database known as UK NARIC (the National Academic Recognition Information Centre) to advise us on whether the degree was taught to the standard of English equivalent to level C1 on the Council of Europe’s Common European Framework of Reference for Languages Learning Teaching Assessment (CEFR). You must provide evidence that you hold a degree which is equivalent to UK Bachelors level or higher and which was taught in English as evidence of your English language ability.  You should provide the original certificate  showing:
  • your name;
  • the title of the award;
  • the date of the award;
  • the name of the awarding institution.
• If you are awaiting graduation but have successfully completed your degree, the Entry Clearance Officer can consider an academic transcript.  This must be on the institution’s official paper and bear the official stamp of that organisation and should show the following details:
  • your name;
  • the name of the awarding institution;
  • the course title;
  • confirmation of the award.

You should ensure that the contact details for the awarding body are current because we may need to verify the qualification.
If your degree does not appear on the UK NARIC database as fulfilling the criteria for English language, you will need to supply a certificate as described in ‘English language tests’ above.

Maintenance (Funds)

Documentary evidence for Maintenance (Funds)

Evidence must be in the form of cash funds.  Other accounts or financial instruments such as shares, bonds, pension funds, etc., regardless of notice period are not acceptable.  If you wish to rely on a joint account as evidence of available funds, you must be named on the account along with one or more other named individual.

You should provide one or more of the following:

• personal bank or building society statements covering a period of 3 months, dated no more than 1 month prior to the date you submit your application.  The balance should not fall below the required minimum at any time during the 3 month period;
• building society/savings account pass book/s covering a period of 3 months ending with a date no more than 1 month prior to the date you submit your application.  The balance should not fall below the required minimum at any time during the 3 month period;
• letter from your bank confirming level of funds and that they have been held in the bank account for at least 3 months ending with a date no more than 1 month prior to the date you submit your application.  The balance should not fall below the required minimum at any time during the 3 month period. This must be an original document, on the official letter-headed paper or stationery of the organisation and bear the official stamp of that organisation;
• letter from a financial institution regulated by the home regulator (official regulatory body for the country in which the institution operates and the funds are located) confirming funds.

Personal bank or building society statements
These should clearly show:

• your name;
• your account number;
• the date of the statement (dated no more than 1 month prior to the date you submit your application);
• the financial institution’s name and logo;
• transactions covering the three month period;
• that there are sufficient funds present in the account (the balance must always be at least £2800). The balance should not fall below the required minimum at any time during the 3 month period.

Ad hoc bank statements printed on the bank's letterhead are admissible as evidence (this excludes mini-statements from cash points). If you wish to submit electronic bank statements from an on-line account these must contain all of the details listed above.  In addition you will need to provide a supporting letter from your bank, on company-headed paper, confirming the authenticity of the statements provided.  This must be dated no more than 1 month prior to the date of the application.  Alternatively an electronic bank statement bearing the official stamp of the bank in question will be accepted. The stamp should appear on every page of the statement.  Statements which simply show the balance in the account on a particular day are not sufficient.

Building society/Savings Account pass books
These should clearly show:

• your name;
• your account number;
• the financial institution’s name and logo;
• transactions covering the three month period ending with a date no more than 1 month prior to the date you submit your application;
• that there are sufficient funds present in the account (the balance must always be at least £2800). The balance should not fall below the required minimum at any time during the 3 month period.

Letters from a bank or regulated financial institution
These should clearly show:

• your name;
• your account number;
• the date of the letter;
• the financial institution’s name and logo;
• the amount of funds held in your account;
• that the funds have been in bank for at least 3 months, ending with a date no more than 1 month prior to the date you submit your application. The balance should not fall below £2800 at any time during the 3 month period.

Letters which state simply the balance in the account on a particular day are not sufficient.

Additional documentary evidence required for sponsored students

If you had permission to be in the UK in the last 12 months as a student, student nurse, student re-sitting an examination or postgraduate doctor or dentist, you may have been sponsored by a Government or international scholarship agency.  If you are currently sponsored by one of those or that sponsorship ended within the past 12 months of this application being made, you must provide us with your sponsor’s unconditional consent in writing giving you permission to re-enter the UK.  Without this we will refuse your application.  The evidence must be original, on the official letter-headed paper or stationery of the organisation and bear its official stamp.  It must have been issued by an authorised official of that organisation.  If you have received private sponsorship, for example from an employer or relative we do not need the sponsor’s consent.

REMBER: your application will be refused if the concerned authorities find that any documents are false.

Duration of stay

The visa will be issued for a maximum period of two years.

Appeal

Outside the UK a refusal of entry clearance under PBS does not attract a full right of appeal. You can appeal only on one or more of the following grounds referred to in Section 84(1)(b) and (c) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002:

• that the decision is unlawful by virtue of Section 19B of the Race Relations Act 1976 (c.74) (discrimination by public authorities), and/or
• that the decision is unlawful under Section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 (c.42) (public authority not to act contrary to Human Rights Convention) as being incompatible with the appellant's Convention rights.

However, all applicants can apply for an Administrative Review, which is a mechanism for reviewing refusal decisions.

What is Administrative Review?

If any application is refused for entry clearance and you think that an error has been made, you can ask us to check our decision. This is known as an Administrative Review.

The Administrative Review is free of charge. You must ask for an Administrative Review within 28 days from the date you receive the refusal notice (GV51).

You must complete this in full and send it directly to the address stated on the Request Notice.

You must not send any additional documents such as passport/travel document or supporting documents with the Administrative Review Request Notice. If the refusal is subsequently overturned, you will be asked to send in your passport/travel document. You may request only one Administrative Review per refusal decision. Any further review requests for the same refusal decision will not be accepted and will be returned to you.

The Administrative Review will be completed within 28 days and you will be notified of the result in writing. The result of the Review may be sent from a different Post to where the original decision was made, to ensure that the Review is independent.

Can my dependants join me in the UK?

Your husband, wife, civil partner or eligible partner and children under 18 can join you as your dependants in the UK if:

• they have a visa for this purpose and
• you can support them without any help from public funds. You need £1,600 for each dependant joining you within 12 months of your arrival in the UK and £533 thereafter.

Partners (married, unmarried, same sex) must intend to live together and the relationship must be subsisting. They must be maintained and accommodated in accordance with the section on Maintenance (Funds) above and your partner must not intend to stay beyond any period of leave granted to you.

If your dependent child is working full-time or earning enough money to support himself/herself, it is unlikely that he/she will qualify for entry to the UK as a dependant. Dependent children must also be able to demonstrate that they have not formed their own independent family, are unmarried and not leading an independent life. If a dependent child has previously been married or formed a civil partnership, or lived in a relationship that is similar to marriage or civil partnership, he/she will usually be considered to have formed an independent family and will not be eligible to enter the UK as the dependant of his/her parents. Although dependent children may seek employment whilst in the UK they must remain financially dependent on their parent to qualify as dependants.

Dependants application

Your dependants will need entry clearance but will not themselves be entering the UK under the Points Based System. They will need to satisfy similar conditions to those in Paragraphs 194-199 of the Immigration Rules which can be found on the UK Border Agency website. They will also need the following:

• their passport or travel document;
• a recent passport sized photograph (if the application is successful, the photographs provided will be reproduced on the visa vignette)
  please note - photographs should measure 45mm x 35mm and be:
  • in colour taken against a white background;
  • clear and of good quality and not framed or backed;
  • printed on normal photographic paper;
  • full face and without sunglasses, hat or other head covering (unless it is worn for cultural or religious reasons but the face must not be covered)
• the visa fee. This cannot be refunded and they must normally pay it in the local currency of the country where they are applying;
• their biometric details;
• supporting documents relevant to their application.

What supporting documents should my dependants include with their application?

Your dependants should include all the documents necessary to show that they qualify for entry to the UK as your dependant. If they do not, we may refuse their application.

As a guide, your dependants should include:

• evidence of their relationship to you;
• evidence that there is £1600 (or £533 if you have been in the UK for more than 12 months) for each dependant, in your or their personal bank account for maintenance, and that the money has been there for at least 3 months prior to the date they make their application; and
• a copy of the pages from your passport/travel document showing your permission to stay, if you are already in the UK.

Fee for dependants

They will pay the same fee as you. This will be either at the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme rate or Tier 1 (General) Migrant rate depending on the scheme under which you entered the United Kingdom.

What are public funds?

Under the Immigration Rules, if you want to travel to the UK, you must be able to support yourself and any dependants without claiming certain benefits.

Check your visa

Please check your visa when you get it. You should make sure that:

• your personal details are correct
• it correctly states the purpose for which you want to come to the UK, and
• it is valid for the date on which you want to travel. (You can ask for it to be post-dated up to three months if you do not plan to travel immediately).

If you think there is anything wrong with your visa, contact the visa application centre or visa section immediately.

Drugs warning

Anyone found smuggling drugs into the UK will face serious penalties. Drug traffickers may try to bribe travellers. If you are travelling to the UK, avoid any involvement with drugs.

False documents

It is better to explain why you do not have a document than to submit a false document with an application. Applicants will be automatically refused and may be banned from coming to the UK for 10 years if they use a false document, lie or withhold relevant information.  They may also be banned if they have breached immigration laws in the UK.

Travellers to the UK who produce a false travel document or passport to the UK immigration authorities for themselves and/or their children are committing an offence. People found guilty of this offence face up to two years in prison or a fine (or both).