Services
Visa Rejection Appeals
Has your Gulf visa application been rejected by the Immigration Authority? Don’t lose hope! BHEIC Visa specializes in professionally preparing and lodging visa appeals. Our team of experts will meticulously review your case, address any concerns, and develop a strong appeal strategy to increase your chances of a successful outcome. We understand the complexities of the appeals process and are committed to providing the support you need to navigate through it.
Visa Types
At BHEIC Visa, we take pride in our comprehensive understanding of the UK visa system. Our dedicated professionals are well-versed in all visa categories, including visit/tourist visas, student visas, migration visas, business visas, work visas, and more. You can rely on our personalized approach, attention to detail, and commitment to your success.
Are you planning to visit the UK? As a visitor, you can enjoy the vibrant culture, breathtaking landscapes, and historical wonders that the United Kingdom has to offer. Typically, visitors who are not citizens or do not hold a valid visa can stay in the UK for up to six months. This generous duration allows you ample time to explore the country, create unforgettable memories, and immerse yourself in its rich heritage.
This visa is for people from outside Europe who want to study in the UK (both school and higher education).
There are two student visa categories:
Tier 4 (General) – This category is for students coming to the UK for post-16 education. A Tier 4 (General) student must be at least 16 years old.
Tier 4 (Child) – This category is for children between 4 and 17 years old coming to the UK for their education. Children between 4 and 15 years old can only be educated at independent fee paying schools.
Migration, Settlement or “Indefinite Leave to Remain” in the UK is usually granted after a period of staying in the UK (on another valid visa).
Family members (including proposed partners) may apply to join their family to settle in UK.
There are also categories for entrepreneurs/business people, investors and skilled workers to migrate to the UK.
The following categories have been available but are currently (at the time of posting, Nov 2013) closed:
- General (to those outside UK)
- Tier 1 (Post-study work)
- Highly Skilled Migrant Programme
- Business persons
- Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland
- Innovators
- International Graduates Scheme
- Investors
- Writers, composers and artists
Temporary work visas under Tier 5 are usually granted to persons with a certificate of sponsorship from a licenced sponsor to work in the UK for a particular authorised purpose, usually for up to one or two years. The main Tier 5 categories are detailed below.
Skilled workers can also apply under Tier 2. Tier 2 (General) is for those who have been offered a skilled job to fill a gap in the UK workforce that cannot be filled by a UK resident or citizen and can be valid for 3 years.
Other categories include:
- Tier 5 – Youth mobility scheme (for certain countries’ nationals only; not applicable to citizens of Sri Lanka)
- Tier 2 – Intra company transferWork permits (closed category)
- Ministers of religion, missionaries and members of religious orders (closed category)
- Members of airport-based operational ground staff of an overseas-owned airline (closed category)
People who want to establish business in the UK may apply under the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) Category.
Visit / Tourist Visas
The business visitor category is for people who want to do business in the UK for a short time. This includes academic visitors, visiting professors, overseas news media representatives and film crews on location.
Other business purposes include:
- attending meetings (including interviews that have been arranged before entering the UK) or conferences;
- arranging deals, or negotiating or signing trade agreements or contracts;
- undertaking fact-finding missions;
- conducting site visits;
- delivering goods and passengers from abroad
- accompanying a tour group as a tour group courier
- speaking at a ‘one-off’ conference where this is not run as a commercial concern;
- representing a foreign manufacturer by coming to service or repair its products within their initial period of guarantee;
- representing a foreign machine manufacturer by coming to erect and install machinery too heavy to be delivered in one piece, as part of the contract of purchase and supply;
- interpreting or translating for visiting business persons acting as a monteur (a worker such as a fitter or service person) for up to 6 months to erect, dismantle, install, service, repair or advise on the development of foreign-made machinery;
- attending board meetings in the UK as a board-level director, provided the applicant is not employed by a UK company
- representing a computer software company by coming to install, debug or enhance their products.
Requirements
Applicants must show that they:
- are 18 or over;
- intend to visit the UK for no more than 6 months (or 12 months if an academic visitor), except for doctors taking the PLAB test (in which case they can apply to extend the stay and undertake a clinical attachment if they pass the PLAB test);
- intend to leave the UK at the end of their visit;
- have enough money to support and accommodate themselves without working or help from public funds, or that they and their dependants will be supported and accommodated by relatives or friends;
- are based abroad and do not intend to transfer your base to the UK, even temporarily;
- receive their salary from abroad (although it is acceptableu to receive reasonable travel and subsistence expenses while in the UK);
- are not replacing someone in the UK, including for temporary leave periods;
can meet the cost of the return or onward journey; and - are not in transit to a country outside the ‘Common Travel Area’ (Ireland, the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands)
A family visitor may visit a family member in the UK who is a:
- spouse, civil partner, father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister;
- grandfather, grandmother, grandson or granddaughter;
- spouse or civil partner’s father, mother, brother or sister;
- son or daughter’s spouse or civil partner;
- stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother or stepsister; or
- a person they have been living with in a genuine and subsisting relationship, like marriage or civil partnership, for at least 2 years before the day of applying.
The UK family member must:
be a British citizen;be settled in the UK;have been granted asylum in the UK; or have Humanitarian Protection status.
Requirements
In addition to the above, the applicant must also be able to show that they:
- are 18 or over;
- intend to visit the UK for no more than 6 months (or 12 months if accompanying an academic visitor);
- intend to leave the UK at the end of the visit;
- have enough money to support and accommodate self without working or help from public funds, or that they and any dependants will be supported and accommodated by relatives or friends;
- can meet the cost of the return or onward journey; and
- are not in transit to a country outside the ‘Common Travel Area’ (Ireland, the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands).
This visa allows the successful applicant to visit family and stay for up to six months. There are some limitations on what he/she can do there such as work, get married or receive medical treatment.
This visa is for visiting the UK for general purposes, including for a holiday or to visit friends or relatives.
Successful applicants can stay in the UK for up to six months or 12 months for academic visitors.
Requirements
The applicant must meet the following criteria:
- be aged 18 or over;
- only want to visit the United Kingdom for up to six months, or up to 12 months if accompanying an academic visitor;intend to leave the United Kingdom at the end of the visit;
- have enough money to support and accommodate self and any dependants travelling on the same application without working or help from public funds, or be supported and accommodated by relatives or friends;
- be able to meet the cost of the return or onward journey; and
- not be in transit to a country outside the common travel area.
The applicant must also show that, during the visit, he/she does not intend to:
- take employment, produce goods or provide services, including the selling of goods or services directly to members of the public;
- undertake a course of study;
- marry or form a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership;
- carry out the activities of a business visitor, a sports visitor or an entertainer visitor; or
- receive private medical treatment.
Student Visa Categories
The Tier 4 (Child) student category is for children coming to the UK to be educated between four and 17 years old. Children between four and 15 years old must be educated at independent fee-paying schools.
This category of student visa is for students coming to the UK for post-16 education. A Tier 4 (General) student must be at least 16 years old.
Requirements
Applicants must meet the full requirements of the Immigration Rules and have 40 points in total.
This includes having a confirmed offer of study from a licenced education provider (sponsor) and sufficient funds (maintenance) and accommodation.
Points required: 40
Applicants must have a valid Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies from a fully licensed Tier 4 sponsor.
30 points
You must have enough money to cover course fees and monthly living costs (also known as maintenance or funds)
10 points
Tier 4 Sponsors
To apply under Tier 4, the applicant must have a Tier 4 sponsor. All Tier 4 sponsors need a licence from the Home Office to be able to provide courses for international students. Once they get a licence, they are added to the Tier 4 register of sponsors.
A student’s Tier 4 sponsor will assign the student a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) reference number, which is an official and unconditional offer of a place on a course of study.
Money (also known as Maintenance or Funds)
Student visa holders do not have access to most state benefits (known as public funds) so must have enough money to support themselves whilst studying in the UK. The amount of money needed will depend on the length of your course and where the course is.
Tier 4 (Child) student applicants may not study at a publicly funded school. They may only study at publicly funded Further Education Colleges which are able to charge for International Students, and only when they are 16 or 17 years old.
Requirements
Children applying to study in the UK under this category must meet the full requirements of the Immigration Rules and have 40 points in total.
This includes having a confirmed offer of study from a licenced education provider (sponsor) and sufficient funds (maintenance) and accommodation.
Points required: 40
Applicants must have a valid Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies from a fully licensed Tier 4 sponsor.
30 points
Money to cover course fees and monthly living costs (also known as maintenance or funds)
10 points
The length of stay allowed will depend on the applicant’s age. An applicant under 16 years old can be given:
the length of stay asked for; or
the length of your course; or
six years;
The student can also be given an additional four months after the end of the course.
Money
Funds must be shown, which may be held in an account owned by the student or his/her parents.
Migrant Type
An adult (over 18 year old) family member may apply to settle permanently in the UK (‘indefinite leave to enter or remain’) if he/she is one of the following in relation to a British citizen or person settled in the UK:
- parent or
- grandparent or
- brother or sister or
- son or daughter
Requirements
- The applicant is in need of long-term personal care to perform every day tasks, such as washing and cooking.
- The care needed is not available in the applicant’s home country (where currently living), either because it is not available and there is no person in that country who can reasonably provide it or it is not affordable.
- The sponsor can show that he/she is able to provide adequate maintenance, accommodation and care for the applicant without having to rely on public funds. He/she needs to sign a sponsorship form undertaking to take responsibility for the applicant’s care without relying on public funds for at least 5 years.
A child (person under 18 years of age) can obtain a visa for permanent residence (“indefinite leave to remain”) in UK, as long as both parents are settled in UK.
Requirements
- one parent is dead and the other is settled or going to settle in UK; or
- the parent who is settled or going to settle in the UK has had sole responsibility for the child’s upbringing; or
- one parent is settled or going to settle in the UK and there are serious reasons why the child must be allowed to go to the UK.
The term ‘parent’ includes the stepfather or stepmother of a child whose father or mother is dead, both parents of an illegitimate child, and an adoptive parent in certain circumstances.
There are other requirements for adopted children .
An EEA family permit is for family members of European Economic Area (EEA) citizens who are overseas and wish to join their family in the UK.
There is no application fee for an EEA family permit.There is no English Requirement.
The Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa is for non-European migrants who want to invest in the UK by setting up or taking over, and being actively involved in the running of a business or businesses in the UK.
Requirements
– access to funds (minimum 50,000 British pounds with other requirements)
– English language
– maintenance funds
Applicants are selected on a points-based system, including:
25 points for:
A) Access to not less than £200,000
or
B) Access to not less than £50,000 from:
- 1 or more registered venture capital firms regulated by the Financial Services Authority; or
- 1 or more UK entrepreneurial seed funding competitions listed as endorsed on the UK Trade and Investment website, or
- 1 or more UK government departments or devolved government departments in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, which have made the funds available for the specific purpose of establishing or expanding a UK business.
or
C) Access to not less than £50,000 and:
are applying for leave to remain; andhave, or were last granted, leave as a Tier 1 (Graduate entrepreneur) migrant.
or
D) Access to not less than £50,000 and:
- are applying for leave to remain; and
- were last granted, leave as a Tier 1 (Post-study work) migrant; and
- were registered with HM revenue and Customs as self-employed, or a registered director of a new or existing business no more than 3 months before your application; and
- are engaged in business activity, other than the work necessary to administer your business. The applicant’s occupation must appear on the list of occupations at the National Qualifications Framework level 4 and above.
25 points each for:
- funds held in (a) regulated UK institution(s)
- funds disposable in the UK
10 points for meeting English language requirements to a particular standard
and
10 points for having enough funds to support self in the UK.
UK partner visa allows partners (spouses, de facto and/or same-sex partners and fiances or proposed civil union partners) of UK citizens or permanent resident (person settled in the UK) to join their partner in the UK.
Requirements
Applicants must be an eligible partner of a UK citizen or permanent resident who is currently living or who intends to live permanently in the UK.
They must also:
be aged 18 or over at the date of application, meet the English language requirements, meet accommodation and maintenance (funds) requirements and demonstrate that their relationship is genuine and subsisting.
Entitlements
A Partner visa entitles the holder to enter and live in the UK with their partner. A Partner visa is usually granted temporarily, depending on the type of relationship,ie for 33 months for a spouse.
When the applicant has completed 5 years legally staying in the UK as a spouse or partner, he/she can apply to settle in the UK permanently.
A partner applicant may also bring dependent and unmarried children under 18 years as dependant applicants if they meet the requirements.
Fiance Or Proposed Civil Union Partner
Partners granted visas under this category must intend to get married or register a Civil Union within 6 months of arrival in UK and thereafter live together.
The relationship may be heterosexual or homosexual (same-sex) but the two people must not be related by blood.
Unmarried Or Same-Sex De Facto Partner
Unmarried long-term partners of a UK citizen or settled person may apply for permanent residence, like a spouse, but the documents required are different.
This stream of visa (under Tier 1) is for skilled or exceptionally talented people (or entrepreneurs and investors)
to apply to enter or stay in the UK without needing a job offer based on a points system.
General (Skilled Migration)
This type of visa applies to people already working the UK. It works on a points-based system for age, qualifications, previous earnings, UK experience, English language ability and maintenance funds.
The category is currently closed to people outside of the UK.
Exceptional Talent
This type of visa is for people who are internationally recognised as world leaders or potential world-leading talent in the fields of science and the arts, and who wish to work in the UK.
This category allows a parent of a child in the UK to join the child in UK, where he/she cannot apply as a spouse/partner of a UK citizen/settled person.
Requirements
Requirements for the child
- under the age of 18 on the date of application
living in the UK; and - a British citizen or settled in the UK.
Requirements for the applicant parent:
A parent may apply if
- the applicant has sole responsibility for the child or the child normally lives with that parents and not their other parent; or
- the parent or carer that the child normally lives with is a British citizen or settled in the UK, but is not the applicant’s partner, and the applicant does not qualify for a partner/spouse visa.
Worker Category
This category is for people going to the UK to work temporarily as a religious worker.
Religious workers can:
- preaching, do pastoral work and non-pastoral work;
- work in the UK in the same way as in an overseas organisation, while on a break from their usual job
- work in a religious order with community which involves a permanent commitment like a monastery or convent. The work in a religious order must be in the order itself or outside work directed by the order.
Successful applicants can stay in the UK for up to 24 months.
Requirements
Applicants need:
- a sponsor; and
- a valid certificate of sponsorship.
The international agreement category is for people coming to the UK under contract to do work that is covered under international law, including:
- the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS);
- similar agreements between the UK or the European Union and another country or countries;
- employees of overseas governments and international organisations; and
- private servants in diplomatic households.
Successful applicants can stay for a maximum of 24 months, with some exceptions, and can extend their stay for ‘leave to remain’.
Requirements
- a sponsor; and
- a valid certificate of sponsorship
The government authorised exchange category is for people going to the UK through approved schemes that aim to share knowledge, experience and best practice, and to experience the social and cultural life of the UK. This category must not be used to fill job vacancies or to bring unskilled labour to the UK.
Requirements
Applicants need:
- a sponsor (the overarching body); and
- a valid certificate of sponsorship.
The sponsor must be an overarching body who manages the government authorised exchange scheme and has the support of a UK government department.
Individual employers and organisationsare not allowed to sponsor migrants in this category, even if they are licensed as sponsors under other tiers or other categories of Tier 5. The only exceptions to this are for people going to the UK:
- as a sponsored researcher, where the higher education institution in the UK can be the sponsor
- to work for a government department or agency.
The applicant’s work must be skilled (equivalent to the UK’s NVQ or SVQ level 3 or above). unless he/she is taking part in the scheme set up as part of the European Union’s lifelong learning programme, which allows vocational education and training at a lower skill level.
Successful applicants may stay in the UK for up to 12 or 24 months, depending on the scheme and the length of time shown on the certificate of sponsorship.
The creative and sporting worker category is for people going to the UK to work or perform as sports people, entertainers or creative artists for up to 12 months.
Entertainers and creative artists may apply to extend their stay to a maximum of 12 months if they continue to work or perform for the same sponsor.
Requirements
Eligible sports people must be internationally established at the highest level in their sport, and/or their employment must make a significant contribution to the development and running of sport at the highest level in the UK. Coaches must also be suitably qualified to do the job.
This type of visa is for people who want to go to the UK to do voluntary (unpaid) work for a charity. The work must be directly related to the work of a sponsor’s organisation.
Successful applicants can live and work in the UK for the time given in the certificate of sponsorship, for a maximum time of 12 months.
Requirements
Points are awarded based on sponsorship and available maintenance (funds).
Applicants must:
- have a sponsor; and
- get a valid certificate of sponsorship.
- be currently outside the UK or in the UK on the same visa which they are extending.
The Tier 2 (Sportsperson) category is for elite sportspeople and coaches who are internationally established at the highest level, and will make a significant contribution to the development of their sport. An application needs to be endorsed by the sport’s governing body.
Applicants are assessed on a points based system with points awarded based on:
- Certificate of Sponsorship from the sport’s governing body
- English language ability
- Maintenance funds
Successful applicants can enter and stay in the UK for a maximum of 3 years plus 1 month, or the time given in the certificate of sponsorship plus 1 month, whichever is shorter.
If going to the UK as a sportsperson for a short time, applicants should apply under Tier 5 (Temporary worker – creative and sporting).
The Tier 2 (Minister of religion) category is for people who have been offered employment or posts or roles within their faith communities in the UK as:
- ministers of religion undertaking preaching and pastoral work;
- missionaries; or
- members of religious orders.
Successful applicants from outside the UK can live and work in the UK for a maximum of 3 years plus 1 month, (or the time given in your certificate of sponsorship plus 1 month, whichever time is shorter).
Requirements
Pastoral duties include:
- leading worship regularly and on special occasions;
- giving religious education to children and adults by preaching or teaching;
- officiating at marriages, funerals and other special services; and
- offering counselling and welfare support to members of the congregation; and
recruiting, training and co-ordinating the work of any local volunteers and lay preachers.
Work as a missionary is not just preaching and teaching. It can include:
- the organisation of missionary activity (but should not be administrative or clerical, unless filling a senior post);
- supervising staff;
- co-ordinating the organisation of missionary work;
- being in charge of a particular activity such as accounts/finance, personnel management or IT; and
- translating religious texts – this is missionary work, not clerical work.
The work in a religious order must be in the order itself, or outside work directed by the order.
Tier 2 is part of a points-based system, which is for migrants from outside Europe. The Tier 2 (General) category is for foreign nationals who have been offered a skilled job to fill a gap in the UK workforce that cannot be filled by a settled worker (permanent resident). For the year from 6 April 2013 to 5 April 2014, a maximum of 20,700 skilled workers can come to the
UK under Tier 2 (General) to do jobs with an annual salary below £152,100. There is no limit on the number of workers coming to the UK to do jobs with an annual salary of £152,100 or above.
Requirements
Points for eligibility are based on the following:
- Certificate of Sponsorship (having passed the Labour Market Test)
- Salary and allowances
(These two are mandatory) and
- English ability
- Maintenance (Funds)
Additional requirements apply to students and there are some grounds for refusal. Successful applicants from outside the UK can enter and stay in the UK under this visa for the length of time in the certificate, up to a maximum of 3 years plus 1 month.
Business Visa Type
This visa is for visiting the UK for general purposes, including for a holiday or to visit friends or relatives.
Successful applicants can stay in the UK for up to six months or 12 months for academic visitors.
Requirements
The applicant must meet the following criteria:
- be aged 18 or over;
- only want to visit the United Kingdom for up to six months, or up to 12 months if accompanying an academic visitor;intend to leave the United Kingdom at the end of the visit;
- have enough money to support and accommodate self and any dependants travelling on the same application without working or help from public funds, or be supported and accommodated by relatives or friends;
- be able to meet the cost of the return or onward journey; and
- not be in transit to a country outside the common travel area.
The applicant must also show that, during the visit, he/she does not intend to:
- take employment, produce goods or provide services, including the selling of goods or services directly to members of the public;
- undertake a course of study;
- marry or form a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership;
- carry out the activities of a business visitor, a sports visitor or an entertainer visitor; or
- receive private medical treatment.
The Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa is for non-European migrants who want to invest in the UK by setting up or taking over, and being actively involved in the running of a business or businesses in the UK.
Requirements
– access to funds (minimum 50,000 British pounds with other requirements)
– English language
– maintenance funds
Applicants are selected on a points-based system, including:
25 points for:
A) Access to not less than £200,000
or
B) Access to not less than £50,000 from:
- 1 or more registered venture capital firms regulated by the Financial Services Authority; or
- 1 or more UK entrepreneurial seed funding competitions listed as endorsed on the UK Trade and Investment website, or
- 1 or more UK government departments or devolved government departments in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, which have made the funds available for the specific purpose of establishing or expanding a UK business.
or
C) Access to not less than £50,000 and:
are applying for leave to remain; andhave, or were last granted, leave as a Tier 1 (Graduate entrepreneur) migrant.
or
D) Access to not less than £50,000 and:
- are applying for leave to remain; and
- were last granted, leave as a Tier 1 (Post-study work) migrant; and
- were registered with HM revenue and Customs as self-employed, or a registered director of a new or existing business no more than 3 months before your application; and
- are engaged in business activity, other than the work necessary to administer your business. The applicant’s occupation must appear on the list of occupations at the National Qualifications Framework level 4 and above.
25 points each for:
- funds held in (a) regulated UK institution(s)
- funds disposable in the UK
10 points for meeting English language requirements to a particular standard
and
10 points for having enough funds to support self in the UK.
The business visitor category is for people who want to do business in the UK for a short time. This includes academic visitors, visiting professors, overseas news media representatives and film crews on location.
Other business purposes include:
- attending meetings (including interviews that have been arranged before entering the UK) or conferences;
- arranging deals, or negotiating or signing trade agreements or contracts;
- undertaking fact-finding missions;
- conducting site visits;
- delivering goods and passengers from abroad
- accompanying a tour group as a tour group courier
- speaking at a ‘one-off’ conference where this is not run as a commercial concern;
- representing a foreign manufacturer by coming to service or repair its products within their initial period of guarantee;
- representing a foreign machine manufacturer by coming to erect and install machinery too heavy to be delivered in one piece, as part of the contract of purchase and supply;
- interpreting or translating for visiting business persons acting as a monteur (a worker such as a fitter or service person) for up to 6 months to erect, dismantle, install, service, repair or advise on the development of foreign-made machinery;
- attending board meetings in the UK as a board-level director, provided the applicant is not employed by a UK company
- representing a computer software company by coming to install, debug or enhance their products.
Requirements
Applicants must show that they:
- are 18 or over;
- intend to visit the UK for no more than 6 months (or 12 months if an academic visitor), except for doctors taking the PLAB test (in which case they can apply to extend the stay and undertake a clinical attachment if they pass the PLAB test);
- intend to leave the UK at the end of their visit;
- have enough money to support and accommodate themselves without working or help from public funds, or that they and their dependants will be supported and accommodated by relatives or friends;
- are based abroad and do not intend to transfer your base to the UK, even temporarily;
- receive their salary from abroad (although it is acceptableu to receive reasonable travel and subsistence expenses while in the UK);
- are not replacing someone in the UK, including for temporary leave periods;
can meet the cost of the return or onward journey; and - are not in transit to a country outside the ‘Common Travel Area’ (Ireland, the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands)