An Introduction From IAS

[Immigration Advice Service]

Good Morning,

 

We are the Immigration Advice Service (https://www.iasservices.org.uk), the UK's largest independent immigration Law Firm. We have been going since 2011 and have grown considerably over the past 6 - 7 years, having offices in almost every major city across the UK. We are headquartered in Manchester City Centre, with a team of around ~100 staff throughout the country. We consist of many highly skilled lawyers, caseworkers, paralegals, as well as an enquiries team and marketing department. We will be actively posting on this forum providing advice and support to anybody who has queries relating to UK immigration and hope that we will have a positive impact on this fantastic community. 

 

If anybody has any problems they need help with, please feel free to get in touch with ourselves and we will assist you as best we can. We will also be posting regular updates about current immigration issues and any news within the UK immigration world.

 

We look forward to working with you all. 

 

Kind regards,

Pete @ IAS

Edited August 8, 2017 by Immigration Advice Service

[Tony M]

You have an article on your website about the new requirements for spouses/partners etc. These requirements are due to start in 2 days, but there is still no guidance from the Home Office. Your website says :

 

From August 10th, 2017, decisions for spouse visa and dependent children outside the EEA will take into account specified circumstances if the applicant or spouse does not currently meet the £18,600 per annum, Minimum Income Requirement.

Home Office decision-makers will now have to consider if the 18,600-Minimum Income Requirement would be met through other methods of financing. This will include evidence of sustainable self/employment within three months of moving to the UK, proof of continued support from a financially stable family member or other such persons.

 

The changes are following a February 2017, Supreme Court ruling in which the principle of the £18,600 Minimum Income Requirement but considerations were made and the Home Office will have to take into account the potential earning potential as well as consequences of refusal.

 

Spouse and Family visas will also now be considering those who don’t meet the Requirement and whose refusal will have “unjustifiably harsh consequences for the family” or would breach the applicant or family’s Human Rights.

 

The way the Command paper reads, it seems that before the ECO needs to consider the "new" financial routes, the applicant must prove that there are "exceptional circumstances" to cause the ECO to do so. So, it appears that, if the applicant cannot show exceptional circumstances, then the ECO will not need to go on to consider any additional financing. But your article seems to indicate that the ECO must consider both.  Which is correct ?  Proving exceptional circumstances is very difficult, and the UKVI rarely issue visas where exceptional circumstances are claimed in the application.

Edited August 8, 2017 by Tony M

[thonglorjimmy]

My girlfriend wants to get a visa to visit London, I think she would be looking for somebody to walk/talk her through the process, do you have an office in Bangkok or Pattaya?

 

Does she really need to use an agent, what would it cost?

[Immigration Advice Service]

20 hours ago, Tony M said:

You have an article on your website about the new requirements for spouses/partners etc. These requirements are due to start in 2 days, but there is still no guidance from the Home Office. Your website says :

 

From August 10th, 2017, decisions for spouse visa and dependent children outside the EEA will take into account specified circumstances if the applicant or spouse does not currently meet the £18,600 per annum, Minimum Income Requirement.

Home Office decision-makers will now have to consider if the 18,600-Minimum Income Requirement would be met through other methods of financing. This will include evidence of sustainable self/employment within three months of moving to the UK, proof of continued support from a financially stable family member or other such persons.

 

The changes are following a February 2017, Supreme Court ruling in which the principle of the £18,600 Minimum Income Requirement but considerations were made and the Home Office will have to take into account the potential earning potential as well as consequences of refusal.

 

Spouse and Family visas will also now be considering those who don’t meet the Requirement and whose refusal will have “unjustifiably harsh consequences for the family” or would breach the applicant or family’s Human Rights.

 

The way the Command paper reads, it seems that before the ECO needs to consider the "new" financial routes, the applicant must prove that there are "exceptional circumstances" to cause the ECO to do so. So, it appears that, if the applicant cannot show exceptional circumstances, then the ECO will not need to go on to consider any additional financing. But your article seems to indicate that the ECO must consider both.  Which is correct ?  Proving exceptional circumstances is very difficult, and the UKVI rarely issue visas where exceptional circumstances are claimed in the application.

Hi Tony,

 

Thank you for getting back to us.

 

We have no doubt that the road ahead is going to be difficult, but there is hope and opportunity where there previously was none.

 

From examining the Statement of Changes, it is apparent that the thrust of the new ruling is for the particular assistance of cases involving children, but not exclusively.

 

Historically, proving ‘exceptional circumstances’ has always been the Home Office’s way of safeguarding their own discretion in immigration matters. This would be the main difficulty that I have referred to.

 

We cannot say if the considerations the Home Office make will defer discretion in favour of an Applicant more often than not, and it is a cynical attitude (not without good reason!) amongst the profession that the changes are only superficial - but we are of the opinion that this is a step in the right direction i.e. the rules in place pre-2012, which allowed for much more flexibility.

 

Remember that the new requirements essentially reign-in a great deal of the types of Applications which had previously gone to appeal – until now these Applications were made outside the ‘rules’. This has given us half a decade of relevant case-laws and determinations to work with that can be woven into new Applications submitted after the 10^th of August. These carry a great variety of what has already been considered or ruled as ‘exceptional circumstances’ and lets us exercise those rulings at an earlier and not as costly stage of the Application process i.e. from the very beginning.

 

These are highly contextual and, whilst they will not be applicable to many people, there will likely be many to whom it is. Careful consideration and examination would have to be done before proceeding down this new route.

 

In short, ‘exceptional circumstances’ will be the new battleground for these types of Application, but we potentially find ourselves at an advantage from years of successful appeals.

 

I hope that this information helps – of course as the ruling is implemented and as time progresses we will be keeping people abreast of any changes/tips/opinions.

 

Kind Regards,

IAS

[Immigration Advice Service]

7 hours ago, thonglorjimmy said:

My girlfriend wants to get a visa to visit London, I think she would be looking for somebody to walk/talk her through the process, do you have an office in Bangkok or Pattaya?

 

Does she really need to use an agent, what would it cost?

Hi,

We often recommend using an agent, such as ourselves - the reason for this is the UKHO have become a lot more stringent in regard to applications, and we have noticed an increase in enquiries from individuals whose applications have been rejected for various reasons. The advantage to using a service is that eligibility is checked and we will go through all the circumstances pertaining to your girlfriends case to ensure the application is accepted - we wouldn't proceed with an application unless we are confident it will be successful. 

 

Unfortunately we don't have an office in Bangkok or Pattaya - we do however offer a premium Skype/telephone advice service which is a comprehensive package where the lawyer will talk your girlfriend through her options/eligiblity as well as guiding her on the process. Ig eligible, we can also assist with the entire application from start to finish. 

 

If you would like a member of our team to call you or her to discuss this in more detail, please message your contact details and we will be more than willing to assist. 

 

Kind regards,
IAS

Edited August 9, 2017 by Immigration Advice Service

[rasg]

8 hours ago, thonglorjimmy said:

My girlfriend wants to get a visa to visit London, I think she would be looking for somebody to walk/talk her through the process, do you have an office in Bangkok or Pattaya?

 

Does she really need to use an agent, what would it cost?

With the info and people on this forum it's totally unnecessary.

 

In January 2015 I knew nothing about visas at all. Met my wife and we have applied for four visas including settlement and FLR with the help available on here.

[Tony M]

1 hour ago, Immigration Advice Service said:

Hi,

We often recommend using an agent, such as ourselves - the reason for this is the UKHO have become a lot more stringent in regard to applications, and we have noticed an increase in enquiries from individuals whose applications have been rejected for various reasons. The advantage to using a service is that eligibility is checked and we will go through all the circumstances pertaining to your girlfriends case to ensure the application is accepted - we wouldn't proceed with an application unless we are confident it will be successful. 

 

Unfortunately we don't have an office in Bangkok or Pattaya - we do however offer a premium Skype/telephone advice service which is a comprehensive package where the lawyer will talk your girlfriend through her options/eligiblity as well as guiding her on the process. Ig eligible, we can also assist with the entire application from start to finish. 

 

If you would like a member of our team to call you or her to discuss this in more detail, please message your contact details and we will be more than willing to assist. 

 

Kind regards,
IAS

 

What are your charges ?   Many advisors publish their charges. but I cannot see yours.  It might be a good idea to do so, so that applicants can compare your charges with agencies in Thailand, some of whom are also OISC registered in the UK ?

[bobrussell]

Not that good a start really IMO to be 'suggesting' the use of an immigration advisor for a visit visa!

Most people are perfectly capable of completing an application form and gaining a visa if they meet the requirements.

I have no arguments with the idea that any application that is not straight forward or the applicant has particular concerns then professional advice is pretty much essential.

Good to see another OISC registered advice service but less so if they are recommending specialist advice across the board.

A bit of research should be adequate for most!

[Immigration Advice Service]

21 minutes ago, bobrussell said:

Not that good a start really IMO to be 'suggesting' the use of an immigration advisor for a visit visa!

Most people are perfectly capable of completing an application form and gaining a visa if they meet the requirements.

I have no arguments with the idea that any application that is not straight forward or the applicant has particular concerns then professional advice is pretty much essential.

Good to see another OISC registered advice service but less so if they are recommending specialist advice across the board.

A bit of research should be adequate for most!

Of course anyone is more than free to proceed with an application themselves. Sorry if my post came across as encouraging them to use our service, it wasn't intended in such a way, I was simply advising them the reason why we recommend using a service such as ourselves. As stated, we have had a lot of enquiries from individuals (even Visitor Visas) where they have been rejected for various reasons. In any case we completely agree that it is entirely up to the individual applying whether they wish to use such a service.

 

In some cases, clients come to us because they simply don't feel comfortable completing the (sometimes) long applications, and would sooner pay for a professional company to undertake the work instead. If they choose to use our service then great, we are happy to assist, if they don't then we wish them the best of luck with their application 

 

We are not here to solely promote our organisation, we will be actively engaging with users and answering any questions where possible (obviously we cannot give specific legal advice as it wouldn't be regulated in a professional atmosphere) but we can try and give as much info as possible without crossing that line. thonglorjimmy asked a question about using a service and I just wanted to give him an overview of what we offer and reasons why we would recommend using a service. 

 

I hope this has cleared things up a bit.

Edited August 9, 2017 by Immigration Advice Service

[thonglorjimmy]

Yes I did ask for advice, I also asked for an idea as to your fees. I realise that each case is different so you probably don't have a set fee, are you able to give me a ball park figure?

It seems that your advisors only give telephone advice, is that right?

My girlfriend does have basic English language skills, I'm assuming you have Thai speaking advisors?

[Immigration Advice Service]

6 minutes ago, thonglorjimmy said:

Yes I did ask for advice, I also asked for an idea as to your fees. I realise that each case is different so you probably don't have a set fee, are you able to give me a ball park figure?

It seems that your advisors only give telephone advice, is that right?

My girlfriend does have basic English language skills, I'm assuming you have Thai speaking advisors?

We don't have a set fee, individual applications can range from £960 - £1500+ depending on the type of application, complexity and work required. To give a more detailed quote we would need to have a brief overview of the situation. 

 

For the advice service, this is a set fee of £150, with the exception of £200 in London - this is unlimited time and includes the opportunity to ask any follow up questions after the session. 

 

We have offices throughout the UK, so we do offer face to face services as well, I only suggested telephone/Skype because you said your partner is located abroad. We don't currently have Thai speaking advisors - at present we have Spanish, French, Mandarin, Arabic, Urdu, Iranian and Italian. There may be others throughout the company that I am not aware of.

[Tony M]

3 hours ago, Immigration Advice Service said:

Hi Tony,

 

Thank you for getting back to us.

 

We have no doubt that the road ahead is going to be difficult, but there is hope and opportunity where there previously was none.

 

From examining the Statement of Changes, it is apparent that the thrust of the new ruling is for the particular assistance of cases involving children, but not exclusively.

 

Historically, proving ‘exceptional circumstances’ has always been the Home Office’s way of safeguarding their own discretion in immigration matters. This would be the main difficulty that I have referred to.

 

We cannot say if the considerations the Home Office make will defer discretion in favour of an Applicant more often than not, and it is a cynical attitude (not without good reason!) amongst the profession that the changes are only superficial - but we are of the opinion that this is a step in the right direction i.e. the rules in place pre-2012, which allowed for much more flexibility.

 

Remember that the new requirements essentially reign-in a great deal of the types of Applications which had previously gone to appeal – until now these Applications were made outside the ‘rules’. This has given us half a decade of relevant case-laws and determinations to work with that can be woven into new Applications submitted after the 10^th of August. These carry a great variety of what has already been considered or ruled as ‘exceptional circumstances’ and lets us exercise those rulings at an earlier and not as costly stage of the Application process i.e. from the very beginning.

 

These are highly contextual and, whilst they will not be applicable to many people, there will likely be many to whom it is. Careful consideration and examination would have to be done before proceeding down this new route.

 

In short, ‘exceptional circumstances’ will be the new battleground for these types of Application, but we potentially find ourselves at an advantage from years of successful appeals.

 

I hope that this information helps – of course as the ruling is implemented and as time progresses we will be keeping people abreast of any changes/tips/opinions.

 

Kind Regards,

IAS

Thank you for your response, but I'm not sure that you have covered my question.  You say : "in short, ‘exceptional circumstances’ will be the new battleground for these types of Application".  My question was, will the exceptional circumstances have to be proved before the ECO has to move on to considering the additional routes to meeting the financial requirement ?  If this is the case, then won't it just become a matter of UKVI refusing the applications on the grounds that there are no exceptional circumstances, and they therefore don't have to look any further ?

[thonglorjimmy]

We have offices throughout the UK, so we do offer face to face services as well, I only suggested telephone/Skype because you said your partner is located abroad. We don't currently have Thai speaking advisors - at present we have Spanish, French, Mandarin, Arabic, Urdu, Iranian and Italian. There may be others throughout the company that I am not aware of.

Yes, she lives in Thailand, we both do, this is a Thai Forum.

 

[Immigration Advice Service]

25 minutes ago, Tony M said:

Thank you for your response, but I'm not sure that you have covered my question.  You say : "in short, ‘exceptional circumstances’ will be the new battleground for these types of Application".  My question was, will the exceptional circumstances have to be proved before the ECO has to move on to considering the additional routes to meeting the financial requirement ?  If this is the case, then won't it just become a matter of UKVI refusing the applications on the grounds that there are no exceptional circumstances, and they therefore don't have to look any further ?

Our understanding from the Statement of Changes is that, when the Home Office find an Application which does not meet the specified Financial Threshold, they will automatically begin to consider if there are other exceptional circumstances which may apply. Extra consideration is to be given to all Applications.

 

Of course, it is not difficult to imagine that a submitted Application which does not prepare itself for consideration on ‘exceptional circumstances’ will be less likely to succeed. Purely because it may not be clearly laid out – so whilst this type of Application would be given extra consideration (and may even be eligible), it may not be terribly obvious to the presiding ECO what those additional grounds would be.

 

This is not to mention that the rollout of a considerably more flexible approach to decision-making will take time to bring Application Centres up to the same standard globally. We can see this being a problem e.g. there is an abundance of evidence which outlines an exceptional situation, but it has either been ignored or incorrectly interpreted.

 

I had previously mentioned that careful consideration would have to be given before submitting an Application – if we knew in advance that it absolutely was not going to meet the threshold by the specified means, we would not delay in preparing an Application which focused almost entirely on what exceptional circumstances would apply. Whereas before, we would submit an Application which was destined to fail, purely so that an Appeal could be held instead and the circumstances brought before a Court.

 

I hope that this is clearer and that I have addressed your query.

 

Kind Regards

 

 

[Immigration Advice Service]

12 minutes ago, thonglorjimmy said:

Yes, she lives in Thailand, we both do, this is a Thai Forum.

 

Yes I understand that - but I was considering the possibility that you may have lived elsewhere, such as the UK. 

[7by7]

On ‎09‎/‎08‎/‎2017 at 4:47 AM, thonglorjimmy said:

My girlfriend wants to get a visa to visit London, I think she would be looking for somebody to walk/talk her through the process, do you have an office in Bangkok or Pattaya?

 

Does she really need to use an agent, what would it cost?

 

 Long time forum sponsors, Thai Visa Express, do have an office in Pattaya.

 

They are also OISC registered in the UK.