/r/ukvisa
Practical support and help for UK immigrants/prospective immigrants navigating matters on UK visas, immigration, and British citizenship.
A community to seek or provide advice for people applying for visas to stay or live in the UK.
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/r/ukvisa
I’m currently preparing the documents for my UK citizenship application. Would a summary downloaded from my HMRC online account (like the one attached) be sufficient proof of residence? It shows my taxable income and National Insurance contributions for each relevant period.
Has anyone submitted similar documents successfully?
Thanks in advance for any advice!
Hi, I’m applying for the UK ETA but I’m unable to get all the way through.
The fault appears the step after it lets me know that my uploaded photo matches the requirement. When I press continue, the fault “Sorry, there is a problem with the service” appears. I’ve tried everything I could think of. Using the app, different browsers, on my PC, Incognito mode, work PC, asked a friend to apply for me through their own PC, nothing helps.
I read somewhere that someone had luck by accepting the cookies on the page, I did all that. Still nothing. I got in contact with support which weren’t much help and they raised a ticket for me but I haven’t heard back either. I would really appreciate the help anyone can provide.
Edit: to add, I’ve also tried uploading different pictures, different formats. Didn’t change the result.
Hello guys last year before they expired the BRP cards on the 24th of December I went the government website to link my visa But I think I linked it to the BRP card rather than my passport Is this an issue ? Do I need to do anything about it ? Will this affect any travelling i want to do outside the country ... etc ? Any information will be helpful Thanks in advance
Hi I currently work for a UK company that does not allow sponsorship. My HR said that if there is someone living there that I know (permanently) I'm allowed to work there. How do I go about this? Please help, I'm currently living in SA.
I am from the USA and flew to the UK from Europe. I came into the country after Jan 8. I did not know I needed an ETA, I never applied for one but was able to enter the country with no problems through the electric scan passport area of the boarder. I never spoke with a boarder agent. I fly out back to Europe soon, will I have issues leaving. Or will I have issues if I try to come back to the UK in the future?
Travelling back to London from the Netherlands today and they had no idea how a student visa worked or what an eVisa is. He was asking for my "Application number" whatever that is. After 20 minutes of me trying to explain what an eVisa is I finally pulled out my brp card then he let me through. I know people who've even thrown away their brp card
I read that I am able to apply for citizenship after living here for three years if I'm on a spouse visa. I have been here for 4 and a half years and don't have my indefinite leave to remain or enter. I'm just confused about all of it.
Hello everyone,
I recently applied for Settled Status - arrived in the UK in January 2020, left in August 2024.
I have formally hit 5 years of continued residence in October 2024, as I have evidence of a 1 week visit in October 2019 (bank statement from foreign bank). I have submitted the application with such evidence a few weeks ago, from abroad.
When I did the automated checks, the application asked evidence for 6 months for both 2023 and 2024, although I have contributed to NI for 41 weeks in 2023-2024 tax year by receiving benefits. Hence I had to provide evidence for 2023 and 2024 (council tax + lease contract with payments - as I didn't work more than a couple months either years).
I have not filled a tax return for the 23-24 tax year, as my earnings were far below the £6.7k threshold and I wouldn't have to pay any taxes.
3 questions;
(I am now passed the deadline for filling tax return so I would rather do the former to avoid paying the penalty.)
Is there any risk in withdrawing the application and re-apply before a decision on the first application?
Anyone here who applied from abroad and encountered any problems for being granted SS in doing so?
The bottom line is that my CR will be broken on February 14th 2025. I will be back in the UK in a few days for a short time.
I am ready to extend my stay should I need to, withdraw my made-from-abroad application and re-apply from within the UK - hopefully with automated checks for 23-24, so that the application gets processed quicker and with (potentially?) higher chances not to have to re-submit evidence of residence in 3 months should they ask me to.
Because in 3 months my CR will be broken and it will be clear I don't live on the UK anymore (I have hit the 5 year CR regardless of whether I'm staying in the UK afterwards or not so theoretically no one can remove that from me - but I am unsure whether it hurts my application in practice).
Any tips and / or feedback from similar experiences would be gladly appreciated!
My mom was born on a US military base in the 1960s and lived there until she was 5 with her parents. From what I can recall, she had her documents but lost them about a decade ago. She's unreliable so I don't know if I'd be able to call any embassy or government body with her US citizenship info and see if they could find and verify her status in the UK.
Will she need to provide her UK documentation in order for me to be able to apply? I am looking to move to Scotland or Britain if possible, though as a freelance artist who works primarily online I don't know if it is feasible for that to grant me a work visa.
My girlfriend is from an EU country, I know entering and exiting the UK via airport is logged, so if she came and stayed with me for a year she'd be seen as overstaying, but since there's no hard border between NI and RoI can she just come and go via the CTA without it being logged as such? Does the RoI share entrance and departure via airport with the UK? would they even know without border controls?
Sorry for my ignorance, I know that many of you live and breathe this stuff. But my girlfriend, who lives in the UK, and me, who lives in the US, have been long distance for around 7 years.
I find myself very much in the dark here, despite years of casual investigation. Can this community help educate me? How do we get to be together?
My grandmother’s father was born in scotland in 1909. He was naturalized as an american in 1941 and then my grandmother was born in 1942. Because he was naturalized by the time she was born does that disqualify her from British citizenship?
Hello! I know there have been a number of posts about Ancestry visas, but each one seems to be geared to individual, and I don't want to add onto another conversation.
My details: My Grandmother was born in Scotland in May 1922, and came to Canada as a war bride after the war, and became a citizen. Myself, I am a Canadian by birth, born in 1986.
Outside of gathering funds to use towards the visa process, and having a cushion so I am self sufficient, would I qualify based on these details? And! Would I be able to bring my spouse with me.
Everyone here seems so knowledgeable based on their own experiences, and I do look forward to your answers.
I am a US/UK duel citizen living in California. My husband and children only have US citizenship. My husband works for an international company that has several offices in the UK, but it would take him some time to get the work visa stuff figured out. If we were to move to the UK, how would I go about getting the process started to get my kids citizenship? Could I enroll them in school right away using their US paperwork? I’m looking into this as an option if we feel the need to start a life outside the US pretty quickly. I’ve always wanted to get my kids duel citizenship and have been wondering when the right time would be. We’ve been holding off taking any steps because of family/friends here, aging parents, jobs, and loving the school our kids attend, but are feeling the need to have a plan. Thanks!
Hi everyone I have some questions.. I came in UK on a student visa(on a MBA )in September 23. Can I still bring my dependent this year before my visa expires? According to my CAS my course ends at sep-2025. On the other hand, my visa will expire on January 2026. Which date is the latest date when my spouse can arrive in Uk? I will get married at April and would like to apply after that.. Please if anyone' can enlighten me into this matter.
Hi!
Could an absence of 23 months be covered by COVID? It’s exactly during March 2020 - February/March 2022. I was just out of uni and couldnt find a job, had to go back to my country and stay with my parents.
What I could upload as evidence would be:
Also March 2020 could be covered by the fact that I had in-person transactions; and February 2022 is covered by having tax records (I started working remotely for a UK company in February 2022 and returned March 2022).
Also, I will also upload evidence for residency during Sep 2016 - March 2020 (uni letter, transactions, but no tax records)
So should I base my application for the residency during Sep 2016 - March 2020 (thus having an absence of only 18 months - until acquiring 5y CQP by Sep 2021)
OR
February/March 2022 - February 2025 (having an absence of 23 months)
I was granted Pre-settled on February 6, 2020 and I was already given the 5-year extension.
Thanks!!
I was born in the UK and have lived here my whole life, I fit all the requirements of Form T however I cannot provide a list of every absence nor would I even be able to give an approximation of it, would I be able to apply via form MN1 instead and just list my past 5 years of absences?
Hi everyone,
I have held a skilled worker visa since 2 months ago. I am wondering if I can register a company and start my own business without leaving my current sponsored job. The business I want to start is creating a new website and selling handicrafts (without having any shop or place to do it in person).
Much appreciate any help.
Hello! I have never posted to reddit before. I am from the UK, Northern Ireland to be specific, and my partner is from Croatia. We have been together for 4 years and now that I have started working as a nurse we hope to have him move here once I reach the financial requirements when I am 6 months into my job. I’m wondering if other people have had any difficulties with getting this visa and the processing times? Should we pay somebody to help us apply for this visa? Is it hard to prove a genuine relationship? Thank you!
Please help, thank you!!
I recently was applying for the Skilled worker visa dependent renewal. As part of ID check the UKVI website directed me to tap the BRP to my phone after I downloaded a UKVI ID check app. My BRP chip is not being scanned in the app. I had this issue with three different phones, so I can safely say the chip is damaged, as it dint even work in the airport scan in Dec 2023, and officer checked my passport and pulled my details in his computer and allowed me in.
The UKVI accepts even Expired BRPs, for ID check for different activities like Renewal or E-Visa creation etc. I was thankfully able to create EVISA just by uploading pictures of BRP as BRP chip failed to scan, a while ago.
But for renewal of visa, the app was adamant that I repeat Biometrics again as BRP dint scan. Also it deleted my UKVI online account I had from the beginning, and I received email that says "Your UK Visas and Immigration account has been deleted"
With this detailed background, my question/s
Will I need to keep giving Biometrics everytime I need something renewed, which is tedious
If with this renewal, if I was going to get a BRP, I would rest assured I will have a BRP expired or otherwise to get me through the Chip scan process, in the future, but alas, I will only get a electronic renewed visa, no physical card, as BRPs stand phased out. What do you think the process will be in the future for me?
Please also give me input on any other implications of this process in the future, if I missed something obvious.
Hi all, does anyone have experience with traveling outside the UK after the naturalization ceremony? I read on the ukgov site that if the BRP is expired we can use the eVisa until March. But does this apply if I went to the ceremony already? Will I be able to re-enter the country with my Venezuelan passport, BPR on hand, copy of the eVisa, and copy of the naturalization certificate??
Greetings,
I am residing in the UK on GTV endorsed by RAE since Apr 2024. I have not been working here so far, but recently obtained a job offer for a faculty role in an overseas campus of a UK university (University of Nottingham Ningbo China). The payments shall obviously come from that overseas campus. I am serious about taking that job and wandering how the UK Home Office will treat my ILR application with 2 years long absence from the UK due to working for an overseas UK-branded university. I see several scenarios to support my ILR application:
Overall, I got a sweet job in the University of Nottingham`s China campus , but I also want ILR to settle in the UK in future. My kid was born in the UK a few months ago, I have a car, UK driving license, and may buy a house here, shall it matter for ILR application. Would somebody provide their vision on how could I get to ILR? Thank you.
I have been advised to go the route of Skilled Worker for my spouse, as a dependent. I had two visas and now have ILR. My original visa was 2016-2019, second was 2019-2022, then I got ILR. The application asks me for my CoS and the work dates, but they are in the past and won't work. My original visas were under Skilled Worker, but If I had the visa today, it would be a care worker visa (I'm a radiographer 2217). Any advice?
I’m on a skilled worker visa and my partner is a British Citizen (English, born and raised in Manchester). We applied for our daughter’s passport and we opted for 1 week processing. I was with my partner when he was filling out the application form online and he definitely ticked the box correctly saying we’re not married. On the day of the appointment, they only asked for my daughter’s birth certificate and asked a few questions. Now after 1 day, my partner received an email from the passport office asking for our marriage certificate and a certificate of indemnity (certificate of no marriage) from my home country. I’m so confused. WE ARE NOT MARRIED and not planning to get married yet. We phoned the passport office and they told my partner that they will have someone phone him back after 72 hours. Has anyone experienced this situation? Is my daughter definitely a British Citizen even if we’re not married?
Am I eligible for UK citizenship? My great grandmother left Scotland in 1945. Everything I have read doesn't really give a straight answer. I can trace my Scottish family back to the 1700's from her.
Hello,
I am current on a Skilled Worker Visa with employer A and am applying for SWV with new employer B. I wanted to know what the current processing times are looking like if anyone has any recent experiences?
Thanks!
Does anyone have experience with a long term standard visitor visa? My wife and I (US citizens) are looking at applying for the 2 year visa. For full transparency here are our goals:
We want to live in Europe for 1 year with our “home base” being in London. Our plan is to hopefully book a long term (12 months) Airbnb so we can keep our stuff so we don’t have to keep checking our baggage on every flight.
We would not be in London for more than 6 months at a time. We plan to visit many other countries outside of the UK during that time and already have a date to head back to the US around the 5 month mark anyway.
I work remotely for a US based company and they’re okay with me traveling and still working remotely. We have a house and family here in the US so strong ties to the US are clear. Can someone help point out any flaws in my logic before we full send applying?
I’ve truly tried to do as much research as possible to not waste anyone’s time so if there is something that seems clear to you that makes me look like an idiot I apologize.
Hi everyone
I’m currently in the UK on a Student visa, finishing my master’s degree. Unfortunately, I failed a module and need to resubmit the assessment next June (it’s 100% of the module mark). I applied for a visa extension, but I wasn’t eligible because:
This also means I won’t be eligible for the Graduate visa, which was my original plan. Now I’m in a difficult situation because I currently live with my girlfriend in London, and we don’t want to lose our lease. We’ll likely receive a notice once my visa expires.
My only remaining option seems to be switching to a Skilled Worker Dependant visa since my girlfriend is on a Skilled Worker visa. We’ve been living together in the UK for almost 3 years (I also did my undergrad here) and lived together before in Portugal.
However, I’m confused about the rules. The UK gov website states: If your partner or child is currently in the UK on a Student visa, they can only switch if they have either:
Does “completed the course” mean I need to fully graduate, or does it just mean I’ve finished the academic year?
Also, do I need to leave the UK and apply from Portugal, or can I apply from within the UK before my visa expires?
Any advice would be really appreciated! Ideally, we want to sort everything before my two-month notice period and we risk losing the flat. Thanks in advance for any help!
Hi folks,
I'll be eligible for making my ILR application on 10th Feb 2025(using 5 day priority option).
I've been informed by the immigration team people that the approx appointment time is going 2 to 3 weeks.
Is it really that high? I'm based in London and willing to travel anywhere in England atleast (I can attend an appointment in Birmingham or Manchester, can't I?).
The reason is that I have to go out of country on 15th March, I want to avoid cancelling my non-refundable flight tickets 😥.
Wonder could I get approved for a student visa with a criminal record never been sentenced over 12+ months and has been over 12+ since the incident