Immigration and Citizenship

We understand that it can be difficult to understand what you need to do to extend your visa to stay in the UK, or to bring family members to join you here, especially if English is not your first language. It is an area that has seen many changes over the last few years.

We can offer advice and help you to understand your options for many immigration issues. However, we have a small team with limited capacity, so we are not generally able to make immigration applications for people.

We are unable to advise on the following immigration issues:

• Work or business visas, including Skilled Worker, Graduate, Global Business Mobility, Global Talent, High Potential Individual, Start-Up, Scale-Up, and Temporary Work
• Student or other educational visas, including Student, Short-Term Student, Child Student, and Parent of a Child Student
• Asylum claims
• Protection or Human Trafficking claims
• Detention and deportation
• Appeals
• Dual Nationality

We can advise on the following areas:

General

• What your immigration status is, and what rights and options that status gives you
• If your immigration status does not allow you to claim benefits, whether you might be able to apply to change it
• What to do if you experience illegal discrimination related to your immigration situation, including unfair treatment of people on work visas, discrimination due to pregnancy, and racial discrimination
• Domestic abuse: whether you can get benefits while applying to stay in the UK after leaving an abusive spouse or partner
• Fee waivers: how you can ask for the Home Office to allow you to apply to live in the UK or stay longer in the UK when you cannot afford the application fee and/or NHS fee
• When you need to pass an English language test and/or Life in the UK test for an application
• applying to replace lost or stolen biometric residence permits

Citizenship

• Whether or not you are a British citizen
• How and when you can apply for British citizenship for children or adults, including fee waivers for children’s applications

EU Settlement Scheme

• EU Settlement Scheme applications (for EU/EEA citizens who were in the UK before 31 Dec 2020 and their family members)
• EU Settlement Scheme, changing from pre-settled to settled status
• EU Settlement Scheme, bringing family members to live with you in the UK

Visas

• Visitor visa applications, and what you are allowed to do while in the UK as a visitor
• Family visa applications (applying for permission for spouses, partners, children, or adult dependent family members to live with you in the UK)
• UK Ancestry visa applications (if you are a Commonwealth citizen who has a grandparent who was born in the UK)