Immigration Overview
The Immigration and Nationality Laws of the United Kingdom and Schemes set up in relation to them are very complex.
Who makes the decisions?
Applications for permission to remain in the United Kingdom and applications for British Citizenship are decided by the Home Office (a Government Department) which has various offices throughout the United Kingdom. In most cases the decision is made by an individual (an Immigration Officer or Home Office official) on behalf of the Secretary of State for the Home Department. The Home Office has now changed the name of the Immigration and Nationality Department to the Border and Immigraton Agency which is the Department of the Home Office dealing with Nationalists and Immigration issues.
When you apply for a visa (called Entry Clearance) at a British High Commission or Embassy abroad, the decision about whether or not you will get a visa is made by an Entry Clearance Officer. If you are from one of the number of certain countries, you always need a visa before coming to the United Kingdom. If are you from one of these countries,
you are called a visa national. The current list of visa nationals can be found at www.ukvisas.gov.uk
Nationals from certain other countries will need a visa if they intend to come to the UK for a period of longer than 6 months. You can find out more details about this at www.ukvisas.gov.uk
Before making arrangements to travel to the United Kingdom it is important that you check whether or not you need a visa (Entry Clearance) to avoid wasting expenses and inconvenience.
How does the Home Office or British Embassy/High Commission make the decision?
The Immigration Officer, Home Office official or Entry Clearance Officer will rely on laws and guidance from a range of different sources when making a decision about your case. Laws governing nationality and immigration come from Acts of Parliament, regulations and guidance issued to people making the decisions. See www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk for the Immigration Rules and for the guidance issued
by the Home Office.
In addition to this, the Home Office also have policies and practices which aren’t necessary published but which a competent immigration adviser should be aware of and should be able to advise you about.
A thorough understanding of all of these laws and guidance is needed before an informed decision can be made about the type of application to be submitted.
Is there a fee for making an application?
There is now a fee for making most applications. There is no fee though for making an application for asylum or an application based upon humanitarian grounds.
Details of fees when applying from abroad can be found by visiting the website of the Embassy or High Commission in your country.
Details of fees for making the application for permission to stay in the United Kingdom can be found on the Home Office, the Border and Immigration Agency website.
Details of fees for applications to become a British Citizen can be found also be found at the Home Office website.
Important
The rules for the immigration and nationality laws are very complicated. The information contained here is just an overview. It is very important that you seek legal advice on any application that you make from solicitors specialising in immigration and nationality laws or from a charitable or voluntary organisation regulated by the OISC.
The information contained here is no substitute for obtaining expert legal advice which will take into account your individual circumstances. This information is not a full account of the law and practice and you should not rely upon it before making a decision about what sort of application you should make, or how to proceed.