A person wishing to visit or live in the UK has to comply with UK immigration laws. The laws governing immigration to the UK are set out in treaties, statute, immigration rules, guidance and case law.

An individual wishing to travel and reside in the UK has to meet a number of requirements in order to be granted permission to enter or stay in the UK. The requirements the individual would be required to satisfy vary depending on the purpose of their visit or stay.

Commonly an application has to be made to UK Visas and Immigration in order to obtain permission to enter or reside in the UK. These applications are usually accompanied with a fee and documents evidencing how the individual satisfies the requirements. In most cases you can review or appeal a decision if you are not successful in obtaining permission to enter or reside in the UK.

If leave is granted for a person to travel or reside in the UK, this leave comes with conditions. Failure to comply with the conditions could possibly lead to the revocation of the leave to reside in the UK and may result in the person’s removal from the UK. A person can also be liable to removal if they fail to renew their leave.

An individual could also face deportation from the UK in certain circumstances such as if they have committed a criminal offence and receive a custodial sentence of twelve months imprisonment. If a person is deported from the UK, they could face a re-entry ban of a minimum of 10 years.

In certain circumstances, after a prescribed period of residence and upon meeting certain requirements a person can apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK which means they could reside in the UK for an indefinite period. Indefinite leave to remain could be lost if you are facing deportation from the UK or you have been away from the UK for more than two years. An individual can apply for British citizenship once indefinite leave to remain is secured and after a certain period of time has elapsed since securing indefinite leave to remain.

Recently immigration law has had a greater impact upon business and commerce. The Home Office issues civil penalties under the UK Immigration Acts including fines for allegedly employing foreign workers illegally and for allegedly housing foreign nationals illegally.

We are experts in immigration law and deal in all aspects of immigration law. We assist individuals with travelling to and residing in the UK. We also help our corporate clients in all of the above where relevant especially in steering business growth where this comes down to employing foreign workers legally. Contact us below to find out more.