We will discuss the most common ways to obtain permanent residence in the UK below.
Immigration through a student visa
It is quite possible to obtain a residence permit in the UK if you graduate from a British university and then receive postgraduate education or an MBA qualification. After graduation, you can take an internship that will help you get a job offer and get a job. The Tier 4 student visa allows you to work for a limited number of hours in the UK. A student can start looking for an employer already during their studies.
Sole representative visa
If a foreign company opens a branch or representative office with a single member in the UK, the member must apply for a Sole representative. This visa is for businessmen representing a foreign company in the UK. Then a businessman can get a temporary residence permit (Leave to Remain) for 3 years with the possibility of extending for another two.
After he/she can receive permanent residence, and after a year has passed, he/she can apply for citizenship. A businessman can also transport his/her family (spouse, civil partner, minor children under 18).
Note: a foreign company must be relatively well-known in the market, exist for several years, and have an objective reason for opening its branch or representative office in the United Kingdom.
When registering a legal entity, you need to provide as much information about the company as possible: accounting and tax reports, brochures, press mentions, and so on.
Entrepreneur visa
The entrepreneur is a visa for entrepreneurs setting up a company in the UK. With this method of emigration, it is necessary to invest £ 200,000 in the business and provide at least two British citizens with jobs. The visa is valid for 3 years, renewable, and does not permit any other activity.
There is also a prospective entrepreneur’s visa, which is issued for six months and, if desired, can be reissued as an entrepreneur. The visa is suitable for those who need to prepare their project, make the necessary analysis, assess the market.
Investor visa
The investor is a visa for investors who are ready to invest a large sum in the country’s economy. With this visa, you can get ILR in 2 years, if the total amount of controlled funds is £ 10 million, in 5 years – £ 1 million.
Exceptional Talent Visa for persons with outstanding talents – honored workers of science and art or promising young people.
The visa is issued for 3 years and allows you to carry out your professional activities in the UK. After extending the visa, you can get LR, then ILR, and citizenship. There are only four organizations that assess the potential of a candidate for obtaining a visa for this category:
- Royal Society;
- Arts Council England;
- British Academy;
- Royal Academy of Engineering.
They need to prove that you are a worthy candidate. Take with you: diplomas, awards, certificates, publications about you, including in foreign publications facts about participation in international competitions, festivals, and so on. All of this will increase the chance of getting “Exceptional Talent”.
Spousal visas
The so-called “spousal visas” include Fiance Visa Visitor for Marriage Spouse / Civil Partner EEA Family Permit. These visas are issued to those who emigrate to the UK due to family reunification. Including same-sex marriage. The “bride/groom” visa is issued for six months and only allows marrying.
And with a “wife/husband” visa, you can already get a job and apply for permanent residence. There are refusals to issue visas of this category due to a lack of financial resources.
Then you can ask parents – citizens of Great Britain, and attach a sponsorship letter from them to the documents. Parents must indicate how long they have lived in the country, place of work, income. You can also attach their payslips (receipts), bank statements on the status of the savings account, and other documents.
A spouse from the United Kingdom will require a rental agreement, an account statement, a certified copy of the passport. It is also recommended to attach a letter to the documents telling the story of the relationship. It is even recommended to bring an album with photographs to the visa application center, proving the duration of the relationship.
To obtain ILR, you must pass the language proficiency test and the Life in UK test. It contains questions from various areas of UK life, culture, history, legislation.
Family of a settled person visa
The visa of a family member of a permanent resident of Great Britain or a citizen of Great Britain. Applicants must apply for a UK Permanent Resident Family Member visa if they intend to:
- the reunification with a partner (spouse, registered partner of one gender (civil partner) or unmarried partner,
- the reunion with the bride/groom or proposed civil partner;
- the reunification of the child and parents permanently residing in the UK;
- the reunification of the applicant and his/her child (s), permanently residing in the UK;
- the reunification of the applicant requiring permanent care and his/her family members are permanently residing in the UK.
If a family member of the applicant resides in the UK as a citizen of Switzerland or a country belonging to the European Economic Area, the rules for obtaining this visa do not apply to the applicant, but the applicant can receive an EEA family permit.