Welcome to the UK’s leading Tier 1 (General)/HSMP Information Centre

Thank you for taking the time to click through to the home of Tier 1 information. There is so much information on the internet: some good, some truly awful so look no further as everything you need to know is only a few clicks away. Many Immigration Consultancies worry that if they provide you with too much information you will not need their service.  As we are different to everyone else and our passion is your visa approval, we want to ensure you know everything needed so we can help you to guarantee your visa approval.

The Tier 1 General Extension section of our site is a mixture of the best bits from the current policy guidance, our years of experience in securing nothing but visa approvals and information that you simply must know if you seriously want to remain in the UK.

With so much information for you to read, we were concerned that if everything was listed on one page and you had to scroll down for 5 minutes, you may be truly overwhelmed!  We have therefore split everything into easy to find sections. Simply click on the sub-headings under the “Tier 1 Gen Ext” heading on the left to find everything you could possibly want to know to be prepared for your Tier 1 General visa extension.  Better yet, pick up the phone and give us a call on 0203 178 2048 as we cannot wait to speak to you and show you just how good we are….

 

Your Tier 1 Extension – Summary of Changes & Eligibility

So how have the eligibility rules and policy guidance changed since you first applied for HSMP/Tier 1 (General) and more importantly since the UK Border Agency closed the Tier 1 (General) scheme to new applicants on 6th April 2011?

The first thing we are pleased to confirm to all clients is that you can still apply for an unlimited number of Tier 1 visa extensions to stay in the UK if you are not eligible to apply for ILR after 5 years. 

We are also pleased to confirm there have only really been two fundamental changes to the policy guidance/rules for Tier 1 General extensions that you should be aware of.  The changes relate specifically to the age points and the amount of funds you must now show to satisfy the maintenance requirement:

•    When applying for a Tier 1 (General)/HSMP extension clients will be claiming the same points for their age as they did the FIRST time they applied for their initial HSMP/Tier 1 (General) visa.  Therefore you will never lose points for your age no matter how old you are when you apply for your Tier 1 (General) visa extension.

•    The main applicant is now required to show a closing bank balance of no less than £900 every day for 90 days before applying and an additional £600 per dependent. Should the main applicant have been in the UK for less than 12 months when they apply for their Tier 1 visa extension, they are now required to show £900 and £1800 per dependent.

Please read the following section on eligibility for a full breakdown of the points you need and ensure you are aware of how high your earnings must be to qualify for your Tier 1 (General) visa extension.

Eligibility for your Tier 1 General Visa Extension (last updated July 2012) - Latest Points Criteria based on the April 2011 changes

With so many changes made by the UK Border Agency over the last few years many of our clients have been left thoroughly confused and concerned about the changes and how they will affect them?

Whilst securing approvals is now harder than ever due to the numerous internal policy changes within the UK Border Agency, working out what points you need to qualify for your Tier 1 General extension has never been easier.

The UKBA have now separated Tier 1 General visa extensions into two categories:

• those clients that applied for their first HSMP/Tier 1 visa before 6th April 2010

• those clients that obtained their first Tier 1 (General) visa after 6th April 2010

Clients that applied for their first HSMP/Tier 1 visa BEFORE 6th April 2010 will need to secure 75 points for their Age, Qualification, Earnings and UK Experience (exactly as they did when they first applied)

POINTS NEEDED = 75 POINTS:

Age (Maximum 20 points) – (You must select your age at the time you FIRST applied for your HSMP/ Tier 1 General visa)

Up to a maximum of 20 points can be awarded for your age:

Aged 27 and under:   20 points

Aged 28 and 29:        10 points

Aged 30 and 31:        05 points

If you were 32 years old or older when you first applied you would not have scored any points for your age and this will be the case when you apply for your visa extension.

Education (Maximum 50 points)

Points are awarded based on the academic qualification or equivalent professional qualifications:

Bachelors Degree:    30 points

Masters Degree:       35 points

PhD:                         50 points

If you have studied and been awarded a higher qualification since you last applied for your HSMP/Tier 1 (General) visa, you can submit the new qualification and secure higher points for your qualification to reduce the number of points needed for your earnings to qualify.

Please note that applicants will not be given any points for a Bachelor’s degree if they first submitted their Tier 1 (General) visa between 31st March 2009 and 5th April 2010. Everyone that initially applied during this period needed a Master’s degree minimum to qualify.

We regularly receive calls from clients that are concerned about their visa extension as they only have a Bachelor’s degree and they initially applied for their visa around 31st March 2009.  Put simply, they have nothing to worry about as they can show their Bachelor’s degree for their extension because they were awarded points for their Bachelor’s degree when applying for their initial Tier 1 approval. If you are still not sure, pick up the phone and give us a call so we can put your mind at rest.

The UK Government will be assessing the qualification you have obtained from your home country against the UK NARIC database to ensure it is considered equivalent to a UK qualification. If you are unsure about the points your qualification will score, please contact one of our consultants on 0203 178 2048.

Past Earnings (Maximum 45 points)

Points are awarded based on your earnings for a continuous 12 month period within the last 15 months before applying for your Tier 1 General extension:

Points     Earnings

45            £40,000

40            £35,000

35            £32,000

30            £29,000

25            £26,000

20            £23,000

15            £20,000

10            £18,000

5              £16,000

Please note that if you are salaried employee the UK Border Agency will consider your Gross Salary.  If you are a Director of a Limited Company, you will be claiming for your Gross Salary, Gross dividends and Net Profit retained.  For those clients that are self-employed as a sole trader or partnership, the UKBA will give you points for your Net Profit.

UK Experience

You can claim 5 points for UK experience if you can satisfy the following:

• If you are claiming for more than £16,000 earned within the UK

For the English Language Requirement and for the Maintenance criteria, please see the bottom of this page as they are the same for all applicants

Clients that applied for their first Tier 1 (General) visa after 6th April 2010 will need to secure 75 points for their Age, Qualification, Earnings and UK Experience (exactly as they did when they first applied). If you initially applied after 19th July 2010, you will need to score 80 points.

POINTS NEEDED = 75/80 POINTS:

Age (Maximum 20 points) – (You must select your age at the time you FIRST applied for your Tier 1 General visa)

Up to a maximum of 20 points can be awarded for your age:

Aged 29 and under:   20 points

Aged 30 to 34:          10 points

Aged 35 to 39:          05 points

If you were 40 years old or older when you first applied you would not have scored any points for your age and this will be the case when you apply for your visa extension.

Education (Maximum 45 points)

Points are awarded based on academic qualification or equivalent professional qualifications:

Bachelor’s Degree:    30 points

Master’s Degree:       35 points

PhD:                          45 points

Remember that you can increase the points for your qualification when applying for your visa extension if you have secured a higher qualification since you last applied. This would enable you show lower earnings to qualify.

The UK Government will be assessing the qualification you have obtained from your home country against the UK NARIC database to ensure it is considered equivalent to a UK qualification. If you are unsure about the points your qualification will score, please contact one of our consultants on 0203 178 2048.

Past Earnings (Maximum 80 points)

Points are awarded based on your earnings for a continuous 12 month period within the last 15 months before applying for your Tier 1 General extension:

Points     Gross Earnings

80             £150,000+

45             £75,000+

40             £65,000+

35             £55,000+

30             £50,000+

25             £40,000+

20             £35,000+

15             £30,000+

05             £25,000+

Please note that if you are salaried employee the UK Border Agency will consider your Gross Salary.  If you are a Director of a Limited Company, you will be claiming for your Gross Salary, Gross Dividends and any Retained Profit left in your Limited company.  For those clients that are self-employed as a sole trader or partnership, the UKBA will give you points for your Net Profit.

UK Experience

You can claim 5 points for UK experience if you can satisfy the following:

• If you are claiming for more than £25,000 earned within the UK

English language Requirement

In addition to scoring the minimum level of 75/80 points stated above, you must also satisfy the English language requirement.  All applicants will automatically be awarded 10 points for English language as they have previously satisfied this requirement when initially applying for their Tier 1 (General) visa.

Maintenance

All applicants need to show their available maintenance funds in order to support themselves and their dependents during their stay in the UK. The funds that you will need to show are based on the latest cost of living figures.

From June 2012, the main applicant will need to show their bank statements covering no less than 90 days before they apply and demonstrate that the daily balance never fell below £900 on any given day. In addition, if you have any dependents then you will need to show a further £600 for each dependent.

We can use bank statements from anywhere in the world and can put together statements from as many bank accounts in your name as needed to show the daily bank balance required.

We are also pleased to confirm that should you be married and/or have children, your wife/husband can use their bank statements to show the maintenance funds they require (£600) and those required for the children.  However, only the main applicant can use bank statements in their name to show the £900 required and your dependents bank statements cannot help you demonstrate this amount.

Clients should also be warned that you are NOT allowed to keep your maintenance funds in any kind of business bank account.  ISA’s, Personal Savings and Current accounts are fine and the UKBA are looking solely for cash in the bank.  Bonds, Stocks, Shares, Credit Cards and Loans are not acceptable.

If you are unsure about the maintenance funds you will need to show, feel free to contact one of our consultants on 0203 178 2048.