What if my passport is expiring within the next 3 years?

ANY visa that you get from the Home Office is independent from when your passport expires, as they are giving you permission to remain in the UK for that period of time when they approve your application. Hence even if your passport is due to expire, say, 6 months from now, they will still issue you a Tier 1 visa valid for the full 3 years. You can then renew your passport at any time after that with your own country's local embassy/consulate, or obtain a new passport.

If you obtain a new passport within the 3 years of the Tier 1 visa, you have two options. Your visa is still valid even though it is in the old, invalid passport. All you need to do is bring along both passports when you travel and go through border control. Please ensure that you do not physically damage your old passport (e.g. cut off the corner) as that will mean the visa page is cut too and could invalidate the visa.

The other option is to get the Tier 1 visa transferred to your new passport. You can only do this from within the United Kingdom. For more information on how to transfer your visa from your old to new passport, please see this site.

If I am renewing a Tier 1 visa or switching from HSMP to Tier 1, will I receive 3 years on top of what I already have?

This is a tricky situation with no definite answer. The official Home Office line is that the 3 years will be granted from when the application is approved, and not added on to the current visa that you have. So if your visa expires in December 2009, and you apply in June 2009 and receive an approval in June 2009, technically your new Tier 1 visa will run from June 2009 to June 2012.

However, there have been many reports that suggest they add on the 3 years to your current expiry date (i.e. in the above scenario, your new visa will say December 2010 + 3 years = Dec 2013). This probably depends on how early you apply for your extension, and my personal view is that if you apply 4-6 months before your visa is due to expire, they will probably add it on to your expiry date, but any applications earlier than 4-6 months will probably mean 3 years from the date of application approval. This is, of course, a very grey area and if you are making an application for extension early you should be prepared for the fact that you might only be granted 3 years from the application approval date.

My visa application has just been rejected. Can I appeal?

Yes, every applicant that has been rejected has the right to ask for an appeal. However, there is one simple rule of the appeal: you are not allowed to submit any new evidence or additional documents to support your case. For example if you had sent in bank statements that were more than a month old at the time of application, you are not allowed to appeal and introduce new bank statements. You can still apply for the appeal, but in my opinion it will mean a waste of time, money (hiring solicitors and going to court), and the Home Office's limited resources. Common successful appeals include when it is clear the case worker handling your file has made a mistake (e.g. read something wrongly or did not see one of your documents), or that one of your documents was mis-interpreted wrongly.

However, there has been encouraging anecdotal evidence recently about Tier 1 maintenance funds appeals. It appears that judges at the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) have been taking a more practical approach to applicants who were rejected based on the maintenance funds criteria points. Applicants who were a few days short of the required number of days (3 months) of bank statements or fell below the required amount (£800) by a little bit have been allowed to introduce new evidence (i.e. bank statements) showing the £800 minimum over 3 months. In addition, some of the appeal cases have been successful even without new supporting evidence, as the judges have ruled that the £800 over 3 months is not a very good guide to assessing sufficient funds or financial stability. 

As always, it is suggested to consult an immigration lawyer for appeals as it is rather complex and a good lawyer will maximize your chances of winning the appeal case. Here at UK Visa Help we do not promote any particular lawyer, but feel free to contact any of the law firms that advertise on our website for further help.

What type of bank statements are acceptable for the 3 months maintenance fund requirement?

This is a very common question and is an area that many applications are unfairly rejected on. The best way to satisfy the maintenance fund requirement is with the monthly bank statements sent through the mail and from a UK bank, listing out all your transactions on a day to day basis. I have never heard of any cases rejected using these type of bank statements.

If you have an online bank account, please do not print out your online statements, as these are not acceptable. You either need to call up your bank and ask them to send you statements for the last 3 months through the post, or visit a branch. If visiting a branch, they will print out your statement, but you have to ensure that there is a bank logo or letterhead, and that is it signed, stamped, and dated by the bank manager. Any other types will be rejected.

In addition, statements of fixed deposits (FD), bonds, or non-cash investments are not acceptable, as the Home Office does not consider these liquid funds. If there is any way the caseworker can interprete your account as being non-liquid, you need to include a letter from the bank manager stating that you can withdraw the funds at any time without any financial penalty.

Please do not send your application even if you are 1p short on one day, or missing a few days of 3 month's worth of statements (within 1 month of application), as the application will definitely be rejected and the appeal process is costly, long, and does not guarantee a favourable result in the end. 

Can I use a P60 to show my past earnings?

You can indeed use the P60 to show your past earnings, BUT you can only use either the P60 or your payslips. Which means that if you use your P60, you will need another form of evidence to corroborate your earnings (e.g. bank statements showing money being paid in to your account, or a letter from the employer stating salary paid). The P60 cannot be used with the payslips to meet the "two pieces of earnings evidence" criteria. However, if you do have payslips, there is no harm in including those in your application with the P60 (but cannot mix and match to show 12 months salary).

How do I show earnings if I am self employed?

This is a very tricky situation and a grey area where there is no right or wrong answer. Generally, if you register yourself as a sole trader and have a set of accounts (even draft) prepared, you can show that, as well as your business bank statements.

However, if you are self employed without a legal business status, for example a day trader of shares, then the situation is a bit more grey. Generally the burden of proof will be on you to show the evidence that it is your full time profession and that it is not a part time hobby (e.g. personal investment portfolio).