Borderline Immigration Cases
You may already know which immigration route you want to use but still be unsure whether your circumstances meet the requirements. Perhaps your income is close to a threshold, your evidence is unusual, part of your immigration history is unclear or one particular requirement is causing concern.
Before preparing an application, it can be useful to identify exactly what needs to be satisfied, what evidence is required and whether there are any issues that should be addressed first.
Understanding the Requirement
Immigration applications are decided against the requirements of the relevant route.
Those requirements can involve much more than completing the correct form. Depending on the application, they may relate to your immigration status, relationship, employment, sponsorship, finances, English language, residence, absences or other circumstances.
If one part of the application is uncertain, the first step is to isolate that issue.
You can then consider what the Rules require, how they apply to your circumstances and what evidence may be needed to demonstrate that the requirement is met.
What Needs to Be Checked
We look at the application as a whole rather than considering one document or requirement in isolation.
This may involve reviewing:
- the immigration route you intend to use
- your current immigration status
- the specific eligibility requirements
- your supporting evidence
- relevant dates and deadlines
- your previous immigration history
- any changes in your circumstances
Sometimes the position becomes clear quickly. In other cases, several requirements interact and need to be considered together.
Where Cases Become More Complicated
Closer analysis may be needed where you appear to meet most of the requirements but there is one significant uncertainty.
For example, your income may not be straightforward, your relationship evidence may be limited, your employment circumstances may have changed or your previous immigration history may raise an additional issue.
There may also be situations where an applicant appears eligible at first glance, but the timing of the application, the evidence available or a previous immigration event changes the position.
That is why eligibility should usually be considered before substantial time and money is committed to preparing the application.
How Knightsbridge Immigration Helps
We start with the requirement causing concern.
We then consider the relevant Immigration Rules, your circumstances and the evidence available.
Where an issue is identified, we look at whether it can properly be addressed, whether further evidence is needed and whether another option should be considered.
If the application can proceed, we can then help move the matter through the usual stages:
Matter Progression
From request to response.
Use the stages below to show how the matter developed, what changed and how the final position was reached.
- Assess
- Plan
- Evidence
- Prepare
- Review
- Submit
- Follow through
The purpose is not simply to confirm that an application form can be completed. It is to understand whether the case is properly prepared to meet the requirements that will be considered by the Home Office.
Your Possible Next Step
An assessment may show that you meet the requirements and can proceed.
It may identify additional evidence that should be obtained first.
You may need to wait until a particular requirement is satisfied.
In some circumstances, another immigration route may need to be considered.
And where there is a genuine difficulty, understanding it before submission gives you an opportunity to make an informed decision rather than discovering the issue after an application has already been made.
Timescales and Costs
The amount of work required will depend upon the issue.
A single eligibility question may require a relatively focused assessment. Cases involving several requirements, previous applications or more complicated evidence may require a fuller review.
Where you subsequently instruct us to prepare an application, we will explain the work required, expected preparation timescale and the relevant professional and Home Office fees before proceeding.
Situations Requiring Closer Analysis
Consider obtaining advice before applying if there is a requirement you are unsure about, your evidence does not fit the usual pattern, your circumstances have recently changed or you are relying on an exception, alternative evidence or a less straightforward interpretation of your position.
Identifying the issue early can make the next stage considerably clearer.
Not Sure Whether You Meet the Requirements?
Tell us which immigration route you are considering and what is causing concern.
We will look at the relevant requirements, your circumstances and the evidence available so that you can better understand your position before deciding what to do next.
