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Welcome to Document Guidance

We will help you understand the process and what document evidence you to need to follow for your application. We will also guide you on different methods to scan your documents to comply with how the Home Office would like them including using different devices and tools to scan.

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Financials and Maintenance


Applications to the Home Office will require financial evidence to support your application and any family members.


As financials rules can be very complex, we can only list the key points below, but we will provide links to help you further. If you need help, feel free to contact us.


Work visas

If you are being sponsored to work in the UK, your sponsor can certify your maintenance in your assigned Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) (a virtual work permit) or you can provide your own money to support yourself which equates to £1270.00 and for family needing a visa (partner £285.00 and first child £315.00, second child and so on £200.


Settlement

If you applying to settle in the UK, financials will depend, if your current visa falls under:


Sponsored work

Current P60, most recent payslip, financial statement and employment letter).

  • Certifying maintenance

    Leave to Enter - sponsored worker

    A sponsored worker may not have to provide evidence of meeting the maintenance threshold of £1,270.00 if the UK sponsor (UK employer) does not certify maintenance within your assigned CoS which is your virtual work permit.


    Tip: Before the CoS is assigned


    Leave to Enter - family members

    The UK sponsor can also certify maintenance for all family members needing a visa as long as they fall under your worker visa as a family member.


    Leave to Remain - sponsored worker

    If you been in the UK over 12 months and you switch from your current visa to a work visa or change UK sponsors, your new UK sponsor can certify maintenance within your assigned Cos.


    If you need to provide your own finances, then refer to cash maintenance guidance.

  • Cash maintenance guidance

    Your money must be held in a regulatory financial institute and available for at least 28 days in a row.


    Day 28 must be within 31 days of you or your family members visa applications being submitted.


    Maintenance funds required:

    1. £1270.00 for sponsored worker.
    2. £285.00 for the partner.
    3. £315.00 for child 1.
    4. £200.00 for additional children.
  • Need help

    If you do not have the funds and unsure how to ask the UK sponsor to certify your maintenance, our law firm can do this for you. Simply hit the tab below and send us a message.

    Contact my sponsor

Document guide to follow


Below are essential evidence we need to to verify if the ones with * are applicable to you.


Who is a UK sponsor?

A UK sponsor could be a family member, a friend, an employer, training institute, a charity or a business. If you coming to the UK and you are relying on:


Family or friend  – confirm you can provide an invitation letter outlining the purpose of your trip, date period, where you be living and if they contribute to your UK trip and how much?


Employer  – If you been sponsored to work in the UK, provide a copy of your Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), employment offer letter and job description.


Training institute  – If you been sponsored to study in the UK, provide a copy of your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) which will outline your UK studies.


Essential documents requirements

  • Passports

    Provide all pages including blank pages of your current passport and any passports issued to you to enter or remain in the UK. 


    NEVER scan as one PDF different passports together.

  • National ID cards

    Scan the front and rear of any national ID cards issued to you regardless if still valid or expired within the past 10 years.

    Do I need to provide?
  • English evidence

    You need to meet the English requirements, you can provide any of the following:

    1. Passport from a majority English speaking country.
    2. UK academic qualification
    3. Overseas academic qualification, transcript and University letter confirming degree taught 100% in English with UK NARIC(now Ecctis) or Ecctis report.
    4. English language test from Pearson, Trinity College, IELTS SELT Consortium, PSI Services (UK) Ltd or Language CERT.
    5. UK GCSE or A Level English learn more
    6. Professional regulation for Skilled worker*.

    *If you are applying for UK entry clearance or permission to stay under Appendix Skilled Worker, you will meet the English language requirement if you are being sponsored to work as a doctor, dentist, nurse, midwife or veterinarian, and have passed an English Language assessment which is accepted by the relevant regulated professional body as a requirement for registration.


    Select the tab below to find out more about English evidence and go to this link for English requirements per visa type.

    English evidence guidance
  • Medical evidence

    Tuberculosis (TB)

    If you are applying to enter the UK you might need to provide a TB certificate from an approved medical centre.


    UK medical services

    If you previously had any UK medical treatment, you must provide:

    • Date treatment started.
    • Treatment received.
    • Where treatment took place (full UK post code address).
    • Date treatment ceased unless ongoing.
    • Provide medical records of any UK treatment.
  • UK Immigration

    Visa application forms

    If you previously applied to enter or remain in the UK, please provide a copy of your visa application form.


    Solicitors and lawyers correspondence

    If you previously applied for a UK visa and used a legal firm to help or represent you, please provide any correspondence from them.


    Biometric Residence Permits (BRP cards)

    Provide front and back of any issued BRP cards.


    CoSs and CASs

    If you were sponsored to work or study in the UK, please provide a copy of any assigned CoS or CAS assigned to you.


    UK Home Office

    Provide all evidence if you been issued a visa or a visa application was refused or you been ask to leave the UK. Also provide including any UK administrative reviews and appeals.

  • Good character & Police report

    Not all UK sponsors require a police report but If you are entering the UK, our firm requires a police report for any person aged 10 and over. 


    You must declare any 'Spent' or 'Unspent' criminal convictions. 


    Note: 'Spent' convictions means the conviction you were charged with has now passed. 'Unspent' means the conviction is still active and depending which country the offence was committed; the country may have different rules on spent and unspent.


    Any convictions disclosed we will discuss with you and confirm if they are likely to impact your visa application.


    Conviction types:

    1. You been convicted of certain crimes or are suspected of involving yourself with criminal activity.
    2. You have been associated with committing war crimes or crimes against humanity.
    3. You have misbehaved in your local community.
    4. You are dishonest and deceptive in dealing with institutions of any government.
    5. You are a persistent offender who has caused serious harm or are a sex offender.
    6. You were given a custodial sentence of four years or more.
    7. You were or currently are part of a sham marriage.
    8. You were in breach of immigration laws in any country.
    9. You have bad debt, whether personally or linked to a business.

    Police report

    If you are applying to ENTER the UK and you are required to provide a police report because of your employment conditions, select the link below.


    Note: If you plan to work in the UK where you are dealing with children, vulnerable people and other strict regulatory industry sectors, you must obtain a police report. Once in the UK your sponsor will apply for a DBS check.

    Learn more>>
  • Marriage, Divorce, Births & Deaths

    Marriage/Civil Partnership

    If applying as a partner to a sponsored worker, if you are married or in a civil partnership, you must provide a copy of your original certificate.


    Divorce

    If you applying with your partner and either of you got divorcedfrom a previous relationship, you must provide evidence of the process you at or the official document to state you are legally divorced.


    Birth certificates

    You are required to provide a copy of your original birth certificates.


    Children

    If applying with your children and the other biological parent is deceased, you must provide a copy of their death certificate.


    If one biological parent of a child cannot apply for a UK visa and that child plans to enter the UK, the child cannot apply unless exceptional cicumstances apply.

  • Cohabitation

    If you are applying to enter or remain in the UK with your partner, your partner must provide evidence of living together going back 2 years. Evidence can be:

    Any official document such as financial statements, government department letters, utility bills, medical records etc. Evidence must clearly show your given and family names and full zip code address.


    Living apart

    If you are living apart from your partner, you must provide evidence such as:

    • Evidence when you lived together, reasons who you live apart such as employment contract in another country. If you can provide genuine religious reasons, this evidence might be accepted.
    • Ideally provide evidence in joint names or documents in different names, they must show your unique names, same address and be dated around the same time period.
    • Bookings in joint names such as hotels, transport such as trains, coach and flight travels.
    • WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook, email etc., conversations, these should only refer to your relationship.
    • Sending money to one another.
    • Photo evidence date stamped in iconic location ideally covering the past 2 years.

    Document evidence

    All documents must show your name, date and on official paper from the supplier. We need the original evidence scanned to a good readable standard which we will upload to the UK Home Office portal.


    Documents should cover the past 24 months* meaning, every 6 months you and your partner should have a document showing you both lived at the same address. 


    Example: visa submission date 31.07.2024, evidence must be dated 03.07.2024 to 31.07.2024, then provide around December 2023 to January 2024, then provide around June to August 2023, then provide around December 2022 to January 2023, then provide no later than 31.07.2022 or slightly earlier such as June 2022.


    Note: You must provide at least 3 unique documents per person and a minimum of 6 documents in your names.

    You must provide a statement of your relationship, how and when you met, when you got engaged, marriage or civil partnership, dates when any children were born and where you have lived together showing full post/zip code address and exact dates lived in per property.


    *30 months if applying to settle in the UK.

  • UK sponsoring

    Employment

    You be expected to provide the following evidence if you coming to the UK to be employed:

    • Up to date CV.
    • Education qualification certificates you obtained.
    • Work related qualifications obtained.
    • Employers references.
    • Awards received for outstanding work.

1.  Document check list

eForms

Our law firm has been providing immigration services since 2006. We specialise in visa entry to the UK until British passport, business compliance services and cloud technology.
Apply for 30 minutes free consultation

eForms

Our law firm has been providing immigration services since 2006 and we specialise in visa entry to obtaining British passport, business compliance and cloud technology.
Apply for 30 minutes free consultation

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  • Innovator visa

    This visa route allows an overseas national to enter or switch if already in the UK if they possess an Innovative, Viable and Scalable business idea and can obtain endorsement from one of the UKVI-approved endorsing bodies.


    The visa is issued for 3 years if you can provide evidence of £50,000 to meet the financials, English at or above B2 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), obtain an endorsement letter and meet other criteria requirements.


    To find out more about this visa route click here.

  • Start-up visa

    This visa route allows an overseas national to enter or switch if already in the UK if they possess an Innovative, Viable and Scalable business idea and can obtain endorsement from one of the UK higher education institutions or a business organisation with a history of supporting UK entrepreneurs.


    The visa is issued for 2 years, and this visa cannot be extended but you can then switch to the Innovator visa route. Note: The Start-up visa does not count towards settlement unless you settle via the 10-year-long residence route.


    You cannot join a business already operating in the UK, you must provide evidence of meeting English B2 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), obtain an endorsement letter, and meet other criteria requirements.


    To find out more about this visa route click here.

  • Global Talent visa

    This visa route allows an overseas national to enter or switch if already in the UK if they are a leader or potential leader in one of the following fields:

    1. Academia or research
    2. Arts and culture
    3. Digital technology.

    You will need an endorsement from one of the 3 bodies listed above, no need to provide evidence of English but you will need to meet other eligibility criteria.


    To find out more about this visa route click here.

  • Entrepreneur visa (Tier 1)

    This visa route closed to new applicants on 29 March 2019 meaning, unless you held this visa type, you can only extend this visa.


    If you have family members, they can join you in the UK if you still have a valid visa and also extend their visa.


    If you want to apply to enter the UK as an Entrepreneur, you can now apply under the Innovator visa route.


    To find out more about this visa route click here.

  • Investor visa (Tier 1)

    This visa route closed to new applicants in February 2022 meaning, unless you held this visa type, you can only extend this visa.


    If you have family members, they can join you in the UK if you still have a valid visa and also extend their visa.


    There is no alternative visa route for investors, the only option available is the Innovator visa route.


    To find out more about this visa route click here.

Sponsors Licence Key Links

An introduction for employers Register for a sponsor licence UK points-based immigration system Overseas national recruitment rules PBS equality impact assessment Immigration system what to know Skilled Worker occupations & codes Archived SOC codes Skilled Workers shortage occupations Businesses holding a sponsor license Part 1: Apply for a licence Part 2: Sponsorship general info Part 3: Sponsor duties & compliance

Popular Worker Visa Routes

Skilled worker visa Healthcare & Care Worker visa Senior or Specialist Worker visa Minister of Religion visa (T2) International Sportsperson visa Charity Worker visa Religious Worker visa Youth Mobility Scheme visa Graduate visa Innovator visa Nationals needing a visa

G4I Sponsor Licence Support

Preventing Illegal Employment Resident Labour Consideration Sponsor Licence Audit Sponsor Licence Applications Sponsor Licence Support Service Sponsor Licence Training Recruitment Cycle

Home Office Official Documents

PBS Introduction for employers Business & Future Immigration 2021 An introduction for employers The UK’s PBS Immigration System PBS Employer Factsheet PBS Immigration System Partner Pack Immigration Rules Changes Guide to becoming a licenced sponsor SL priority service request form

Sponsored Workers Guidance

Sponsor a Skilled worker Sponsor a Health & Care worker Sponsor a Senior/Specialist Worker Sponsor a MoR or Religious worker Sponsor an International Sportsperson Sponsor a Charity worker Sponsor a Secondment Worker visa

Sponsor Licence Policies

Guide 1: Introduction to the SMS Guide 2: SMS sponsorship licence Guide 3: SMS applications services Guide 8: SMS creating a CoS Guide 8a: SMS creating a CoS Guide 9: Reporting worker activity Guide 10: Misc CoS functions Guide 11: Creative Worker CoS Guide 12: Defined CoS: SMS Appendix A: Supporting Documents Appendix B: Immigration offences Appendix C: Penalties/sponsorship Appendix D: SL recordkeeping Sponsors priority circumstances from PBS sponsor compliance visits Immigration rules updates

Home Office Checks

View & prove your immigration status How to carry out a right to work check Prove right to work to an employer

Business visa routes

Innovator visa Start-up visa Global Talent visa

Other popular visas routes

Apply as an adult Student Apply as a Child Student Apply to study English in the UK Apply as a Partner or Spouse Apply as a parent Apply as a child Adult to be cared for Apply as a Standard visitor Apply for marriage visitor visa

Commonwealth & British

Apply for Right of Abode Apply for UK Ancestry British National (Overseas) visa Apply under naturalisation (Adult)

Settle in the UK

Settlement (work route) Settlement (family route) Settlement (long residence) Settlement (refugee or have HP or DL) Settlement (Returning Resident) Settlement (Served in armed serves)