The Cyprus Council of Ministers approved changes to the Cyprus Citizenship-by-Investment Programme (CIP) to increase the standards and credibility of the programme. While these changes are all positive news for the Cyprus CIP, they will increase the total cost to qualify for citizenship starting in May…

The EU Settlement Scheme has been set up by the UK government for European residents to apply for “settled status” after Brexit. It is considered necessary because most citizens of European Union countries will lose their existing legal status in this country after it leaves the…

For many people the decision to start a family is not an easy one. For families in the UK where one of the partners is from outside the EU it is not only hard to make such a difficult and important decision but if coming to…

Couples will no longer have to allocate blame or mutually agree to end their marriages.The justice secretary, David Gauke, confirmed he will bring in legislation enacting the reform in the next session of parliament, removing the need for separating couples to wait for years or allocate…

The Government is clear that entrepreneurs play a key role in creating jobs and driving economic growth, which is vital to the prosperity of the UK. This will build upon the successes of the current Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) route, expanding it to ensure that the…

From 2 November 2018, the way you make an application for settlement, citizenship or to stay in the UK for study or work will change for some applicants. Customers seeking leave to remain in the UK or to settle permanently on the following routes will have…

Income Tax ChangesThe new Budget is rather positive news for taxpayers. It is decided that the higher-rate income tax threshold, above which your income is taxed at 40%, will rise from £46,350 to £50,000 in April. The personal allowance or the amount you can earn before…

Irina DurnovaUnexpected news about the suspension of Tier 1 (Investor) route appeared overnight. Both the Guardian and BBC have released the Immigration Minister’s statement saying that the UK will not tolerate people who “do not play by the rules and seek to abuse the system”.Tier 1…

The decision to double the Immigration Health Surcharge has been approved by the House of Commons on 21 November and by the House of Lords on 28 November. Once it is signed by the Immigration Minister the IHS will double after 21 days of signing.Anyone in…

Following the legal action by Migrants’ Rights Network the UK Home Office has backed down from secret data-sharing deal.Under the controversial “hostile environment” scheme the Home Office was using NHS data to track down patients believed to be breaching immigration rules. It has been decided that…

Irina DurnovaEarlier this year the Home Office has awarded Sopra Steria a £91m contract to develop a digital visa and immigration service in the UK. The new system goes live today.Time will tell but we are promised new, streamlined services, allowing customers in the UK to…

Irina DurnovaOn 31 January 2018 enforcement authorities in England obtained new rights to apply for “unexplained wealth orders” (UWO) which might be subsequently issued by the High Court.Unexplained wealth order can be applied either to persons suspected of involvement in serious crime (e.g. money laundering) inside…