Glossary
Visa & immigration glossary
The confusing terms that show up on application forms and in interviews, defined in plain English.
- Affidavit of Support (Form I-864)A legally binding contract a US sponsor signs promising to financially support a family-based immigrant so they don't become a public charge. Required for most family-sponsored and some employment-based green card applicants, the sponsor must generally show household income at or above 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for their household size (100% if the sponsor is active-duty military sponsoring a spouse or child) — for 2026, that's roughly $27,050 for a household of two and $34,150 for a household of three in the contiguous US, rising with each extra person. If the sponsor's income falls short, they can add assets, a household member's income via Form I-864A, or bring in a joint sponsor who separately meets the threshold. The obligation lasts until the immigrant becomes a US citizen, is credited with 40 quarters of work, leaves the US permanently, or dies.
- Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) / eVisaThe UK's old physical ID card proving immigration status. The Home Office stopped issuing new BRPs as it moved to digital-only eVisas, and by 25 February 2026 most successful applicants across all visa categories — including visitors — receive an online status record instead of a card. An expired BRP can still be used for limited purposes (setting up a UKVI account, extending or updating status) until 24 months after its printed expiry date or 31 December 2026, whichever comes first — but not for right-to-work, right-to-rent, or EU Settlement Scheme checks. Status is now proven through the free UKVI 'View and Prove' service, which generates a 16-character share code valid for 90 days.
- BiometricsYour fingerprints and a photograph, collected at a visa application centre as part of many applications. Once given, biometrics are often reusable for a set number of years.
- Blocked AccountA special bank account, common for German student visas, holding roughly one year of living costs that you can only draw down in monthly amounts after arrival.
- CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies)A unique reference number issued by a licensed UK education sponsor confirming your place on a course. It is required to apply for a UK Student visa.
- Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS)A digital record generated by a licensed UK employer in the Home Office's Sponsor Management System, confirming a specific job, salary, and worker for the Skilled Worker (or other Worker route) visa. It is not a physical certificate — it's a reference number the worker enters into their visa application, and no Skilled Worker application can be submitted without one. A CoS must generally be used within 3 months of being assigned and is tied to that one role at that one employer; it isn't transferable if the worker changes jobs.
- Dual IntentA concept allowing certain visa holders to pursue permanent residency while holding a temporary visa. Some categories permit dual intent; most visitor and student visas do not.
- Form I-20The Certificate of Eligibility issued by a US SEVP-approved school, certifying you are admitted and have shown the funds to study. It underpins the F-1 student visa application.
- Genuine Student (GS) RequirementThe test Australian visa officers use to assess a Student visa (subclass 500) application, in force for applications lodged from 23 March 2024 onward. It replaced the old Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement, which centred on proving you intended to leave Australia after your studies. GS instead asks targeted questions — capped at 150 words each — about your current circumstances, why you chose your course and Australia, and how the course fits your study and career plans, and it explicitly acknowledges that using legitimate post-study or migration pathways afterward does not count against you. Weak or generic answers to the GS questions, not just weak financial or ties evidence, are now a leading cause of student visa refusals.
- GIC (Guaranteed Investment Certificate)A Canadian bank investment product many study permit applicants use to prove they can support themselves. You deposit the required cost-of-living amount (CAD 23,448 for a single applicant applying on or after September 1, 2026, outside Quebec) with a participating Canadian bank before applying; the bank releases a first instalment before travel and pays the rest in monthly amounts after arrival. IRCC accepts a GIC alongside other proof of funds such as bank statements, a loan, or a sponsor's affidavit — it is not the only route, but it is the one visa officers recognise fastest because the funds are locked and verifiable.
- GTE / Genuine Student (GS) RequirementThe test Australia's Department of Home Affairs uses to decide whether a Subclass 500 student visa applicant intends to study genuinely, rather than use the visa mainly as a path to stay or work in Australia. Until 23 March 2024 this was called the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement and asked applicants to show they intended to return home after their course. It was replaced by the Genuine Student (GS) requirement, a related but more pragmatic test: it still weighs an applicant's personal circumstances (ties to their home country, family, employment, financial situation), their reasons for choosing the course and Australia, and their understanding of what studying there involves, but it explicitly accepts that a genuine student may later become eligible for a skilled migration pathway rather than requiring proof they will leave. In practice it is answered as a set of short, individually written responses (roughly 150 words each) inside the online application form, not a separate statement — generic or templated answers are the most common reason applicants get requests for more information or refusals. Home Affairs also assigns each source country an Evidence Level (1 to 3) based on refusal, fraud and overstay history; a higher Evidence Level means the same GS answers face tougher scrutiny and more supporting documentation is expected.
- LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment)A document a Canadian employer must generally obtain from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) before hiring a foreign worker under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, confirming that filling the role with a foreign national will not negatively affect the Canadian labour market. To get a positive LMIA, an employer typically has to advertise the position first (recruitment rules are stricter for lower-wage roles, including an 8-week minimum advertising window and a requirement to target Canadian youth aged 15-30), keep a log of Canadian and permanent-resident applicants and why each was not hired, and show the wage offered matches what Canadians doing the same job are paid. ESDC classifies the role as high-wage or low-wage against the provincial or territorial median wage, which changes which rules apply — low-wage roles face extra caps (generally no more than 10% of a worksite's staff, 15% temporarily in some rural areas) and, since September 2024, are not processed at all in metro areas with 6%+ unemployment except for exempted sectors like agriculture, health care and construction. A positive LMIA lets the worker apply for a work permit tied to that employer and role; it is also the basis for most Express Entry candidates' arranged-employment points and is a prerequisite many Provincial Nominee Program employer-driven streams rely on. Not every foreign worker needs one — some categories (intra-company transfers, CUSMA/USMCA professionals, some Post-Graduation Work Permit holders) are LMIA-exempt.
- OverstayRemaining in a country beyond the date your visa or entry stamp permits. Even short overstays can trigger bans and make future applications far harder.
- PNP (Provincial Nominee Program)A Canadian immigration pathway in which individual provinces and territories (every one except Quebec and Nunavut, which run their own separate systems) nominate candidates for permanent residence who match their specific labour-market or economic needs. Each province runs its own streams — skilled worker, international graduate, entrepreneur, or employer-driven job-offer streams are common — with its own eligibility rules, occupation lists and intake process; there are over 80 distinct streams nationally. Most provinces run two kinds of stream: an 'enhanced' stream aligned with federal Express Entry, where a provincial nomination adds 600 points to a candidate's Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score — enough to make an invitation to apply for permanent residence close to guaranteed at the next draw — and a 'base' (paper-based) stream that operates entirely outside Express Entry with its own, often slower, application process. A nomination is not permanent residence itself; nominees still need to apply to IRCC (through Express Entry or directly, depending on the stream) and pass the standard admissibility, medical and security checks. Canada's 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan sets a PNP admissions target of 91,500 for 2026, a large increase over prior plans, making it one of the fastest-growing routes to Canadian PR.
- Port of EntryThe airport, land border or seaport where a border officer decides whether to admit you. A visa lets you travel to the port of entry; the officer there grants the actual admission.
- Proof of FundsDocumentary evidence that you can pay for your trip or studies and your living costs, usually shown through bank statements, sponsorship letters or instruments like a GIC. The amount and the holding period are often specified by the visa.
- Section 214(b)The provision of US law under which every nonimmigrant visa applicant is presumed to intend to immigrate until they prove otherwise. Overcoming 214(b) means demonstrating strong ties to your home country.
- SEVISThe Student and Exchange Visitor Information System that tracks F, M and J visa holders in the US. Applicants pay a SEVIS fee before their visa interview.
- SponsorA person or organisation that takes financial or legal responsibility for an applicant — a relative funding a trip, an employer offering a job, or an institution issuing study documents.
- Ties to Home CountryThe personal, economic and social connections — a job, property, dependents, a business — that give an officer confidence you will return home after a temporary visa. Weak ties are the most common reason short-stay visas are refused.
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