Editor and lead researcher
Sam Parks
Sam Parks is a self-taught immigration-policy researcher and the editor of Visa Atlas. Sam reads primary government sources directly, cross-checks against statutory instruments, and writes the structured visa, fee, processing-time and policy-update entries that power the site.
How I work
I read primary government sources directly — GOV.UK, USCIS, IRCC, BAMF, AIMA / SEF, ICP, Home Affairs Australia, the Bundesregierung, and the implementing regulations behind each. Where statutory text and government guidance diverge, I lead with the statute and flag the gap. I don't use scraped or aggregator data, and the site does not call an LLM at runtime.
I'm self-taught — no law degree, no migration-agent licence, no consultancy practice. The sole product is the publication. I review every visa entry on a quarterly cadence and after any policy announcement that affects it. Every page carries a last-reviewed date and a primary-source link.
What I cover
- Visa policy across the UK, Ireland, Germany, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, the UAE, Canada, Australia, and the US.
- Skilled-worker, points-based, family, study, digital-nomad, entrepreneur, investor, and citizenship-by-descent routes.
- Government fees, salary thresholds, processing times, and settlement timelines — sourced and dated.
- Policy-change tracking: statement-of-changes documents, EU directives, federal regulations, ministerial instructions.
What I don't do
- I do not provide legal advice. I will not review your case, your documents, or your timeline.
- I do not file applications. The right person for that is a regulated advisor in your destination jurisdiction.
- I do not accept payment, sponsorship, or any other benefit for coverage of a route, advisor, or destination.
Get in touch
Corrections and tip-offs: corrections@visaatlas.org. Every correction is logged in-line with a dated note and the page's last-reviewed date refreshes.
Selected writing
Elsewhere
Last reviewed: 30 April 2026.