bartlettpsj

Nothing to do with finances or work commitment (my wife doesn't work in USA and was not allowed to on an H4).

Others have mentioned on this forum that as soon as you travel to the UK as a visitor you lose the ILR status and the chance to recover it based on returning resident visa SET 09. For SET 09 my wife has been >50% of life in UK (27 years), has strong family ties (our kids at Uni) and of course still have a home (house rented). So I am clinging to the chance they will see the Exception for strong ties to the UK as mentioned in: http://www.gov.uk/government/publica...-09#exceptions

If they do not, then basically they are wasting everyones time and money, as we will appeal and use attorneys, and even just go back to spouse visas and all that (what we did 27 years ago) and then go back to ILR after years.

BritInParis

It sounds like you have a relatively strong case but the longer you leave it the less likely it will be granted. If you want to return in the near future then applying sooner rather than later would be a good idea.

HKG3

Even US permanent residents can have their green cards revoked if they stayed outside of the US for more than a year.

bartlettpsj

Oh I know that and it's pretty well known 6-12 months. But I, like many others who were caught unawares of the 2 year rule for ILR. In 1990 we didn't receive (or keep) any paperwork from gov. In fact all we had was a faded unreadable ILR stamp in her passport.

When I spoke to the UK consulate in LA they said, no big deal, just apply for British Passport. Fat lot of use that would be having been out of the country for past 3 years.
So I am going to make an Returning Resident application and case. I have some hope. What do you suggest I include as supporting docs:

1- Her old passports that prove >50% resident (27+ years!).
2- Evidence of working (for the council as teacher).
3- Evidence of house ownership and rental (i.e. shows we intended to return)?
4- Evidence of being a company secretary and employee of my company?
5- Evidence of having children in UK who are UK citizens.
6- Evidence of reason why she is out of the country (my job, not her choice).

az2014

So you had to move for your job and she didnt? Sounds like she had a choice.

Vadio

I know one woman who got ILR back in either the 70s or early 80s (can't remember which) , but never bothered with citizenship. She returned to the US after living in the UK for 20+ years, for what she assumed would be a brief period to care for elderly parents. Unfortunately, that care responsibility lasted longer than 2 years. She also had kids in the UK, husband stayed in their house in the UK, and they spent time together in both the UK and the US.

She applied for a returning resident visa, and was flatly refused on the grounds of 'insufficient ties to the UK'.

Though not ideal, your wife could have remained in the UK, and it may well be that the ECO will decide on that basis. As I found out, a few years back, what we think are sufficient ties may be viewed differently by the ECO. For example, renting out your UK house could be simply for income or a case of "don't want to sell due to negative equity" - it's not necessarily indicative of intent to return. Similarly, working at some point in the past does not constitute a 'tie', nor does having dual national kids, especially older ones.

Try if you feel your case is strong, or save yourself the ££, time and hassle and just start from scratch with a spouse visa.

bartlettpsj

Literally sounds like Uk gov are basically refusing anything that doesn't look like you never intended to leave for long. Our kids are definitely not dual national, we're all British except the wife. It was my idea to leave not hers. I was literally fed up with how UK politics, economy etc was turning. She came along. She said no, but I badgered her and she thought, I'll give it a try for a short time. Now she wants to go back, not me, and as a faithful husband agreed :-)

Ok so what suggestions do you guys have that prove we have sufficient ties? The biggest one we have is that she spent > 50% of life in UK. The rest you can argue are not ties, even with houses on rent, our & her whole family there, she still spends all her time chatting/keeping in touch with her UK friends (not even provable!).

Vadio

All you can do is submit what you believe to be 'strong ties'. They either approve or they don't, but just don't be surprised or feel 'hard done by' if it's refused.

What is your wife's citizenship? What is her legal status in the US? Can't say for sure, but even those things could affect the decision.

bartlettpsj

Wife is originally Indian. Her status is H4 (i.e. accompanying me who is on H1B).

Yes i am ready for the 'long battle'. It seems like we have to:

a) try the Returning Resident SET09
b) if they refuse then appeal.
c) if the appeal fails apply for spouse visa.
d) if they refuse that, then is there a alternative visa.
e) if the brit gov cannot give visa to my wife to return home, sell up in UK and apply for Perm in USA.
f) if that fails we move the family (3 brits and 1 Indian wife) to India and I lose my job/livelihood etc. Probably just retire as I'm getting close anyways.

Vadio

All refusals have a paragraph about right to appeal, but unless they flat out didn't consider info that you supplied, the refusal will likely not be overturned.

Your life, your choice, but if you really want your family settled back in the UK, then go for what you have the highest probability of getting - a spouse visa. Save yourself the heartache. I can tell you from personal experience, when you get a refusal, even when it was the correct decision on the part of the UKVI staff, it messes with your head. I was devastated, physically sick, and lost a LOT of sleep, Not something I recommend - I was 63 at the time, and 'recovering' from the mental trauma took a lot out of me.

HKG3

Have you think of moving to the Republic of Ireland before Brexit and get your Indian wife over there with an EEA family permit. (I am not talking about Surinder Singh route as this is likely to end after Brexit in March 2019) It is a lot easier and she can qualify for Irish citizenship which means that she will then be able to move to the UK.

bartlettpsj

So the good news is that I applied for Returning Resident and wife got the passport and visa this morning. It took just 2 weeks.

They stamped the passport with a returning resident 6 month duration with Work Permitted. Yaaay.

The next question is what happens after 6 months and she exits the country for a holiday. Is the ILR reactivated now or do we need to apply for another visa within 6 months (I hope not as this just cost me $700)?

BritInParis

Congratulations. Wait and see what happens at the border. I suspect she'll be given a ILR stamp in her passport.

SanDiegogirl

Is this a valid from and to date? If so, then the dates could mean that the visa has to be activated between those dates.

What does the visa actually state?

bartlettpsj

It just says-
Number of Entries: Multi
Type: Returning Resident
Observe: Work Permitted
Valid From xx/11/17
Valid Until: xx/05/18 (xx is the date in May)
VAF No: xxxxxx (x is 7 digit number)

And with DOB, Nationality, Passport number, picture, stamp, 2 secure lines at bottom etc

And a 9 digit red number stamped at the top (probably visa number).