Spouse visa, sponsor requirements

Old Jun 6th 2017, 8:55 am
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Default Spouse visa, sponsor requirements

Is there any reference/guidelines in UK immigration policies which, with a spouse visa, indicates how long the sponsor must stay in the UK during the first 2.5 years for the applicant to qualify for a renewal?

An example would be where the sponsor and the applicant meet and exceed the financial requirements (savings, salaries, etc) during the first 2.5 yrs, but the sponsor spent the majority of their time outside the EU (for whatever reason, i.e. visit family, offshore work, etc)
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Old Jun 8th 2017, 8:28 pm
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Default Re: Spouse visa, sponsor requirements

114 views and no replies? I'm sure someone out there must have dealt with a similar scenario before.
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Old Jun 8th 2017, 9:50 pm
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Default Re: Spouse visa, sponsor requirements

Originally Posted by DH70
Is there any reference/guidelines in UK immigration policies which, with a spouse visa, indicates how long the sponsor must stay in the UK during the first 2.5 years for the applicant to qualify for a renewal?

An example would be where the sponsor and the applicant meet and exceed the financial requirements (savings, salaries, etc) during the first 2.5 yrs, but the sponsor spent the majority of their time outside the EU (for whatever reason, i.e. visit family, offshore work, etc)
Cannot help with any official documentation regarding the sponsor's absences.

However, as you have mentioned "spending the majority of the time outside the EU", remember that on the FLR(M) form there are several questions which relate to where the spouses live, when they last saw one another, if you intend to continue living together permanently in the UK and where your income to fulfill the financial requirement comes from.

If you are absent from the UK AND your income is sourced outside the UK I would think this would give cause for concern that you and your spouse are not fulfilling the rules of the settlement visa i.e living and working in the UK,

This might mean not obtaining the FLR(M).
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Old Jun 9th 2017, 1:09 am
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Default Re: Spouse visa, sponsor requirements

As the sponsor is a UK citizen , then once the spouse visa has been granted and activated, then surely he is free to work wherever he wants, just as any other UK citizen. Although he may work outside the UK regularly his permanent address would be where he/his spouse reside. Unless he is out of the UK for a long time and is shown as non UK resident by HMRC then I would think he meets the requirements that his life is based in the UK. What about merchant seamen for example - they are often away from home for 6 months at a time , employed by a foreign company etc but are still considered UK resident by HMRC?
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Old Jun 9th 2017, 5:41 am
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Default Re: Spouse visa, sponsor requirements

The OP referred to the sponsor as being out of the UK for the majority of the visa timeline - that will have some ramifications as to the spirit of the visa rules.

You mentioned Merchant Seamen and the following is taken from Appendix FM 1.7 Paragraph 5.5.4

Where the applicant’s partner is a seafarer resident in the UK but spends most of their time working at sea and qualifies for the HMRC Seafarers Earnings Deduction (which is evidenced, for example, by a letter from their accountant or from HMRC), they will be considered as a person resident in the UK for the purposes of assessing their income.
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Old Jun 9th 2017, 9:04 am
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Default Re: Spouse visa, sponsor requirements

That's interesting SDG. Presume there's something similar for oil rig workers etc? I knew a guy who worked for BP on rigs in , I think, the Gulf of Mexico and was hardly ever in UK for more than a few days at a time. The OP mentioned offshore work particularly and ther must be many Brits who work under similar circumstances. I used to travel a lot - over 6 months a year out of UK , but I was employed and paid by a UK company so I suppose that makes the difference.
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Old Jun 9th 2017, 11:00 am
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Default Re: Spouse visa, sponsor requirements

Thanks for the replies! Sorry, I didn't word my query very well.

To be more accurate....the sponsor and applicant remain married and live at a permanent address in the UK, applicant is main breadwinner (earns well over minimum required), sponsor works part time due to kids (sponsor salary initially meets minimum required, but could stop work at some stage to raise kids), both employed in the UK, kids go to UK school.
My understanding is that the combined salaries of the sponsor and applicant is looked at for the visa extension, so I assume it's ok if the sponsor stopped working at some stage, but they still meet/exceed the minimum income required after 2.5 years due to the applicants salary.
This then ties in with my question about the sponsors freedom of movement outside the UK. All the criteria is met, except the sponsor was out of the country for let's say 4-8 months each year.
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Old Jun 9th 2017, 11:05 am
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Default Re: Spouse visa, sponsor requirements

Four months would likely be okay, eight months probably not, but it would depend on the circumstances. It would be helpful if you could explain exactly what you're trying to do.
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Old Jun 9th 2017, 12:24 pm
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Default Re: Spouse visa, sponsor requirements

Originally Posted by BritInParis
Four months would likely be okay, eight months probably not, but it would depend on the circumstances. It would be helpful if you could explain exactly what you're trying to do.
We're permanently relocating to the UK, however my wife (sponsor) needs to know that she can visit family in SA whenever she likes and for as long as she likes.
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Old Jun 9th 2017, 12:50 pm
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Default Re: Spouse visa, sponsor requirements

Originally Posted by DH70
We're permanently relocating to the UK, however my wife (sponsor) needs to know that she can visit family in SA whenever she likes and for as long as she likes.
Eight months is a long time for a visit. I wouldn't be spending any more than six months outside of the UK in any given twelve month period.
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Old Jun 10th 2017, 7:00 am
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Default Re: Spouse visa, sponsor requirements

Is there not a restriction also for time out of country over the entire 5 year period when finally applying for ILR? I thought it was not more than 540 days?
For OP you have to weigh up what is more important to you both. Getting your wife British citizenship and settling here or her being able to spend whatever time she wants with her family! Sacrifices have to be made in life to get what you want.

I would not take a chance and would stick with the 3 months out of every year. Once you have ILR you can spend longer.
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Old Jun 10th 2017, 7:20 am
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Default Re: Spouse visa, sponsor requirements

Interesting. Look here https://www.immigrationboards.com/im...a-t186069.html or here 1st 4Immigration Blog: Adviser's Diary, Immigration News, Training for advisers and solicitors: When I get a UK Spouse visa, do I have to stay in the UK all the time? What are the limits on absences? Can I work abroad?

Seems BIP is on the right track. It idicates you have to declare stays of over 6 months outside the UK during the period of apply for FLR.
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Old Jun 10th 2017, 6:32 pm
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Default Re: Spouse visa, sponsor requirements

Originally Posted by quiltman
The OP is talking about the sponsor (the Brit) being out of the country not the applicant (to which the statement above refers).

The OP is intending to obtain the visa via his wife (sponsor, the Brit) but during the first 2.5 years, she (the Brit) is going to be going back to spend time with her relatives in South Africa.

At the visa extention time (2.5 years), the applicant (the husband) will apply for the entention with his own employment income.

As far as I know there is no documentation stating any restrictions on the sponsor leaving the UK during the visa period - apart from the observations I made previously regarding the spirit of the visa as to living with your spouse in the UK.
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Old Jun 10th 2017, 6:33 pm
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Default Re: Spouse visa, sponsor requirements

http://britishexpats.com/forum/citiz...idence-880599/

I started this thread and it may be helpful to the OP.
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Old Jun 11th 2017, 2:00 pm
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Default Re: Spouse visa, sponsor requirements

Thanks everyone for your feedback. On the "1st 4 Immigration" blog they commented....The answer is: there is no specified limit on absences. In other words, there is no minimum number of days, such as “180 per year”. The only rule is that the UK remains your main home and each case has to be assessed on its merit.

And SanDiegogirl refers to "the spirit of the visa".

So based on the answers referring to the sponsor, my wife (sponsor) can visit abroad for as long as she likes, but it's advisable that she isn't out of the country for longer than 6 months. It's a grey area, but anything longer than 6 months could be frowned apon by home office and might require some explaining when we apply for the applicants visa extensions. However, doesn't mean automatic disqualification.
Thanks again all, very helpful!
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