Enerlevel

hello everyone. me and my wife have been very very confused lately.
my wife is originally from Philippines but now lives in London. i have been on her spouse visa for about a year now.
we already had a plan to move to the Philippines for good once i get through my ILR but that would take about 4.5 years.
Just lately i have suffered a huge loss in my business and i will have to use all my savings + parents loan to clear my depts.
also my wife is expecting to have a baby soon. we don't have relative here which means that one of us will have to cut down on our job hours to take care of our baby. and with the recent loss in my business, it looks like a very hard situation to manage the expenses.
we have been having endless debates on what shall be our next step... shall we go back to philippines in 2016 and not extend my spouse visa..
or shall we somehow manage to live here for the next 4.5 years till i get my ILR.. but what good will that do if i don't want to live here anymore.... however, my kid and my wife would still be british and it will be a lot of pain if i ever wish to come back here..
very confused right now...

Gazza-d

Just a supplementry question, what is you wifes status, is she a british citizen?

Enerlevel

Yea she is British and I have only gone through my first spouse visa extension of 2.5 years . Next extension is in 2016 and then indefinate in 2019

Gazza-d

If think you should be thinking about your child, where would he/she be better off. We have many safety nets here in the UK, non in the Philippines. Just for schooling alone I'd stay here in the UK.

mikemike

schooling is main reason why we are considering returning to the UK.

If you have financial considerations, the Philippines is a very easy place to become poor and the last place you would wish to be poor!!

Enerlevel

Hi all for all the honest reply.
Actually my wife has been here for the past 7 years and has been working very hard to make her ends meet. But at the same time, she had made small investments back in the Philippines which turns out to be a beautifully house of her own and an expensive car. Plus she is in good financial condition back at home.
And if we do plan to move out quickly, then whatever money left with me should be enough to put up a small business under her name.
As for my child, I feel like he/she will have so many more people to take care of her/him back in the Philippines and plus my wife will have more time to spend with the child because first schooling of a child starts with the mother. Over here we both would be working and I really don't know who would take care of my child while at work

Gazza-d

There are many families here in the UK with one wage earner. Why not become a house husband and take care of the childcare, it need not be for too many years and once your child has grown return to the work force. We overcame the same problem by my wife working evenings so she went off to work as I returned from work. It kept our childcare cost to a minimum. Also if you were a singe wage earner you get help from the government with your childcare costs.

Enerlevel

Thanks for the reply,
We have thought about this as well. If one of us work, then we looking at about £1000. Which is not at all enough for rent,council tax, travelling, bills and child expenses..

Also we cannot ask for govt. support because of my visa situation. We are not entitled for any benefit or support otherwise they would not extend my visa

Gazza-d

There are benifits and benifits, yes you are prohibited from some until you gain you ILR but working credits and child care should still be available. I would suggest a visit to your local citizens advice bureau and find out exactly what you can do and can't do.

Enerlevel

Thanks for all ur honest reply, I will surely consider to first go and seek legal advice.
So everyone here agrees that I should live here for 4 years , attain my indefinate and then leave yea ?

Gazza-d

I would personnally, we are just waiting to see our son through University. In general the education in the Philippines sadly sucks compared to the likes of the UK etc. A degree from a good European or US university and you are set up for life.

worldtravellerph

The UK is full of scroungers coming over staying long enough to get ILR and benefits then going back to the home country and you can add to that the British scroungers who when they retire go to live in PH.

Enerlevel

Well everyone have their own reasons and problems and shouldn't be judged just because a bunch of people you know do it for the same reasons you mentioned.
And plus you should know that the highest export for phil. Are their oversea workers who work hard and invest in the Philippines which is why u are seeing a lot of bloom in the country. And not to mention the British scrounges you mentioned now living in the Philippines bring their "pounds" to spend in the country.

bakedbean

and the Philippines encourages this with the retirement visa, as does one or two other Asian countries.

Bealinehx

Reply to worlrdtravellerph
How can you say that retirees that chose to spend their retirement as scroungers when they have PAID for their pension. You should choose your words very carefully!