bigtrev74

Hi,

looking for a bit of advice here.

I'm UK Citizen, got married to Foreign National in UK in May 2011. She Was in UK on Fiance Visa, and was subsequently issued a UK Residence Card for valid for 2 years.

July 2011, we move to US, on L1/L2 Visa.

We intend to return to UK to live, later this year.

So right now, we are 3 months away from her residence card expiring, and approx 6 -9 months away from returning to the UK.

We have sick relatives in UK, and need to be able to visit.

What is not clear to me is if we can apply for an extension to her UK residence (FLR?) now, or if we should re apply for Residence when we move back. And if its the latter, what do we do for visiting the UK once residence card expires? Apply for visitor visa?

We also have a baby born in US, he is UK Citizen, with UK Passport.

Thanks

SanDiegogirl

When you move back to the UK later this year are you returning to a job? (you are on an L1 in the States so wondering if you are returning to UK job).

Whether or not you have a job to go to and so can fulfill the financial requirements for a foreign spouse, may have an outcome on what options would be best to go for? i.e if you had a job to return to you would not need to worry about getting the extention to the residence card maybe?

Mummy in the foothills

Maybe you should both move back before her residence card expires so that you don't have to meet the new requirements and pay for another visa for your wife. If you can't go till the end of your L1 maybe she should go ahead of you and set up a place ready for you. Either way to wait until her residence card expires is madness at this point. You could be stuck alone in UK looking for work paying more than £18,000 and then have to be in the job 6 months before applying for your wife. If she goes before the card expires you will be apart for less time.

bigtrev74

I should have a job to go back to, but nothings ever guaranteed. I've not looked in to detail on this, but i own a house in the UK so presumably that would cover the financial requirements. What i really want to is if we can extend her residence card, whilst not actually living there. I think we will qualify for new residence in the future when we actually move back, but in the mean time, how to visit the UK?

roaringmouse

You need to look at the details of the new rules... owning a house does not cover any financial requirements.

Perth

I would worry that should you let her residency card expire you would be subject to all the new rules and regulations, as you may essentially have to start all over again. I would do anything you can to avoid this. The financial requirements are onerous, and as another poster said, owning a home does not qualify. You must either have a job making 18,500 or 62K in savings. Add to that large fees for the initial application, and then more 2.5 years later. I would get some professional advice as it is possible that you may be grandfathered in, but better to be safe than sorry. Good luck

WEBlue

I agree with PHS. Quite a few UK/US couples are kicking themselves for not understanding the urgency of the situation. The new rules are VERY different from the old rules under which your wife qualified to enter and settle in the UK. She may not be able to qualify for a new spouse visa, even if she easily qualified under the old rules.

Your wife can't extend her residence card (ILR) from outside the UK. Her leave to remain is residence-based and will expire 2 years after moving away. If she has to start all over again by applying for a new spouse visa under the new rules (as of July 2012), it will take 5 years and 2 limited spouse visas to reach ILR the second time.

At least read through the new rules very thoroughly before you make your decision about when to time your move to the UK. Start with the BE Wiki up at the top in the blue bar (look for "Spouse Immigration" in the Moving Back UK section).

Applying all over again for the spouse entry visa may be no problem for you & your wife. but you need to understand how different the world of spouse visas has become as of last July. Then you can make an informed decision.