PaulnTammyJones

Long story short, my UK husband and I were in the US going through the immigration process. Our lives were turned upside down because immigration said they didnt recieve something in the mail. He went back to the UK because we feared deportation. We have just been informed we are facing another 4k in paperwork and another 2 years before we can get him back here. We have decided that I am going to go to the UK on a settlement visa so at least we can be together while we fight and await the time when we can get him back here. Does anyone know what the success rate of a UK settlement visa is? Can anyone share their experience or advice on the subject? Thank you, Tammy

Bluegrass Lass

My post completely disappeared! So sorry PaulnTammy, I can retype again if you want!

PaulnTammyJones

Thank you for your advice. Hindsight being what it is, we would have just kept him here. The letter was very threatening and my fear was that if he was deported, it would be 10 years or better to get him back. They even stated in the letter that they would not take the copies now. The whole thing honestly was very shitty. A phone call, or short letter stating they didnt get it and a deadline to have it there would have taken 2 minutes of their time. I will check out the site that you informed me of. Thank you for your time.

johnh009

You require a spousal visa which you must apply for outside of the UK in your country of residence (form VAF4). As long as you can prove it is not a marriage of convenience, then you should have no problem. If you have been married for 4 years or more, it is even easier. It is best to apply on line, ours took two weeks to get an approval.

PaulnTammyJones

What is the difference between coming in on a spousal visa versus settlement visa? Is one easier to get than the other? Sorry for all the questions but the laws keep changing, and we want to get this right the first time. Thank you for your help.

johnh009

I believe a Settlement Visa is a general term and that a Spousal Visa is a type of Settlement Visa for entry in the non points based system. Other Settlement Visas may be for children, parents, or for work or study, etc. I know you need to complete form VAF4.

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/vafs/

PaulnTammyJones

Yes, the more Im looking at it, I believe the "settlement" visa/spousal visa is one in the same if you are coming there to join your spouse. There is an official sponsor taking form. Does my husband have to file that, or is a letter of sponsor, certified, good enough? Ive read many threads and it seems that a letter of intent from my husband is good enough? The only thing at this point that is making me breathe a bit easier, is it seems the UK has the decency to let you know if you are missing something, unlike the treatment the US immigration has offered us. They wonder why people do things illegaly, sheesh

johnh009

For a spousal visa, a letter of intent is not sufficient. You, as the "applicant" must file for a spousal visa in a country where you have legal residence, in your case, presumably the USA. Your husband is the "sponsor". The process is quite rigid but if you go through the VAF4 form, and answer the questions, you will see what they require and what documents you need to submit. They will also require to collect biometric data from you (retina scan and fingerprints). The whole process is performed by a company called WorldBridge on behalf of the UK authorities. When deciding what documents to submit, we went for overkill rather than let them come back to us. All fees are non-refunadable. Here is your starting point:

http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/visiting-uk/visas/

If you have been married for more than 4 years, you can bypass this process and apply for "Indefinate Leave to Remain" (ILR). I am not familiar with this process but maybe someone else on this forum can chip in.

roaringmouse

To apply for Indefinite Leave to Enter, the applicant would have needed to pass the Life in the UK (KOL) test. This test can only be done in the UK, and people have previously taken this whilst in the UK as a tourist.

If you then satsify the requirements of being married & living outside the UK for 4 or more years, and have the pass certificate for the Life in the UK test, you can request the Entry Clearance Officer to consider you for ILE when you apply.

Otherwise, if you don't have the test pass but meet the other (4 year +) requirement your visa label will indicate this. You can then take the test in the UK and apply for ILE any time before the 2 years is up. It means you would get permanent residency (ILR) sooner, but it also does mean another application fee (£972 for a postal application from April) - which you would have to pay at some point anyway.

johnh009

Thanks, I am unsure of the difference between ILE and ILR. If you enter the UK on a spousal visa, what is the next step? I assume it is to apply for ILR? If so, do you know how soon the visa holder can apply for this as the visa is only valid for two years?

roaringmouse

ILE = Indefinite Leave to Enter
ILR = Indefinite Leave to Remain

It's effectively the same thing, as once you are admitted with ILE you have ILR! ILE is for those applying outside UK, ILR for those applying inside UK.

I'm presuming you asked the next question based on a person who doesn't have at least 4 years marriage outside the UK? If so, then the settlement visa is generally valid for 27 months from when it is issued. You can apply for ILE using SET(M) form in the UK from 28 days before the 2nd anniversary of your initial entry into the UK, up until the visa expires. The 27 months validity gives a few months for the visa holder to get to the UK.

If the person does have 4 years marriage outside UK, and the visa label indicates this (has something like KOL REQ on it - can't remember the full annotation) then as soon as the person has passed the Life in the UK test they can apply for ILR.

johnh009

Thanks, well explained. I am sure this information is useful to many. The question of the spousal visa keeps cropping up on this forum and it is often hard to know where to get advice. I was actually thinking of my wife who has entered on a spousal visa. We have been married more than 4 years so I now know that we can get her the ILR.

roaringmouse

My wife may soon be applying for a settlement visa too, but hopefully she'll get permanent residency straight away. In July we will have been outside the UK for 4 years, and before we left she took the test (she was going to apply for ILE back then, but getting evidence together was difficult - just a few months later they reduced the amount of jointly addressed mail required which was a bit annoying as we were living in Australia then).

We still have her pass notification, and they have no expiry. Will be good if they grant ILE for her, as after that it would only be a citizenship application 3 years down the road - and that has also got bloody expensive.

johnh009

I think this visa business is an industry and probably one of the few government departments that actually makes any money. Getting all of the documents together, from my experience, was the hardest part. We enclosed everything we could from emails to date stamped photographs taken years ago. You never know when enough is enough. On saying that, they seem to operate quite efficiently, she did an online application and had a positive response within a couple of weeks. Good luck.

PaulnTammyJones

Does anyone know if there is a cost for the biometrics? Also, can anyone else who has applied/recieved a settlement visa to the UK from the US please post how long the visa process took them? I have been all over forums and Ive read anywhere from a few weeks to 4 months. I dont have any kind of criminal history nor do I have any passport issues, Ive never even had a passport LOL Im applying for it tomorrow. I know the passport takes 4-6 weeks but very curious about the settlement visa itself. Thank you all for your assistance.