BennChann

Hello everyone,
I am born in Hong Kong currently holding a British Citizen passport. I am recently thinking of moving to UK, but I've never worked or stayed in UK other than some vacations.
Since I'm planning to move to UK with my partner who is not a UK citizen, I'm concerned that after we get married, she wont be able to work or stay in UK as I've just moved to UK because I have heard that you need to stay in UK for a certain amount of time before you'll be able to have the benefit such as allowing your spouse to stay in UK with you. May I get some advise as to if my partner will be able to stay and work once we moved to UK?

Pollyana

If you are moving to the Uk you will get a better reception if you intend to work and/or bring funds to support yourself. Those moving purely to claim welfare benefits don't get a good reception -either on here or in reality.......

BennChann

Thanks Pollyana for the reply, please don't get me wrong, I'm actually planning to work and bring my own funds to support myself, work is actually my main reason for moving to UK. Housing benefit was just something I thought of off my head as an example but now seems to be a bit misleading.
The benefit that I'm actually trying to understand is having my spouse to be able to stay and work in UK with me, the problem is that I would like to move to UK with my partner and she is not a UK citizen, and I'm concern she won't get to work in UK or stay in UK even if we get married since I've just moved to UK and from what I've heard, only British Citizens who have proof to show they are staying in UK can allow spouse to stay in UK and work.

Pollyana

She would almost certainly then need to apply for a Spouse Visa - and you will need to meet the income/savings requirements to sponsor her.
However, I am by no means an expert and there are others on here who can advise you better than I can now we know what you actually want to do I see you have edited your original post too

SanDiegogirl

In order for your non British spouse to live and work in the UK, she will need to obtain a spouse visa.

Read the following:

https://www.gov.uk/join-family-in-uk

YOU will need to sponsor her, either with savings/investments or income.

Read the following carefully to see how you can qualify:

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...ugust_2015.pdf

Once the application and documents are received by the Immigration Authority the process takes about 2 to 3 months. There is a priority service which you can pay extra for.

HKG3

There are a few points you may want to note -

1) As a British Citizen, you can apply for a spouse visa for your wife. There is no UK residency requirement for you in order to apply.

2) You, the British Citizen, can use NHS services as soon as you set foot in the country. Your wife would need to pay a £200 per year health surcharge before she can get her spouse visa.

3) Does your partner have British National (Overseas) status? If she does, she should use her BN(O) passport to apply for a UK spouse visa. This would give her the right, as a Commonwealth citizen, to register to vote in all UK elections. Being on the electoral roll would help her to build up her own credit history in the UK.

4) Do you and your wife have a Hong Kong driving licence? If you don't, go and pass your driving test in Hong Kong before coming to the UK. Hong Kong driving licences can be exchanged to an UK one as long as the driving test was passed in Hong Kong.

5) As a British Citizen, you can work in the UK. However, you will need to get a National Insurance Number (NI No.) from the DWP. Please see link below -

https://www.gov.uk/apply-national-insurance-number

6) You may want to open an UK bank account in Hong Kong before you enter the UK. HSBC offers this service for a fee and you may want to visit HSBC's international banking centre -

HSBC Life events - Settling in the UK | HSBC Bank UK

BennChann

Thank you SanDieGoGirl and HKG3 for the help with providing the information!

Vexcore

There's one thing you forgot to say.... are you a British Citizen or a British National (Overseas) ?

Many people from Hong Kong always get confused about this.


You simply cannot move to uk and live the life if your a British National (overseas)

HKG3

Vexcore

OP clearly stated that he is a British Citizen in #1.

Pulaski

Actually the OP said he holds a "British Citizen passport", which is not common terminology either on BE or generally. On balance you are probably right, but it is worth double checking exactly what sort of passport the OP holds.

HKG3

Well, given the fact that the OP was born in Hong Kong and not educated in the UK, it is likely that the OP's mother tongue is not English. We need to make some allowance for that.

As Vexcore pointed out earlier, some people in Hong Kong hold British National (Overseas) passports would is class as a British Passport, but the holders of BN(O) passports do not have the right to come and settle in the UK. I think this is why the OP used 'British Citizen passport' to try and make himself clear.

My assumption is that the OP got his British Citizenship via the British Nationality Selection Scheme in the 90s.

Pulaski

Some people who's mother tongue ostensibly is English sometimes struggle to express themselves clearly on a BE thread!

HKG3

Mea Culpa - just for your information, my mother tongue is not English.

Pulaski

I chose the adverb "ostensibly" wisely then.

chaoclive

I take it the same goes for you?