ArabellaTurner

Hi,

My Australian partner and I are getting married in the UK in January. He will be going on a marriage tourist visa and then we will be returning to Australia.

In the future, we would like to move to the UK.

If I am earning over the threshold in Australia (ie the 18,600), does this count towards our visa application? Can I then just go to the UK with a job offer?

I lived in Spain for three years before coming to Australia and hold a residency number there. Can I use this to go the Surinda Singh route or do we currently have to be residing in Spain?

I'm pretty sure none of his grandparents were born in the UK but I'm not sure so I'm double checking.

BritInParis

If you have been working in Australia for the six months prior to making your application earning over £18,600 p.a. and you have a job offer in the UK for over £18,600 p.a. then your then-husband would be able to come with you when you move to the UK.

Surinder Singh would only work if you were living together in Spain prior to moving to the UK.

Check if any of his parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents were born in Europe. This may make him eligible for a EU/EEA passport that would bypass the need for a spouse visa.

ArabellaTurner

He definitely has a great grandparent or two that were born in the UK - would this qualify him for a EU/EEA passport? He's not sure about one of his grandfathers, we need to find out. There's a small chance he might've been born in Scotland circa 1900 before coming to Oz.

ArabellaTurner

And where would I find info about such a passport? Many thanks

ArabellaTurner

I think I may have answered my own question here... Do you mean if one of his great grandparents was from a country where great grandparents are an option for ancestry visas?

Would Ireland be amongst said countries?

formula

If he has a grandparent born in the UK, then he could apply for an Ancestry visa. That visa is a work visa and can lead to settlement (British citizenship).
https://www.gov.uk/ancestry-visa/overview

formula

The Ancestry visa is only for those that have a grandparent born in the UK (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales).

If a grandparent was born in NI then he could apply for a UK Ancesty visa and perhaps apply for Irish citizenship. Born in Republic of Ireland, then just apply for Irish citizenship.

At present, Irish citizens are allowed to live in the UK under an agreement between Britain and the RoI. They don't have to keep to strict EU citizen rules of being a Qualified Person at all times to have a right to reside in the UK, as other EU citizens must do.

I say "at present" as who knows what is going to happen to the EU as many countries are now calling for an end to free movement with the migrant crisis; and the UK have an IN/OUT vote in 2017. If the UK leaves I think RoI will have to stay as they rely heavily on EU money.

ArabellaTurner

Yeah, I'm hoping it turns out his grandad was born in Scotland but I don't think it's very likely Looks like we might have to go the spouse visa route.

BritInParis

A grandparent born in the UK would entitle him to apply for an ancestry visa. It also might possibly entitle him to British citizenship and a British passport depending on the grandparent's employment at the time of his parent's birth and/or the parent's place of birth.

An Irish-born grandparent would allow him to register as an Irish citizen and obtain an Irish passport. An Irish-born great-grandparent would only be useful if the relevant parent (i.e. his father or mother) has been registered themselves as an Irish citizen before he was born.