British Citizen and Breadwinner Spouse Work Permit
 

Hi everyone,

Glad to have found this forum.

I've done quite a bit of internet research, but am hoping someone with experience can assist with a few questions.

I was born in England, but relocated to South Africa when I was 9 years old. I hold a British passport. My two children are entitled to British passports. However, I married a South African man.

We'd like to consider emigrating out of South Africa back to England. My South African husband is the breadwinner, and we'd need to apply for a work permit for him to apply for jobs.

I read separately, that we'd need to stay in the UK for 5 years for my husband to become naturalised.

Does anyone know where to start? The Pretoria Embassy don't allow for in person applications.

Many thanks in advance.

Re: British Citizen and Breadwinner Spouse Work Permit
 

Presuming your husband doesn't have, or isn't eligible for, any EU citizenship in addition to his current South African (e.g. British, Dutch, Irish etc) then there is settlement based on marriage to a British citizen (aka spouse visa).

Being from South Africa he will need to pass an approved English test before applying, as South Africa is not considered a "majority English speaking country".

If you manage to get under current rules (they are changing this year, and will happen with not much notice - maybe a couple of weeks) then the probationary visa will be for 27 months. However if you've been both married & living outside the UK for 4+ years then you can request the KOL Req endorsement, which basically means your husband could take the Life in the UK test (once in the UK) and apply for ILR (permanent residency) before the normal requirement which is from within 28 days before the 2 year anniversary of arriving in the UK on the visa.

Also under current rules, a spouse of a British citizen can apply for citizenship after 3 years residency as long as they have ILR - and meet other requirements.

Re: British Citizen and Breadwinner Spouse Work Permit
 

Thank you very much for your prompt reply.

English is our first language, so he'll have no trouble with that.

We've been married for 5.5 years already, so could he apply directly for this KOL Req? I've not heard of this before, could you kindly direct me to a website for this?

Thank you

Re: British Citizen and Breadwinner Spouse Work Permit
 

Oh gosh, my long reply didn't post.

Thank you for the link, I found it. My husband has a masters degree so I assume he's exempt, but in the event that he's not, are the Cambridge endorsed tests with no expiry date the preferred method? How do the tests work? Are they offered online or does one have to travel to a testing centre, whether that be in South Africa or UK?

Then, on Form VAF4A, there is a section which asks when the Sponsor (me) was given permission to live in the UK - do you know how I should apply for that?

How do I apply for a National Insurance Number before arrival as that is also required on the above form?