Confused about spouse and settlement visas
 

This might seem like a really stupid question, but my american husband and I are looking to move back to the UK and I have been looking into how I apply for his visa for the UK. The thing is I keep reading about spouse and settlement visas and I'm a bit confused at what the difference is between the two and which one to apply for first. Can anyone shed some light on this and possibly point me in the right direction as to what application I actually need to fill out. Would appreciate any feedback.. :confused::o:)

Re: Confused about spouse and settlement visas
 

Hi
I think you apply for a UK work visa for your hubby under the partnership category (you have to have been living together for two years and supply evidence). If you're been living together for more than four years, you can automatically apply for settlement.

Hope this helps.
Frances

Wirelessly posted (SAMSUNG-SGH-I617/1.0 Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 7.6))

To add to the post above, We've looked into it and I think you can only apply for settlement/ILR if your non UK spouse has also passed the Life in the UK test. I may have read wrong though (hope so as I failed the practice test miserably!)

Re: Confused about spouse and settlement visas
 

I have a non UK wife. I am a UK citizen (non resident). We enquired about this about a year ago.

My understanding is that you have to apply for a spouse visa in the country where you are living, BEFORE coming back to UK. Once you are back in UK then you start the settlement stuff.

If you just come in on a tourist visa, you cannot get the spouse visa whilst in UK.

We went to the CAB in UK whilst on holiday, who had a specialist guy who we made an appointment with. He gave us all the info.

Re: Confused about spouse and settlement visas
 

You should look at the UK Yankee site .. it is a community of Americans living in England and those trying to get to England. Many are UK/US couples. Many there are experts on visa questions and very willing to help the confused.

Another good site is Transpondia.


This flow chart from Transpondia makes some of the possibilities easy to understand...

Have you been married more than four years? If you have, I believe your path is a lot easier.

Re: Confused about spouse and settlement visas
 

There is really no such thing as a 'spouse visa'. It's a Settlement Visa based on a VAF4 application, regardless of how long you've been married. We are going through the process as I type this (2nd time for us). AFAICT there is now way you can get ILR from overseas.

Apply for your Settlement Visa and then when issued and the applicant is in the UK if you've been married for more than 4yrs and spent 90% of that time outside of the UK the applicant can apply for a KOL test and be converted to ILR (premanent residency for want of a better term).

I only know all this because I've just got off the phone to Visas4UK.:D

Re: Confused about spouse and settlement visas
 

Thanks so much for all the advice everyone.. :thumbsup::)

Re: Confused about spouse and settlement visas
 

Well, you can apply for ILR from overseas if you've been married more than four years.
(1) Visit the UK & take the KOL test successfully
(2) Return to the USA, and apply for ILR as a spouse (VAF4 form)
(3) Go to live in the UK

Re: Confused about spouse and settlement visas
 

Actually (just to confuse things a bit more) what you get when you apply from another country is an ILE (indefinite leave to Enter) and then once you move to the UK it becomes an ILR (indefinite leave to remain). :) You can only get this if you've been married 4+ years.

I'm going next week on holiday and will be taking my KOL test whilst I'm there so we can skip to the ILE/ILR without getting the "KOL test required" stamp on my ILE.

Clear as mud? :blink:

Re: Confused about spouse and settlement visas
 

This whole thing about being married for 4 years has confused me. We'll have been in back in Northern Ireland for 2 years in April and we applied for a spouse/settlement visa in South Africa and it's only valid for two years. OH will have to sit the Life Test and then we'll have to apply for ILR. I'm a bit bummed if we could have saved money and applied for ILE in South Africa and then applied for ILR when we got here or is it all pretty much then same thing either way?

Re: Confused about spouse and settlement visas
 

No, the 2-year one is the Limited Leave to Remain (LLR). I had that when I lived in the UK before because we were just married. If I had stayed I could've applied for the ILR when that one expired. But because I left and that lapsed, I had to start from scratch.

HOWEVER, they do have the 4-year rule which lets you skip the LLR and go right to the ILR. But that's not mandatory. Even if you've been married 4+ years you can still apply got the LLR and then convert to the ILR one later.

But then you've paid for 2 visas and filled out the paperwork twice. I personally don't see the advantage (other than you don't have to take the KOL test for the LLR) but it is an option. And they're not going to tell you when you apply for the LLR "Oh, you know you can skip this step?" :sneaky:

Re: Confused about spouse and settlement visas
 

It's true, it is a very confusing area .. fortunately there are plenty of folks who have just gone through the process to give you advice. As for online help, that pdf flowchart from Transpondia that I link to in an earlier post covers most eventualities.
Rebster - you are correct of course, it is the ILE you can apply for when out of the country, not the ILR.. sorry about that!

Re: Confused about spouse and settlement visas
 

We are looking to return to the UK. I have been married for 5 years to my non-EEA wife and we have a child together, age 6. I understand that my child is 'British by Descent" and therefore does not require a Visa to return to the UK. At present she doesn't have a UK passport - does that matter?

My second question relates to my wife - she wants to know why she can't enter the UK as a tourist and change her visa whilst in the UK at the Croydon Immigration Office? Where we live currently is about a 1 hour flight or a 1 day bus journey from the nearest Worldbridge Visa Office so it's not entirely convenient.

Also, if we are to be successful with any Spousal Visa process here, the process will force me to be apart from my wife and child for several months as I would have to return to the UK first to get re-established. Ok, but isn't part of the Visa process about proving we have been living together for a period of time? But then it wants to separate us - a bit contradictory isn't it?

Re: Confused about spouse and settlement visas
 

It does matter - get the passport. Or a Right of Abode stamp in a foreign passport.

Of course your child may not even be British, depends on circumstances.


Because it's the law!


Usually not mandatory for the sponsor to move back to the UK first.

Re: Confused about spouse and settlement visas
 

On the last point everything about the application process says evidence of ability to live without resource to UK benefits is essential. Also that you must have somewhere to live and an income of some kind. How else can you interpret what are a clearly defined set of parameters?