Tr1boy

Where does it say that? You don't have to return ahead at all, just make sure you can satisfy the requirements re somewhere to live, funds etc.

Actually here's a top tip. If you haven't applied yet, when you do you may want to put that you are traveling separately. Reason is that if you put that the sponsor and applicant are entering together you will absolutely 100% have to enter together (which may not be an issue), but if you put separate, then it doesn't matter if you do end up entering the UK together. This gives you the flexibility if there is a chance that the sponsor needs to go ahead.

I got that tip straight from the horses mouth at BHC.

Ah yes, sorry, I was assuming that one doesn't have the KOL cert. (I assume everyone is in the same situation as we are. )

Knarf44

Thanks for the tip.

suninspired

Wow, there's a lot of hearsay, rumour and general misunderstanding about the so-called spouse settlement visa! JAJ and a few others on this thread have done a good job setting the record straight and what follows will too.

No you can't simply go to the UK on a visitor's visa and apply for a settlement visa once in the UK. Doesn't matter whether your better half is as British as Yorkshire Pudding...if you, as a non-Brit, go into the UK on a visitor's visa and try apply for a settlement visa, you're altering the terms under which you've been allowed into the UK in the first place. You've in effect gained entry to the UK under fraudulent pretences and face the risk of being barred from the UK for many years if you subsequently attempt to apply for indefinite leave to remain (permanent residency).

Two important concepts to understand are: Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) and Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR).

ILE is applied for from outside the UK. ILE gets you in.

ILR (essentially Permanent Residence) can ONLY be applied for from within the UK and allows you to stay...indefinitely.

And, most importantly, ILE comes before ILR.

Initially, you're applying for an Indefinite Leave to Enter visa (an ILE). There's no such thing as a "Spouse Visa". There are a number of ways to apply for a Indefinite Leave to Enter visa and the spouse route is one of them.

For couples who've been married or in a civil partnership for more than 4 years:

If you've been married for 4 or more years (and been out of the UK) for those 4 years, you apply for an ILE from the country in which you reside - not to the UK direct and definitely not from within the UK.

Once successful with the application, the non-UK spouse gets a nice little visa fixed into their passport. This visa states that the passport holder has "indefinite leave to enter" the UK from the date the visa is issued to a date around 27 months into the future. (This allows the passport holder 3 months to get to the UK and be in the UK for 24 months, during which time the KOL test must be passed, after which they can then apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), which is essentially Permanent Residency).

The Knowledge of Language and UK Test (KOL) is a 24-question multiple-choice easy-peasy test.

If the visa-holder doesn't get to the UK within 3 months of the visa being issued, then obviously the visa is going to expire before the visa holder has actually been in the UK 24 months. However, this is inconsequential if you write and pass the KOL test.

If you haven't written and passed the KOL test in that time, you're not in a position to apply for ILR and need to extend your visa (the ILE). This is done with a with a form FLR(M) but whacks you for another minimum of 465 pounds. And the clincher is... the original terms under which you were granted the visa still need to exist (eg you're still together as a married couple etc) plus a few more terms.

[So, if you're still trying to flog your big North American house as Dear Wife and I are, but have been married for more than 4 years, then the dates on the visa are of no consequence. It doesn't matter if you arrive in the UK more than 3 months after the visa has been issued because you're in a postion to enter the UK and immediately apply for ILR once you've passed the KOL...but I'm getting ahead of myself...all is explained elow]

If you can prove you've been in wedded bliss for more than 4 years when you made your original ILE application from outside the UK, you get royal treatment 'cos it's supposedly evident that you're not importing your exotic bride or husband into the UK for a few thousand quid and then splitting.

So at immigration, when you enter the UK, if you can provide proof of passing the Knowledge of Language and UK test (KOL), your passport is stamped by the Person-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed behind the immigration desk with that all-important "Indefinite Leave to Remain" (ILR) stamp. Ta-daaaa!

However, let's face it, folks who do it that way that are in the monority. But fear not - it isn't necessary to first pass the KOL (in fact, that's a kinda different way to go about things). Unless proved otherwise, Her Majesty's Border Agency assume you haven't passed the KOL test, simply stamp your visa and let you in with the privilege of immediately applying for permanent residency (ILR) once you've passed the KOL. So get in, write the KOL as soon as you like, pass it and then apply for ILR as soon as your heart desires on your SET(M) application form.

Her Majesty's official reference to this is: http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/ecg/settlement/spouses

For those married less than 4 years:

For those who haven't been married in excess of 4 years when they made the application, there's waitin' to be done once admitted to the UK, during which time you can happily soak up all that is British and then write the KOL test before submitting your application for ILR at the end of that waiting period. Of course, the dates of your visa are more important than those married for more than 4 years - if you haven't been in the UK for the time required before your visa expires you need to renew your visa as descibed above.

That's it.

ILE and ILR in a nutshell.

Pretty much everything you need to know is available here (courtesy of Her Majesty's Border Agency):

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/uk...rsandchildren/

Tr1boy

You can do that? Damn I knew I married the wrong sister.

Donna Allan

Thanks Suninspired you certainly put it all in a nutshell.

john5655

I hope you don't mind me resurrecting this thread after a few months of inactivity, but I am inspired by suninspired's comprehensive and very accurate (IMHO) descriptions of ILE and ILR

having been researching this topic for a week or so, I have discovered that theory and practice with obtaining an ILE visa are very different

in theory one can apply for ILE and then travel at leisure back to Blighty sometime within the 27 month validity of the visa

however, two problems

firstly they want a date of travel and, if you request a three-month delay to the activation of the visa they want a "precise date of travel"

secondly, there is this "proof of adequate accommodation" which naturally has to be proven at the time of application and so, if you don't already own your own house in UK, how on earth can this be done? take out a rental agreement that will start at some unknown date in the future? how can one predict how long it will take to have the visa issued in the first place?

has anyone any experience of obtaining the ILE by just showing sufficient funds for a house purchase and maintenance needs for self and spouse?

OK, I've heard that some visa offices will approve some simple cases within a day or two, but there's always Murphy's law to contend with

gaga

Hi John. I too am in the same boat re the rental agreement, probably wont be applying for the umarried spousal visa till later in the year but would love to know how you get on with this sticky issue. I was thinking even a cheap hotel for a few months or a caravan??