gameon

Hello BritInParis and all members,

I am on Spouse Visa in UK.
My first 2.5 years period completed last week, and I got my extension for next 2.5 years which is ending in 22/02/2021.

My mother in law and father in law are not in best of their health and my husband is planning to go back and live with them for sometime.
As per the above information, I now understand that one should not live more than 180 days consecutively outside UK in any given period of 12 months.
From 22/02/2020 to 22/02/2021 which is last year of my 5 years spouse visa period, I should not live more than 90 days outside UK.

My Question:

1) What will happen if we both stay outside UK for more than 180 days consecutively ? Will home office give me another extension at the end
of my spouse visa to complete the days or my ILR application will be rejected straight away?

I am mother to 2 kids, both are born in UK and are British Citizen. We have our own house here in UK. It is just the heath of my husband's parents
which requires us to stay with them for sometime.

If I stay back here in UK and my husband goes back home to live with his parents for few years, will this effect our visa and we will not be living together
for longer times.

What can be our best options in this scenario?

Your suggestion will be highly appreciated.

BritInParis

Spouse visas don't come with a fixed number of days that you need to reside in the UK. Generally speaking you should be spending more time in the UK than outside the UK. You should also be living permanently with your spouse. If you are spending the majority of your time outside the UK or you are separated from your spouse then that would call into question whether you would qualify for ILR as a spouse. I've quoted the official guidance earlier in this thread. Even if you are granted ILR then the 183/90 day aspect will affect your ability to apply for British citizenship.

In which country do your parents-in-law live?

gameon

Hello BritInParis,

Thank You very much for your reply.

My Parents-in-law live in Pakistan.

Our main concern is what if we leave UK together for 2 years and then come back before 6 months of visa ending.
Do we then need to apply for another FLR(M) extension or what will happen?

Thanks for all your help.

BritInParis

That's difficult to predict. I would apply for ILR as normal, state that you were out of the country together to attend to your parents-in-law due to their ill health and see what happens. You may wish to consult a competent immigration adviser before applying.

gameon

Thank You very much BritInParis...

Do you recommend any competent immigration adviser

Mattnshiela

BritInParis

As mentioned in this thread there is no fixed period your wife will need to be in the UK if she holds a spouse visa. It is a good idea however to ensure that she is spending the majority of her time in the UK in order to meet the general requirements regarding intention to live permanently together in the UK when it comes to renewing her visa or applying for ILR.

"Any given twelve month period" means just that. If there is any continuous twelve month period where she was outside the UK more than she was inside the UK then you may have a problem. The twelve month period is continuously rolling. Given that she has only spent a month outside the UK in nearly a year it doesn't appear you have too much to worry about.

Sash29

Dear Brit in Paris,
your advice is invaluable! Thank you for all your help.
My spouse visa will expire next month. I have now collected all the necessary paperwork for my Further Leave to Remain in the UK. I was wondering if I should send my original marriage certificate once again or will the copy suffice? The FLR (M) states that I should provide civil marriage certificate if I am applying for First extension of stay as a spouse. Will the Home Office return all my important original documents if I put them in the separate folder with a note attached to it? Thank you again!
Best wishes,
Sash29

BritInParis

Always send originals unless it explicitly states otherwise. Your original documents will be returned to you.

Sash29

Thank you

Sash29

Dear Brit in Paris,

I was wondering if you could help me understand this better:
My first spousal visa was granted for 33 months. It is now due for renewal. If I fulfil the criteria, I should be granted additional 30 months until April 2021. This will amount to 63 months in the UK. Should I wait with ILR application until my extension expires in April 2021 or can I apply in January 2021?
According to FLR-M Guidance notes, I could apply in January 2021 for ILR:
"You should note that you must complete a continuous period of 60 months in the UK with leave as a partner on the 5-year route (excluding any period of leave as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner) before you are eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) as a partner. If you delayed your travel to the UK by more than 3 months after you were granted 33 months entry clearance as a partner, or if you apply or last applied, to extend your leave before completing at least 30 months with leave to enter or remain as a partner, you will need to apply for a further period of 30 months limited leave, in order to complete the 60 months required to be eligible for ILR. This means that you will be required to make an additional FLR(M) application and pay the relevant fees and charges. If you apply for ILR more than 28 days before completing at least 60 months, consideration will be given to whether you meet the requirements to be granted on a 10- year route, or your application may be refused."

Thank you very much once again!

BritInParis

I think you've answered your own question with the text you quoted. You need to complete 60 months in the UK on a spouse visa and you can apply up to 28 days in advance of this. So, for instance, if you are going to hit 60 months in the UK after your arrival on 15 January 2016 then you can apply on 18 December 2020. I would give yourself a little leeway however to ensure you do hit 60 months.

dcasar

Dear BritInParis,

I'm currently on a Spouse Visa (Tier 2 General), valid until October 2019. The plan is to extend the visa to complete the 5 years and then apply for ILR. I have a possible job opportunity outside UK, which would be for around 1,5 year, till September 2020.
During this period me and my husband would be back and forth the 2 countries during weekends and holidays, but each of us based in one country. From what I understood from this thread, the 180 days limit wouldn't apply to me when I tried to get the ILR in October 2021, so I wouldn't have problems getting it, right? What could happen is that they may want proof that me and my husband were together during this period?
Thanks for your help

BritInParis

A spouse visa and a Tier 2 visa are not the same thing. Are you saying you’re a dependent on your husband’s Tier 2 visa?

dcasar

Yes, he has a Tier 2 General Visa and I'm dependent on his visa, sorry about the confusion.