yuugen

Hi BritInParis,

Just following up on this thread. I'm a British citizen, own my own home in London (currently rented out) and have recently retired. I married my Japanese wife just over 2 years ago and we have been living together in Tokyo since end of July 2018. We intend to apply for a spouse visa from Japan and go to the UK mid-late 2020 (depending on how long it takes to apply/receive visa). It's more than likely we will have lived together for 2.5 years but in Tokyo. She is currently learning English to business level as she wants to work in London. Would our time together in Tokyo meet the 2.5 years living together requirement? I can evidence it through residence card and medical insurance payments. Your advice would be much appreciated.

BritInParis

There’s no requirement to live together for 2.5 years. If you were unmarried you need to provide evidence that you had been living together in a relationship akin to marriage for at least two years but that requirement is waived for married couples. The ECO merely needs to be satisfied that your relationship is genuine.

Your wife will likely need to sit an IELTS exam in order to meet the English language requirement so the fact she is currently studying English is a positive step.

yuugen

Thanks very much for the information. You've been really helpful. Much appreciated.

Kazzakhs

Hello everyone!
First of all, this website is amazing and contains so much useful information courtesy of such a wonderful helpful community of people. Thank you everyone, particularly BritInParis (as your advice has been most helpful for my wife's case), for all the help provided on here so far!
I've done a lot of research of my own, and read the posts and guidance documents shared on this thread, and think I understand the conclusion of my wife's situation, but I just want to mention my understanding to ensure it's correct, please:

MINE & MY WIFE'S SITUATION
I am a British Citizen married to a Thai citizen.
My wife (Thai) has successfully secured a UK Spouse Visa (Leave to Enter), as of December 11th 2018.
Since 16th January 2019 I have been living in Thailand with my wife, with the intention to learn to speak Thai and appreciate this awesome country before returning to the UK on 27th June 2019 to ensure her leave from the UK does not exceed 180 days.
However, I have received an attractive job offer in Thailand for a fixed 1 year period (Until May 2020). My wife can also easily find a job here to continue earning whilst I work here too. I work as a doctor, and my wife as a dentist.
If I accept this offer, my wife will stay with me here in Thailand and this means her leave from the UK will significantly exceed 180 days
My wife's Biometric Residence Permit for the UK is valid until 25th September 2021.

MY UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IMPACT THIS WOULD HAVE:
This will not invalidate her BRP / Leave to Enter, and she can return to the UK comfortably when I finish this new job in May 2020.
We will need to apply for an extension of her Leave to Remain before the current visa comes to an end in September 2020 (ideally preparing our application well-in-advance)
As long as I can provide evidence of finances, proof of our on-going happy marriage and good circumstances living in the UK for >12 months at the time of applying for extension, there shouldn't be any issues for extending.
Her 5-year route application for ILR will be delayed because of spending >180 days out of the UK, but ultimately she can still apply for ILR after 5 years from May 2020.

Is my understanding correct?
Thank you so much in advance! May you all be rewarded by the best karma!!!!

Kittyfok

BritInParis

Broadly speaking you are correct. Bear in mind however that while there is no hard limit on absences from the UK for the holder of a spouse visa there is a requirement to intend to live in the UK on a permanent basis with your spouse. Collecting the BRP and then returning to Thailand for 18 months may well jeopardise that. Whilst I wouldn’t necessarily discourage you from taking the job you should be aware that you will need to justify this long absence when your wife applies for FLR in 2020.

JoeS

Hello,
im new on this website. Can you please help me.
I got my spousal leave to enter visa last May. 33 months. However, I got back to my country last September and I gave birth to my child in my country. (father, my husband is British citizen)
I will be probably in my country for at least one year more. My question is, if I come back within those two years that I red am allowed in order not to luz this visa, would that be a problem or not? I red that only consequences I will have is that when applying for next visa have to go all over again, so again leave to enter instead applying for leave to remain.
So, can i enter Uk without problem if i enter in just less than 2 years since i last left the uk?
Child will be British by decent and we have to sort that out before my and our child return or its fine as well, better, to do visa application for child as well?

Thank you all in advance. I didn't know how to set up my question.
Joe

Kazzakhs

Thank you so much!
What you mention is very important and I'm grateful you pointed that out. Overall, this job offer is very attractive so I am likely to accept it so long as it doesn't jeopardise my wife's visa status. Perhaps I'll aim to return to UK by May 2020, start applying to get her a driving license, national insurance number, joint bank account etc. and try doing such things, as well as collecting letters from this place offering me a job, all to show our intention to reside in the UK permanently.

You're awesome for your information, thank you!

EDIT: Just one more question springs to mind: My wife is on the 5-year route. If we spend 18 months out the country in one big block, and never do so again, and after getting another Leave to Enter would mean of a total of 60-66 months, only 18 months were spent outside. So, hopefully, this won't jeapordise that?

BritInParis

Providing you re-enter the UK whilst your current BRP is still valid then you can remain in the UK until it expires. You can also apply for Further Leave to Remain from within the UK shortly before it expires but you will need to explain why you have been absent from the UK for so long.

If your child is British then they will need a British passport. You cannot apply for a visa for them to come to the UK. It’s best to apply for their passport as soon as possible as processing times can be very lengthy depend on the country they were born in.

BritInParis

Spending 18 months outside the UK in one go will certainly prevent her from qualifying for ILR after five years. You’ll need to extend her spouse visa for a second time and remain on that until such time as she meets the residence requirements.

journeyervalentine

Hi there,

My Chinese partner is in the UK on a fiance visa, we recently married and are now changing over to a spouse visa.

Once she receives the spouse visa, we are considering teaching in South Korea or the UAE together for 7- 8 months so we can save up enough deposit money to then move back to the UK and buy a house.

My question is, will the time spent together outside of the UK affect the application to extend her spouse visa for another 2.5 years?

Any advice would be massively appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

BritInParis

It’s unlikely to affect her application for FLR but it’ll probably prevent her from applying for ILR after five years and so she’ll need to apply for FLR again.

SyedaWareeshaArham

Hello. Thank you loads for these informative posts. I just had one simple question: does all this still apply in 2020? I received my BRP (spouse visa) in January and have booked a ‘vacation’ for 94 days for June, but many people are saying that the allowed limit is 90 days per year (and some are claiming it to be 180 days in 5 years) if a person wants to apply for ILR at the end of the 5 year period. Thank you in advance!

BritInParis

It’s 90 days per year on average (450 days over five years) and no more than 90 days in the final year when applying to naturalise as a British citizen. These are not the same requirements as for ILR for a spouse visa holder.

SyedaWareeshaArham

Much appreciated!