BristolUK

coffee keyboard moment.

pimpmycode

Thanks

Wish i was ready to leave sooner but unfortunately we will only be ready to apply in the next 12 months. Is there a time limit by which you need to arrive in the UK once the spousal visa is granted?

NatalieLucy

Has anyone done the online questionnaire they have?

pennylessinindia

I have completed the questionnaire not that well written and does not allow much free writing!!

pennylessinindia

That is an interesting point if you are granted Indefinite Leave to enter then in theory you do not have to enter straight away but if you are given 27 months spouse visa, you should enter within first 3 months to qualify for ILR at the end of of 2 years( if you enter after 3 months you then apply for further leave to remain, an expensive route) but of course if the plans go ahead it will be at the end of 5 years and not clear then the validity of any spouse visa that is issued after that date.

BristolUK

I made some observations using the link that was posted earlier. I just got this back.


So I did what was suggested by the document and I'm being referred back to the document.

edmundoconnor

I'm a little new to this, as my wife and I have just started to look seriously at moving to the UK. I am a UK citizen, she is a Canadian citizen.

I have to say I'm more than a little perturbed by the proposals, one aspect especially so.

Out of the two of us, my wife is more likely to land a job offer in the UK than I am (she's a high-end Wi-Fi engineer, I've been mostly doing office work). She's been contacted numerous times by UK recruiters, and has had some interesting leads. I haven't had the same kind of luck. I've been told to call recruiters once I'm in the UK; otherwise they're not interested.

If these proposals go through, even if my wife finds an employer who offers her a job, and we present a job offer letter to UKBA as part of our package to show we're not going anywhere near public funds (her salary would be several times than the £103 per couple per week limit, and we have plenty of funds we could call on in need), how likely is it that it would be rejected, simply because my wife would be employed, and not I?

Green's remarks seem aimed at non-taxpayers bringing in other non-taxpayers. However, reading the remarks as they stand raises the possibility of our being collateral damage for no logical reason, simply because she would be the one earning money at first, and not I.

I would naturally shift my job search into high gear once we are in the UK. I don't intend to remain jobless a second longer than I have to!

Squirrel

The funds to prove you won't need public funds are assessed jointly, I didn't see anything in the proposal that it had to be all the British citizen's. When we applied, although it was me who had a job, they did want to see my American husband's bank statement with his savings shown.

If you have savings I wouldn't be too worried as plenty of couples (esp where they have BOTH been living outside the UK) have ONLY savings and no jobs between them.

Be very careful about showing a job offer for your wife as non EU citizens cannot work without first having permission. Make sure the job offers clearly states that it is only subject to your wife obtaining a Spouse visa before she starts.

Kiwikaye

OK, so the more posts I read, the more scared I'm getting.

I'm new to the forum so I'll say Hi! I'm a kiwi married to a Brit. We met in the UK but married in NZ and have lived in NZ and Oz all our married life (20 years now).

We have been thinking about heading back to the UK, but it depends on what happens with our property we currently have (we're living in Christchurch, NZ).

So does our 20 years of marriage mean nothing in the UK? We have to start from scratch?

I have printed out (apologies to the rainforest) the discussion document so hubby and I can both read through it and make notes, but haven't had a chance to do so yet. Should we be thinking about applying now just in case?

edmundoconnor

Of course. When my wife does get a job offer letter, we will make sure that it says, 'this offer is contingent on you securing a spouse visa', or something similar.

Thanks for the reply, Squirrel. That's what I thought, also, but I want to be absolutely, completely sure before we take any action. It seems that the proposals (and Green's remarks) are aimed at rooting out people who come to the UK only for social welfare, whilst not clarifying that those who will not be drawing on public funds (and indeed paying taxes) are absolutely welcome.

edmundoconnor

If these proposals go through, then quite possibly, I'd say. Sad to say that absolutely rigidly following the rules often trumps logic or common sense when it comes to a political hot potato like immigration. The authorities take the attitude than when you're trawling for tuna (immigrants who abuse the system) with a big net (wide-ranging measures), you're going to catch a few dolphins (genuine immigrants who are caught out unintentionally). The embarrassment of cases like Rochelle Wallis - the Canadian wife of a British citizen turfed from the UK under a law designed to prevent predominantly South Asian forced marriages - is outweighed in their eyes by the overall good that such a law serves.

I know this isn't much comfort, but you should know the situation you might be walking into.

We're personally trying to get in 'under the wire' - by April 2012 - so we're covered under the old system.

Kiwikaye

Thanks for the reply, Edmund. We will certainly be giving it some thought, and perhaps forwarding some comments on the proposals.

Our problem at the moment is that we're stuck with a house we can't sell, can't live in and can't rent out (oh, the joys). Unless that situation resolves we have no capital to move back to the UK with and I guess we will need every penny to get set up.

We had casually contemplated moving back after the earthquake events here (more a case of just getting out, really), but this proposal changes things immensely in terms of timelines for us. We have 2 kids born in Oz and hubby has 3 citizenships (UK, NZ and Oz) while I have 2 currently (NZ and Oz).

I guess we also have to consider that if we move back and something happened to hubby I guess the kids and I would have to leave if settlement hadn't been granted.

brissybee

Wow... this might put a fly in some ointment for us in a couple of years.

Australian born husband is main bread-winner. I'm UK born and mainly being a housewife these days. We have considered going to live in UK when kids finish school. The idea has been that husband will have the main income, initially there on a spouse visa. Kids will do their own thing working on UK passports.

I've only just stumbled on this paper posted here (thank-you) so haven't fully read it... but does this mean our plans might be thwarted?

We've been married for years but I'm getting the impression I might have to prove I can financially support Aussie born husband... even though he's the main bread winner? (And, I can't )

I do hope this is still feasible for us.

Any advice appreciated.

edmundoconnor

Kiwikaye:

I have just been reading through the document, and it does not talk about couples who have been married for a long time outside the UK. On page 30 of the document, in the table it says, '5 year probationary period for all' (their bolding). The UK government would seem to regard the amount of time you spent together (as a married couple) outside the UK as irrelevant.

Of course this disregarding of the amount of time you've been married is the height of lunacy in cases like yours, where you've been married 20 years. But the UKBA would rather be absolutely consistent, than logical, sane, or human.

edmundoconnor

brissybee:

The impression I got from reading the consultation document is that they're concerned (obsessed?) with denying spouses access to non-contributory benefits, or the UK sponsor having to resort to benefits as a result of supporting their spouse.

The paper proposes the UKBA:

To take into account only the income and cash savings (including in a joint account with the spouse or partner) of the UK-based sponsor.

and

The foreign spouse or partner will continue to have immediate access to the labour market in the UK but, in the current economic climate, we do not consider it appropriate to take into account their potential earnings should they gain employment here. We also consider that this is difficult for caseworkers to apply or verify in practice.

(both quotations, page 22)

However, if the spouse had a job offer letter on company stationery from a reputable company, that said any job offer was contingent on the spouse having the right to work in the UK, and that the UKBA could verify that the company and the offer were genuine, I couldn't foresee a problem. The UK government is saying that what the spouse's earnings might be if they found a job are to be disregarded, but if the spouse had a job offer letter in hand with a clear statement of the position, salary, and duties, I would think that would be a different matter.

They cite a case study of where the spouse did have a job offer letter, but it was dated over a year ago, and the employer could not be contacted after several attempts (page 23). That tells me that if the letter was recent, and the employer and offer were verified, the UKBA *would* take that into consideration when doing their calculations.

Apologies for the long post!