shokwaverider

Hi all: Here is a little Background. I was born in the UK, I have a UK Passport and a UK State pension is available for me but I am not claiming it yet. I am 65 and my Canadian Born Wife is 60. We have lived in the USA now for 30 + years (California, Denver & Florida). We are considering retiring in the UK. (IOW, or the South Somewhere)

My wife as mentioned has Canadian and USA Citizenship, I have UK, Canadian and US Citizenships (I may even be entitled to Maltese by ancestry). My Wife's Grandmother and Grandfather were born in Scotland but are deceased, her father is Canadian and lives in Canada, here mother was also Canadian of UK Parents. Qualifying for the Financial requirements is not an issue as we have a retirement nest egg worth many times more than the requirement. We also have USA pensions, Canadian and as mentioned I also have a UK State pension. We do not claim any as yet, as they are worth more the longer one waits to collect. We estimate they would be worth ~$50k US approximately ~38,000 pounds a year.

We were planning on buying a home in the UK, I would set up residency (Live there for 3 + Months), my wife would be with me on a her US or Canadian Passport, more than likely on a visitors visa. OK. now my question:

Can we apply for her spousal visa either by ancestry on her side or because we have been married for over 30 years, "When We Are In the UK"? We can easily prove we have been together for 30+ years as we have owned homes together in the USA for most of those 30 years together. We also have tax returns going back to way back when. The key is we do not want to apply before we get completely set up in the UK as we do not want to be apart at all. It seems that the UK system wants to split couple up during the application process which seems a little odd, assuming I am reading the process correctly.

Thanks in advance for any help or experiences.

SanDiegogirl

No, you cannot apply for either a spouse settlement visa or an Ancestry visa from within the UK.

From what you say you could apply for either an Ancestry visa (via her grandparents) or a spouse settlement visa from the USA and travel over together to set up your new home.

shokwaverider

Thanks, I thought I had to prove viable residency first? Home, Utility bills etc.

SanDiegogirl

No, what you have to show - if you go the sponsorship for spouse visa route - is that you can support your wife and that you have accommodation waiting for you in the UK. You also need to show you can fulfill the financial requirements through employment income, savings, pensions etc.
Read the following document carefully to see how you would qualify:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/783641/Appendix-FM-1-7-Financial-Requirement-ext_1_.pdf

The following website provides information as to how to apply for a spouse visa

https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa

If you go the Ancestry route you wife applies for an ancestry visa under her own name. Note: that one of the criteria of the Ancestry Visa is the intention to work in the UK. At age 60 this might not be a desired option for your wife - however the Ancestry route is much cheaper and quicker than the spouse route. Both eventually will lead to naturalisation.

Just to complete the picture, you COULD both travel to the UK to set up your new home, but your wife would then have to return to the US to apply for her visa.

shokwaverider

Thanks again, but this is exactly what we want to avoid. What we would like to do, is sell up in the USA completely. Go to the UK, rent a place for a few months while searching for a home, then settle permanently in the new home. Having to leave the UK for her seems like a fruitless exercise. What if the Visa take a year to come through? What I find hard to believe is that they want to split up a family to apply for the visa. After all she is not "joining me" we have been together all along, we just want to move together. The money is not relevant to us, staying together for the whole process is.

SanDiegogirl

She cannot apply for a visa while in the UK as a visitor. So either:

She applies from the US for a spouse visa with you as her sponsor (sounds as though you meet the financial requirements) and then when visa is issued both move over. (Spouse settlement visa when applied and paid for as priority can take as little as 4 to 6 weeks)

She can apply from the US for an Ancestry visa. When issued you both move over together.

BritInParis

Which year did you marry?

shokwaverider

1988

BritInParis

Right of Abode is not an option then. An UK Ancestry visa is a lot cheaper and easier than a spouse visa but your wife would need to either work or demonstrate that she had been looking for work during its entire five year validity period in order to qualify for ILR.

christmasoompa

They don't, you're misunderstanding. As said above, you can just apply from the US and both move when she has the visa. It's very quick for the UK too, much quicker than the year or so it takes to get a visa as the spouse of a US citizen.

Good luck.