la-chica-irlandesa

hi all, what a great site!!
i hope i am posting in the right place if not would someone please let me know where to post.

I would love some advice if possible.
I am from NI married to a man from EL salvador, we live in america and have been married three years with one son. We in the future would like to move back home to NI. im trying to find out the immigration process. His country is not on the list for having to get entry clearance, does he need the spouse visa i've seen mentioned here? and if so how long does it take for him to get a work permit.


We will be married for more than 4 years when we move.

any and all info would be greatly appreciated as i am really lost!!!

thanks in advance.

Elaine B.

Hi there

sorry I can't help with your question but just wanted to say hi. I moved back to NI in July after 9 years in Canada. Things have really improved here since I left in 1999 and it's good to see that people actually want to move to NI. Good luck with your plans and I'm sure someone else will be along to give you some help with your Visa question.

Honest_H

Like Elaine, justing saying Hi! We're moving back to NI next June after 4 years in Cyprus. Can't wait!!

la-chica-irlandesa

Hey thank you both for the warm welcome!!!
It is great to see there are other people moving back. I left in 99 also!! After living away for so long I really see what NORN IRON (omg that made me laugh!!!!) has to offer. I am moving back to Antrim and you guys??

Thanks again

goatherder

you'll need a spouse visa, then after 3 years the spouse can apply for ILR currently.

Can work immediately on arrival.

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoap...swivespartners

Goat.

Elaine B.

I'm in Co. Antrim exotic Larne. Never thought I'd actually want to come back to such a small town but the important thing for me at least is having family close by especially with kids around.

Donna Allan

I came back to County Down after living in South Africa for 26 years. I guess once your born here, it'll always be the place you call home and I'm so glad I'm home.

Dave_Was

For your husband to move to the UK, he would need a spousal visa, which would entitle him to work and live. After two years on the spousal visa he could apply for the ILR, indefinite leave to remain. After three years on that he would be able to apply for citizenship.

Now if you apply after having been married for four years you could try to go directly for ILE, indefinite leave to enter, which essentially is the same as ILR but you apply for it from outside of the UK.

Now this is my understanding of the current rules, however, there are consultation documents out that propose changes to the system.

Of course, you should consider whether you would ever want to return to the US in the future and what your prospects for doing that would be. So, you might want to consider whether going for citizenship is an option.

Good luck!

Honest_H

I'm going back to Banbridge, Co-Down. Thankfully time is now flying by. My sister and friends are all coming over for Christmas, so have that to look forward to. I think after the new year, we'll really be in the big count down.

Donna Allan

We got a spousal/settlement visa for my South Africa husband which is valid for two years. We will obviously be applying for the ILR but it will cost us another £750 (after having paid £750 for the spousal/settlement visa) and he'll have to sit the Life test as well. I've had a look at some of the test questions and even I wouldn't be able to pass it.

goatherder

I've passed the test - took me around 3 mins at the testing centre.

Online there are a number of sites that have test questions - thats the only study i did for it.

Visas in the UK are very expensive now - 1K for ILR and then another 750 for Citizenship.... Hope its all worth it in the end!

la-chica-irlandesa

thank you all for your great responses, thet have been super helpful! I am sure this will be the best move for us I will love being home again, the real adjustment will be for hubby!! congrats for all that have made the move successfully and good luck to all who have yet to do it. thanks.

britishbull

Assume you have a British passport. It might be worth considering moving to Ireland as your husband has the right to live there under EEC rules and the visa would be free!

la-chica-irlandesa

To Britishbull, thanks for replying. I have a british and irish passport. I have never heard of the visa being free to Ireland. He is from El Salvador which is in Central america. Does this type of visa apply to him?? thanks so much.

virginiadare

I moving back to NI too (belfast) from Virginia. I've been living off and on the USA for 9 years now and we settled here 'permanently' in December but we made the decision that there is no place like home and we are going to return to NI after christmas. I went through the process you are about to go though (if you get your husband a UK spouse visa) when my husband and I moved to NI a few years back. It may seem a little daunting but you will get plenty of support on this forum and the process is fairly straightforward! Good luck!!!!

PS. Here is the link to the website where I got most of my information on the process: http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoap...swivespartners