question: spouse visa--timelines!!
 

Hi everyone,

Hoping you can help me. I'm a British citizen. My husband is Canadian. We are looking at moving back to the UK to live.

We should be ok regarding the financial requirements. I earn over 18,600 pounds here in Canada and i've been at my current job for longer than six months so that piece is ok. Obviously I need to get a job in the UK but i'm fairly optimistic, however it might be hard bearing in mind i'll be applying from overseas...:unsure:

However lets say i manage to secure a job, then that means i have 3 months to get over to the UK. Can my husband stay here to sort things out or does he have to move over at the same time as me?

We have a house we need to sell here, and a dog to move over. So it seems it would be difficult to coordinate the selling of our house, in time with me starting my new job in the UK. Is there a time frame on when my husband moves over?

We thought we would put the house on the market first, hope it would sell quick and then i would also be applying for jobs at the same time however it just seems that it would be hard for it to all come together in the space of 3 months? What if i find a job but the house doesn't sell and my husband has to stay here until it sells.

Any help would be appreciated!

Re: question: spouse visa--timelines!!
 

We are in a similar position although I have given up on getting a job from where I am - U.S.

The visa application process can take from 3 weeks to a few months if there is some back and forth. So factor in that time, you could leave right away so that would give you both more time. I seem to remember reading that you can state his intended date of travel on the visa application and the visa would be effective from that date. Someone will come along with definitive details.

Best of luck with everything - it's difficult to get everything in place in the right order but it will happen :)

Re: question: spouse visa--timelines!!
 

It is tricky getting the timing right but it seems it is going to get trickier! Persons on a spouse visa are presently able to enter the UK at any time following the issuance of their visa though it is advised to enter within the three months allowed to wind up affairs abroad, thus avoiding having to pay for an extra interim visa before FLRM. However, the law is changing
https://www.bic-immigration.com/immi...o-travel-to-uk

Of course the non EU spouse can always activate the visa by arriving within the allotted thirty days, waiting ten days to collect the BRP and then returning to the home country to wind up affairs.

Re: question: spouse visa--timelines!!
 

Wow they don't make it easy do they...I don't know why you have to apply for a brp to prove you ha e entry clearance? Surely you'd have a visa stating so?

Re: question: spouse visa--timelines!!
 

Hi. I know this is not related to the forum，hope i still get a reply though. I'm a BC sponsering my husband to the uk. I'm working and I'm also going to combine cash savings. If I'm earing 13,500 a year from two jobs how much savings do i need to add? Also i read somewhere that the applicant has to already have a job offer waiting for him there. Can't i as the sponser work and be responsible for the financial requirements? If we do get accepted do we have to earn 18,600 for the 2.5 years from or work income to extend our LTR? Please reply will be much appreciated， Thank you.

Re: question: spouse visa--timelines!!
 

Sorry, but I am useless in working out combination salary and savings. Hopefully someone else will help with that. The applicant does not have to be employed or have the promise of a job. It is the sponsor who may be working abroad and earning the required amount who has to have the promise of a job within three months of returning to the UK. Of course, once the spousal visa is issued and the applicant arrives in the UK, then he or she is entitled to work.

You will need to show that either or both of you are earning at least £18,600 a year when you apply for FLR(M). Joint salaries can be used to meet the requirement.

Zoe's, I have no idea why they have changed the timing of arrival in the UK. It is going to it difficult for those who cannot just pack their bag and leave their home country. They will still have the vignette in their passport but it will only last for 30 days.

Re: question: spouse visa--timelines!!
 

If i have cash savings in my account for 6 months, do i need to declare the source of money. Like for example if a person gives me a CS for a gift do they need prove of the source of money from the person that gifted to me?

Re: question: spouse visa--timelines!!
 

£28,750 held for 6 months.

18,600 (the requirement) - 13,500 = 5,100 short.
5,100 x 2.5 (the length of the visa in years) = 12,750
12,750 + 16,000 (income related benefits cut off) = 28,750.

Re: question: spouse visa--timelines!!
 

Thanks for the link michali.

Maybe to stop the abuse of applying for a UK spouse visa when they have little intention of moving to the UK yet? They are meant to be moving to the UK to live when they apply for a visa.

Perhaps for the same reason as the above? It's 30 days from the date the applicant said they were going to move to the UK and they can apply 3 months in advance of that date. Which gives the applicant 4 months to move, starting from a date of their own choice.

EDIT The BRP now seems to hold new data, for who is allowed to use the NHS for free. Along with their identity such as fingerprints, photo ect.
From the government site :-
https://www.gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits/overview

Re: question: spouse visa--timelines!!
 

Do i have to keep that amount saved in my account for 2.5 years?

Re: question: spouse visa--timelines!!
 

Good points formula but for instance in our situation last year, we could not do anything until the visa was issued and then it was all go for my husband to give in his notice, pack up, give notice to our tenants in the UK, etc. we left about five weeks after we got the visa, the issue date of which was actually a week before we received it and two weeks before our intended date of travel. If we had had to sell a house, it would have been a different matter. So, even for some people who are genuinely anxious to get here, it might be a challenge. However, it is as it is!

As to the BRP, I wish my husband could have one before he applies for FLR (M) late next year.

Rqa.j93, no you do not have to keep the money that long if you are working and can apply for FLR(M) using your salary. For we who are retired though and are not working, yes, we have to keep that amount ready for our next application. And of course, keep in mind, the required amounts may go up at any time!

Re: question: spouse visa--timelines!!
 

Why? Is there a next application? Like when the applicant gets to the uk，what happens if he wants to extend his visa for another 2.5 years? Do the same regulations apply when we want to extend?

Re: question: spouse visa--timelines!!
 

Don't worry. I don't think it will be a problem as his visa start date will show he is allowed free NHS. Either UKVI will have loaded all the information for who can have free NHS and the date that ends; or his first visit to a hospital will do that, if he needs a hospital before his next visa. Unless the GP surgeries will have to do it? If he has a UK driving licence, then UKVI are sharing information with DVLA too.

I just clicked!:thumbup: I think checking whether the EEAs and their dependants can use the NHS for free, will be based on whether the EEA citizen paid NICs the previous week (if they have been getting paid weekly) or previous month (if they get paid monthly). The UK started a new 'real time' system for HMRC in 2013 so that each time someone is paid, HMRC are told.. The UK also changed the rules for EEA citizens Right to Reside in the UK. For workers they need to earn at least 24 x National Minimum Wage per week to have a right to reside. That amount will mean they need to pay NICs. They brought that same rule from 6 April 2015 for those EEAs claiming to be Self Employed in the UK. For EEA jobseekers, they only have 3 months of UK paying now and then they no longer have a right to reside in the UK. Being EU rules, all these changes are retrospective.

Re: question: spouse visa--timelines!!
 

Yes, it is 5 years to ILR so there is a second visa application for him and you have to meet exactly the same financial requirements for that second 30 months spouse visa as you did for his entry spouse visa.

Then you need to meet the financial requirements again when he applies for ILR, but not so much financial requirement is needed for that.

Be aware that in addition to the visa fees, he will now need to pay a contribution towards his healthcare in the UK. For his entry visa that will be £600 health surcharge, paid at the same time as visa fee with his visa application. For his second spouse visa it will be £500 towards his healthcare (under present health surcharge amounts) plus the visa fee. Once he has settled status (ILR) there is no health surcharge.

Re: question: spouse visa--timelines!!
 

I thought as the sponsor you had to be earning that amount in the UK??? someone correct me please