Britchick76

Hi all,

We are planning on applying for an RRV before we try the Spouse route and was wondering if anyone who was successful with their RRV application could help me with some information?

- What evidence did you need to provide e.g utility bills, rental docs etc.
- Assuming you are successful with this visa application - how long do you have to travel to the UK once it is granted?

This visa is for my husband, he was previously a resident in the UK for 8 years and he is Australian.

Many Thanks!

SanDiegogirl

As you did not get a response to your earlier posting, I would suggest you do a search for Returning Resident visa or something similar.

According to your earlier post you have been in Australia for 10 years and have only been back to UK twice.

Britchick76

Hi, thanks for your reply. Yes, I have searched the forum.

No worries - I'll keep looking elsewhere.

christmasoompa

Did you try back in 2014 when you first asked about it? Worth re-reading the responses in that thread if not, it seemed the general consensus was that it wasn't likely, and that was before another 6 years passed.

Is a spouse visa an option? It may be easier/simpler/cheaper to do that instead?

Britchick76

Hi, thank you for your reply.

No, we didn't try because we weren't in a position to at the time. The spouse visa is what we will do if we have to. I'm trying to find a simpler way for us as we have two small children and are trying to avoid splitting us up to do it. We can't do savings route as we don't have the means and as I am not the high earner in our relationship it could prove difficult for us when I have to move home to try and get a job to satisfy the financial aspect either by myself or with one of our children. I understand that the RRV is rarely granted, we've been back and forth through Google, but we thought we'd try since it is the cheaper and would be simpler option for us. It feels a bit like grasping at straws. It is I suppose.

Thanks anyway guys for trying to help. I do appreciate it

SanDiegogirl

I've taken a look at the number of postings we've had regarding returning resident visa.
Been quite a few but only one has informed us as to their outcome (success) and that poster has provided no further details.
Can only assume the rest either did not pursue it or it failed.

spouse of scouse

I really feel for you. I have to say that I don't think your RRV will be granted, sorry. But I do want to wish you all the luck in the world.

between two worlds

I don't know anything about RRV. But your family, where the British parter is not the high earner, epitomises my own situation when we were younger, and that of so many families abroad.
Basically, it usually hits British women more than men, as it's still usually the woman who is likely to have taken time out, or be working part-time, to raise a family.
It means so many families where a British female citizen is effectively barred from returning to her native land with a non-EU (when we were in the EU, any EU citizen even without UK ties had more right to move to UK than UK citizens married to non-EU spouses) or non-British spouse, if the spouse is the higher earner.

There ought to be some sort of bridge system, especially when children are small, where a family like this can be allowed in all together, and the non-UK spouse can be given a certain amount of time to find work.

Britchick76

Between two World, yes you are right, it is a very unfair system. I honestly don't know where to go from here, it just seems impossible to me. All I want to do is bring my family home.

Thank you for your reply Spouse of a Scouse - I appreciate it.

tooboocoo

Britchick, would it not help if your hubby had a UK job offer in his own (higher-paying) field? It's actually quite easy for non-EU citizens to work in the UK.

SanDiegogirl

Never heard that it was easy for non-EU citizens to work in the UK

The husband would have to get a Tier 2 visa - not all jobs qualify for the visa.

.... but yes, a work visa would be another way to move.

Britchick76

Tooboocoo, we did think of that but isn't it the case that first they consider UK applicants, then European applicants, then non-EU applicants? I could be wrong. It would make life so much easier if that were the case )

tooboocoo

I don't know the specifics but it's certainly worth investigating. According to SDgirl above, it's a 'Tier 2' visa (or job) which makes it easier. I read recently that, in the last 12-month period for which stats are available (I think it was 2019), 280 000 non-EU nationals arrived in the UK to live. They can't all be surgeons.

SanDiegogirl

If your husband has a profession which is on the shortage list then he may be eligible for a Tier 2 visa. The first thing though is to get the job with a sponsoring employer - this is the first step.
What field is he in?

Britchick76

SanDiegogirl he is a computers systems analyst. I'll get husband to have a look at the Tier 2 list.

I guess there's not much we can really do at the moment since all visa applications are on hold and the borders could stay closed until mid-2021 but it's always good to keep up to date with immigration changes.

Thank you everyone for your input, it's greatly appreciated.