michael_w

I'm a UK citizen, my wife is Australian. We've lived in Sydney for 15 years and have two children who are UK citizens. Four months ago I made a move back to the UK at short notice so I could help look after my elderly mother who is living alone suddenly became ill and required care. We'd been toying with the idea of moving back to the UK for a year or two anyway, and this prompted us to make the move. My wife stayed behind to help let the house and tidy up the loose ends. However, on landing in the UK I discovered the new complexities of the spouse visa and its financial requirements. I work as a freelance writer/editor and have managed fine in Australia. I've been getting by OK in the UK so far, but doubt I'll meet the financial requirements to sponsor my wife's visa - at least in the next 12 months. I have to establish myself and in the early days I'm earning just enough to get by - and often paid months in arrears for long term projects. I presumably would have to wait a year or more to get a tax return to show my income, even before we could apply for a spouse visa - never mind the long processing times and delays we've been hearing about. We've already been apart nearly four months and the kids are missing their mum. So I've decided to go back - it's all just too difficult. I'm taking my kids out of the Yorkshire school they have just settled into and I'm leaving my elderly mum in the care of more distant relatives and a care home that I hope will meet her needs. Just thought I'd pass on our story as one example of how this new system affects British people who wish to return to the UK but are prevented from bringing their spouses with them by these complex and onerous rules. I wish I'd known about these spouse visa rules before I came back - but they'd only been brought in three months before I made the move. Well, they've certainly beaten us.

SanDiegogirl

I'm really sorry to hear that things have not worked out for you, but I think your main problem is that you assumed that, although you had been out of the UK for ten years, your wife would be classed as a returning resident as you had lived in the UK in the 90's.

As the forum advised you early December 2012, this would not be the case and you would need to apply for a spouse visa under the new rules brought in in July 2012.

Even under the old rules you would have needed to apply for a spouse visa before your wife entered the UK, although the financial requirements would not have been so onerous then.

Trixie_b

Sorry that you've encountered this problem, but thank you for writing about it. Good luck.

holly_1948

I'm sorry this has happened to you, but thank you for writing.

I can only suggest that, back in Australia, you work on becoming wealthy.
The present government works hard to make life more pleasant for the wealthy - at the expense of everyone less fortunate.

michael_w

I don't remember any such problems when we first settled back in the UK in the 1990s. We were both able to move here, work and my wife had our first child here, with no visa/ILR hassles. Now it's a different story. Had to come back at short notice, hence the lack of research beforehand. Oh well, live and learn.

roaringmouse

You could consider selling the house in Australia, keeping the money in the bank for 6 months and use that for the financial requirements - if it meets the required savings level.

rebeccajo

Since you work as a writer, you must have contacts in the media.

I think your story is worth telling.

richard66

Hi Michael - I'm in a similar boat to you and am researching an article on the issue. I'd be keen to talk if you had time. If you would like to, email me on <<address removed>>
Cheers,
Richard

quoll

So sorry to hear that - does your wife have a UK or Irish grandparent hidden anywhere? That certainly makes life easier as you could go for ancestry visa or Irish passport. Or does she have any other European ancestry which would get her some other European passport?

Now is a good time to hit the media if you haven't already taken the irrevocable step to return - there is a media case on at the moment with a bloke and his kids here but his wife in New Mexico - you might get on the bandwagon there. I can sort of see why the government has done what it has done but yours is one of the unintended consequences. I was dreading having to go the spouse visa route for my husband but he scored because his mum was UK born - albeit back in 1917 - and they did change the rules for citizenship by descent.

richard66

Hi - she does have English grandparents and has already been over on ancestry (hoe we met). For us it's the practicalities of getting the job in order to apply - almost impossible when you are the other side of the world and I'm not prepared (nor can afford) to leave my wife and kids here for months while I go back to secure work. An added problem is that my wife wants to train to be a midwife which you can only do in the UK under an NHS scholorship - which you can only get if there is no question about your residency. Now it is 5 years before indefinite leave to remain which is just too long to wait. Before July last year she'd have got it immediately with us having been married over 4 years.

ldollard

Does this still not apply for your wife?

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/vi...g/uk-ancestry/

It says nothing regarding your wife applying twice under this catagory. There also seems to be no financial restrictions on this route.

If this is the case, you do not need to apply for a spouse visa and your financial woes would be non existent?

roaringmouse

One thing to be aware of with the ancestry route is the need to have lived and continuously worked in the UK for 5 years in order to settle permanently - otherwise it's a matter of applying to extend the temporary stay on an ancestry visa.

englishguygoinghome

Unless, of course, you convert the ancestry visa to a spouse settlement one (taking both incomes into account) once your are here. Downside is the extra fees