masast

Hello. Thank you for having me on this board. I was just looking for some advice before I contacted an immigration lawyer. Sorry if this post becomes long.

I am a Japanese citizen but grew up in England form the age of 1 to 23 (I was born in Japan). Since I was 23, I have been in Japan. I am currently 39. My parents still live in the UK
on permanent resident status, my two sisters are British citizens. I lost my permanent resident status a while ago.
In Japan, I have a wife and three children 16, 9 and 7. We are considering moving to the UK but I had some questions about visas. Can I get my ILR status back
easily? If, so, should I apply for my family at the same time, or do I have to settle in the UK first? Would this kind of case be better handled by an immigration lawyer,
or can I do it myself? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I am sorry if I have repeated threads posted before, I checked as thoroughly as I could but could not
find a similar situation.
Thanks in advance. Masa

BritInParis

Since you have you been absent from the UK for over 15 years then normally it would not be possible but given that you spent almost your entire formative years in the UK and your family still reside there then it’s not impossible. You would need to apply for a Returning Resident visa first. Should this be granted then you could apply for settlement visas for your wife and children.

masast

Thank you for the quick reply BritInParis. I see. Do you think it is worth getting legal help for my part of the visa application or is that something I could sort out
by myself? Also, I am planning on visiting the Uk in the summer to find out about places to live/work and just to visit family. Is this trio going to have some bearing
on my returning resident visa application; would it be better to get it sorted before I go, while I am there etc...? Sorry about the numerous questions. The help is
much appreciated.

BritInParis

I think it probably would but it would need to be someone with a proven track record in successful Returning Resident visa applications. I would suggest applying before your trip so you can activate your visa and obtain a NTL BRP before applying for your family’s visas.