josephforbes

Hi, Just a really simple question, I expect: I`m British and have been in Canada for six years and now also have a Canadian passport. My wife is only Canadian and we are thinking of returning to the UK. I checked out the .GOV website and found the VISA I think I need for my wife: "‘family of a settled person’ visa". Can some body confirm if this is the right one for my situation. The site is very ambiguous (No surprise there). We are living in Canada and will apply from Canada?

WEBlue

Yes, that's the one. You apply from your country of (present) residence.

This thread puts it in plain English:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=830478

And the BE Wiki gives more detail:
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spouse_Immigration-UK

josephforbes

Thank you! Do you know why there are two prices for the same VISA, on one page it says 600 and on the next it says 800? I clicked on the alternative situations link because we are outside the UK and in the end it was just the same VISA "‘family of a settled person’"; However it was 200 more?

Once again thanks for you help!

WEBlue

Hmmm, I don't see 600 anywhere. Whatever I click on for your situation, it says 885 Bp, which I think is correct. Such as this:
https://www.gov.uk/join-family-in-uk

This page also says that amount when I put "Settlement" into the box:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/vi...ultTableAnchor



Can you paste the link of the incorrect page?

ncoomber

We just applied and it was just shy of $1500 USD so I think the 885GBP sounds about right!
Good luck
Cheers
Nigel

josephforbes

Does anybody have experience of how long it will take (I may have a job offer)?
Plus will the Canadian birth certificates of my children be ok for their British passports?

ncoomber

I recently got my three kids brit passports using their US birth certs applying from the US. You send your docs to Durham. You will need to send your passport and your childrens Canadian passports if they have them. They will send those back to you. We applied last Oct and it was very fast (two weeks) but I see other threads at the moment where it is taking much longer.
Cheers
Nigel

josephforbes

Thanks Nigel, Do you, or anybody else know if there is another way my wife can come to the uk? Like could she come as a visitor and then apply for a long stay visa in the UK(Probably not, I know)?

ncoomber

I am no expert on any of this. I am in the process of applying for a spouse visa for my USC wife. I have learnt a lot from the kind folks on this forum and are just trying to pay that on. That said I have read a number of horror stories about people who are in fact wanting to settle in the UK with foreign spouses who travel as tourists. If the Immigration folks at the border suspect anything your wife may face a few nights in a jail and deportation! There are some horror stories here:
http://britcits.blogspot.com
It sounds to me that if you plan on living back in the UK you should get your wife the spouse visa. Its a real pain in the bum I know.
As far as I know visitors visa are for six months max for any given year. I have never heard of a long stay visa!
Good luck
Cheers
Nigel

ncoomber

oh yes....before continuing...it should be asked, does your wife have any family ties to any EU country. Are either of her parents born in a EU country? If so she may be able to get a passport from that country. If so she can live anywhere in the EU with no paperwork (incl UK).

There is also an ancestry visa for commonwealth citizen who have grand parents that are brits....I don't know any more about this so you'd have to search?

spouse of scouse

Just sticking my beak in to provide a link for Ancestry visas for Commonwealth citizens
https://www.gov.uk/ancestry-visa

As well as being a Commonwealth citizen, applicants need to be outside the UK when applying, need to prove that they have a grandparent who was born in the UK, and be able to and are planning to work in the UK. People on this visa can't access public funds. The visa allows you to stay and work in the UK for 5 years, and there are various options after that (extend visa, apply to settle in the UK permanently).

englishguygoinghome

Don't send the foreign passports, or your passport! Send a full set of colour photocopies instead (this possibility is detailed for "exceptional cases" in very small print on the form guidance). With the current processing times for UK passports from abroad you don't want to be unable to travel while they are processing - just add a cover note stating that you have travel planned and will need them.

josephforbes

Hey thanks you guys, really appreciate the info. Yeah I was wondering about the passports, I really didn`t want to send my UK and their Canadian passports. I have a Canadian I can retain for myself if I have to go to the UK, but am just wondering if I would be harassed entering the UK with my Canadian passport, say , for work?

SanDiegogirl

Do not enter the UK on your Canadian passport and then state that you are entering to work. To work with a Canadian passport you need a visa - without the visa you are a visitor and as such cannot work. You will be refused entry.

Enter on your British passport.

This recently happened to a friend's son - guy tried to enter on his US passport, said he was returning to work and got pulled aside.