Spouse Visa or Ancenstry Visa?
#1
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Joined: Mar 2019
Location: Scotland
Posts: 10
Spouse Visa or Ancenstry Visa?
Hi all
I moved to the UK in late 2014 on an Ancestry Visa.
Later this year I will be applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain and a year after that British Citizenship.
My Issue. I've recently had a heart attack and am having multiple weekly medical follow ups each week. I no longer meet the ABLE TO WORK condition of the Ancestry Visa.
This is not a huge problem financially as I have regular income from Australia that more than enough covers my living expenses and should do at least another 30 years.
I married a UK Born citizen 4 years ago so I also qualify for a Spouse Visa.
HOWEVER although we live near each other, we don't live together as he is the primary carer for his mother and the nature of her condition means there cannot be a 3rd person living in the house permanently. She gets upset at any changes in the day-to-day order of the house.
Our families and neighbours are aware of the reasons for this seemingly odd living arrangement and can confirm our ongoing and committed relationship
Does anyone know if it is MANDATORY that we live together to get a Spouse Visa or with adequate medical reasons , is there discretion for this requirement to be ignored?
I moved to the UK in late 2014 on an Ancestry Visa.
Later this year I will be applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain and a year after that British Citizenship.
My Issue. I've recently had a heart attack and am having multiple weekly medical follow ups each week. I no longer meet the ABLE TO WORK condition of the Ancestry Visa.
This is not a huge problem financially as I have regular income from Australia that more than enough covers my living expenses and should do at least another 30 years.
I married a UK Born citizen 4 years ago so I also qualify for a Spouse Visa.
HOWEVER although we live near each other, we don't live together as he is the primary carer for his mother and the nature of her condition means there cannot be a 3rd person living in the house permanently. She gets upset at any changes in the day-to-day order of the house.
Our families and neighbours are aware of the reasons for this seemingly odd living arrangement and can confirm our ongoing and committed relationship
Does anyone know if it is MANDATORY that we live together to get a Spouse Visa or with adequate medical reasons , is there discretion for this requirement to be ignored?
#2
Re: Spouse Visa or Ancenstry Visa?
When did you stop working? Are you signed off on sick leave? When will you reach five years in the UK?
Also, which grandparent(s) was/were born in the UK?
Also, which grandparent(s) was/were born in the UK?
#3
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Joined: Jan 2017
Location: Cardiff -->Gold Coast via NZ
Posts: 54
Re: Spouse Visa or Ancenstry Visa?
My Issue. I've recently had a heart attack and am having multiple weekly medical follow ups each week. I no longer meet the ABLE TO WORK condition of the Ancestry Visa.
This is not a huge problem financially as I have regular income from Australia that more than enough covers my living expenses and should do at least another 30 years.
This is not a huge problem financially as I have regular income from Australia that more than enough covers my living expenses and should do at least another 30 years.
"If you are unemployed at the date of application, please provide alternate evidence to
show your employment record throughout the five year period in this category of leave,
and of any attempts to make and find work. If you have been unemployed for long
periods over the five years, you must provide reasons why you have failed to find work
and evidence to show you have been looking for it. You must also provide evidence of
how you can support yourself without a regular income."
I married a UK Born citizen 4 years ago so I also qualify for a Spouse Visa.
HOWEVER although we live near each other, we don't live together as he is the primary carer for his mother and the nature of her condition means there cannot be a 3rd person living in the house permanently. She gets upset at any changes in the day-to-day order of the house.
Our families and neighbours are aware of the reasons for this seemingly odd living arrangement and can confirm our ongoing and committed relationship
Does anyone know if it is MANDATORY that we live together to get a Spouse Visa or with adequate medical reasons , is there discretion for this requirement to be ignored?
HOWEVER although we live near each other, we don't live together as he is the primary carer for his mother and the nature of her condition means there cannot be a 3rd person living in the house permanently. She gets upset at any changes in the day-to-day order of the house.
Our families and neighbours are aware of the reasons for this seemingly odd living arrangement and can confirm our ongoing and committed relationship
Does anyone know if it is MANDATORY that we live together to get a Spouse Visa or with adequate medical reasons , is there discretion for this requirement to be ignored?
#4
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Joined: Mar 2019
Location: Scotland
Posts: 10
Re: Spouse Visa or Ancenstry Visa?
Slight miswording in the title. At the end of the year I intend applying for ILR rather than extend or get a new Visa.
My understanding is applying for ILR is under the same categories as applying for a Visa.
"If you are married to a British Citizen you can apply for citizenship as soon as you have ILR."
My reading of the government Citizenship site is that to get Citizenship I need to have had ILR for 1 year and to get ILR I have to have lived here 5 years. If I can apply straight away this is good but I still need to be granted ILR
Regarding Working in the UK
As per the conditions of the Ancestry Visa, when I arrived I intended to work but as it turns out I never did.
I registered with a site that sent me available jobs but I live in a high unemployment area and there were few suitable jobs.
On top of this my now Husband had a heart attack so I ended up helping him with heavy work around the home a lot rather than getting a job myself.
As I said I had the finances so not working wasn't a financial strain.
As stated above, I intend going the ILR route but its a matter of which way. Apply under Ancestry conditions or as a Spouse
My understanding is applying for ILR is under the same categories as applying for a Visa.
"If you are married to a British Citizen you can apply for citizenship as soon as you have ILR."
My reading of the government Citizenship site is that to get Citizenship I need to have had ILR for 1 year and to get ILR I have to have lived here 5 years. If I can apply straight away this is good but I still need to be granted ILR
Regarding Working in the UK
As per the conditions of the Ancestry Visa, when I arrived I intended to work but as it turns out I never did.
I registered with a site that sent me available jobs but I live in a high unemployment area and there were few suitable jobs.
On top of this my now Husband had a heart attack so I ended up helping him with heavy work around the home a lot rather than getting a job myself.
As I said I had the finances so not working wasn't a financial strain.
As stated above, I intend going the ILR route but its a matter of which way. Apply under Ancestry conditions or as a Spouse
#5
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Joined: May 2010
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 9,620
Re: Spouse Visa or Ancenstry Visa?
Can you qualify for a spouse visa under the financial requirements?
#7
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Joined: Mar 2019
Location: Scotland
Posts: 10
Re: Spouse Visa or Ancenstry Visa?
My Grandmother on my Mother’s side was from London
Yes, I do qualify for a spouse visa under the financial requirements. On top of this, my Husband receives one of the government benefits that means we wouldn’t need to qualify
No, I was registered with an non government job site.
The forms seem to suggest if I have a job at the time I am applying, I don't need to supply a full 5 year employment history.
When I say I can't work, its more I'm not employable as I would be constantly taking time off to go to appointments.
I suppose if I had to find a job I could but I can't think who would employ me. I know as an ex supervisor I wouldn't employ me at present.
I would prefer to go down the Spouse track, the only issue being not living together.
No, I was registered with an non government job site.
=================
The applications are now online but I have a set of the old Further Leave to Remain Forms, so that I can anticipate the questions I will be filling in on-line.The forms seem to suggest if I have a job at the time I am applying, I don't need to supply a full 5 year employment history.
When I say I can't work, its more I'm not employable as I would be constantly taking time off to go to appointments.
I suppose if I had to find a job I could but I can't think who would employ me. I know as an ex supervisor I wouldn't employ me at present.
I would prefer to go down the Spouse track, the only issue being not living together.
#8
Re: Spouse Visa or Ancenstry Visa?
Hi Glen. What you're proposing (obtain a spouse visa but not live with your husband) is not something I've seen before. I think you're quite right to be concerned about this, as you obviously know, one of the primary criteria for a spouse visa is that you must intend to live with your partner permanently in the UK. Unless anyone else can suggest an alternative, I really think your best best is to have a consultation with an experienced migration agent.
#12
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Joined: Mar 2019
Location: Scotland
Posts: 10
Re: Spouse Visa or Ancenstry Visa?
My 3 other Grandparents were born in Australia 1890-1910 and my Parents in Australia early 1930's, making all my Australian relatives British Subjects until they acquired Australian Nationality when this was created in the in the late 1940's
Last edited by GlenHuntly; Mar 17th 2019 at 9:08 am.
#13
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Joined: Jan 2017
Location: Cardiff -->Gold Coast via NZ
Posts: 54
Re: Spouse Visa or Ancenstry Visa?
Slight miswording in the title. At the end of the year I intend applying for ILR rather than extend or get a new Visa.
My understanding is applying for ILR is under the same categories as applying for a Visa.
"If you are married to a British Citizen you can apply for citizenship as soon as you have ILR."
My reading of the government Citizenship site is that to get Citizenship I need to have had ILR for 1 year and to get ILR I have to have lived here 5 years. If I can apply straight away this is good but I still need to be granted ILR
My understanding is applying for ILR is under the same categories as applying for a Visa.
"If you are married to a British Citizen you can apply for citizenship as soon as you have ILR."
My reading of the government Citizenship site is that to get Citizenship I need to have had ILR for 1 year and to get ILR I have to have lived here 5 years. If I can apply straight away this is good but I still need to be granted ILR
Regarding Working in the UK
As per the conditions of the Ancestry Visa, when I arrived I intended to work but as it turns out I never did.
I registered with a site that sent me available jobs but I live in a high unemployment area and there were few suitable jobs.
On top of this my now Husband had a heart attack so I ended up helping him with heavy work around the home a lot rather than getting a job myself.
As I said I had the finances so not working wasn't a financial strain.
As stated above, I intend going the ILR route but its a matter of which way. Apply under Ancestry conditions or as a Spouse
As per the conditions of the Ancestry Visa, when I arrived I intended to work but as it turns out I never did.
I registered with a site that sent me available jobs but I live in a high unemployment area and there were few suitable jobs.
On top of this my now Husband had a heart attack so I ended up helping him with heavy work around the home a lot rather than getting a job myself.
As I said I had the finances so not working wasn't a financial strain.
As stated above, I intend going the ILR route but its a matter of which way. Apply under Ancestry conditions or as a Spouse
Maybe another option is to extend your Ancestry Visa for another 5 years, but again it's extra cost, and there is still the employment requirement.
#14
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Joined: Mar 2019
Location: Scotland
Posts: 10
Re: Spouse Visa or Ancenstry Visa?
Just so we're clear, you are asking if it's possible to switch to a spousal visa from within the UK, and then apply for ILR based on that category? From what I understand you can only apply for ILR based on the category of visa you are currently on. So by switching visa and doing it this way would add additional cost, and so it may be more cost effective to look at ways to satisfy the employment requirements of the Ancestry Visa for ILR instead. (Note this can be self employed, so having a small business, like say selling Avon, may suffice to tick this off.)
Maybe another option is to extend your Ancestry Visa for another 5 years, but again it's extra cost, and there is still the employment requirement.
Maybe another option is to extend your Ancestry Visa for another 5 years, but again it's extra cost, and there is still the employment requirement.
And to be clear I'm trying to decide on whether to apply for ILR (not a new Visa) under Ancestry Category or Spouse Category when my current 5 year Ancestry Visa expires at the end of this year.
The Spouse category closer matches my circumstances except that my husband doesn't live with me as he is caring for his mother.
Thankyou for the self employed suggestion, I will look into it. I'm also looking at having a family member nominally employing me.
#15
Re: Spouse Visa or Ancenstry Visa?
You can’t switch category without resetting your clock to ILR. You can either apply for ILR when you reach five years on your UK Ancestry visa or switch to a spouse visa and spend five years on that before applying.
If you haven’t worked, or actively looked for work, for the last five years then you won’t qualify for ILR on your current visa so the last five years will have been effectively wasted in respect to your path to ILR.
If you cannot live with your spouse then I don’t think a spouse visa is a viable option either. At this point I would be renewing my UK Ancestry visa but if health problems means you can no longer work then I think you have a real problem. Self employment may be a solution; being nominally employed by a family member is not.
If you haven’t worked, or actively looked for work, for the last five years then you won’t qualify for ILR on your current visa so the last five years will have been effectively wasted in respect to your path to ILR.
If you cannot live with your spouse then I don’t think a spouse visa is a viable option either. At this point I would be renewing my UK Ancestry visa but if health problems means you can no longer work then I think you have a real problem. Self employment may be a solution; being nominally employed by a family member is not.
Last edited by BritInParis; Mar 21st 2019 at 10:29 am.