markm0101

Hi all,

I am a UK citizen living in HK and planning to move back to UK with my HK born wife (HKBNO passport). We are going to use cash savings to meet the financial requirements and are also selling an apt in HK. Therefore I don't know exactly when we will be able to move as want to wait for the apt to sell first. Plan is to move back in April so am intending to start the application now - but what happens if we need to delay our move by a few weeks/months if we already have the visa accepted?

I heard that you have to use the visa within 30 days or you lose it - can anyone confirm this?

Also, as she won't work when we return to UK maybe it would be better to just move back (she using the 6 month holiday visa) and then start the spousal visa application in the UK when we get there? Any comments greatly appreciated...

Pulaski

Yes, you get 30 days from the later of (i) the date you specify, or (ii) the date the visa was issued.

You cannot apply for a spouse visa from within the UK, full stop. So that plan cannot work.

j4v3d

You have 30 days on the visa and need to get into the UK ASAP. Don't leave it till the 29th day and decide to travel as if the flight is delayed or diverted for any reason you may not get into the UK. Good luck.

HKG3

As far as I know, you can only apply for the UK spouse visa three months in advance. If you want to move to the UK with your BN(O) wife in April 2018, the earliest she can apply will be January 2018.

HKG3

While someone who enter the UK as a tourist cannot apply for a spouse visa inside the UK. The OP's wife can enter the UK under the Tier 5 Working Holiday visa and then apply for a spouse visa inside the UK. She can get an UK Tier 5 Working Holiday visa if she holds a BN(O) passport and is under the age of 31.

https://www.gov.uk/tier-5-youth-mobility

HKG3

A number of other points you may wish to consider -

1) Your wife should use her BN(O) passport to apply for her UK spouse visa. This means that she will be treated as a Commonwealth citizen in the UK. A Commonwealth citizen in the UK can register to vote in all UK elections. Being on the electoral roll helps her to build up her own credit history in the UK.

2) Have you ever live in the UK before? If not, you (the British Citizen) will need to make an appointment with the Job Centre to get a National Insurance (NI) number. Please see link below for details -

https://www.gov.uk/apply-national-insurance-number

3) If you or your wife has a Hong Kong driving licence by passing a driving test in Hong Kong, you can exchange your Hong Kong driving licence to an UK one without test.

4) You and your wife can open UK bank accounts in Hong Kong before moving over here. Both the Bank of East Asia and HSBC offers this service -

https://www.hkbea.com/html/en/bea-in...-services.html

https://www.hsbc.com.hk/personal/hsb...s-account.html