alexani15

Hi, I am UK Citizen working in Nigeria,married for 14 years to my wife .Our 2 children are both UK citizens with one of them in private boarding school in the UK. Wife visits UK about 3 times a year on tourist visa she got on her own as she is employed as a banker here. Was wondering if we can get a UK settlement visa or certificate so she can stop wasting money on getting tourist visa as she is the wife of a UK citizen. We intend to continue living here for the time being.

az2014

A settlement visa is for..no surely I dont need to say it as its in the name.

If she is visiting as a tourist then a .... visa is the one she should use.

Just wow.

SanDiegogirl

No, the spirit of the settlement visa is to join family settled in the UK i.e the British sponsor and family intend to live in the UK.

If you intend to continue living abroad then you won't qualify.

alexani15

I have been told that there is a document she can get that shows her status and allows her to visit the UK without having to keep wasting money paying for a tourist visa.
As a parent of a child in full time education in the UK she is allowed a different type of visa which does not demand any financial requirement being met like a tourist visa.

SanDiegogirl

You have probably been told of the Parent of a Child in UK visa.

However, this is visa allows the parent of a child, who is permanently settled in the UK, cannot be removed from the UK and where the parent in question has legal obligations to said child i.e support. This visa does has financial and accommodation requirements.

This is not the case with you. Your children are in boarding school in the UK - your choice - they could equally be at boarding school where you currently live.

Don't know what you mean by financial requirements for tourist visa. The only requirements for tourist visa is that you can support yourself while on vacation - a logical requirement one would think.

The Standard visitor visa costs 89 GBP and allow you to visit for up to 6 months.

She could obtain a long term Standard Visitor visa which is valid for 2, 5 and 10 years. You can still only visit for up to 6 months at a time, but if she is visiting three times a year, a long term visit visa could save you money.

https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor-visa/overview

alexani15

She paid £800 for a 10 year visa the last time she applied and got it. The question is as the wife of a UK citizen, who has 2 children from her marriage and are both UK citizens since birth, isn't she entitled to have some sort of status ? Considering, she has been married for almost 15 years, both children are 14 & 10 years old . We can also provide evidence of savings in excess of £100,000. Which I believe meets the requirements for settlement in the UK but the issue is we don't intend going to settle in the UK at the moment.

mikelincs

and there's the rub, the settlement visa is for people wanting to settle in the UK, and to get it you do need to show proof of settling. The current way you are working things would seem to be the only way to go.

quiltman

+1 She's not a British Citizen so until you bring her to LIVE in the UK then visitor visas are the only way to go regretfully.

SanDiegogirl

No, she has no status with regard living in the UK. Her marriage to you, a Brit, and having children who have British citizenship, has no relevance. This is no different to many other countries immigration rules.

To live in the UK, she needs a visa to allow her to do this.

DaveLovesDee

When does it expire? How many years have the kids been in a UK boarding school?

Nope. The options are, continue using visit visas, or apply for a Spouse visa with the intent of settling in the UK. Your savings will have to be an an instant-access account.

I can't imagine a 10yr old being separated from their parents for most of the year, but whatever floats the boat.

Then a visit visa is still the only option.

Pulaski

To be clear, with the resources you have you can likely can finagle a settlement visa, but the cost is quite high and I suspect that your disingenuous plan would unravel after 2½ years when you have to apply for "further leave to remain". At which point all the money you had spent in fees, including the mandatory fee for access to the NHS (which needless to say would likely be utterly pointless for your wife), would make the £800 for a ten year tourist visa look like a bargain! .... Enough (at current prices) to pay for at least three, if not four, ten-year tourist visas.

alexani15

Our 10 year old schools and resides with us in Lagos, 14 year old is the only one in boarding school in the UK.

DaveLovesDee

Thanks for clearing that up.