Britchick76

Hi all,

I am British and currently reside in Australia with my Oz fiance. We would like to be able to return and settle in the UK in a few years time so I'm doing my research now.

I'm familiar with all the requirements now needed for a spouse visa but my question is - my fiance lived in the UK for 8 years when he was married to his British ex wife and had ILR from 2004 until we left in 2010. We have only returned once back in 2011 therefore his ILR has now expired. I realise I may be clutching at straws here, but would the fact that he has previously held an ILR make any difference to our application? He worked the whole time he was in the UK and only claimed job seekers allowance for a short time just before we left.

I have looked into the Resident Return Visa but I believe that it is only very rarely granted and that ties to the UK have to be very substantial, so it doesn't look like that is an option for us. Obviously, it would have been wise for him to get British Citizenship before we left, but like lots of other people I guess, we didn't consider it would become such a problem in the future.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

BritInParis

It won't make any difference since it's expired. In hindsight naturalisation of course would have made life simpler but now it'll just be a case of starting again from scratch.

Britchick76

Yes, I thought as much. Never mind, I guess I'll have to start saving!

Thanks for your reply.