sukubutsu

Hi All,

My husband (British citizen) and I (Malaysian) are finally getting ready to apply for my spousal visa to the UK, him having recently (last week) been offered a transfer back to the UK via his company.

We both live and work in Singapore. He has been here in Asia for a total of 6.5 years now. He is originally from Plymouth and the job offer/ transfer is in Bristol. He has committed to a start date of mid-June in the UK office which does not give us a lot of time at all! *panic* Regarding the accommodation requirements, since he has been away from the UK for quite some time, I'm assuming it would be nearly impossible to find suitable accommodations under his/our names before arriving in the UK. Our next option is to put his mom's address (4 bedrooms, space will not be an issue) and she has agreed. The problem however, is that she lives in Plymouth and he will be working in Bristol.

Obviously, we plan to say that his mother putting us / me up will only be temporary as we plan to find a place of our own as soon as possible but I'm wondering if the fact that his mother's place not being in the same city as the one stated on his employment offer, will it work against us?

Any advice or inputs would be greatly appreciated!

nic_in_london

It shouldn't be an issue. We are staying temporarily with a friend who lives in surrey. My husband has work in Hammersmith. This post describes with more detail what we included in our application

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=828165

EDABZ

Surely both of you can return together but with you entering initially as tourist. Then spend time looking for a place to rent/buy. Once done, head back and apply for the spouse visa. Wouldn't that work?

At least you can help him look for places while he works in the daytime and you guys are together initially in the process.

englishguygoinghome

Generally a bad idea as:

1. Tourist visas are often denied to UK spouses who are severing / have severed ties to other countries. This includes non-visa nationals, who can get turned around at immigration at the airport
2. Cost of extra flights back and forward
3. Need to maintain a second home in Singapore for a while
4. Once the husband has moved to the UK there will be a 6 month wait imposed before he can apply for the visa (returning expats need to apply BEFORE they return) to "benefit" from that part of the rules

sukubutsu

Yes that's right. It will just end up costing so much more and having to spend more time apart.

"Once the husband has moved to the UK there will be a 6 month wait imposed before he can apply for the visa (returning expats need to apply BEFORE they return) to "benefit" from that part of the rules"

Although,if I'm not wrong, there is a provision under Category B that allows the sponsor to apply with less than 6 months at the new employment in the UK provided he can also show proof of income earned in the 12 months prior that meets the financial requirements, which we can do.

But that would mean, as englishguygoinghome said, maintaining a second home in Singapore, and with Singapore having recently been named the most expensive city in the world, this just isn't economical.

With all that said, do I take it to mean that accommodation and employment details being in 2 different cities a bad idea? Thanks nic_in_london for your advice, I think we are going to use his mom's address. But I would welcome anyone else's inputs or advice!