dontrush

Hi all. Heres the scoop. Thinking long and hard about moving back to UK from Can. OH is Can and we lived in UK for 8 yrs before moving here. Although from the UK, I am disappointed in the whole Canadian thing (Thats MY opinion) and the OH is not impressed either. So heres the question:
If we move back, will the OH's visa still be good for returning permanently? Her visa is a "PR" visa in her PP. We've been out for just shy of a year (would be over a year by the time we'd sell up everything here and go)
Thanks for your thoughts!

Elaine B.

Does you Canadian OH have ILR? That's what my OH has it's just a little stamp in his Canadian passport. I think as long as you don't stay out of the country for more that 2 years it's still valid. My OH had no problem when we returned permanently last year even though we lived in Canada for over 8 years he had returned for work frequently and was always admitted as a resident.

JAJ

As per post #2, it may be still ok to return on existing visa. If you keep the absence to about a year, and no more, she may be able to apply for British citizenship 6-8 months after arriving back without having to re-start the residence clock.

It would of course have been easier had she got her British citizenship when first eligible.

Are you aware about how you can keep your Canadian PR status if you leave?

dontrush

Hi guys. Sorry I was offline for a few days and just got back on again today to read your replies. Yes she does have ILR. We're married since 2001, and wanted to get UK citizenship before the test came in, but Immigration had a helluva habit of wanting to hold on to the Canadian Passport for months on end, and since the FiL was a bit on the ill side, we didn't want to be without that for any length of time, hence the citizenship thing never was done. As for my PR status, I have no idea where that would be after I left. I have heard a lot of different things including that Immigration Canada doesn't keep tabs on when you exited the country, so theoretically you could pretty much come and go as long as your PR was up to date. However, I wouldn't put much faith in that without knowing more!

JAJ

You made a bad assumption ... for naturalisation, you can submit a certified copy or use the Nationality Checking Service.



Her ILR status still appears to be valid, provided she declares her home as the United Kingdom and does not let her absence exceed 2 years.

But she may have to come back sooner if she does not want the residence clock for naturalisation to re-start from scratch, it might do so anyway, but it will definitely do so if she stays out too long.


According to the law, it's valid indefinitely as long as you are accompanying a Canadian citizen outside Canada. However you can't rely 100% on this, courts could give a more restrictive interpretation or government could change the rules.

dontrush

Thanks for the info, very helpful! Cheers!