BASHO

I'm looking at returning permanently to the UK after 40 years absence, I am a British citizen my wife is an Australian one, she will be coming with.

She will not be working- or looking for work and we are jointly and individually self funded.

We will also jointly own outright a home in the UK long before her application for permanent residency will be filed.

The way I read it it's initially a two year spousal visa followed by an application for permanent residency ?

If I'm right how likely is it that the application for permanent residency will be denied --or accepted as the case may be.

Any do's and don'ts advice gratefully received.

SanDiegogirl

If you fulfill the financial requirements and you have no major skeletons in the cupboard then there is absolutely no reason your wife's visa will be denied.

Just complete the paperwork correctly, send in all the necessary documents and proof of relationship and you will be fine.

spouse of scouse

This thread http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=830478 last page will give you the basics.

BASHO

Thanks for that , most helpful

JAJ

You'll find that it's now a 5 year wait for permanent residence, and the spouse visa has financial etc. requirements that not everyone can meet.

Assuming your wife is Australian, then if you were married before 1983 (you say you've been in Australia 40 years) then she may be able to claim Right of Abode in the U.K. based on marriage to a British citizen. This would avoid the need for a spouse visa.

michali

Does that only apply to Australian wives, JAJ?

JAJ

Commonwealth country citizens, in general, so covers Australia, Canada, New Zealand as well as many other countries. However, wife must have remained a citizen of a Commonwealth country continuously since 1.1.1983. So that rules out Pakistan and South African citizens, mostly. Zimbabwe is still considered Commonwealth for this purpose, as far as I know. And to be clear - only applies to wives. Not husbands.

michali

Sexism!! Thanks for the information!

BASHO

Only married 20 low od years to this one but she is Australian born so longevity of Commonwealth tenure isn't an issue.

I think we should be ok on the financial side of things but we have some income that is joint and I have to figure out how this will work.

I'm wondering if one could just go in on say a visitors or spouses visa then apply for whatever visa may be applicable when there , presuming we decide to stay , ---or would she have the return to country of origin to apply bullshit ?

I got caught with that one once in Llbya--turns out that worked really well for me.

BritInParis

Does your wife have any recent European ancestry? Being able to claim a British/Irish/EEA passport would neatly sidestep any other immigration requirements.

BASHO

English Grandmother, paternal (a Carrington--) still not enough I fear, however there is a possibility that her birth mother (she was adopted) was English (a Sainsbury).

The plot thickens.

JAJ

A U.K. born grandparent (either natural or, as far as I am aware, adoptive) is enough to obtain an Ancestry Visa, for an Australian citizen or other Commonwealth country citizen.

If there is an intention to work in the U.K., Ancestry is probably preferable to spouse visa, but it's an individual decision.

Definitely see if you can find out more about the birth mother. As far as I understand, being adopted out does not cancel a claim to Right of Abode or British citizenship. If she can evidence the link with her birth mother, and show that her birth mother was born in the U.K. then either or both of these options could become a possibility.

BASHO

Thanks for that , most encouraging , the search will continue for her natural mothers detail , it is being made awkward by the Australians adoption systems record of the details regarding her mother it would appear to be a deliberate concealment rather than just bureaucratic inefficiency.

This may be symptosymatic of the era she was adopted in, Australian adoptive practices in this period , early 50's , were beyond war crimes in their methodology.

BritInParis

I would concur with JAJ's observation that adoption would not negate entitlement to Right of Abode or a claim to British citizenship using a Section 4C registration.

In my experience Australian birth certificates tend to record the adoptive parents' details rather than the birth parents which might make things tricky.

If you can prove a link to a British-born birth mother then it should be simply be a matter of £80 and a citizenship ceremony at your local British consulate for your wife to became eligible for a British passport.

BASHO

Thanks for that , the mother turns out to be Australian after all, but we have the grandmothers details now , born in Herefordshire , so it looks like an Ancestry visa will be the thing.

It will be 6 to 12 months before we make the move and I am watching with interest the appeal to the scurrilous amendments that were made to the UK immigration act regarding finances.

What was the bitch thinking ?

We can meet the current requirements although I am still trying to clarify the joint income situation insomuch as all income and moneys are received and held jointly and have been for some time even though the income comes from disparate sources.

There are a whole bunch of reasons for this however the prime one is to ensure either partner access to all funds without hinderance in the instance of either partners demise.

We may need to shuffle the income statements to suit the requirements-- or not --