Noorah101

"again"? Sorry if you got in trouble before for something here. It was OK to post in that other thread, but since I realized you have your own set of circumstances, and the discussion is developing, I moved it. You did nothing wrong.

Rene

Noorah101

Just went back and read some of your other posts. In this post, here: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showp...45&postcount=1, you mention that you intend to live in the USA.

But in this thread you're asking if your wife will become UK resident when you get married (in the UK).

Just curious if you've changed your mind about where you want to live?

Rene

SanDiegogirl

Once she has her UK spousal visa and is living in the UK, then she will be a UK resident.

She won't be a UK citizen until she applies for it - either after 27 months or 5 years (depending on visa) of living in the UK

Stoutbanana

We both want to live together in San Diego.

I just seem to remember some years ago if an American married a Brit they automatically become a BC on marriage, maybe it has changed...

Noorah101

So the plan is to live in the UK for several years until she can become a UKC, and then both move to San Diego until you can become a USC? How long do you plan to live in the UK after marrying there?

I'm sure she won't become a UK Citizen just upon marriage.

Rene

Noorah101

Will she maintain UK residency if they move back to the USA? He said they both plan on living in San Diego. Not sure when, though...maybe he means after she's become a UKC.

Rene

Stoutbanana

The plan is when we are married I will be spending more time in the US because of Diana's work commitments. We stay in the UK for some of Diana's holiday entitlement and when she retires we might want to stay in the UK for longer than a couple of weeks.

SanDiegogirl

Absolutely incorrect ....... same as becoming a US citizen....... you have to reside in the country for several years before becoming a citizen.

Noorah101

So you're not actually planning to immigrate to the USA? Just continue visiting?

I'm sorry, I guess I'm not understanding the big picture.

Diana (USC) is getting a spousal visa so she can marry you in the UK. But she doesn't plan to live there full time, right? So she might not be able to maintain any kind of status in the UK (i.e., residency).

Are you planning to apply for your Immigrant Visa to the USA, after marriage, so that you can live full time in the USA? The reason I ask is that you say "more time in the USA" rather than "live in the USA".

Rene

Stoutbanana

Sorry I am confusing you with not enough detail in previous answers...

We are getting married in the US and I am going to apply for immigrant status and live permanently in the US which is what I meant by 'spending more time in the US'

Diana is keen to see more of the UK in future and I was just thinking there might be restrictions on how long she can stay on our visits to the UK.... but you are right I should be exploring that on the other forum or just google it

Noorah101

OK. So in your first post in this thread where you said your fiancee has applied for a spousal visa....we all took that to mean she applied for a visa to marry you in the UK. But I guess that's not what you meant, since you've verified that you're planning to marry in the USA. So, perhaps you meant that your fiancee has submitted an I-129F petition for you to obtain a K-1 visa, so that you can marry in the USA and stay here?

If that's the case, you will become a US Permanent Resident (PR), and the USA will be your permanent home. You can spend some time outside the USA, but preferably not more than 6 months at a time, and not spend more time outside the USA than inside (sounds consistent with you saying you will be spending "more time in the USA"...actually, you'll be spending ALL your time in the USA, except for when you visit outside the USA).

Simply by marriage to you, Diana will have no special rights to live or work in the UK, so she will continue visiting the UK as a tourist.

P.S. - sorry we got so far off your initial question, but it helps to know the big picture.

Rene

SanDiegogirl

There are different definitions as to being resident between Her Majesty's Tax office and immigration department.

However, the general definition is that you will not maintain your "immigrant" residency is you spend more time out of the country as you do in. That is roughly the same criteria as the US.

In the following link there is a description of the process of how to obtain British nationality (since the OP had some thoughts as to how you become a British citizen).

The OP says that they intend to spend more time in the US than in the UK once married.

From what I have read in the description this will negatively affect his wife's chances of becoming a British citizen unless they intend to spend at least 3 years in the UK, and have not spent more than 270 days out of the UK within that 3 years

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/br...tnerofcitizen/

Noorah101

Yep, I think we've now determined that Diana is not actually getting a spouse visa for herself, for the UK. So they won't be living in the UK at all.

Rene

SanDiegogirl

Unless Diana has a UK spousal visa to remain in the UK as your spouse, she will only be able to visit on the VWP for up to 6 months.

scrubbedexpat099

VWP is an American term.