dj322

Hey all,

I am a Brit and my wife Canadian, we have been married for nearly 4 years and living in Canada since (me with PR Card). We are thinking of going to live in the UK for a year or two (so my wife can experience living in my home country) and wanted some advice.

Does anyone have experience of doing something similar and what would they recommend? My family are all in the UK so we would go and live with them and I guess I can get a job straightaway (once I find one). My wife would like to work too. There seem to be lots of via routes but not sure which one to pursue. Advice?

Also, is there a place that can provide free legal advice on a route?

SanDiegogirl

Look at the following visas to see if your wife can qualify for either of them:

Ancestry Visa

https://www.gov.uk/ancestry-visa/overview

Tier 5 Mobility visa

https://www.gov.uk/tier-5-youth-mobility/overview

The above are reasonably inexpensive to obtain and give you a few years in the UK if that is all you want.

OR, YOU, as the British spouse could sponsor your wife for a settlement visa. This is usually taken out by folks who wish to live in the UK permanently. It's expensive to get and there are many criteria to fill:

https://www.gov.uk/join-family-in-uk

OR If your wife has European ancestry and could get a European passport you might be eligible for an EEA Family permit

https://www.gov.uk/family-permit/overview

Happy reading .......

HKG3

The OP should consider getting his Canadian citizenship before leaving Canada for the UK. Having Canadian citizenship means that the OP can return to Canada at anytime if things don't work out in the UK.

Novocastrian

Not strictly necessary since he will be accompanying his Canadian wife while in the UK. The time will count for PR and citizenship residency requirements.

Snowy560

It won't count for citizenship physical presence requirements except in very specific circumstances which I don't think apply here. Given that the OP says he's lived in Canada for nearly 4 years, he should consider applying for citizenship when eligible.

Novocastrian

Thanks for the clarification and indeed if he is already qualified and can afford to wait a year or so before going to the UK, then fine. I said it's not strictly necessary in his circumstances and it's not.

dj322

Thanks for the tip. The only viable route for us is the sponsorship option. But I thought there was a visa where she can come to the uk for a two, five or 10 year period. I think it's called the indefinite leave visa or something?

SanDiegogirl

No.... you can only apply for Indefinite leave to remain after living in the UK for 5 years under a visa option.