Getting a Kiwi partner in to the UK
 

Apologies if there is a thread that addresses this already - I've had a bit of a look around and found a few that come close, but don't get me all of the way there. I'm hoping that someone here might be able to point me towards a solution - if not, perhaps someone can recommend a good consultant to speak to in Sydney?

I am a Kiwi, living in Australia, with my English partner. I am 30, she is 28, and we have been living together as a couple for the past 3 years. My grandmother was born in the UK.

We plan to travel overland from Australia to the UK this year on a motorcycle, having all manner of adventures along the way, before spending a couple of years working and living in the UK. This trip will take approximately 9 months to a year to complete.

I qualify for an unmarried partner visa, however, the amount of time that it will take us to get from A to B is causing problems for us. This type of visa can only be postdated by 3 months, and I must enter the UK within those 3 months (and we can't drive fast enough to get there in time!)

I can also only be issued the visa in a country where I have been living for 6 months or more - so I cannot stop at an embassy along the way to pick up a visa.

I can get in as a visitor - but my partner is unlikely to be in to the idea of my being a gentleman of leisure while she works (as much as I might), I can only then stay 6 months and I cannot transfer from a visitor visa to an unmarried partner visa.

It appears that I can arrive on either a working visa, and then transfer across if needed, given that my grandmother was born in the UK.

My questions (which I seem to have taken a long time to get to) are:

* Can I apply for a working visa and have it postdated by 9 months or more?
* Can I apply for a working visa while in another country that I am travelling through?
* Can I apply for an unmarried visa now, visit the UK, leave for 12 months, then re-enter?
* Would things be different if we got hitched?
* Are there any other ways to get this sorted?
* Do you know any consultants in Sydney that might be able to help us find a way?

:fingerscrossed: and many thanks in advance for any advice given

Re: Getting a Kiwi partner in to the UK
 

Has your British partner got Australian citizenship? If not, then it's advisable for her to get that if eligible.
To clear this up, yes the visa can be post-dated by 3 months - this means if a decision is made on February 20th, the visa valid from date would be May 20th. The visa would be 27-month (under current rules, who knows from April or whenever the rules change).

The reason for a 27-month validity is to give time for the person to enter, as currently a person can apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK from 28 days before their 2 year anniversary of entering the UK on the visa.

It is still possible to enter the UK after those initial 3 months of the visa valid from date, however it would have the knock-on effect of having to apply for further leave to remain 2 years after entry ... which very well could mean coming under the new rules, which might mean a wait of 5 years from initial entry before being able to apply for indefinite leave to remain (however this is an unknown right now).

As an aside, it seems you may be eligible for the ancestry visa as well which has a 5 year validity period - which visa you apply for is up to you.

Re: Getting a Kiwi partner in to the UK
 

Hi RoaringMouse and thanks for the reply

She has permanent residency, but is likely to apply for citizenship before we leaved

So I don't have to enter within the three months? The advice I got from the UK immigration department was that I needed to

Any idea as to how hard it would be to transfer from an ancestor's working visa to a settlement visa once inside the UK?

Re: Getting a Kiwi partner in to the UK
 

It's advisable to enter the UK within the first 3 months of the validity of the visa, due to (under the current rules) the ILR stage as I mentioned above. If the application is made once the new rules come into place (probably April) then we don't know for sure what the case will be, however it is likely that there will be a 5 year wait until the ILR stage rather than the current 2 year wait.
You ideally need to decide which visa you want to apply for before you head over. A spouse visa would probably be best, however it might also depend on if you're only going to be spending 2 years in the UK or you might stay longer/indefinitely.