I went to live in Canada just under 3 years ago to be with my then boyfriend and we married in May 2001 and I am a permanent resident which came through in October 2002.

I really want to move back now, but I just want to know the options available to me.

My husband has a Canadian passport.

I thought about going back early next year and staying with my parents and getting a job and then finding somewhere to live and then sponsoring him and I feel that is the only option available to me as sponsorship for him by anyone else is out of the question and getting a job before for him is very difficult.

Does anyone know of any other ways? Like agencies?

Also it is very unclear about the amount of money you need to live on when you come here, and anyone give me a rough idea of what they are looking for?

I sponsered my hubby (he is Canadian) (I'm British). We came back together - him with a spouse visa. This entitled him to live and work for 1 year. At the end of that year he had to apply for a permanent visa witch allows him to work permanently over here. Then after 3 or five years he can apply for citizenship.

He was not allowed to claim any kind of governmental benifits for the term of his 1 year visa.

He had to be employable, I had to have a job already in the UK. And we had to have enough money to support us for a 6 month period. The consulate thought that $7500 was sufficiant.

I signed up with an agency that had offices both in the UK and Canada. The gave the consulate a fax saying that I would have work in the uk when I came. That was also enough for the consulate.


We had to have family that would vouch for us over here as well.

Thats all that comes to mind,
Good luck

Fried

PS.
This whole process took us 6 months

Hi Babsi,
As you are British and looking to return to the UK with your husband, you will need to make an application at the British High Commission in Canada for a 2 year marriage visa.
This application must be made prior to your husband travelling to the UK. Application times will vary so it would be best to contact the High Commission directly to find out what their current processing timeframes are.
For the application you usually need to show evidence such as:
Your passports, Marriage certificate, proof of funds/bank statements (normally around £1500 is sufficient), proof of accommodation (friends or relatives that you will be staying with when you arrive), Job Offer or letter from employer (this may not always be feasable so a letter from a recruitment agency showing that you have registered and will be actively seeking work). You may be reuqired to show further documentary eveidence but the High Commission will be able to advise you directly.

If you continue to reside here, in the last month of your husbands marriage visa, he will be able to make an application for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). Once he has held this for 1 year (therefore has been resident in the UK for 3 years) as he is married to a British citizen, he will be able to make an application for Naturalisation. Naturalisation is the process whereby you become a British citizen and once this certificate is awarded he will be eligible to apply for a British passport.

What ever happens, don't make the mistake of arriving here with your husband obtaining a visitors visa at the port of entry, you are unable to make the application from the UK to change to a marriage visa without having the correct Entry Clearance and he would need to travel back to Canada to lodge the application.

Kind Regards,
Melissa England

www.visa-office.com
[email protected]

The Visa Office
15 Maiden Lane
Covent Garden
London
WC2 E 7NG

Hi, thanks for the replies.

fried_emu, could you tell me what agency, those agencies for me are hard to find, I have found one but I haven't had a reply back yet.

One thing I have noticed is that there seems to be more opportunites to there from Australia.

Another thing I was looking at rental prices in London and I was a little surprised at that as we don't pay that much at all here. Any advice in that area would be good here.

One thing I want to be clear on is that if I get a job there and somewhere to live then, that there should be no problems getting the visa and he would need the money to cover the visit? I just don't want to go and he gets refused the visa.

Please don't just turn up together at the POE or he risks being sent back. He has to get the visa from the British Consulate in Canada. I don't know about processing times as my hubby is American, but in the US it is same day issue if you turn up in person, or around one week by mail. I think if you have savings you don't need to worry too much on the job front. Just show them both your CVs. (A couple of thousand UKP shown on a bank statement shouldn't go amiss).

If you haven't got parents who would be willing to write a letter to say you can stay with them, then you might have to show that you have made enquiries about getting rental accomodation. Maybe a friend could do this for you and fax the details to you?

What others have said about the initial spousal visa being 2 years now is correct. After this, you get the 'indefinite' visa and another 1 year (ie 3 altogether) you can apply for naturalization. (5 years for this if not maqrried to a UKC).

I know it's hard to relax, but try to, as it's a breeze compared to US/Canada/Oz immigration.

Sorry, I phrased that wrong, I mean if I just turn up on my own and get a job and somewhere to live, would it be near enough sure that he gets the visa and then he can join me?

What seems unclear to me is the requirements for him to go...when we inquired about this before at the Consulate all they seemed to care about was either a job or money.

In an ideal world I would like both of us to have a job before we left but I know the chances of that are low so that is why I am looking for agencies based here and in the UK that could possibly do the interview in Canada, but they seem very hard to find

My situation has changed a little and I was wondering how it would affect the application.

My parents have offered to pay the rent on a place until we both find jobs.

I am just wondering how this affect the amount of money my husband has to bring in?

I could be looking at going back in May if all things work out.

Also another query, I remember when I enquired about how to get back last year when I was in England, I went to CAB and the woman asked when he comes from, I said Argentina but he now has an Argentinian passport, and her reaction was unbelievable as she mentioned the Falklands ...I was around 3/4 when the war happened so it does not affect me in that way but what about older people. What I am trying to say is that being Argentinian could it affect his chances of getting a job?

Please could anyone help with the questions, as this is very important to me.

Unfortunately I am getting a little bit of the Christmas blues atm

I moved from London last year and it's high rents pretty much across the board. Are you limited to just London? You get more for your money if you move futher out.

Oh and the Argentinian thing. I've never heard of anyone discriminating on those grounds. But if he has a Canadian passport why doesn't he just use that?