brissybee

Can anyone please tell me the required proceedure for an Australian spouse to obtain the right to work on returning to the UK with a British citizen?

I expect this may have been covered somewhere before... so apologies for any repeat.

All advice appreciated.

pennylessinindia

" on returning " means what do you have ILR. Need to be a bit clearer what this means
If you have never settled in the UK then you need to apply for a settlement visa and when granted you can work immediately

brissybee

This would be our situation.

I am a UK Citizen, but my Aussie husband has never lived in UK but is more "employable" than me to meet the new financial requirements of us moving back.

Would we simply arrive in the UK and then husband would apply for a settlement visa to enable him to look for and take work?

JAJ

Absolutely not. He needs a spouse visa before arriving in the United Kingdom. http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk

And it would be advisable to apply now, if interested - as rules are changing on July 9th.
Make sure you have resolved your own Australian permanent residence/citizenship status before leaving Australia, in case you wish to return.

brissybee

My residency/citizenship is long sorted in Australia, thanks anyway.

Our plans for the UK have been for around the start of 2014. Could my husband apply for a spouse visa that far in advance? I'm assuming probably not but will check out your link, thank-you.

Pollyana

Its the discussion around the fact the rules are changing which is prompting the questions

Main problem seems to be that it looks like to get a Spouse Visa in future the couple have to have a reasonable income. For many couples the non-UK Spouse is the one capable of earning that figure - but they can't show the income cos they can't get a job cos they can't get a visa - cos they don't have the income.
One big vicious circle.

brissybee

Yes Polly, that's exactly right. It's terrible.

roaringmouse

You've been both married & living outside the UK for more than 4 years haven't you? If so, your husband could apply for a visa now with the request of KOL Req to be endorsed and then spend some time in the UK and take the Life in the UK test.

For that test you have to now prove the UK postcode with a document such as a bank statement. Once the test is passed then ILR can be applied for immediately with that visa endorsement (ILR currently costs £991 by post, or £1,377 in person (but likely to get ILR on that day if approved)).

With ILR it is currently possible to be outside the UK for no more than 2 years and still return with that status - however the risk you run is your husband won't have spent much time in the UK, and the border official on return may question whether or not he was actually "settled" (term settled means you are normally resident in the UK with no immigration restriction on the length of stay (i.e. ILR)).

You may want to talk to an OISC registered immigration solicitor about this though, as it could be a costly failure! I wouldn't suggest you try this without advice, as I'm not convinced it would work!

englishguygoinghome

To add to roaringmouse comments re being away for more than 2 years. They don't know when you left, passports are only registered when you arrive so the border guard has no idea how long you have been away ...

pennylessinindia

I think you will find this is not entirely true now with data supplied by the airline.
Are you suggesting being in breach of the conditions of a visa?? not a good idea