Re: UK Spouse Visa Information - evidence required etc
 

Wait, what's this about 5 years? Sorry I've been away for a while and am just now getting into doing research on my husband and I returning to the UK. We've been married 5 1/2 years now, and if we were to return today, I could qualify for ILR (which I've gathered is the equivalent to PR status here in the US) straight away...but apparently some rule will change and we will be treated as newlyweds after April 2012. And then I will have to wait FIVE YEARS to obtain ILR? :ohmy:

Re: UK Spouse Visa Information - evidence required etc
 

yes , if the items that were in the consultation make it into law, then the 5.5 years you have been married will mean nothing to the UKBA , you will have to be on the 5year probationary period before being able to apply for ILR
although it is early doors yet , we dont know what will make it into law nor when it will actually happen although the consultation closed a week ago and the estimated timeline in there was april 2012

Re: OVER 50's+ MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
 

I think you will find there is a fee for transferring visa to new passport but not necessary just have both passports . Remember of course until citizenship granted you can not spend long periods out of the UK so keep any eye on that and currently you must not be out of the UK for more than 2 years at anyone time unless you have a very good reason and can show your main home is in the UK

Re: UK Spouse Visa Information - evidence required etc
 

I was unable to find in the forum is what sort of documents are we required to submit for my wife's Spouse Settlement Visa. More specifically, this is the information I would appreciate some sort of advice/ suggestions:

1. Evidence of Accommodation:
(a) We are planning to stay with my mother and I am planning to submit certified copy of Land register certificate of her apartment. This is certified by my mother's lawyer...is this accepted? I ask because its not my apartment and worried in case it gets lost in the mail.
(b) Original council tax statements from 2009 and 2010 that she will mail me.
(c) Anything else we can submit, in addition to the above, to prove this apartment is hers?

2. My being a British citizen as a sponsor:
For this I guess I am required to send my current original passport?
Is there something else that we can submit instead or in addition?

3. My evidence of being here legally in the US:
Since I have dual-nationality (UK-US), I have my US passport. Does this imply I have to send my original US passport or a notarized version will also be acceptable? Or what else I can submit to prove my legality of being he US with my wife's visa application?

Re: Can someone explain requirement to have 27 months of living expenses re: spouse v
 

Hi, i was wondering once your wife was granted her settlement visa was there a time frame that she had to be settled in the UK? If so how much time was allotted? I am trying to work out the best time to apply but am concerned because we still have to sell our house prior to moving and this may take time. Thanks for you help.

Re: Can someone explain requirement to have 27 months of living expenses re: spouse v
 

Basically when you submit your application, you will have to submit a travel itinerary of date you expect to travel to the UK (just print this from any travel website). They will then provide you with a 27 months visa beginning from the date you provided them.

So, for example, if you provide them 1st May 2012 as your travel date, they will provide you a visa from 1st May 2012 till 31st July 2014 (exactly 27 months visa). So you must immigrate to the UK in the first 3 months of the visa date, from the example, anywhere between 1st May 2012 to 31st July 2012. This is because you are required to be a resident in the UK for 2 years before you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Re: Can someone explain requirement to have 27 months of living expenses re: spouse v
 

if for some reason you do not go in that window it means you will just have to extend at the end when you come to want to apply for ILR

Re: Spouse's visa, healthcare and all that jazz. Please help if you can.
 

I can confirm that is definitely correct. My OH lived in the UK for nearly ten years, the later time being on an FLR visa, and has never once been subjected to a medical for immigration purposes.

Re: UK Spouse Visa Information - evidence required etc
 

Sorry to bump a slightly old thread, but I have been growing increasingly concerned about changes to immigration rules and this thread seems to have a fair few knowledgable people contributing, so...

I am UK citizen by birth, and current passport-holder, and have been married to my Chinese wife for over 4 years. During all that time, and more besides, we have been living outside the UK in southern China and Hong Kong. We are currently living and working in Hong Kong and planning to return to the UK later this year.

Last summer, on a visit to the UK, my wife sat and passed the Life in the UK test. She is scheduled to sit an English language test at the British Council, later this month.

Under the 4-year rule, and with KOL, I believe my wife may qualify for ILR upon arrival (rule 8, para 281(i)(b) and 282(b)). I understand from reading this thread that she must be very clear in her application that she requires the 'Settlement Spouse/ CP' endorsement.

I have also read elsewhere that in a case such as this where settlement is being applied for under the 4-year rule, and where KOL is already established, that an ILE visa will be issued with no prescribed date of entry. I.e., that, once granted, the ILE visa does not have to be activated by a trip to the UK within any particular time period. This isn't hugely important to us, as we are pretty fixed on a Christmas return, however I would be grateful if anyone could confirm this as it would mean we might be able to begin our visa application a bit earlier (and possibly avoid any more disadvantagous rule changes).

Once we land in the UK, am I correct in thinking that my wife can immediately acquire ILR? And if so, how 'immediate' is this? Do we simply tell the officer at passport control that we wish to convert to ILR? Or do we have to make an appointment and visit some Government office? (will any such places be open over Christmas?)

And finally (sorry for the length of this), these financial requirements. I know that there is a requirement for spouses coming from outside the UK to have 27 months' worth of savings, and now, potentially, for the sponsoring partner to have to have a job paying in the region of 25k, but to what extent does this apply to us?

We are both teachers, rather than bankers or lawyers, and have struggled somewhat over the last four years to amass about 10k GBP in savings. We have a letter from my mother, including council tax records and mortgage statements, detailing a 5 room (kitchen and bathrooms excluded) detached house currently home to three adults, and inviting us to stay for as long as we desire without bills or rent.

Are we scuppered on the savings? Or does the 27 months / 2 years bit not apply to us since we will be entitled to ILR upon arrival?

And what about the income? Since we are currently in HK, neither of us has a job in the UK. My wife, with her fluent English, Masters degree and native Mandarin, may actually be more employable than I am! We can detail our prospects of finding work, based on our ages, qualifications, skills and experience, and they can review my N.I. records to see that even when I wasn't working, in my early 20s, I never fell back on the public purse. But what would you suggest we do to support this side of the maintenance requirement? I have sent off some e-mails to potential employers, but from what they have been saying I think it unlikely I'll be given a firm offer without a face-to-face meeting.

I'm trying to keep my wife up-beat and positive about this, in spite of the really quite nasty stuff coming from Damian Green, but I really am concerned that I may never be able to live in the UK again.

Re: UK Spouse Visa Information - evidence required etc
 

Yes, definitely apply before the changes come in otherwise your wife will likely not be able to obtain ILE straight away.

If your wife does get ILE when applying, then there is no "conversion" to ILR - she has that as soon as she enters the UK. ILE is Indefinite Leave to Enter, ILR is Indefinite Leave to Remain - ILE is obtained when applying outside the UK, ILR when applying in the UK. It is effectively the same thing - your wife would be a permanent resident.

Evidence of accommodation will help you a lot, including the letter (and other docs you mention) from your mother. For my wife's visa application I also included a print out from the Land Registry website for my parents house. The other thing they will look for is possibility of employment, and any savings you currently have to cover you until employment is found.

Re: UK Spouse Visa Information - evidence required etc
 

Thanks for the quick response, roaringmouse, but which particular proposal is it that we must watch out for in this regard, and when is it set to come in? I have seen something about needing to remain in the UK for 5.5 years, regardless of time spent together outside?? Is this the one? Is that really going to happen? We can't apply much before Christmas because we're both teaching through to mid summer and I will be teaching up until the end of the Michaelmas term (my wife will probably not return to work in the next school year as a somewhat early estimation puts the birth of our first child some time in September).

Also, are there really no differences between ILE and ILR? The old version of the UKBA website said "We may be able to grant you indefinite leave to remain upon arrival if you have lived together outside the UK for four years" (or very similar words to that effect).

--EDIT-- OK, editing that last para. Have just found a verbatim copy of the old UKBA site and it doesn't actually say 'indefinite leave to remain'. It actually says "We may be able to give you permission to live permanently in the UK as soon as you arrive, if: " (and then goes on to list having formed a marriage at least four years ago, having lived together outside the UK for that time, having the intention to live permanently in the UK, and meeting the KOL requirement (interestingly, no mention of maintenance)). --EDIT--

Re: UK Spouse Visa Information - evidence required etc
 

Sorry to be a pain, but if we're going for ILE, I take it we still use the form VAF4A? And in this case, does it matter what date we put as our proposed first date of entry? Since leave to enter will be indefinite, does it still come with a limited activation period attached?

Re: UK Spouse Visa Information - evidence required etc
 

The changes in the rules, that are likely to come in from April, although there is currently no set date. April is the date the government is aiming for, and yes this will mean the ILE route for those married & living outside the uK for 4+ years will no longer exist. So your wife would need to apply before the changes in order to get ILE.
Yes, you use the same form - or possibly apply online if that's available to people in Hong Kong (I don't know off hand - check the UKBA website for this). It probably doesn't matter what date you put down as intended arrival date, however this is just an intended arrival date not a guarantee. Technically there isn't a date you must enter the UK by on ILE if it's issue, but after about 6 months (as previously mentioned to me by an immigration solicitor) the border guard may ask (your wife mainly) more questions, largely in regards to if your situation has changed.

Re: UK Spouse Visa Information - evidence required etc
 

Read this if you don't believe me.

Re: UK Spouse Visa Information - evidence required etc
 

Thanks again, roaringmouse. But oh, what dreadful news! I suppose my wife could try to find another language test, but the one at the British Council that she has signed up for won't return her results for THREE MONTHS! So even if she passes the test in February, we won't have any evidence of this until the end of May! I must start looking around straight away for a test we could do with a quicker return time!