Ive been back in the Uk for about 3.5 months now, and im now working fulltime.
My wife is still overseas and will soon give birth to our first child.
I will have to go back overseas for the birth and spend sometime there until everytrhing is settled etc.
I planned to start the settlement Visa process while overseas and then we would return to the UK together to start our new life.

Now since being back I have some doubts whether my wife will like to live here in the UK, so rather than go through all the expense and trouble to apply for the spouse Visa etc, I was wondering whether there is some other kind of Visa we could apply for to bridge the gap and allow her to be with me there until we are sure that this is the correct move for us.
She will not need to work for a few years so really she could be on a tourist Visa.

Could anybody give tell us some options available please.

This is not a great idea unless you 1.) have sufficient funds to pay for NHS services for your wife, who as a tourist will not be entitled to anything more than the most basic E&R assistance; or 2.) purchase in advance comprehensive health insurance for her whilst in the UK.

This is especially important if she's just given birth--things can go wrong with both baby & mum, and whereas baby (if s/he's entitled to British citizenship) could probably be covered, you would be obligated to pay up front for any medical treatment for your wife or else endanger any furure visas she may want to apply for.

http://www.nhs.uk/nhsengland/aboutnh...-services.aspx

Weblue,
yes, I have thought about health issues etc, I guess In should look into the cost of health insurance.
My reasoning behind my thinking is more to do with trying to keep my job, I will have to go back overseas for the birth and stay awhile to help my wife etc, Im not sure how this will affect my job, they dont know yet about my plans, and in another 2 weeks I will have been working there for 3 months and Im sure they are going to give me a permanent job not through the agency.

Having a job will help my wifes visa application, but it could drag on for sometime and I dont want to be apart from them for too long.

My wife is living too far away from the consulate to attend the interview rightnow and cannot travel too far for obvious reasons so she will have to wait until after the birth and even then it will depend on how she can manage.

Thank for your advice

I feel for you & your wife, Panhandle. It's probably worrying to have to be so far away from her when she's about to have your firstborn, & then to have to juggle the priorities of the new baby overseas & the new job back in the UK. All this is compounded by the fact that you're uncertain where you both want to be 'settled' in the near future.

I wish there was a "trying out life for a while" visa for your wife to see if she'll like the UK, but I don't know of anything like that. My thought would be to get her the health insurance and let her visit for (less than) 6 months out of 12 on the tourist stamp and then the two of you can make the decision. She'd then need to return to her home country & apply for the spouse visa.

There is a so-called visit visa that one applies for from outside the UK, which usually lasts 6 months, but it has most of the same conditions as the regular tourist stamp given at the UK port of entry (paying out of pocket for NHS use beyond emergencies), and costs a bit to apply for. And it wouldn't seem to fit your purpose exactly . . .though if your wife is ever refused entry as a tourist it would be an alternative to make entry easier for her.
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/po...onrules/part2/

Thankyou Weblue, for your kind words, yes I am missing my wife's pregnancy, I only wish it did not have to be this way, I only hope when I do start to deal with the visa application it will run alot smoother.
I skype my wife often and she seems to be coping well

Ah that's good to hear. Thank goodness for Skype!

Hope you two can figure out a way to be together. Maybe if you can purchase medical insurance that will cover her in the UK for the 6 months allowed tourist visit time, she'll be able to get a "feel" for whether she'd like the UK enough to want to apply to live there. Though then she'd be required to return to her home country till she could successfully apply for the spouse visa.