newpin

Hi
I am currently living in Japan with my husband (Japanese). I am considering returning home to The UK next year to do a PGCE . There is inevitably going to be some time apart and was wondering if my husband would be able to come and stay with me for 6 months in The UK on the visitor visa? Then go back to Japan, and then come back again for another 6 months etc.
Also, the UKBA web page indicates the visitor visa is a maximum of 6 months. How do they decide this?
I always get nervous at immigration. He has only been to The UK twice, but the first time, he was whisked off into an interview room with several officers and interviewed for quite a while

BritInParis

If your husband enters the UK as a visitor for six months before returning to Japan then he wouldn't be allowed to enter again until a further six months has passed. Also on a visitor visa he wouldn't be allowed to work or study.

newpin

Thank you BritInParis,
So, say if he came in Jan 2014 and went back to Japan in July 2014, he wouldn't be able to come back til Jan 2015 ?



Also, can anyone help out on how/when the 6 months is decided?

Thanks!

englishguygoinghome

Anecdotal evidence suggests this would probably be seen as an attempt to "get around a spouse visa" and denied.

You will need to clearly show that he has ongoing ties to Japan and must return (e.g. for work). If he can take 6 months off to come to the UK with you that will be hard to justify

newpin

Yes, I see your point.
We are back at looking at the Surrinder Singh route again now... or the spousal visa route.
Thanks again.

pennylessinindia

The date of arrival if someone is a non visa national, it will be stamped in the passport. If someone applies for a visa the visa may be valid for 6 months so that is the dates which someone can travel. If the visa is longer than 6 months the 6 months will start from the date of arrival. However the person must be genuinely visiting - not planning to live in the UK. As previously said this may be hard to show in your case if you are living in the UK for a prolonged period of your PGCE.

englishguygoinghome

They are even listing it specifically on their website now:
(http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/vi.../requirements/)

between two worlds

??? Brit in Paris, can you explain further, or tell me where on the UKBA website it says that you must stay away another six months, after a visit to UK of six months?

I have read where it says you mustn't be planning to come for "frequent or successive visits" but don't see where it says you can't come back for six months...

BritInParis

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/si...df?view=Binary

To quote:

As can see there is no hard and fast rule concerning "six months in twelve" in the Immigration Rules however the guidance does state that an Immigration Officer should factor this into their decision about whether someone is a genuine visitor or not. Visiting for six consecutive months followed by another six consecutive months, for instance, would not be a genuine visit. The OP's husband would also fail most of the other tests, notably spending more time in the UK than Japan and using successively long visits to effectively reside in the UK. Coupled with the fact he presumably would no longer have employment to return to in Japan and his primary family ties would be in the UK it is highly unlikely that an Immigration Officer would allow him to enter for another six months after a prior six month visit in any given year.

between two worlds

Thank you very much, Brit in Paris. Not sure if I've ever seen this bit of info before, or perhaps just didn't take it properly on board.

Very helpful (and depressing!).

Bluenose1

The UKBA is one of the most depressing institutions on Earth!

In 2007 my (then) girlfriend, a Malaysian, came over to the UK and entered on a 6 month visitor pass (which is basically a stamp in the passport). During her stay, I tried everything I could to find out when she would be able to come back after going home. I spent a very frustrating 2 hours on the telephone to the Home Office (UKBA wasn't in existence then) and got fed up with being passed from person to person without getting a definitive answer. I then searched the UK.gov website, again without getting a positive answer. At the end of the 6 months, I travelled with her to Malaysia and we even went to the visa office in KL to find out what, if any, visa she could apply for. However, because I was still married (albeit at that time I had a decree nisi) she couldn't apply for either a spouse (obviously) or even a fiancée visa.

We were only in Malaysia for 7 days and then both flew back to the UK. She was questioned at length by Immigration, at one point even being asked when she had returned to Malaysia. Basically, the guy was an idiot as she had a folder with everything in it that we thought would support her - a letter from me as her sponsor, my bank statements and employment payslips, Council Tax and Utility Bills, Mortgage statement etc. It also contained the boarding passes we had used for the flights to Malaysia the previous week. However, he (Immigration Officer) was concentrating on why she had no exit stamp (leaving UK) or entry (into Malaysia) stamps in her passport.

I did point out that the UK didn't (then, I still think they don't even now) put exit stamps in passports. Basically, after reducing my g/f to tears, he then couldn't handle the situation and had to call on his (female) superior to calm g/f down, which she was able to do in a matter of minutes. When she allowed me to explain the steps I had taken, she eventually said "well, you do seem to be a genuine couple, and you have obviosuly made an effort to find out the information. It would seem not to be your fault. We'll allow her into the UK on this occasion, but you must not do it again". G/f was allowed in for 6 months. However, I would not hold out any hope of this sort of thing being allowed now!

We got married (in Malaysia) the following year, and she had to wait for 4 months after applying for the Spouse visa, before finally being successful. She arrived in the UK in August 2008 on a visa valid for 2 years 3 months. Unfortunately, she failed the LIUK test twice in that time, and had then to reapply (from within the UK and before her visa expired) for a further 2 years. This application was successful and was completed relatively quickly (less than 1 month).

However, in 2012 things changed! She passed LIUK in February and we were going to wait until the current visa expired (October 2012) as we thought she would not be able to apply until a few weeks before expiry. A chance phone call to UKBA proved otherwise - she could apply any time after passing LIUK. She then applied in September but............. suddenly there was a huge backload of applications (I mean thousands) - how much of that was a knock-on effect from the Olympics being held in London we're not sure, but the upshot was that it dragged on and on and she didn't actually get her ILR visa until March of this year and even then it might have taken considerably longer had I not taken the decision to get our MP involved. I wrote both to our local MP and to Mark Harper (Home Office Minister) and got it resolved within about a month.

The UKBA held onto our passports for the whole of that period, which I found incredible! I cannot imagine that happening in other countries. In fact, due to changed circumstances, we emigrated to Malaysia earlier this year. I came in on a 90 day visitor stamp then applied for the Long Term Stay Visit Pass (equivalent of a spouse visa) and my first application was decided in about a week. I was granted 6 months. A month before that expired, I re-applied and this time was given 1 year - this decision took less than 1 hour! On both occasions, I handed over my passport along with all supporting documents and each time, all the originals, including my passport, were handed back to me.

All I can say is good luck to the OP for whatever she decides!

englishguygoinghome

Hi Bluenose, be careful. Of you are out of the UK for 2 years the current visa will lapse and you will have to start again from the beginning under whatever new rules are in pace at the time. Having struggled once you might want to avoid that. It's a real pain having to consider planning your life around visa rules...
Or did you get her a UK passport before leaving? Have you been out of the UK for more than 90 days already this year? ( I guess you have )

Bluenose1

Definitely out more than 90 days this year. My wife never wanted a British passport - she is too loathe to give up her Malaysian one. The main reason we waited for her ILR was to ensure she had that before we left the UK in order to avoid problems coming back!

We have already been back to the UK in July. We are also planning on returning around August or September next year. We are aware of the 2 year rule as it stands at the moment and the 2 years should then start again from the day we leave. Of course, knowing all the hassle in the UK about immigration, they could change the 2 year absence rule at any time, then the fun would being again, I am sure!

michali

Is that what the two year ILR rule allows? I thought you should be able to show you are actually living in the UK and only leaving for brief periods of time, not the other way round! I guess it depends on the IO at the border.

Bluenose1

When my wife insisted on applying for ILR she pursuaded me to phone UKBA to ask that very question. I was told that she could be out of the country for up to 2 years and, as long as she returned within the 2 years, then the 2 years would start again from the day she left the U.K. The person I spoke to also said that she could return on holiday to the U.K. for example. So yes, provided you return at least once every 2 years then the ILR remains valid and is not up to the opinion of any Immigration Officer at any border.

We had been out of the U.K. since March this year and returned for 2 weeks in July and that is the rule that was in place when we left to come back to Malaysia on July 25th.