Portsmouth-Portsmouth

Hello- I have an Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK, and we are relocating to the US as a family.

I am a US Citizen, and my wife is a UK Citizen. I have had the ILR for a few months, and received it based on working here in the UK for 5 years. Surprisingly, the ILR was not related to my wife or our child.

The question here, is what will happen with regards to the ILR? Will I still be able to get a UK passport?

Thanks

civilservant

Your ILTR will expire after 2 years outside of the UK, and you'll need either a new visa or a re-entry certificate. Any period living abroad will not count towards the qualification period for a UK passport.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/vi...ing-residents/

Thats my understanding - your qustion would be better asked at ukyankee.com

Sue

If you are at any point considering returning to the UK to live you should look at our family/citizenship forum too and read the difficulties that some are having trying to return to the UK with foreign born spouses under the new rules.

I don't know the ins and outs (or the time line so it may not be possible) but have you considered applying for Brit citizenship prior to leaving the UK?

WEBlue

Yes, if there's even the slightest possibility that you/your family will return to live in the UK any time in the future, do NOT leave the UK without doing your best to get British citizenship! As Sue says, the UK spouse visa rules changed dramatically last summer, and there's a higher financial hurdle to leap over if you let your ILR lapse (2 years living outside the UK) and try to start the spouse visa process all over again at a later date.

Many ILR-holders like yourself have regretted that they didn't sort out British naturalisation before they moved away from the UK. some cannot meet the new financial rules easily, and those who can still must go through the time, aggravation and expense of applying for the new spouse visa, then wait 5 years for ILR. (That has changed too; ILR no longer takes 2 years when married to a Brit the way it did previously.) If you were on a work permit (Tier visa), your 5 years residence may entitle you to citizenship now or soon.

Even if you don't think you'll ever return to the UK to live, it's really better to have everyone in the family with the same dual passports--I assume your children are duals, and your wife can become dual if she lives with you in the US long enough. then you'll all be on the same page as regards to which countries you have the right to live in without jumping through visa hoops....