Married 18 years

I am a British Citizen, my husband is Indonesian. We have been married for 18 years and live in Indonesia with our three children. . I understand that there will be changes to the law regarding settlement for spouses that will come into effect in April 2007, but we plan to return to the UK to settle in 2008. Should he apply for his visa now? Will it still be valid next year?
Thanks for you help,
ruth

ruthmac wrote:I am a British Citizen, my husband is Indonesian. We have been married for 18 years and live in Indonesia with our three children. . I understand that there will be changes to the law regarding settlement for spouses that will come into effect in April 2007, but we plan to return to the UK to settle in 2008. Should he apply for his visa now? Will it still be valid next year?

As far as I understand it, the ILE settlement visa will be valid up to the expiry date of his passport.

What about your children? Have they got British passports? And did you get them British-style birth certificates from the British Embassy in Jakarta?

The children have British passports from the embassy in Jkt. They will need renewing before we travel though.

oh yes, they have birth certificates from the Brit Embassy in jakarta, too.

ruthmac wrote:The children have British passports from the embassy in Jkt. They will need renewing before we travel though.

The fact they have British birth certificates will make passport renewal easier in future. However you (and they, when older) need to understand that they are British "by descent" and hence any children they have born outside the UK and its territories will not automatically be British unless:

- the other partner is British "otherwise than by descent"; or
- they are a Crown Servant or otherwise designated service. Service as a UK-recruited EU civil servant is also acceptable.

There are ways to register children of British citizens by descent as British, but there are additional requirements and time limits:
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/applyi ... w=Standard

Something to be aware of for the long term as it may affect your grandchildren.

Your husband will be able to become naturalised British after 3 years in the UK. As far as I am aware he would lose his Indonesian citizenship but this may not be important.

Thanks JAJ for your thoughtful advice.

Ruth