Spouse Visa Application from India and Visitor Visa

Hi,

Can anyone advise of the current actual spouse visa application timelines from India?

I could not find a thread for timelines from India.

Also, can one do the following -

Make a visitor visa application in India
After getting visitor visa, make a spouse visa application from India
Travel to the UK on visitor visa

Thanks

rshelar wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 17, 2023 11:16 am

Hi,

Can anyone advise of the current actual spouse visa application timelines from India?

I could not find a thread for timelines from India.

immigration-for-family-members/settleme ... 11211.html

rshelar wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 17, 2023 11:16 am

Also, can one do the following -

Make a visitor visa application in India
After getting visitor visa, make a spouse visa application from India
Travel to the UK on visitor visa

For visitor visa application to be approved, person must show they have strong ties to their home country and intend to return back.
For spouse visa the opposite is true - person is making an application to leave their home country for good.
Put yourself in the decision maker's shoes; it would look rather contradictory. But that's just my opinion on this.

rshelar wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 17, 2023 11:16 am

Can anyone advise of the current actual spouse visa application timelines from India?

I could not find a thread for timelines from India.

Came up pretty quickly in the searches.

Settlement Visa Applications - INDIA TIMELINES ONLY

rshelar wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 17, 2023 11:16 am

Also, can one do the following -

Make a visitor visa application in India
After getting visitor visa, make a spouse visa application from India
Travel to the UK on visitor visa

You can't switch from a visit visa to a residence visa of any kind, such as a spouse visa, within the UK. So, no. That idea is a non-starter.

Many thanks both.

Just to clarify, I was not intending to switch in country from Visitor to Spouse Visa.

But the query is, can the person apply for visitor visa and after getting the visa apply for a spouse visa from India and then travel to the UK on visitor visa while the spouse visa is being considered.

The person has previously been in the UK on a visitor visa, so this will be a 2nd visitor visa application.

rshelar wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 17, 2023 11:32 am

Many thanks both.

Just to clarify, I was not intending to switch in country from Visitor to Spouse Visa.

But the query is, can the person apply for visitor visa and after getting the visa apply for a spouse visa from India and then travel to the UK on visitor visa while the spouse visa is being considered.

The person has previously been in the UK on a visitor visa, so this will be a 2nd visitor visa application.

In theory, there's nothing wrong with that. It's allowed, but you would be required to submit your passport during the application period, so how do you plan on doing just that.

Sometimes, people request to hold on to their passport. So let's assume that happens. Upon arriving to the UK, the immigration officer at POE would notice this on the system and it just might look dodgy to him. He has a right to deny you entry, if you can't justify why you're here with a pending application on.

If he does let you in by some chance, if spouse visa is approved, you would be required to travel back home. Submit passport, get spouse visa affixed and then make your way back to the UK.

Final option is apply for UK visit visa, then after receiving it applying for spouse visa. If spouse visa is granted, visit visa would be cancelled as it's now been superseded. So waste of money in my opinion. If not granted, you can still travel to the UK on granted visit visa, but red flags would be raised at POE. So you have to explain that you plan to leave the UK at the allotted time frame.

Many thanks