Spouse Visa 2nd term Expired, Stuck In India

Hello Members,

I am writing to get your valuable suggestions regarding my ILR application (SET-M).I have completed my 5 years in the U.K on Spouse Visa and supposed to apply for ILR .

Right now, I am in India and stuck over here for the last 4 months because of COVID 19 Lock down. My Husband & Son are British Citizens, my Spouse visa expired on 14th May 2020. I am trying to return back to the U.K but unfortunately couldn't find any way out.

In this situation, I am confused about the procedure of my ILR Application. as Settlement is not allowed from outside of the U.K. I have emailed several times to CIH@homeoffice.gov.uk but couldn’t get any solutions. They are just forwarding irrelevant links to me.

If you kindly put some light on my below queries ,it will be very helpful for me.

What will be the best option for me right now ?

1) Is there any temporary visa I can apply to enter in the UK ?

2.) Is it possible to apply for ILR from India ?

3.) Can i go back to the UK on Tourist visa for 6 months and then apply for ILR ? (In this Covid 19 situation)

4.) Is there any way out to contact the immigration office in the UK? Or get Visa Waiver?

Please suggest the best option for me .

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

1. No.

2. No.

3. No. You cannot apply for any other visa if you are in the UK on a tourist visa.

4. You can't get a visa waiver. You are form India and need a visa to board the plane.

You should have applied in India for a spouse visa before your visa expired to maintain your visa status.

You will now have to start again from scratch with a new 5 year route to ilr.

Thank You for your reply CR001 , But this is not my fault, just because of travel restriction and Lock down of Covid-19 Pandemic. There should be concession in this type situations. I am contacting CIH from the beginning.

They are even unable to answer, when my visa expired VFS was closed in India as well.

Really worried now. Don't understand what should i do now ?

I'm a bit puzzled as to why the applicant would go to India when her existing visa/BRP was close to expiring. I wouldn't want to take any chances on my return getting delayed for any reason.

CR001

Do you mean this lady has to go through the whole spouse visa process from the start, as if she never lived in the UK with her husband? Pay the £1K+ visa fee and supply all the documents required to prove the relationship etc, and then do it again in 2.5 years? Plus the NHS surcharges?

There must be some way to avoid this, maybe go to the UK embassy and they could issue a vignette?

THO wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:53 am

CR001

Do you mean this lady has to go through the whole spouse visa process from the start, as if she never lived in the UK with her husband? Pay the £1K+ visa fee and supply all the documents required to prove the relationship etc, and then do it again in 2.5 years? Plus the NHS surcharges?

There must be some way to avoid this, maybe go to the UK embassy and they could issue a vignette?

Yes, that is exactly what she will need to do as her visa expired more than 28 days ago. Her previous time in the UK is lost now. This is why I stated that they should have submitted an application online before the visa expired to maintain the status.

She cannot 'go to the embassy' for a visa vignette. She doesn't have a valid visa anymore and she is in a country of which she is a citizen. The only way is to make an application for a new spouse visa from scratch.

Bapi wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 30, 2020 7:26 am

Thank You for your reply CR001 , But this is not my fault, just because of travel restriction and Lock down of Covid-19 Pandemic. There should be concession in this type situations. I am contacting CIH from the beginning.

They are even unable to answer, when my visa expired VFS was closed in India as well.

Really worried now. Don't understand what should i do now ?

You should have made a spouse visa online application before your visa expired to maintain the status, as the date of application is the date you submit and pay online and not a VFS appointment date. VFS is ONLY a third party agent and not UKVI or embassy staff.

If you have been stuck in India for 4 months, this means you left the UK in April. The pandemic was already well documented and reported at this point, so why would you take the risk to fly out of the UK when so many countries were locking down and closing their borders.

You have to apply again from scratch and start your 5 years again as it is more than 28 days since your visa expired.

That seems very unfair in these circumstances, no one has a crystal ball and could say what would happen.

Still confused though, if she already had ILR, then doesn't that mean she has a right to return already?

I also would give a try at getting her husband to speak to his MP, since there is never anyone who can answer any questions at the HO directly.

Sorry for questioning further, but this is important to keep in mind, because when my wife's visa is close to needing to be renewed, then we will not be travelling anywhere.

THO

THO wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 30, 2020 12:43 pm

That seems very unfair in these circumstances, no one has a crystal ball and could say what would happen.

Still confused though, if she already had ILR, then doesn't that mean she has a right to return already?

I also would give a try at getting her husband to speak to his MP, since there is never anyone who can answer any questions at the HO directly.

Sorry for questioning further, but this is important to keep in mind, because when my wife's visa is close to needing to be renewed, then we will not be travelling anywhere.

THO

She doesn't have ILR. She traveled shortly before her spouse visa expired, intending to return to apply for ILR before expiry date and couldn't come back, so the visa expired in May.

Nothing an MP can really do for an Indian citizen, who is in India, with no valid UK spouse visa.

Thank You Everyone,

Just to clear everything , I came to India in Jan 2020 and had return tickets for March 28, on March 24th India announced lock down and my tickets cancelled and re booked for 14th April, again cancelled. I informed CTM and requested for evacuation flight in April, but All the flight arranged from Delhi & Mumbai not from my City Kolkata. I have a 14 months old baby and i couldn't travel 3000 km by road to Delhi Airport in this Lock down Period, I have requested for Visa waiver and my MP also requested the same to Home Office, I have called and emailed Coronavirus Immigration help team before my visa expired and they said nothing updated now as Home Office is Closed.They couldn't give me any alternative. Meanwhile on 14th May my visa expired and My MP again called Home Office for Visa Waiver but the case worker said i need to apply for Entry Clearance Visa ,not even mentioned in which category.

Home Office updated in the website :
“If you’re unable to travel back to the UK due to coronavirus travel restrictions and your leave has expired, a short break in continuous residence will be overlooked. You are expected to make your next application as soon as possible.”


In this situation ,I don't understand what entry clearance I should apply.

You need to apply for a Spouse Settlement Visa, meeting all the requirements again.

You should have applied for this before your current visa expired or shortly after expiry. The online application system has been functioning the whole time.

Hi Bapi

Did you manage to travel to UK?
I am in similar situation and would like to know the status of your travel please.

Thanks,
Lakshmi.D