Spouse Visa Approved but...

Dear Forum Members,

What can I say... I am looking for some advice to try and understand were we stand now and options (if any) we might have. Some background:
- I am a British Citizen and have been working in the ME since 2014
- I married in 2017 and my wife has been living with me in the ME since shortly after we married
- I recently applied for a Spouse visa for my wife for us to be able to head back to the UK together.
- It got approved and she received a 30 day travel Vignette. All great! We were over the moon after a month of running around stressing trying to get so much paperwork together! The immigration department were also superb on their timings, we were very impressed.

However she is now mid way through her pregnancy and there are some small signs of complications, obviously we don't want to take any risks. We might not meet the timeline of the issued 30 day window as the next check with the doctor is next month. I have read I can extend the Vignette by another 30 days. But if we still don't feel confident to travel, I wanted to know what our options could be. If we plan for the longest and probably safest case, we would end up having the baby here, and then make a plan to return to the UK around Aug/Sept time.

I am dreading that the only option will be to submit a fresh application around Aug/Sept time?

WN

Alternatively another good solution can be that she fly to UK just to collect her BRP from the postoffice then return back.

You wouldn't so much be applying for an extension of the existing 30 day travel vignette as applying for a new vignette altogether. So you don't necessarily have to apply for it to start from when the existing one expires, my understanding is you could wait and apply for one once you were ready to travel (as long as it is within the validity period of the visa). Obviously this impacts the amount of time your wife would be resident in the UK on the initial spouse visa and would likely require additional extensions to meet the ILR residency criteria. See from Section 3. of the link below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... visa-ecb17

seagul wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 12:00 am

Alternatively another good solution can be that she fly to UK just to collect her BRP from the postoffice then return back.

Hi Seagul,
Thanks for the response. The flying is actually what's causing further concern. Hence looking for alternative options as to what we could do if it gets not being able to travel until after the birth.

geoeng wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 8:55 am

So you don't necessarily have to apply for it to start from when the existing one expires, my understanding is you could wait and apply for one once you were ready to travel (as long as it is within the validity period of the visa)

Hello Geoeng
Thanks for your response. This seems a little more positive and possibly workable. My terminology is incorrect and what I meant by extension was indeed to apply for a new vignette, sorry about this. I am confused though by what you mean by "as long as it is within the validity period of the visa" How do I find out the validity period of the visa? The UK Entry Clearance vignette in the passport just has Valid From and Valid Until fields, which are 30 days apart.

Are you suggesting there might be a way to apply for a new vignette altogether and state I would like the 30 day period to start in Sept of this year?

The link implies I might need to apply every 30 days.

Thanks
WN

WhatNow wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 11:18 am

geoeng wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 8:55 am

So you don't necessarily have to apply for it to start from when the existing one expires, my understanding is you could wait and apply for one once you were ready to travel (as long as it is within the validity period of the visa)

Hello Geoeng
Thanks for your response. This seems a little more positive and possibly workable. My terminology is incorrect and what I meant by extension was indeed to apply for a new vignette, sorry about this. I am confused though by what you mean by "as long as it is within the validity period of the visa" How do I find out the validity period of the visa? The UK Entry Clearance vignette in the passport just has Valid From and Valid Until fields, which are 30 days apart.

Are you suggesting there might be a way to apply for a new vignette altogether and state I would like the 30 day period to start in Sept of this year?

The link implies I might need to apply every 30 days.

Thanks
WN

If you travel after the birth you also have to factor in that you need to apply for the baby's passport first, which can take a while outside the UK.

WhatNow wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 11:18 am

How do I find out the validity period of the visa? The UK Entry Clearance vignette in the passport just has Valid From and Valid Until fields, which are 30 days apart.

Are you suggesting there might be a way to apply for a new vignette altogether and state I would like the 30 day period to start in Sept of this year?

The link implies I might need to apply every 30 days.

The initial spouse visa is granted for a period of 33 months. To me the link suggests you could apply for a new vignette at any time during the period the visa is valid and not continually have to extend it every 30 days. I'm not sure if you could apply now and request a start date in September for the new vignette or if you would have to wait and try to apply closer to that date.

ALKB wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 8:55 pm

If you travel after the birth you also have to factor in that you need to apply for the baby's passport first, which can take a while outside the UK.

Yes a very valid point to take into consideration. Thanks ALKB

geoeng wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 21, 2020 9:25 am

The initial spouse visa is granted for a period of 33 months. To me the link suggests you could apply for a new vignette at any time during the period the visa is valid and not continually have to extend it every 30 days. I'm not sure if you could apply now and request a start date in September for the new vignette or if you would have to wait and try to apply closer to that date.

Hoping someone on the board has faced a similar situation (that sounds very mean, I know, I'm sorry)... I wouldn't wish this worry/stress on anyone.