unique case of a british citizen req ilr for wife and kids

Dear all, first of all , this is such a great forum and i have really benefitted from the advice so far, however after digesting all the info, i have some specific questions with respect to myself:

I am a British citizen by birth, i left the UK when i was 10 years of age, 2 years abroad, then a single 1 month visit at 12.

After that I settled in India, and was there from the age of 13 to 32, never leaving the country once. In the meantime I got married (8 years ago-wife indian)

i studied medicine in india. my wife is an MA in english literature, a college teacher currently pursuing her PHd

we adopted 2 children, who are indian citizens, as they were domestic+legal adoptions and not international ones, which are possible only if you live outside of India.

I entered the UK on January the 16th this year (that means i was outside of the UK for 19 years) and joined my job as a medical university teacher in the uk

I was planning on asking my wife to apply for her and the kids settlement visas on April 1st:

By then i will have 3 payslips (10 days salary in jan and then feb and march). I have also arranged 2/3 bedroom accomadation with the NHS (tie up with the medical school staff) by the 23rd of march. (currently in a 1 bed room)

My job contract expires on the 5th of june, but i have emails to say that there have been various recruiting agencies who are interested in my profile and assure me of a job before that.

My questions are:



Is the 2 and a half months that I have been here by the time my wife applies sufficient to convince the ECO that i am present and settled?
what is the minimum balance that the eco expects for a person like me with a wife and 2 kids, one who is 7 months and one who is 2 years? (my budget shows that after all expenses i still have a bit more than the six hundred which is the income support level required for a family of my size)
Are 3 payslips of 2 and a half months salary sufficient in number for the eco
is the fact that my contract expires on the 5th of june a problem for the eco, keeping in mind that as a medical professional i am quite employable for after this?
As the accomodation is part of the national health insurance quarters i will be provided with a letter stating that the accomodation is sufficient for a family of my size and kids are not a problem, but the accomodation officer said a letter from the council will not be possible. Is that OK? (keep in mind that the accomodation letter will be signed by an NHS accomodation officer)
Will my wife be required to take an english test once she comes here? esp as she is doing a phd in english literature and has BA and MA in english language and literature. should we request the eco to exempt her from the KOL test based on this?
As she will be applying from india, are photocopies of my passport suffficient (its a digital passport with signature and photo on same page) or should i get it notarised?
should i get my other documents also notarised and sent to my wife for the application such as degree, post grad degree, UK driv license-provisional, birth certificate?
Could you suggest any other documantation apart for the wonderful lists put up here?

I know its a long winded letter but i thought that if the info was comprehensive, then i would get appropriate advice. Also i have gone through most of the forums regarding spouse visa so i am asking only stuff thats not yet been asked in this way

Thanks to all and waiting eagerly!

Ok,lets get the ball rolling on this one.

I am sure you will find that you may have a number of people responding to this queury. Moderators help is definitely required



My questions are:

Is the 2 and a half months that I have been here by the time my wife applies sufficient to convince the ECO that i am present and settled?

This in my opinion is the most difficult to answer. Whilst we accept you are a British citizen and have full rights,the immigration rules require that you be present or settled in the UK

A spouse/civil partner is a person who qualifies to live permanently in the United Kingdom because he/she is married to/in a civil partnership with a person who is either present and settled in the UK or will be admitted for settlement in the UK when arriving there.

The fact that you have lived most of your life away from the UK,makes it a bit harder than someone who has been away for say 5 yrs. I think you need to give good reasons and evidence that you intend to live in the UK for the foreseeable future in order for your wife to get the visa

what is the minimum balance that the eco expects for a person like me with a wife and 2 kids, one who is 7 months and one who is 2 years? (my budget shows that after all expenses i still have a bit more than the six hundred which is the income support level required for a family of my size)

I dont think there is a minimum requirement for you to show . If you can show that you more than the minimum requirement for a family of your size, then that should suffice.

Are 3 payslips of 2 and a half months salary sufficient in number for the eco

In my opinion yes 3 monthly satements are enough.

is the fact that my contract expires on the 5th of june a problem for the eco, keeping in mind that as a medical professional i am quite employable for after this?

It could be a problem,but as you have stated, the likes of your proffesion should not find it difficult to get a job

Prospects for employment
The ECO must be satisfied that the applicant has reasonable prospects of obtaining employment in the UK. It is not necessary to see actual evidence that a specific job has been arranged. However, you should always consider whether plans are realistic.

As the accomodation is part of the national health insurance quarters i will be provided with a letter stating that the accomodation is sufficient for a family of my size and kids are not a problem, but the accomodation officer said a letter from the council will not be possible. Is that OK? (keep in mind that the accomodation letter will be signed by an NHS accomodation officer)

Yes this is fine

Will my wife be required to take an english test once she comes here? esp as she is doing a phd in english literature and has BA and MA in english language and literature. should we request the eco to exempt her from the KOL test based on this?

Yes she has to to take test, but as your wife is highly educated,it should be no problem for her .

As she will be applying from india, are photocopies of my passport suffficient (its a digital passport with signature and photo on same page) or should i get it notarised?

Photocopies of passports are accepted as long as every page is certified by a solicitor

should i get my other documents also notarised and sent to my wife for the application such as degree, post grad degree, UK driv license-provisional, birth certificate?

No . You have to send original documents ( keep copies of every doc)

Could you suggest any other documantation apart for the wonderful lists put up here?

Letter of employment, bank statements, housing accomadation letter etc

Hope This helps, however wait for other responds

You are not going to have a problem getting leave for your wife and children.

Other points to be aware of. Because you have been married for more than four years, she can qualify for Indefinite leave to enter (ILE) which is the same as ILR.

Because of all the changes that are being proposed you need to get her ILE so she does not need to deal with probationary citizenship and alike.

If I recall, she will be able to get her visa and it will say that she needs to take the "Life in the UK" exam.

Let me offer this recommendation to you. I assume that she is fluent in english. Have a copy of the Life in the UK book sent to her. Have her study it. Then have her come to the UK for two weeks on HOLIDAY and while here, she takes the exam. Then she goes back to India and gets ILE with no other entries.

Trust me, you want her to have ILE to start with!!!

Just had another thought. You are a British Citizen, "otherwise than by descent." You should consider applying now to have the children registered as British;

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/briti ... tedabroad/

Couple links with actual policy guidance as used by caseworkers for adoptions by British Citizens;

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

and

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

Thank you so much all of you, also i was wondering is it better from an immigration point of view for my wife to get the settlement visa (KOL) in india and then come here and pass the kol asap and then apply again for ILR or should she come on a visa (unsure what category) , do the KOL , go back to india and apply for ILR.

In the sense will it make a difference for subsequent british citizenship what route she takes and what exactly is probationary citizenship and what is her route to it?

thanks

chaimpotok wrote:Thank you so much all of you, also i was wondering is it better from an immigration point of view for my wife to get the settlement visa (KOL) in india and then come here and pass the kol asap and then apply again for ILR or should she come on a visa (unsure what category) , do the KOL , go back to india and apply for ILR.

In the sense will it make a difference for subsequent british citizenship what route she takes and what exactly is probationary citizenship and what is her route to it?

thanks

1 - if possible your wife can first visit here and pass the KOL test and go bak to india and apply settlement visa by this way she will be granted ILE endorsement
2 - second option is she can apply now and they will put endorsement with KOL REQUIRED and as soon as she passed the test then can apply for ILR and pay the fees aswel

you have two option both will work that happend with me and i choose the 2nd option and everything is fine now.

good luck