SPOUSE VISA - BC MARRIED AND LIVED OUTSIDE UK FOR 7 YEARS

Hello,

My brother is a British Citizen who is working in the Middle East for about 8 years now. He married to an Asian girl some 7 years ago. They have now two children, 4 and 1 year old.

My brother has been making frequent personal and business trips back to UK in those 8 years. However, none of his family members ever travelled to UK along with him or seperately.

My questions:

1. Under what category and where can he apply for his wife's UK visa so that she can have British Citizenship subsequently.

It is known that if he were in the UK, he would show a reasonable job, ample funds in the bank account and a descent place to live etc. But the case is different here. He is outside UK.

Does he have to apply at the foreign UK mission or he needs to go back to UK and then apply. This is bit confusing.

Please advise. I would appreciate your response.

Regards,

Application for EC as "spouse of British citizen" (category) must be submitted at the British diplomatic post in the "country of legal residence" (where). Read INF 4.

Are the children British? If not, application for British passport can be made at the British diplomatic post in the country of legal residence.

Since the family has stayed outside the UK for more than 4 years, the spouse may be qualify for ILE.

If you are currently outside the UK wrote:We may be able to give you permission to live permanently in the UK as soon as you arrive, if:

â– you and your partner married or formed a civil partnership at least four years ago;
â– you have spent those four years living together outside the UK;
â– you are both coming to the UK to settle here together; and
â– you have sufficient knowledge of the English language and life in the UK. (You do not need to meet this last requirement if you are aged 65 or over.)

regards

sushdmehta, I really appreciate your response.

I guess its not a bad news for him indeed.

With regards to his children, he never applied for their passports. I will now advise him to act promptly and make applications for his children's passports and for his wife's ILE.

Regards,

sushdmehta wrote:Application for EC as "spouse of British citizen" (category) must be submitted at the British diplomatic post in the "country of legal residence" (where). Read INF 4.

Are the children British? If not, application for British passport can be made at the British diplomatic post in the country of legal residence.

Since the family has stayed outside the UK for more than 4 years, the spouse may be qualify for ILE.

If you are currently outside the UK wrote:We may be able to give you permission to live permanently in the UK as soon as you arrive, if:

â– you and your partner married or formed a civil partnership at least four years ago;
â– you have spent those four years living together outside the UK;
â– you are both coming to the UK to settle here together; and
â– you have sufficient knowledge of the English language and life in the UK. (You do not need to meet this last requirement if you are aged 65 or over.)

regards

Hello,

The instructions talk about Life in the UK and Knowledge of English Language test results. If a person is planning on applying from overseas the Visa for spouse or ILE as mentiond in the above post, how can he/she show the test results. Besides, the results or evidence is to be submitted at the time of application.

Further down the instructions, it is also mentioned that it is not expected from anyone who is applying from overseas to submit such an evidence, nevertheless at the same time is also mentioned that any such application that is submitted without the Life in the UK or KOL will be straightaway rejected.

Can some one please clarify this very important point. Also, which visa application form is to be used for ILE for wife (as mentioned in the second post above). I have done a thorough search and could not properly find any specific form.

Regards,

Any one there who can advise ?


Regards

London102 wrote:Hello,

The instructions talk about Life in the UK and Knowledge of English Language test results. If a person is planning on applying from overseas the Visa for spouse or ILE as mentiond in the above post, how can he/she show the test results. Besides, the results or evidence is to be submitted at the time of application.

Further down the instructions, it is also mentioned that it is not expected from anyone who is applying from overseas to submit such an evidence, nevertheless at the same time is also mentioned that any such application that is submitted without the Life in the UK or KOL will be straightaway rejected.

Can some one please clarify this very important point. Also, which visa application form is to be used for ILE for wife (as mentioned in the second post above). I have done a thorough search and could not properly find any specific form.

Regards,

I don't believe you can meet the Life in the UK and Knowledge of English Language requirements from outside the UK.

So try reading this - SET3.23 What immigration conditions apply upon entry to a spouse applicant?

Basically what it means is that she should use the normal settlement visa form (VAF4a) to apply, and they should grant her a visa that states KOL REQ. Then once she is in the UK and has met the Life in the UK and Knowledge of English Language requirements she can immediately apply for ILR (normally a spouse would have to wait 2 years). This doesn't though save any money as they still will have to pay twice - settlement visa which is currently £585 and ILR which is currently £820/£1020.

I have moved the topic here, where it is better suited.

London102, your brother's wife needs to apply for a spouse visa, but given the length of time she has been married to your brother, she should enclose a covering letter pointing that out, and asking for the "KOL REQ" requirement is applied.

With that endorsement, after she gets to the UK, with a 27-month spouse visa, as soon as she has passed the Life in the UK Citizenship test, she can apply for ILR, without needing to wait until near the expiry of the spouse visa.

Dear John & djb123,

Thanks very much for your help. This really has started making sense now.

Regards,

Can you confirm that your brother intends to settle in the UK with his wife and children? Your post asks about a route to British Nationality but doesn't actuallly mention re-location...unless I've missed it.

Hello Casa,

The whole family is planning relocation to UK.

His multinational employer has offered him relocation from Middle East to the UK office. The employer is also willing to provide the intention letter too which can be submitted in support of intention to the British Embassy.

Hence its a case of relocation to UK, however stuck with the circumstances that spouse does not hold any visa to accompany partner.

By the way , what about children. I know they should be given British citizenship but does my brother have to initially include all his kids in the setelllment application and then subsequently apply for their British Passports once the whole family is in the UK?

Regards,

Casa wrote:Can you confirm that your brother intends to settle in the UK with his wife and children? Your post asks about a route to British Nationality but doesn't actuallly mention re-location...unless I've missed it.

London102, the children do not have British Passports? Your brother needs to apply for those as soon as possible. After all the children have been British since the moment of birth. Hey, wait a minute, where was your brother born? In the UK, or outside the UK? That is, is he (if born in the UK) British otherwise than by descent, or is he (if born outside the UK) British by descent?

The children are British, and have been since the moment of birth, if their father is British otherwise than by descent.

The alternative to getting the children British passports in the near future is getting them Child Settlement visas in their other passports ..... based upon their mother's nationality. But going down that route is very much more expensive, so if possible your brother should proceed to get them British passports as soon as possible.

Suggest he visits the website for his nearest British Mission for details as to how to get them their British passports.

Thanks John. Sorry for being late in responding.

The children do not have the British passports. Because my brother has never applied for.

My brother was born outside UK and is a naturalized citizen for 10 years now. For the last almost 7 years he is working in the Middle East where he got married and all his children were born.

So he was British when he got married and of course when his children were born.

Is it a simple process of Birth Registration of his children at the foreign post (British Embassy) ?

So to summarize all our discussion so far, my brother should first get his children's passport by whatever process it is and then apply for his wife's settlement visa with a note that "KOL Req".

Let me know please if Ihave mnissed something or anything that you guys want me to tell.

Regards,

John wrote:London102, the children do not have British Passports? Your brother needs to apply for those as soon as possible. After all the children have been British since the moment of birth. Hey, wait a minute, where was your brother born? In the UK, or outside the UK? That is, is he (if born in the UK) British otherwise than by descent, or is he (if born outside the UK) British by descent?

The children are British, and have been since the moment of birth, if their father is British otherwise than by descent.

The alternative to getting the children British passports in the near future is getting them Child Settlement visas in their other passports ..... based upon their mother's nationality. But going down that route is very much more expensive, so if possible your brother should proceed to get them British passports as soon as possible.

Suggest he visits the website for his nearest British Mission for details as to how to get them their British passports.

If your brother is a British Citizen because of Naturalisation, he is a British Citizen other than by descent. Accordingly his children, wherever born in the world, are British from their moment of birth.

As said before he needs to look at the website of the British Mission in the country where he is living. There he should find relevant application forms, and details about how to proceed.

So to summarize all our discussion so far, my brother should first get his children's passport by whatever process it is and then apply for his wife's settlement visa with a note that "KOL Req".

Exactly, yes!

Thanks John.


Regards

John wrote:If your brother is a British Citizen because of Naturalisation, he is a British Citizen other than by descent. Accordingly his children, wherever born in the world, are British from their moment of birth.

As said before he needs to look at the website of the British Mission in the country where he is living. There he should find relevant application forms, and details about how to proceed.

So to summarize all our discussion so far, my brother should first get his children's passport by whatever process it is and then apply for his wife's settlement visa with a note that "KOL Req".

Exactly, yes!