Questions re. ILR UK / ILE UK (Settlement Spouse/ CP)

Questions re. Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) / Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) in UK / (Settlement Spouse/ CP).

Apologies for the, perhaps unnecessary, verbosity, but I have just copied and pasted from my latest e-mail (to the UKBA) seeking clarification... Please let me know if I should amend.
I also know that some of the questions are similar / the same but I just wanted to clarify ALL before applying and handing over our money - which may not be refundable...

I / We would sincerely appreciate any advice anyone has relating to the following:

A brief description of our situation:
I am a British National, who considering returning to the UK with my wife after having spent many years living abroad (most recently in Republic of Ireland for the last c. 10 years). My wife is a Serbian National.
We met in 2004, shortly afterward she joined me in Ireland and we have lived here together since early 2005. We were married, in Belgrade, in October 2005. She currently has a GNIB (Garda National Immigration Bureau) Certificate of Registration Card with Stamp ‘4 EUFam’ and Permission to Remain in Ireland until July 2013 as well as a UK ‘C’ (Visit Visa) valid from Dec. 2005 until Dec. 2015. We are now looking at the possibility of moving to UK to live and work.
We and I are currently in Belgrade, Serbia and, I assume, need to apply for another Visa for entry into the UK as soon as possible.
Despite having read (I presume) all of the relevant official web pages numerous times, spoken to (telephone) an independent Immigration Advisory office in England, visited (and paid for an Advice session with) The Immigration Advisory Service (IAS) in Birmingham, communicated via e-mail with WorldBridge Service, the UK Border Agency International Group and most recently the Visa Application Centre in Belgrade we still remain unclear as to the correct procedure(s) involved for my wife to enter, live and work in the UK. We have been trying for several months now to fully (or even adequately) understand this whole process. Consequently, any further detailed clarification you could offer would be of great help to us and not to mention very much appreciated.

We have been advised and were under the impression that if we applied for and were granted a Settlement Visa then we could travel to the UK and she could live and work there.

• Can you please confirm whether my wife, whilst in the UK and with her current (Visit) visa, can change her status, extend her current Visa OR apply for Settlement (or Leave to Remain) from there?

I refer to information copied from UK Border Agency websites:

Source: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/partn ... utside-uk/

We may be able to give you permission to live permanently in the UK as soon as you arrive, if:

* you and your partner married or formed a civil partnership at least four years ago;
* you have spent those four years living together outside the UK;
* you are both coming to the UK to settle here together; and
* 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.)

ALSO:
Source: http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply ... rtners#Q11

If you and your husband, wife or civil partner have been living together outside the UK for four years or more, and you meet all the necessary requirements to stay permanently in the UK, you may be granted indefinite leave to enter. These requirements include showing that you have the necessary level of knowledge of the English language and life in the UK (see relevant section of this guidance for more information).

“We may be able to give you permission to live permanently in the UK…â€

My wife and I came to Serbia to do this and we are now wasting time waiting...

Given that your wife is legally resident in Ireland, and not just a visitor there, there is no problem any application being made at the British Embassy in Dublin. So certainly stop "wasting your time" and get back to Ireland!

You have a choice .... applying under the terms of the EU Directive .... using the Surinder Singh rule .... and alternatively, as you have detailed, using UK immigration law.

The differences are numerous, but one particular issue is rather important! Cost! In a nutshell if you go the EU route the cost of application is .... free ..... but it would delay the point in time when your wife might be permitted to apply for Naturalisation as British. Does she intend to do that, when permitted?

Many thanks for the reply.

Quote: "...and get back to Ireland!"

I was told that we could apply through the British Embassy in Dublin, however, our decision to apply here (from Belgrade) was based on the following:
• A few months ago we found that the Processing Time(s) for Settlement Visas (decisions made in) were less in the VAC in Belgrade, Serbia as opposed to Dublin (in the ‘Guide to visa processing times’ section of the website http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/processingtimes). Since then Dublin seems not even to be included in the list…
• My wife, unfortunately, lost her job just before X-Mas last year (I work from home – so can move, within reason, anywhere) and we were hemorrhaging money renting, etc... in Ireland. We have both been offered work in the UK. We have moved our belongings from Ireland to my families’ home in UK in the interim. My in-Laws are here so our plan is for my wife to spend time with her family and friends here for the duration of the application / decision process.

We were also advised that we could apply for an EEA Family Permit even though I am British looking to move (back to) Britain… Do you know how this would affect all else…? ie. How long would she be able to stay in UK for.? Can she travel in and out of UK alone?

Do you know whether a Settlement Visa is the same as Indefinite Leave to Enter? And if granted ILE do we then have to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain once there?

Even though the EU route is free I assume that we would have to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain once there…?

If all fails we intend to return to Ireland and resume our life there.

Quote: "...Does she intend to do that, when permitted?"

Yes, it would come in handy...

We were also told that with ILE or ILR the point in time when she might be permitted to apply for Naturalisation as a British Citizen is then ONLY one year – even though I have not found any details of this on UKBA (or other) website. Do you know if this is correct and what it would be though the EU route?[/quote]

So you have effectively stopped living in Ireland. How long ago? Just wondering whether the Surinder Singh route might still be available?

If you can go that route it is free all the way, from the initial EEA Family Permit application, to the Residence Card application, to the Permanent Residence application after 5 years in the UK.

That means Naturalisation might be one or two years after what it might have been on the UK application route ... depending upon legislation in force at the time.

Applications in Dublin tend to be quite quick.

Yes, we have, for the time being anyway, and based on the eventual outcome of all this (my wife's immigration status)... We left Ireland 30-Apr / 01-May this year, stayed for a few days and traveled to Belgrade from England on 05-May.

Do you know much about Settlement / ILE or ILR...? I ask because my wife just told me that she would prefer not to use the EU route (even though I probably would)... I found reference to this online earlier today - 'Settlement Spouse/ CP' - do you know if this would be the category we could / should apply for?

We got a response directly from the VAC in Belgrade (my wife managed to get an e-mail address for the Assistant Manager there) and their response was:
"Our Customer Service Target is to complete 95 per cent of applications for settlement visas in not more than 12 weeks and 100 per cent in not more 24 weeks. However, in Belgrade, we hope to process these types of applications within 2 weeks. As you say, each application is unique so we cannot guarantee a set time."
...Which seems to be acceptable...

OK, the UK immigration route, as your wife has not passed the Life in the UK Citizenship test, she cannot get ILE, even though the two of you have been married and lived together outside the UK for over 4 years.

But there is a special provision she can use. That is, she apply for a 27-month spouse visa, but point out that the "KOL REQ" endorsement is due. With that, having moved to the UK, she would then study for and hopefully pass the Life in the UK Citizenship test, and as soon as she has that pass certificate she can apply for her ILR .... even well before she has been in the UK for two years.

I understand and completely appreciate the fact that UK Immigration Law is a minefield but I thought that this would be easier…

Apologies, first of all for not replying sooner and also for not including all relevant details in my first post(s)… I thought that I had mentioned the Life in the UK Test… We recently travelled to a Test Centre in Northern Ireland where my wife sat and passed the ‘Life in the UK’ Test.

I should add that when we called the Centre to book the test they asked us for a UK address. When we told them that we live in Dublin they had to check with the Home Office and made only a provisional booking for us. I tried calling various numbers and sent several e-mails to the Home Office, as did they, to find out the correct procedure and nobody seemed to know the correct answer(s) – not sure if this is a common problem…?!?! Perhaps it is only certain (perhaps smaller / more rural) Test Centres who have not encountered this before… When we got there we were told that they also had been trying for days to get the correct information but were unsuccessful… We ended up not using / providing any address.

Even though I have previously mentioned cost(s), money is not the most important factor in our opinion – we, as I’m sure all of us in similar situations, would ideally prefer the most efficient (easiest, fastest, etc…) route to allow us to live, work and travel (to and from) the UK asap.

My wife took the Life in the UK Test, following advice we previously received from The Immigration Advisory Service (IAS) in Birmingham, to satisfy the requirements / mentioned in my first post (information copied from UK Border Agency websites) re. “…to give you permission to live permanently in the UK…â€