I'd like to ask about getting a spouse visa for my wife.
I'm a British citizen that settled in Libya and got married to a Libyan woman. I have 3 children from her. I stayed in Libya throughout the war until Oct 2019, when I finally gave up hope that the fighting was going to come to an end and things would return to normal. I applied for British passports for my 3 kids and got them after a long wait due to Covid.
During the year and 2 months, I've been in the UK, I haven't managed to get any full-time work so that I can fulfill the financial visa requirements of 18,600. I've been working part-time at the weekends in retail, doing a bit of teacher's assistant work, and doing some online tuition. It's been really difficult and I haven't managed to get enough hours.
Things are getting bad for my wife and kids over in Libya, and I was thinking of bringing my children over and asking for them to waive the financial requirements due to the circumstances I am in. This will of course make working harder for me, but I'm giving up hope of getting full-time work for 6 months now and can't see an end in sight.
This is what the UK government website says, "If you do not meet these requirements you may still be able to apply for a visa or extend your permission to stay if:
you have a child in the UK who is a British citizen or has lived in the UK for 7 years and it would be unreasonable for them to leave the UK there would be very significant difficulties for you and your partner if you lived together as a couple outside the UK that could not be overcome it would breach your human rights to stop you coming to the UK or make you leave"
I think I fulfill 2 of the requirements if my children are with me. 1 I have British children in the UK (imagining here) and #2 our lives would be extremely difficult with them living in Libya (which is on the no travel list) or living in the UK without their mother. 1 of my children is 10 and the twins have just turned 7.
The whole application is a nightmare for me. Due to the war, there is no embassy in Libya, and there are no examination centres either, so everything has to be done in Turkey or Tunis. Add to that, because of Covid, both countries keep on changing their rules whether Libyans can go there or not, so it's an extremely difficult process for me. This has made even a visit to see my family close to impossible. There is no way I can get time off work to see my family and then self isolate for 2 weeks, and that's if I can travel there and back without restrictions
Another thing I would like to ask about is the housing requirement. With 3 kids would it be necessary to get a 3 bedroom house or could I use the living room as a bedroom in a 2 bedroom house?
Has anyone applied and got the requirements waived? Has anyone heard of someone that has applied with kids and got the visa without meeting the requirements? What would you advise as to the best course of action?
Thanks in advance for all your advice
