Best ways to Reapply for ILR

[tonybanks]

Dear all,
My wife (Sth Korean) & I were married 2000, registered our marriage both at the UK Consulate in Seoul and later when we came to the UK to live 2002-2004. Both our kids have two passports.
My wife was granted ILR in 2003. We left the UK for Korea again 2004 but have been back for short visits (a month or two) every year ever since.
We now planned to resettle permanently, but just looking at her passport now, I see it has been stamped numerous times "leave to enter for 6 mths. Recourse to benefits/public funds prohibited". After reading up on this matter, I assume this means (unbeknown to us) that her ILR has been revoked somehow or lapsed.
My questions are:

1. how can we proceed from here? She studied under a Chevening Scholarship and had a 6.5 in Academic IELTS in 2002 when she tested last.

2. Can we use her previous granting of ILR to accelerate the process/cuts costs somehow? She doesn't want a UK passport at this point. We've been married for over 15 yrs, have visited the UK every year (sometimes twice a year), so this seems so so unnecessary and costly...
Is there any way around reapplying from absolute scratch again?

3. Is it better/cheaper to apply from Korea to join me and our girls, or is it better to apply from within the UK?

4.She has a PhD so is it better/cheaper to apply on a different visa? Or is it impossible to avoid the same procedures/costs of applying for the family reunion visa??? What's the best way forward for us????

We are on limited funds, and I have just been diagnosed with early stages Parkinson's so I need her support in the UK....
Please help...

Tony

[CR001]

ILR is lost if you leave the UK for 2 or more years. Short visits to the UK does not maintain ILR.

The fact that she has been granted entry to the UK as a visitor, means her ILR has been cancelled.

She will have to start from scratch with a spouse settlement visa and a new 5 year residence period before applying for ILR again.

The rules are much tougher now too.

[Casa]

Also bear in mind that unfortunately, this can't be applied for from within the UK while here as a visitor.

[noajthan]

2) You could investigate this path:
https://www.gov.uk/returning-resident-visa

Good luck.

[CR001]

2) You could investigate this path:
https://www.gov.uk/returning-resident-visa

Good luck.

Likely won't work for the OP as spouse with previous ILR has been stamped in as a visitor more than once and this cancels the ILR status. The fact that the ILR spouse has not resided/lived in the UK for 12 years will count against them too.

[Casa]

My understanding is that being stamped in as a visitor (it appears several times in this case) may not make the Returning Resident application a viable option.

Edit: Beaten by CR001

[noajthan]

My understanding is that being stamped in as a visitor (it appears several times in this case) may not make the Returning Resident application a viable option.

Edit: Beaten by CR001

Well noted.

Sadly it may turn out to be a long haul for OP then.

It's a long shot (bearing in mind any health concerns) but, as OP is evidently a citizen of the world, you could look at returning to UK via a sojourn in Europe;
ie by taking the Surinder Singh route.

Same timescale (or a little more) for eventual settlement in UK but it may prove less financially changing.

Start here:
https://www.freemovement.org.uk/surinde ... ion-route/

The full monty on free movement:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/citizen/doc ... 013_en.pdf

Plenty of posts on this topic in forum (& to be found on WWW ofcourse).

See also http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/ ... -2015.html

If this does float your boat do keep track of developments in this area;
don't know if the message has reached Korea but EU free movement is currently a hot topic and the UK, in particular, does have an interest and agenda here; (watch out for any shifting of goalposts).

[tonybanks]

Dear all,

Thank you all so much for your responses so far...

OK, so my wife's ILR status is elapsed. I'm confused as to how to move forward...and I need some advice.

To reiterate our situation: I'm British, married to a Korean since 2000, and have two teenaged girls, both of whom have UK passports.
I'm taking the girls to resettle permanently in the UK this May, my wife will join later due to work/wrapping up our affairs in Korea.

I was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.

We have cash, but I'm unsure as to how easy it will be for me to get work (I'm a 50 yrs old ESL teacher) to put us over the "financial support" eligibility requirements. I have noted that me being on benefits can obviate to need for proving "financial support" for my wife's visa.

Which category of visa do you all think we should apply for??? It does seem very confusing on the website...Spouse visa, permission to join family already settled in the UK, or a different category altogether. I am leaving with my daughters soon and we are unsure as to how to proceed...

Thanking you all again in advance for your advice...

Kind regards,

Tony

[noajthan]

You have the option to work as an ESL teacher in Europe (just for a while mind) and thus work your way back to UK via the Surinder Singh route, as outlined above.

[tonybanks]

Thanks for that. I am aware of that route but our girls are committed to attending school in the UK from this May, If I had thought of/known about this issue, I would have opted to stay with my Korean bro in law who is based for work in Germany...
What is the best visa route to apply for?
Regards,
Tony