Wifes 2 year visa expired 6 years ago!! HELP.

[Slickstar]

Hi,

I'll try to keep it brief. My wife came to the UK on a spouse visa in 2006 which expired in 2008. The reason that I didn't apply for her IRL is that I simply forgot. I had her IRL case ready to be submitted, thought I had but with working away from home and home developments at the time it got overlooked. I know it is a silly excuse but as proof I still have her IRL case which I prepared back in 2006.

We have 3 children, all born in the UK with first being born in 2008 4 months before the visa expired and the other two in 2009 and 2010. I am a British citizen since birth and have been working full time since her arrival here. She has never been out of the country.

I'm unsure if I can submit a fresh IRL application or if it has to be FLR(FP). If it is a FLR(FP) then does she apply for the 5 or 10 year route? Also, she passed the life in the UK in 2008, will that still be valid? She also has ESOL level 3 which she did about a 1-2 years ago.

Evidence I have:

My wage slips and P60's from 2006 to present
Children's birth certificates (haven't applied for their UK passports yet - they are still very young, 6, 5 and 4 years old)
She has been voting for several years
she has an ESOL level 3 qualification
we have a joint account but it is rarely used..almost never to be honest.

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

[Slickstar]

I should have mention that I earn around £50,000 a year.

[Obie]

That is a long period to have left your wife to overstay.

SET M should be OK for her, provided she has passed her B1 English Language test aswell

[Wanderer]

She has been voting for several years

Is she a Commonwealth Citizen and are these Election votes?

[Rayking]

She has been voting for several years

Is she a Commonwealth Citizen and are these Election votes?

Here he comes again!

[Wanderer]

Here he comes again!

I'm sorry?

[Slickstar]

Please, some guidance would be good. I earn a good salary, been offered a new job, have a home, wife and 3 children. Whatever I need to do to get her stay will be done, simple as. I just need to know what that is. If you can help then I would appreciate it.

Thanks.

[Casa]

Wanderer has asked a valid question.

[Wanderer]

Please, some guidance would be good. I earn a good salary, been offered a new job, have a home, wife and 3 children. Whatever I need to do to get her stay will be done, simple as. I just need to know what that is. If you can help then I would appreciate it.

Thanks.

You should listen to Obie, it is a long overstay but there are kids involved so it's not really going to be easy for the UKVI to justify forcing a trip home to re-apply as normal.

Apply for ILR as an out-of-time app and hope good sense prevails, the worst that can happen is she'd have to apply from home (unlikely) or maybe have to start FLR again on the 5 year route.

Form SET(M) and maybe a covering letter to plead your case.

[Slickstar]

Wanderer and Obie, Thank you. I will of course try my utmost to prepare a case that is as water tight as possible. I just needed to know which avenue to go down so thank you for that and your prompt response. I have a meeting with a immigration solicitor tomorrow at 11am, I want to see what his response is. Your guidance is very much appreciated.

[Obie]

She Should under the old rules for ILR.

I will strongly urge you to strongly reject any attempt by the solicitor you will be visiting to get your wife to apply under the new rules in Appendix FM, as she will qualify under the Old rule.

Many of these lawyers are inexperience, and if he tell you to apply for Leave to Remain and not ILR, that will be the warning sign.

I know she has overstayed and that it was irresponsible of you, to have left things for this long, in light of the current climate under which immigration has not acclimatise .

Para 287 should be engaged.

[vinny]

Agree with Obie on SET(M).

Hope that she hasn't been working and satisfies the Life in the UK Test and English language test requirements.

[Slickstar]

Thanks for the advice, I'll report back on what the solicitor advises. By the looks of it, I'll need to submit a IRL (set-m) application with as much evidence as possible and a very thorough covering letter. I'll keep you posted. Thanks

[prince.07]

Am sorry, can you help to remove the post, please? Thanks

[Obie]

This OP is unable to receive a PM at present, so it makes no sense sending him one.

[Slickstar]

OK, you guys were absolutely right. The solicitor advised to apply for a IRL (set-m) with as much evidence as possible. He was quite confident that my wife will get her IRL although as he said nothing is guaranteed. He is an acquaintance of my brothers so said he will only charge £700 for his fees which sounds reasonable to me. Admittedly I could do just as a good job as him but he will at least alert me to additional supporting documentation that I could include and help avoid any unforeseen pitfalls .

Thank you to all who replied to my post. 5 gold stars to the message board. Keep it up.