Preliminary spouse visa questions

msfi01 · Post by **msfi01** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 1:53 am

My husband and I are planning to move to the UK next year.

I am Australian and have a British passport. I have never lived in the UK.

My husband is Australian and we are looking at spouse visa, we hope for ILR. We have been married 5 years.

We both have masters' degrees and professional jobs here in Australia.

We are wondering about timeframes etc - his job is a little more specialised, so we think he should obtain a job first and then I will seek temporary contracts in my profession. We would enter UK on the same day.

How long does it take to apply for and obtain a spouse visa? Would it be best to wait until he has a job offer?

I will be his sponsor but I won't have a place to live (ie a lease) or a job when we enter UK. Would savings suffice? We aim to have about $40000 AU in savings by the time we go.

Any and all advice appreciated - we are still at the early stage!

Post by **vinny** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 2:32 am

Unfortunately, your husband now also have to satisfy the Knowledge of life in the UK requirements before qualifying for ILE/ILR.

See also 13.5 - Spouses/civil partners and how they qualify.

It may be easier to satisfy the maintenance and accommodation requirements if he has firm job offer when applying.

Note that with a UK spouse visa, he should initially enter the UK no later than 28 days (4 weeks) from the 'effective' date of his visa. Else, he may have to apply for a FLR(M) (further leave to remain) before a SET(M) (indefinite leave to remain) in two years' time.

msfi01 · Post by **msfi01** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 2:47 am

Thanks vinny - I will investigate the test further.

We plan to visit the UK in July to get a feel for places to live, if it's possible to do the test then that would be ideal, but I think I read somewhere that you can't do this.

My husband would be unlikely to move without a job offer so that's good news.

Sounds like the timeframe may be short, but as long as we are prepared for that it should be ok! Thanks!

Post by **vinny** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 2:55 am

Good idea to try to do the test as a visitor first.

msfi01 · Post by **msfi01** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 5:49 am

Thanks vinny - good to get the test out of the way I guess! We'll be in the UK for a week on holidays so that should be enough time for him to sit it.

Post by **vinny** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 6:04 am

See also Life in the UK Test Terms and Conditions

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Preliminary spouse visa questions