Applying for Spouse Visa whilst both living outside the UK

thebruge · Post by **thebruge** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 11:44 am

Hi, made one post earlier but after rethinking some options, thought I would post a seperate question.....here's the history again:

I am a UK citizen currently living in Australia with my Colombian girlfriend, we planned to getting married and then moving back to the UK.

After some consideration the easiest option seems to be to get married in Australia and then moving back to the UK to start a life there together.

I have family back in the UK and have thier full support including financial if required by the immigration department.

So was wondering if some experts can help with the following questions:

- Is applying for a spouse visa for my soon to be wife likely to have any sucess if I am not currently in the UK, but planning to return, even with a specific date in mind?

- As I do not have permanent accomadation (apart from family home) and no permanent job in the UK currently or even when we make the application is this going to hinder things?

- Also regarding english equivelancy, the SET(M) guide (which i think is the right one) required ESOL level 3 for my girlfriend, she has a IELTS score of 7 in Acadmeic level, which should be more than enough, do you know if the immigrration department take this into consideration or does she need to the ESOL exams also?

Thanks, Rich

Thanks, Rich

Post by **John** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 12:14 pm

SET(M)? That is not for now, but is for near the end of the spouse visa, in 2 years time.

How much savings do you have? Anything at all? I ask that because whilst it is OK for your family to give you accommodation, even free accommodation, when you first get to the UK, they can no longer give you other financial support, well not support that will be recognised by the UK immigration authorities.

And your problem is that you need to show that your wife, as she will be, will not need to claim certain Public Funds.

thebruge · Post by **thebruge** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:34 pm

Thanks John, so we have tp provide finicial details for her when she applies, that makes sense, do you know how much we need to show my partner has, roughly?

My main concern is that I will not have a job in the UK (or most likely not) when we make the application, as we will be making the application from Australia.

Do you know if applying for a visitors visa to get her there quickly (after our marrige in Australia of course) and then applying for a spouse visa when we're in the UK is a possible?

Post by **John** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:48 pm

Do you know if applying for a visitors visa to get her there quickly (after our marrige in Australia of course) and then applying for a spouse visa when we're in the UK is a possible?

This is the easy bit! Forget it! It is not possible to switch a visitor visa into a spouse visa in the UK. She would need to travel back to Australia to make that spouse visa application.

Having got that out of the way ..... savings ..... why don't you say how much the two of you have got? That way it is possible to others to comment.

How much is needed? Depends upon a number of factors. Where in the UK will you be living initially?

thebruge · Post by **thebruge** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 11:37 pm

John wrote:Having got that out of the way ..... savings ..... why don't you say how much the two of you have got? That way it is possible to others to comment.

How much is needed? Depends upon a number of factors. Where in the UK will you be living initially?

Currently not a lot, but that will be worked on over the next 6 months, we're going to be living in London as that is where my family is. Yeah I know most expensive place to live!

Post by **JAJ** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 12:14 am

thebruge wrote:Hi, made one post earlier but after rethinking some options, thought I would post a seperate question.....here's the history again:

I am a UK citizen currently living in Australia with my Colombian girlfriend, we planned to getting married and then moving back to the UK.

What immigration status do you both have in Australia?

thebruge · Post by **thebruge** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 12:23 am

JAJ wrote: What immigration status do you both have in Australia?

I have perament residency and my girlfriend is on a student visa at the moment.

Post by **JAJ** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 12:34 am

thebruge wrote: I have perament residency and my girlfriend is on a student visa at the moment.

Have you thought of getting your Australian citizenship before you think about leaving?

thebruge · Post by **thebruge** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 12:59 am

JAJ wrote:Have you thought of getting your Australian citizenship before you think about leaving?

Yeah, I should be able to qualify to apply for Citizenship in 1 year, but this will take another 6 months to get probably.

My girlfriends visa is going to run out on Decemeber, hence why we were planning on trying to get to the UK by then.

We were trying to avoid the costs with getting her a visa here (which is $2000) and then having to apply for another visa in the UK. We wanted to do everything in one shot and save ourselves some money.

This seems to be getting very complicated.

thebruge · Post by **thebruge** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 11:13 am

Just to tie this thread up nicely, I spoke with the (over-priced) visa service at the british consulate in Canberra today. Things are not as complicated as we though.

- We get married in Australia, this is the easiet option
- We can apply for a spouse visa whilst both being outside the UK
- We must show we can afford 6 months of living together in the UK
- They will take into consideration the offer of family accommadation in the UK when talking about this budget
- I don't have to have a job in the UK, just have to show that I am employable
- Just have to provide a rough itinery for plans to move back to the UK (they recommend making now sure plans in case of issues)

That pretty much sums it up, thanks everyone for thier advice, hopefully can post back towards the end of the year with some good news.

Immigrationboards.com: Immigration, work visa and work permit discussion board

Applying for Spouse Visa whilst both living outside the UK