Can I enter UK on Tourist Visa whilst my Spouse Visa is still Processing?

[UKKUUKKU]

Dear Forum,

I am a British citizen and will be relocating back to the UK from Singapore with my wife and daughter in the new year. I am applying for a Family Visa for my wife, who is a Brunei citizen. I am planning to apply for this Visa whilst here in Singapore and online it says it should take 12 weeks to be approved.

However, as we are moving in mid-February, which is only 6 weeks away, will my wife be able to enter the UK on a tourist Visa whilst the Family visa is still processing? Or must she remain outside of the UK until the Family Visa has been approved?

Thank You in advance for any advice you can offer,

[UKKUUKKU]

Dear Forum,

On a similar topic to the one being discussed in this thread, may I ask your advice on the following?

I am a British citizen and will be relocating back to the UK from Singapore with my wife and daughter in the new year. I am applying for a Family Visa for my wife, who is a Brunei citizen. I am planning to apply for this Visa whilst here in Singapore and online it says it should take 12 weeks to be approved. However, as we are moving in mid-February, which is only 6 weeks away, will my wife be able to enter the UK on a tourist Visa whilst the Family visa is still processing? Or must she remain outside of the UK until the Family Visa has been approved?

Thank You in advance,

[TODMATT]

Dear Forum,

On a similar topic to the one being discussed in this thread, may I ask your advice on the following?

I am a British citizen and will be relocating back to the UK from Singapore with my wife and daughter in the new year. I am applying for a Family Visa for my wife, who is a Brunei citizen. I am planning to apply for this Visa whilst here in Singapore and online it says it should take 12 weeks to be approved. However, as we are moving in mid-February, which is only 6 weeks away, will my wife be able to enter the UK on a tourist Visa whilst the Family visa is still processing? Or must she remain outside of the UK until the Family Visa has been approved?

Thank You in advance,

A lot of people have tried this and it worked while some refused entry. Why don’t you apply for priority in the hope that your application will be treated in 30WD(this is target) and can extend if necessary check are needed to be carried out. Personally, I won’t recommend it.

[iwolga]

On top of what was already recommended to you, if your wife is in UK while her Spouse visa is approved, she will still need to travel back to Singapore and get her passport.

[geoeng]

However, as we are moving in mid-February, which is only 6 weeks away, will my wife be able to enter the UK on a tourist Visa whilst the Family visa is still processing? Or must she remain outside of the UK until the Family Visa has been approved?

Unless you pay an additional fee to keep your passport (possibly a service not available in every country), you usually have to submit this with the application, so she may not be able to travel anyway. There are threads on this forum where people have managed to enter the UK as a tourist while the visa decision is pending, but there are equally threads where people have been refused entry while the decision is pending. There is no guarantee that entry will be granted so it is usually not recommended to try this.

Applicants must also apply from a country they are legally resident in and must receive their passport with UK entry clearance in the same country, so it is not possible to submit an application then enter the UK as a tourist and remain there.