Bringing Chinese wife to UK

[samuelchai]

Hi All,

My situation is as follows:

I am a British man and I married my Chinese wife in the UK in July 2017.
August 2017-August 2018: we lived together in Hong Kong.
August 2018- present: I came back to UK for studies while my wife continued to work in Hong Kong.
My wife currently has a visitor visa that runs out in April 2020.
After I finish my studies in June this year (2020) I want to bring my wife here to the UK and live here together permanently.
I am likely to get a job with a salary between £25-£30k.

Which visa should she apply for? One of the requirements for the family visa are that we should have been living together for 2 years in a relationship before applying (https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse), but we have only lived together for one year after being married.

Any advice much appreciated!

Thanks in advance

Samuel

[Zerubbabel]

Hi

Please check this out:



The 2 years are for non-married partners who need to prove they have been living together for 2 years in a relationship akin to marriage.

[seagul]

I am likely to get a job with a salary between £25-£30k.

But you can only apply after at least 6 months.

[samuelchai]

Thanks for reply.

Furthermore, my current plan is as follows:
My wife will first apply for a standard visitor visa in April 2020.
My wife's current contract ends in 2021, so we have proof that she can return to Hong Kong, although we intend for her to break that contract when she moves to the UK.
I will start work in July 2020, so by the end of December 2020 I should have 6 months' payslips.
My wife will join me here in August/September 2020.
In December my wife will apply for family visa.

My query is as follows:
When my wife applies for the standard visitor visa, it is a requirement that she proves that she will return to Hong Kong. However, what if she wants to stay in the UK on the visitor visa until she applies for a family visa without returning to Hong Kong? Will they accept this situation? In other words, how can we get her to stay here in the UK without having to return to Hong Kong?

[geoeng]

In other words, how can we get her to stay here in the UK without having to return to Hong Kong?

You can't, she must apply for the initial spouse visa from a country she is legally resident in. Unless she were resident in the UK on another visa type (not a visitor visa), she would have to return to Hong Kong to apply.

[CR001]

When my wife applies for the standard visitor visa, it is a requirement that she proves that she will return to Hong Kong.

Yes, she has to prove strong ties, ie family, social, work, finances etc

However, what if she wants to stay in the UK on the visitor visa until she applies for a family visa without returning to Hong Kong? Will they accept this situation? In other words, how can we get her to stay here in the UK without having to return to Hong Kong?

No, she cannot switch to any other visa category while in the UK as a visitor. She just apply for a spouse visa from her home country.

[samuelchai]

If we are to use savings in support of a visa application, does it have to be in my (the husband's) account, or can they also be in my wife's account?

[geoeng]

If we are to use savings in support of a visa application, does it have to be in my (the husband's) account, or can they also be in my wife's account?

Can be either of you individually, savings in joint accounts or a combination. Only the amount of cash savings above £16,000 held for at least 6 months can be used towards the financial requirement. See Section 7 from page 48 of the guidance document linked below for additional details on cash savings.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... -ext_1.pdf

[samuelchai]

Thanks.

Furthermore, since my wife is currently working in Hong Kong, would her current salary count towards the application? Or must it be a UK job?

[geoeng]

Furthermore, since my wife is currently working in Hong Kong, would her current salary count towards the application? Or must it be a UK job?

The employment or self-employment income of the applicant can only be included if they are in the UK working legally.

[samuelchai]

My wife currently holds a visitor visa that lasts until April this year. Could this be extended immediately so that she could come to the UK very soon without having to return to HK in April?

[AmazonianX]

My wife currently holds a visitor visa that lasts until April this year. Could this be extended immediately so that she could come to the UK very soon without having to return to HK in April?

On what grounds would you want to extend her visitor visa from WITHIN the UK? This is usually done from applicants country of origin or legal residence.
Don't start making your future plans that is supposed to be easy complicated from now.

[samuelchai]

This would not be made from within the UK, but from Hong Kong. My wife is currently in Hong Kong (and she is a Mainland China citizen) while I am in the UK. I want to bring her here as soon as possible for 6 months without her having to go back to Hong Kong in April, when her current visa is due to expire.

[iwolga]

This would not be made from within the UK, but from Hong Kong. My wife is currently in Hong Kong (and she is a Mainland China citizen) while I am in the UK. I want to bring her here as soon as possible for 6 months without her having to go back to Hong Kong in April, when her current visa is due to expire.

She can apply for visits visa (new one) now. She can also try asking visa that starts next day from her current visa. Well, didn't work with me even with an invitation from company. What happened is my current visa was cancelled and a new visa was issued.

In your case, it can be risky as you live in UK and this - in the eyes of HO - looks most of the times as a stronger tie in UK than elsewhere. Especially since currently you can't qualify for spouse visa. Good news is that visit visa refusal will not cause further problems with spouse visa.

[ibwe]

This would not be made from within the UK, but from Hong Kong. My wife is currently in Hong Kong (and she is a Mainland China citizen) while I am in the UK. I want to bring her here as soon as possible for 6 months without her having to go back to Hong Kong in April, when her current visa is due to expire.

While I think your spouse can apply for a visitor visa, it is better that you wait and apply for spouse visa. Just give yourself a time to collect the savings to meet the financial threshold. Otherwise you will have to look for a very good immigration lawyer (yet spending more of your savings) who might advise you of other 'waivers'.

[samuelchai]

Thanks for all your advice so far.

I am now considering getting a multiple entry visa so that we can take a trip to EU after arriving in UK.

Now, if my wife applies for 2-year multiple entry visa in April, will she still be allowed to apply for the spouse visa in January (while the 2-year visa is still valid)?

[geoeng]

Now, if my wife applies for 2-year multiple entry visa in April, will she still be allowed to apply for the spouse visa in January (while the 2-year visa is still valid)?

Yes, previous visit visas whether still valid or not will not affect eligibility to apply for a spouse visa. Keep in mind that for each attempted entry into the UK, there is likely a chance your wife would be refused entry as it may be viewed as attempting to live in the UK without the correct visa to do so. Similarly, attempting to apply for a 2 year visit visa may also be seen as an attempt to circumvent the immigration rules as this is not what this visa is intended for - this is why the family visa category exists.

[samuelchai]

In order to apply for spouse visa, must my wife have proof of employment and residency from the country she's coming from? If so, what evidence would suffice?

Cheers!

[CR001]

In order to apply for spouse visa, must my wife have proof of employment and residency from the country she's coming from? If so, what evidence would suffice?

Cheers!

No. Her employment and income is irrelevant to a spouse visa.

[samuelchai]

Hi There

If I have £62,500 savings in my account starting from March until September 2020, will my wife then be able to apply for a spouse visa from Hong Kong (is it recommended to have more money than this)? Also, do they usually take the full 12 weeks to process, or can they sometimes be quicker?

Many thanks

[geoeng]

Hi There

If I have £62,500 savings in my account starting from March until September 2020, will my wife then be able to apply for a spouse visa from Hong Kong (is it recommended to have more money than this)?

That amount would be sufficient to meet the financial requirement and could be used provided all of the criteria in the table on page 52 of the guidance document linked below are met. Keep in mind that the intent of this category is that the funds must be yours and cannot be borrowed. You don't need to have more than is specified. If it's held in foreign currency, might be worth having more to account for fluctuations in currency conversion rates.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... -ext_1.pdf

[geoeng]

Also, do they usually take the full 12 weeks to process, or can they sometimes be quicker?

Can be quicker sometimes, can also be longer sometimes. You may be able to pay an additional fee for priority processing, but this is not necessarily guaranteed. There's a timeline thread but how long it takes is dependent on many factors that vary between individuals.

[vinny]

Keep watching for updates.

[samuelchai]

Hi,

My wife's current teaching contract in HK is until August 2021. Will she still be eligible to apply for a 2 year visa to the UK?

Thanks

[geoeng]

My wife's current teaching contract in HK is until August 2021. Will she still be eligible to apply for a 2 year visa to the UK?

Are you referring to the 2 year visitor visa? Believe visitor visas have been discussed in this thread already. Meeting the eligibility requirements will not necessarily guarantee the visa will be granted based on the circumstances you have described nor does having a visa necessarily guarantee entry on each return trip to the UK.