Wife ILR query

[Engineerfbd]

Dear Members,

I have got a question regarding the ILR application which I am going to submit for my wife.

Let me just give you a background before i ask my question

I came to UK on work permit in 2005. I shifted to HSMP in 2007 and then to Tier 1 in 2009.

It is then i got married and my wife joined me here in UK in August 2009 as Tier 1 dependant.

I then got my ILR in 2010. I didn't apply for my wife ILR along with me because she didn't meet 2 years residence requirement by then.

I took an appointment at PEO in Oct 2011 for my wife's ILR but i was advised at PEO office that i first need to apply for FLR (M) and only then my wife will be eligible for ILR.

It didn't make sense but given my wife was pregnant and was going to India for delivery, we applied for FLR (M) in October 2011, which is valid until Oct 2013.

We had our baby delivered in India in Jan 2012 and she came back to UK in May 2012. So we was out of UK for 7 months (208) days to be exact.

Now we are thinking of applying for her ILR, along with my daughter, but we are not sure that how much the fact that she was out of UK for 208 days will matter.

My Question is- My wife was with me in UK from August 2009 to October 2011 (27 months) and then she was out of UK from Nov 2011 to May 2012 (208 days). Since then she has been with me in UK June 2012 to present ( 15 months).

So does it matter that she has not been in UK for 2 years continuous immediately preceding her application date? Or the fact that she has spent already more than 2 years with me in UK between August 2009 to October 2011 is sufficient for her to qualify for ILR?

May I request learned members of the forum to shed some light on this confusion of mine?

Sorry for long post but i though it would be easy for members to respond if full story is known.

Thanks,
Engineerfbd

[vinny]

See also Time spent outside the UK.

Her time as a PBS dependant may be included under 287(a)(i)(d).

They may also require evidence of subsisting marriage during the periods when you were apart.

[Engineerfbd]

Hi Vinny,

Thanks for the reply.

I think 287 (a)(i)(d) is to be read in conjunction with 287 (a)(i)(c), which is linked to 282 (c), which in turn refers back to 281(i)(b)(i).

And 281(i)(b) seems to be related to a case where married couples had been living together outside of UK at least for 4 years.

In our case we started living together only in UK after my marriage in 2009. So although my marriage is more than 4 years old, i don't think above rule applies to us.

My questions is when they look for 2 years continuous stay, is it immediately preceding the application date? In that case my wife will not meet the requirement.

However if they look for just 2 years continuous stay then we have already completed that before my wife left for India due to pregnancy.


Any comments?

Thanks

[Amber]

Vinny is correct, under 287(a)(i)(d), the time as a PBS dep can be combined with flr(m) to create the required 2 year qualifying period. However, she appears to have 2 years under flr(m) anyway. Thus, she can apply for settlement on set(m) subject to her absences being limited and for good reason. Giving birth abroad for family and cultural reasons should be good reason and 7 months should be limited as per many other people's experience.