Spouse Visa Questions - Moving back to UK

[WetJeans]

I'm a little bit concerned and I think I'm a little out of my depth with my understanding.

My Chilean wife and I were married in Chile in 2006 and she joined me in England where we lived together. She had a spouse visa for 3 years with limited leave to remain - we left just before getting permanent leave to remain. We then decided to move to Chile for 9 years where we had 2 children. Due to circumstances, we have had to return to the UK a month ago. It was a bit last minute and the paperwork for a Visa seemed a lot more complex than it was back in 2006. We decided to move back with my wife and children entering as tourists given the urgency of moving back. I also didn't have a job lined up in England.

I obtained British passports for my children once they were here, but my wife is still a tourist.

From my understanding, I need to have 6 months of payslips and plenty of cash before I can apply for a visa for my wife (Visa + Surcharge)? Is this correct? She will need to go back to her country to obtain this visa?

For now, I wonder if she can just leave the country every six months until I get the money saved that we'll need? I'm not sure we can get our move sorted in the next 6 months what with getting kids in school, housing, etc... My wife would need to go back during a holiday period.

Do we have any other options for making my wife's stay permanent? What dangers are we facing with this strategy? My marriage isn't registered in the UK, I'm wondering whether in my situation if I'm considered legally a single parent for the purposes of things like tax credits for example?

I'm feeling really frustrated with the immigration system. The job I obtained was for highly skilled workers and if they'd employed a foreign person, a visa would be supplied for the person and their family (even if this person's family was from the same country as my wife). In my case, I'm English, but there is no visa for my family. This just seems unfair and penalises British people.

Maybe there is something I don't fully understand. Any help, suggestions, etc... would be extremely appreciated!

Cheers!

[Casa]

I'm a little bit concerned and I think I'm a little out of my depth with my understanding.

My Chilean wife and I were married in Chile in 2006 and she joined me in England where we lived together. She had a spouse visa for 3 years with limited leave to remain - we left just before getting permanent leave to remain. We then decided to move to Chile for 9 years where we had 2 children. Due to circumstances, we have had to return to the UK a month ago. It was a bit last minute and the paperwork for a Visa seemed a lot more complex than it was back in 2006. We decided to move back with my wife and children entering as tourists given the urgency of moving back. I also didn't have a job lined up in England.

I obtained British passports for my children once they were here, but my wife is still a tourist.

From my understanding, I need to have 6 months of payslips and plenty of cash before I can apply for a visa for my wife (Visa + Surcharge)? Is this correct? She will need to go back to her country to obtain this visa? Yes, as your wife is unable to apply for a Spouse Settlement visa from within the UK while she is here as a visitor. 6 months of payslips + the corresponding bank statements as proof that you meet the minimum income level of £18,600 p.a

For now, I wonder if she can just leave the country every six months until I get the money saved that we'll need? I'm not sure we can get our move sorted in the next 6 months what with getting kids in school, housing, etc... My wife would need to go back during a holiday period. Be careful with this as if the Immigration Officer at the port of entry believes that she is using a visitor visa to reside in the UK, she may not be allowed to enter. She shouldn't be spending more time in the UK in a rolling 12 month period than she is spending in her home country.

Do we have any other options for making my wife's stay permanent? What dangers are we facing with this strategy? My marriage isn't registered in the UK, I'm wondering whether in my situation if I'm considered legally a single parent for the purposes of things like tax credits for example? If your marriage is legal in Chile then there is no requirement to register it in the UK as it will also be recognised under British law. Tax Credits must be claimed in joint names if your wife is residing with you as the family income will be used to calculate the entitlement. However, the situation is further complicated with your wife being in the UK as a visitor. Child benefit should be claimed in your name only but there may be a waiting time for this to pass the Habitual Residence Test. Others may be able to advise further on this.

I'm feeling really frustrated with the immigration system. The job I obtained was for highly skilled workers and if they'd employed a foreign person, a visa would be supplied for the person and their family (even if this person's family was from the same country as my wife). In my case, I'm English, but there is no visa for my family. This just seems unfair and penalises British people. There is a visa for your wife if she applies from outside of the UK for spouse settlement once you have 6 months of employment. The rest of your family as British citizens are fortunate that they don't need a visa or required to be included in the minimum income level.

Maybe there is something I don't fully understand. Any help, suggestions, etc... would be extremely appreciated!

Cheers!

Bear in mind that unless your wife has a degree taught in English, she will need A1 level English from a UKVI approved test/test provider.

A tip. Best not to post in the middle of the night, when most members in the Western time zones are fast asleep and your post is likely to get buried by the morning. With my moderator's hat on, I found it by checking through the unanswered posts.

Welcome to the forum and feel free to post again if you have more questions about the application.

[WetJeans]

I'm a little bit concerned and I think I'm a little out of my depth with my understanding.

My Chilean wife and I were married in Chile in 2006 and she joined me in England where we lived together. She had a spouse visa for 3 years with limited leave to remain - we left just before getting permanent leave to remain. We then decided to move to Chile for 9 years where we had 2 children. Due to circumstances, we have had to return to the UK a month ago. It was a bit last minute and the paperwork for a Visa seemed a lot more complex than it was back in 2006. We decided to move back with my wife and children entering as tourists given the urgency of moving back. I also didn't have a job lined up in England.

I obtained British passports for my children once they were here, but my wife is still a tourist.

From my understanding, I need to have 6 months of payslips and plenty of cash before I can apply for a visa for my wife (Visa + Surcharge)? Is this correct? She will need to go back to her country to obtain this visa? Yes, as your wife is unable to apply for a Spouse Settlement visa from within the UK while she is here as a visitor. 6 months of payslips + the corresponding bank statements as proof that you meet the minimum income level of £18,600 p.a

Thanks for the reply. I'm still working through this situation, and I'm wondering if there is anything more I can do to make this easier for us. I have two questions:

I was resident and working in Chile and earning more than the £18,600 p.a until March, can I use these payslips too? Even though they are in Spanish and in Chilean pesos? I then started work in the UK in May. Can I use a combination of these two payslips? Do they need translating? Or are they pretty much explanatory?

Do you have to apply from the country of origin or residence? For example, could my wife go to Spain for example and apply for a UK spouse visa there?

Any help greatly appreciated!

Cheers.

[physicskate]

You can use a combo of pay slips under Category B of meeting the financial requirements, provided that the total of all those payslips is above the £18600 threshold AND you currently earn above that amount.

Anything in Spanish will need translating.

You can only apply for entry clearance (ie, a spouse visa) from a country where you have legal residence. For most people this is the country of their citizenship, but if she holds a visa to live in another country, she could apply for a visa to the UK in that (third) country.

[WetJeans]

I'm British and I'll be applying for a settlement visa for my wife. We used to live abroad and I'm planning on using evidence from my salary at my foreign-based place of work. The problem is that my place of work only generates electronic payslips and my bank only generates electronic statements and any letter from my place of work is an electronically generated letter with a digitised signature/stamp. Is there anything I can do in this case as it seems from the guidance that a letter needs to be sent on official letter head of the company?