Leave to Remain, Further Leave to Remain and lapsing

[Blindinbothears]

Hi all,

I have a few questions regarding the items mentioned above.

My wife has limited leave to remain in the UK which according to her BRP expires on 4/4/18. From what I understand, the next step is to apply for Further Leave to Remain (FLR) to get a further 2.5 years which will bring her up to 5 years and an application for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR).

Now... After a couple of years in the UK and realising we can't really afford to live here, we are looking at returning to Asia. I am a UK qualified teacher so looking to live and work in Asia again with my wife and two children. This would obviously mean lapsing on her visa and not applying for FLR, if we were to leave the UK before her date of 4/4/18.

Does anybody know what happens in this case? Do we need to notify anyone of our intentions, or do we simply let it lapse? I assume we would have to start from the beginning again if we were to ever think of coming back (which is unlikely).

Any information on this topic would be appreciated.

Many thanks

[Casa]

You don't need to notify anyone and you are correct that if you decide to return to the UK your wife would have to re-start the spouse visa entry process again.