On spouse visa but husband offered job abroad..

[cmk]

Hi everyone!

I am hoping you all might be able to offer me some advice! I am an American married to a Brit and I am currently on a spouse visa living in the UK. I have lived in the UK for almost 10 years, however, so I am looking to apply for ILR via the 10-year long residency route once I hit this mark next year. Once I have ILR, I plan to then apply for British citizenship.

My husband has just been offered a job abroad in the UAE that would potentially last 1-2 years if he accepted it, however I would not move with him because I know that would mean I would be sacrificing my chance to get ILR and subsequently British citizenship.

The attractiveness of the offer he has been given for this job is the lack of tax that would be paid, but I realise that this would be related to his being considered either a UK resident or non-resident.. and that is where things would get tricky. I also realise that when I entered into the application of my current spouse visa I stated that we intended to live permanently in the UK, and as my sponsor he agreed that he was resident of the UK. So if he did move abroad for this job, and I stayed in the UK, would that make my current spouse visa invalid? Or would that only happen if he was considered a non-UK resident, i.e. if he basically barely ever came to visit the UK in his time working in the UAE (and obviously that isn't viable for our marriage!)

Some advice would be great if anyone knows more about this since we don't want to put ourselves in a situation where in any way my visa status could become compromised, or any future chance to get ILR or citizenship might be compromised as well! Obviously if is impossible then so be it, and he would have to turn down the job. But any useful information would be very welcome!

Hopefully everything I have said makes sense..! Many thanks in advance

[seagul]

Its really very tricky situation but almost everyone in life come across a situation where you have to sacrifice one thing to get another thing. Since there is no absence limit on spouse visa so you can move with him to UAE but I doubt that still the absence more than 6 months might break continuity towards long residence.

[Londoner007]

Unless it is some sort of charity or humanitarian organisation where you feel ethically attracted to it, i'd personally wait until all citizenship stuff is sorted before migrating somewhere else for work purposes.

[physicskate]

Unless it is some sort of charity or humanitarian organisation where you feel ethically attracted to it, i'd personally wait until all citizenship stuff is sorted before migrating somewhere else for work purposes.

Agreed. While it MAY not pose any problems (because you probably won't get caught) it would be breaking the immigration rules because you and your spouse would not be living together permanently in the UK, which is the purpose of the spouse visa.

If your ILR is due this year, surely you would be waiting a max of a few months for this move to happen?? Once you have ILR, you are immediately eligible for citizenship, should you wish to apply. Once you have ILR, your spouse is free to take up employment abroad as your residency would no longer be tied to the spouse visa (ie the presence of your spouse in the UK).

[CR001]

Additionally, you should note that even form SET(LR) for Long Residence ILR asks for details of your spouse and evidence of cohabitation. SET(M) via spouse visa it is mandatory too.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... -07-18.pdf

B12. If you are in a genuine and subsisting relationship with a person who is settled in
the UK or who is a British citizen, please provide their details here, including their name,
nationality and date of birth. You must provide evidence of cohabitation since the start of
this relationship.

[cmk]

Thanks everyone for your advice!

My husband and I have been talking and I do think that @physicskate you are right in that it would be risky as it would be breaking the immigration rules of my spouse visa.. I wouldn't be able to apply for ILR until the end of next year and this job opportunity would in theory be starting before then (according to the offer) so I am inclined to think that it will not be a good fit for our current situation. Perhaps further down the line, as you say, once I have ILR, if this or another opportunity comes our way.

Also, thank you @CR001 for pointing out that specific part of the SET (LR) application form - that is really helpful!

Overall it seems this job opportunity for my husband would likely be more risk than reward at the moment!

[seagul]

Its really very tricky situation but almost everyone in life come across a situation where you have to sacrifice one thing to get another thing. Since there is no absence limit on spouse visa so you can move with him to UAE but I doubt that still the absence more than 6 months might break continuity towards long residence.