Will spousal visa application be affected by visa overstay

[billabog5]

We have just arrived from Australia. I am a British citizen, my wife of 8 years is Australian. Y family still live here & we have come back initially for holiday but my parents health is fading so we are looking to stay here indefinitely. The only option seems to be for my wife to get a spousal visa so I am starting to fill in application. Anybody else done this ? Any tips or advice ? Apparently if I don’t provide the right evidence or enough evidence & documents to support our claim you lose the £1000 it costs. Anyone know where I can getany free legal advice in Manchester / Oldham region or if it’s poosible to arrange an interview with immigration officials
Thanks

[Casa]

Member aren't permitted to post professional recommendations on the open forum, but you should be able to get all the advice you need here for free. The Home Office don't offer an Immigration advice service and beware of their 'help line'. It is outsourced to an agency whose staff are poorly trained on even the most basic issues and if you call them 10 times you're likely to be given 10 different answers.

The current cost of a Spouse Settlement visa is £1,523 + £600 NHS Surcharge. If the application is refused, you would lose the visa fee but the NHS surcharge would be refunded.

1. Your wife is unable to apply for a Spouse visa from within the UK while here as a visitor. She will have to return to Australia and submit the application there.

2. In order to meet the mandatory minimum income level you have the following options:
Your wife returns to Aus and once you have been employed for 6 months with a earnings of £18,600 p.a (£9,300 for the 6 months), you will be able to apply,
OR
Qualify with savings of £62,500 which have been held in an accessible account for at least 6 months....unless the funds are from a property sale, in which case the 6 month rule doesn't apply.
OR
You secure a job in the UK to start within 3 months of your re-entry to the UK (again with a minimum of £18,600 p.a) AND submit evidence of earnings the equivalent of £18,600 p.a for the 12 month period prior to submitting the application.

[billabog5]

I’m in a similar position to Kayleigh but I will be working & I can prove my income was above the amount specified whilst I was in Australia. So would you recommend waiting until I started work to apply ? We also already have an investment home here.
Would the fact we are here on holiday affect our application?

[Casa]

I’m in a similar position to Kayleigh but I will be working & I can prove my income was above the amount specified whilst I was in Australia. So would you recommend waiting until I started work to apply ? We also already have an investment home here.
Would the fact we are here on holiday affect our application?

Are you aware that the Spouse visa application can only be submitted in Australia?

Your most recent payslip showing your Aus earnings must be dated no older the 28 days on the date the application is submitted. Taking this into consideration, in my opinion it would be simpler to wait until you have been employed in the UK for 6 months with annual earnings of £18,600 p.a(£9,300 pro rata)

Do ensure that your husband doesn't stay in the UK longer than the period stated on his entry as a visitor.

[billabog5]

So I can’t apply for a spousal visa whilst in the UK ? I was under the impression we could.

[Casa]

So I can’t apply for a spousal visa whilst in the UK ? I was under the impression we could.

It's not permitted to switch to any other visa category (including as a Spouse) while in the UK as a visitor.

[billabog5]

I don’t think my wife is on a visa currently , we were just on holiday, thought you could stay 6 months without a visa coming from Australia . Is it possible to go to Europe after 6 months & re-enter & start the 6 month holiday stay again ?

[Casa]

I don’t think my wife is on a visa currently , we were just on holiday, thought you could stay 6 months without a visa coming from Australia . Is it possible to go to Europe after 6 months & re-enter & start the 6 month holiday stay again ?

Although your wife is a non-visa national, she is permitted entry with a 'virtual visa' with the same conditions of stay. She isn't permitted to spend more time in the UK than she is spending in her home country within a rolling 12 month period. Anything in excess of this will be considered as 'residing' and not as a genuine visitor.

If she leaves to spend a short time in mainland Europe the Immigration Officer at UK Border Control is highly likely to refuse her entry due to 'frequent and successive' visits.

Was your wife asked on entry how long she intended to stay in the UK

See the guidance for UK Border Officials and in particular the Immigration Rule which covers:
Frequent or successive visits: how to assess if an applicant is making the UK their main home or place of work

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... 7.0EXT.PDF

[billabog5]

No. We did have return flights booked for July but family issues have determined that we really have to stay. I am in a good position, I will have good work & we have a permanent address. I contacted a lawyer but they wanted around £1000. I can fill in the the application & we have all the supporting evidence [ we have been together 14 years & married close to 7 years]. I’ve read the government website & I don’t see any problems other than the fact my wife is applying whilst here. I just want to know if any potential pitfalls & would be happy to pay a solicitor a reasonable fee to check everything prior to us submitting our application

[CR001]

I have split your posts from Kayleigh's thread and merged with your own topic you originally started.

announcements/multiple-posts-will-be-lo ... t5722.html

[Casa]

No. We did have return flights booked for July but family issues have determined that we really have to stay. I am in a good position, I will have good work & we have a permanent address. I contacted a lawyer but they wanted around £1000. I can fill in the the application & we have all the supporting evidence [ we have been together 14 years & married close to 7 years]. I’ve read the government website & I don’t see any problems other than the fact my wife is applying whilst here. I just want to know if any potential pitfalls & would be happy to pay a solicitor a reasonable fee to check everything prior to us submitting our application

1. Your wife will only be able to submit her Spouse visa application once you have 6 months of payslips with the corresponding bank statements showing that you meet the minimum earnings level of £18,600 p.a.

2. By that time, I assume your wife's 6 month permitted stay in the UK will have expired.

3. The application MUST be submitted from her home country and the length of time you have been in a relationship/married is irrelevant to the non-switching rule for visitors.

4. The £1,000 solicitor's fee to assist with preparing the application is fairly average.

[billabog5]

The government website says you can apply whilst in the UK & I was told that if I had a job offer that will meet the 18500 requirement then that will suffice as long as I have started work & the employer will state I have long term work. So many conflicting opinions.

[CR001]

Where on the government website does it state a visitor visa holder can apply within the UK??? Provide the link and quote.

[CR001]

Many visa categories can switch and apply withing the UK, visitor visa is not one of them.

https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa

When you cannot get a family visa
In some circumstances you cannot apply for, or switch to, a family visa.

You have a visitor visa or a visa for 6 months or less
You’ll usually need to leave the UK to apply for a family visa if either:

you have permission to be in the UK as a visitor
your visa is for 6 months or less

[CR001]

A job offer on its own is not sufficient. You need 6 months bank statements and 6 months payslips and apply abroad.

[billabog5]

My wife intends to apply for spousal visa when she returns to Australia next month. We originally intended to apply for it whilst here as it clearly stated on Gov.UK website that you can apply whilst here but it turns out that you can’t. We had already booked holidays away including one next month which will be around 2 weeks after the visitor visa will have expired. Will this affect my wife’s visa application negatively? The government website is very misleading regarding how & where you can apply for spousal visa from. Also, would we be able to go to the new Government walk in centres for advice ?

[CR001]

My wife intends to apply for spousal visa when she returns to Australia next month. We originally intended to apply for it whilst here as it clearly stated on Gov.UK website that you can apply whilst here but it turns out that you can’t. We had already booked holidays away including one next month which will be around 2 weeks after the visitor visa will have expired. Will this affect my wife’s visa application negatively? The government website is very misleading regarding how & where you can apply for spousal visa from. Also, would we be able to go to the new Government walk in centres for advice ?

Your topics have been merged.

The walk in centres do not give advice. She must apply for a spouse visa from Australia.

[vinny]

whilst here as it clearly stated on Gov.UK website that you can apply whilst here but it turns out that you can’t.

Where on the Gov.uk website does it say that?

The rules are clear that she cannot.

Section E-LTRP: Eligibility for limited leave to remain as a partner

Immigration status requirements

E-LTRP.2.1. The applicant must not be in the UK-

(a) as a visitor; or

Do also read Appendix FM-SE very carefully.

She should be able to apply from her home country.