advise please

[missmatanong]

Is it a good idea if my husband brings our daughter with him when he goes back to England now and wait for like 3-6 months to file for my spouse visa application?

[pinayshen]

where did u married?? im now on spouse visa an i got my son here!

[missmatanong]

we got married here in the Philippines and because we are running out of budget, my husband thinks its best that he go back to England with our daughter then I apply for my spouse visa. Original plan is all 3 of us go back to England after 5 years of living here in the Philippines. He had an accident at work abroad and decided that we all move back to England. Now he's got no job and we're on a budget so he came up on this new plan instead. He reckons I will have bigger chance to get a visa if our daughter is in England...Do you think its right? I am not happy about the idea to be honest cuz just thinking that both of them will be away from me is already killing me

[Terpe]

If your daughter has a British Passport then she does not need a visa.
Means you can all travel together after your spouse visa.

[missmatanong]

at the moment, we have 2000 pounds in his UK bank account and 2000 US dollar here..we're worried that the ECO would deny me visa because we don't have enough money. this amount is all we have right now so if we pay for my visa application the money will be a lot less and we'll end up having money not enough for our plane tickets..reason why my husband thinks that if they go back to England now, then maybe he will be able to save enough money in the bank and having our daughter already in UK will be a leverage for me to have a bigger chance of getting the visa...we are confused really of which is the best thing to do..please enlighten me

[pinayshen]

u can get a visa easily if u are married here in uk! but i dont think if the eco will approve u coz of the money u have the right now.

[Terpe]

Everyone is going to have a different take on it.
Personally, it would take a lot to split up my family under such uncertainty.

I have to agree that logic says he has more chance to save up enough money for your application and travel from a UK base. But only with good support from UK.
So before giving any advice may I ask if he has a supporting family and adequate accommodation here in UK?
Also what line of work would he be looking for?

[joebloggs]

i think it will make no difference where your daughter is, you will have to get your visa on your own merits. but if you've lived together for 5yrs outside the UK, when you get to the UK , as soon as you take and pass the 'life in uk' test, you can apply for ILR.

but if he does bring her to the UK, he could possibly apply for child benefit and possibly tax credits/childcare element . so finanically it could be better for you all., but i'm not sure 100% about his entitlement are if he's been outside the uk for many years.

[Terpe]

..... but i'm not sure 100% about his entitlement are if he's been outside the uk for many years.

There has been loads of changes recently and there's more to come very soon. But in principle most benefits depend on Residency status and NI contributions.
Probably 3 months min residency will be needed just to start.

In addition to Residency Status there are a number of other rules that dictate social security benefits.
Theses will be available on the Department for Work and Pensions website (http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/)

Or from HMRC

It always used to be that to qualify for most of the NICs based benefits you needed to have NICs on your NI record during the last two complete tax years.

It's certainly not an easy hill to climb.

Better to secure a job asap and start NI contributions for 3 months.

[missmatanong]

ok here's the whole situation. When he left England, he left his debts too. He worked in casinos all his life and he said he can't get a license because of these debts he left. he have no idea what kind of job he will have if he goes back to England. We do have his mum helping us. She's got 3 bedroom house and is living on her own. She is willing to let us reside with her if we do go back to England. I intend to work and I am not a fuzzy worker. I'll take any jobs to have an income and help financially. At the moment he's got no job and is still healing from surgery he had last month cuz he snapped his bicep tendon. Our worry is we will end up living in the streets if he don't go back to England which is our last resort. He don't want to go back but its our only option at the moment. I agreed he take our daughter with him but because of the situation, we are not sure how long til we can see each other again. And the thought of living away from them is really killing me already. He used to work abroad to provide for the family and it's bad enough that he had to work away. So if there's 2 of them away from me and not know when I will be with them again is just too much

[sars_notd_virus]

I would suggest you let your husband go back to UK on his own and when established financially , apply for your spouse visa..it would be harder for him to look after a child and find a job at the same time..so let your daughter stay with you.

btw, why didnt you apply for ILE? you and your husband lived together for 5years and if your mother in law can provide accommodation with enough supporting documents like mortgage papers,sponsors letter etc..you have a good chance to be granted a visa.

[missmatanong]

hi sars...how do i apply for ILR? are the requirements the same as spouse? what about the fee and how much money do we need to show in the bank? please please please advice me.....

[sars_notd_virus]

hi i think you need this form http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/resources/en/docs/1903073/vaf4a

[Terpe]

ok here's the whole situation. When he left England, he left his debts too. He worked in casinos all his life and he said he can't get a license because of these debts he left. he have no idea what kind of job he will have if he goes back to England. We do have his mum helping us. She's got 3 bedroom house and is living on her own. She is willing to let us reside with her if we do go back to England. I intend to work and I am not a fuzzy worker. I'll take any jobs to have an income and help financially. At the moment he's got no job and is still healing from surgery he had last month cuz he snapped his bicep tendon. Our worry is we will end up living in the streets if he don't go back to England which is our last resort. He don't want to go back but its our only option at the moment. I agreed he take our daughter with him but because of the situation, we are not sure how long til we can see each other again. And the thought of living away from them is really killing me already. He used to work abroad to provide for the family and it's bad enough that he had to work away. So if there's 2 of them away from me and not know when I will be with them again is just too much

missmatanong,
The information you give here is very important.
His debts will not have any impact on any visa application you make.
However, if he has any debts with HMRC (Inland Revenue/Tax) or for Council Tax then the UKBA will pass his details on.
All other debts in England (Bank loan/credit cards etc) will remain on his record for a period of 6 years minimum for a simple contract. This time starts running from the date of last contact or last repayment. After this time they become what is called 'statute barred' and cannot be legally recovered. However any debts for tax (HMRC) will not be statute barred and can be legally recovered through the courts.

Now, you husband seems to be "injured" and may not be fit for work. This needs to be considered as there will be no benefits payable to him.
It's lucky that his mother has adequate accommodation and would be able to help with the any visa application.
Please be aware that you husband will have some problems organising his life with bank accounts and employment etc as the credit reference agencies will then have information on him again.

[missmatanong]

Hi terpe,

He have no debt with HMRC but with a bank. This is another reason why he wouldn't want to go back to England. But him being injured and unemployed are the reasons why we ran out of option but for him to go back to England. He's finding it really difficult to find a job right now. Please please, suggest what you think we should do with this situation we are in right now....thanks terpe

Thanks Sars for the link...

[joebloggs]

another possibility is if he goes and looks for work in another EU country (southern Ireland for example) a few months after he's found work, you should be able to apply for a family permit to join him, cost nothing, and its more difficult to refuse than a spouse visa, once you've been in southern ireland for a few months, he should be able to then bring you to the UK using the surinder singh route.

a bit of messing about, but might be an option.

[missmatanong]

another possibility is if he goes and looks for work in another EU country (southern Ireland for example) a few months after he's found work, you should be able to apply for a family permit to join him, cost nothing, and its more difficult to refuse than a spouse visa, once you've been in southern ireland for a few months, he should be able to then bring you to the UK using the surinder singh route.

a bit of messing about, but might be an option.

thanks joebloggs..i'll inform my husband about this

[Terpe]

another possibility is if he goes and looks for work in another EU country (southern Ireland for example) a few months after he's found work, you should be able to apply for a family permit to join him, cost nothing, and its more difficult to refuse than a spouse visa, once you've been in southern ireland for a few months, he should be able to then bring you to the UK using the surinder singh route.

a bit of messing about, but might be an option.


Good suggestion by joebloggs.
Well worth considering this option.

[missmatanong]

thanks terpe and joebloggs ..now my husband's asking, if we do get to and EU country and I get to join using a family permit, will that allow me to go to England with him in the future with no problem?

[missmatanong]

hi again ..sorry for so many questions..probably sounds like a stupid question but I am not sure what the answer is..anyways, thanks a lot for all the advise and info...i will keep you posted...