Help!!!! Spouse/ilr questions.

[melovesengland]

I am posting in behalf of a friend who is currently holding a spouse visa under the old rules and is already here in the UK. Her husband (british) works abroad and she wants to spend her Christmas with him this year.

The questions are:

Can she travel outside the UK using her visa?

How many days/weeks/months is she allowed to be on holiday outside the UK?

Is it TRUE that you need to complete 2 years of stay in the UK before you can apply for ILR?

What if she will spend a year living in another country due to personal circumstances and come back to the UK after, will she be able to apply ILR still?

What if she didnt able complete the 2 years of stay in the UK, will she be allowed to extend her spouse visa by all means or apply ILR on her comeback?

Will she be able to apply for ILR even she didnt complete the 2 years stay in the uk?

Will they refuse her ILR application on that?


Obviously, I havent got a clue on the Spouse Visa rules etc as I enter the UK using Fiancee visa and I am not an expert so I am asking for you bunch of BRAINIES to help me out.

PLEASE?

Can you give us advices, suggestions, information, ideas? Providing links may also help us out?

Thanks in advance!

[rusty]

Yes, you are able to travel outside the UK when on a spouse visa.

Although there is no specific requirement for the number of days allowed outside the UK on spouse visa, the UK should be your country of residence.

The only residential requirement stated is when you apply for British Citizenship. it says:-

Residential requirements

To demonstrate the residential requirements for naturalisation, you must have:


been resident in the UK for at least five years (this is known as the residential qualifying period); and
been present in the UK five years before the date of your application; and
not spent more than 450 days outside the UK during the five-year period; and
not spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months of the five-year period; and
not been in breach of the Immigration Rules at any stage during the five-year period.


If there are genuine reasons, (backed up with evidence) for not living in the UK, then it will be up to the UKBA to decide if they will accept the ILR application.

Another option may be to apply for FLR first, then after apply for ILR?

[joebloggs]

also if he is working aboard and shes in the UK, possible she could have a problem applying for ILR because they are living apart, but i doubt it.

possible she could go and live with him if his work takes him out of the UK and still apply for ILR when they come back, but all this is will probably come down to the discretion of the case worker.

Spouses, fiances and partners

If you are applying for ILR as the spouse or partner of someone permanently settled in the UK then the rules are different. The Immigration Rules do not say that you must have been resident in the UK for your qualifying residence period.

The official advice is that ‘Your application to settle here will be judged on its merits, taking into account your reasons for travel, the length of your absences, and whether you and your partner travelled and lived together while you were outside the UK. If you have spent a limited time abroad in connection with your job, for example, this should not count against you.’

This does not mean that you have an unlimited allowance of absence, however! Spouses and partners are also expected to live permanently with your partner. As your partner is either settled here or a British citizen they are expected to live in the UK on an ongoing basis.

If you are absent from the UK for long periods of time then this may bring your relationship or your partner’s residence into question and indirectly affect your application.

You should also note that if you go on to apply for citizenship then the normal residence requirements will apply, as explained below.

http://lifeintheuk.net/index.php/after_the_test/absences_during_residence_ilr/

[melovesengland]

Yes, you are able to travel outside the UK when on a spouse visa.

Although there is no specific requirement for the number of days allowed outside the UK on spouse visa, the UK should be your country of residence.

The only residential requirement stated is when you apply for British Citizenship. it says:-

Residential requirements

To demonstrate the residential requirements for naturalisation, you must have:


been resident in the UK for at least five years (this is known as the residential qualifying period); and
been present in the UK five years before the date of your application; and
not spent more than 450 days outside the UK during the five-year period; and
not spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months of the five-year period; and
not been in breach of the Immigration Rules at any stage during the five-year period.


If there are genuine reasons, (backed up with evidence) for not living in the UK, then it will be up to the UKBA to decide if they will accept the ILR application.

Another option may be to apply for FLR first, then after apply for ILR?

Thanks for the response Rusty. Will let her know about this right away. Thanks a bunch!

[melovesengland]

also if he is working aboard and shes in the UK, possible she could have a problem applying for ILR because they are living apart, but i doubt it.

possible she could go and live with him if his work takes him out of the UK and still apply for ILR when they come back, but all this is will probably come down to the discretion of the case worker.

Spouses, fiances and partners

If you are applying for ILR as the spouse or partner of someone permanently settled in the UK then the rules are different. The Immigration Rules do not say that you must have been resident in the UK for your qualifying residence period.

The official advice is that ‘Your application to settle here will be judged on its merits, taking into account your reasons for travel, the length of your absences, and whether you and your partner travelled and lived together while you were outside the UK. If you have spent a limited time abroad in connection with your job, for example, this should not count against you.’

This does not mean that you have an unlimited allowance of absence, however! Spouses and partners are also expected to live permanently with your partner. As your partner is either settled here or a British citizen they are expected to live in the UK on an ongoing basis.

If you are absent from the UK for long periods of time then this may bring your relationship or your partner’s residence into question and indirectly affect your application.

You should also note that if you go on to apply for citizenship then the normal residence requirements will apply, as explained below.

http://lifeintheuk.net/index.php/after_the_test/absences_during_residence_ilr/

he works 3 months abroad and come back after as far as I know. Thats what me and my friend were chatting about last night if she really can spend half of her 27 month visa with her husband outside UK. If she will then she wont meet the residential requirement which is a prime requirement on applying ILR. :Erm::cwm3::Cuckoo:

[joebloggs]

if they refuse her ILR she would have to apply for FLR(M) or they could grant her FLR instead of ILR.

if she lived outside the UK for 3 months of the yr with him because of work, i would have thought she shouldn't have a problem getting ILR, but she needs evidence she was outside the UK with him. if its 3 months of the year outside the UK you should really have a problem getting ILR (under the old rules anyway)