Questions about spouse visa and Citizenship

[resnic123]

Hi all

Got a few questions here.

My wife's spouse visa will expire next August and I'm wondering should I just extend or apply for right to remain indefinitely?

We would eventually be looking to apply for citizenship.

Which leads to my second question:

How long does my wife have to live here before applying for citizenship and can she apply having just extended her spouse visa rather than optaining right to remain indefinite?

Hope this makes sense?
Any advice would be appreciated

Many thanks

[Arthur Little]

Hi all

Got a few questions here.

My wife's spouse visa will expire next August and I'm wondering should I just extend or apply for right to remain indefinitely?

We would eventually be looking to apply for citizenship.

Citzenship - or Naturalisation (to give it its other name) - takes 3 years to obtain under 'Old Rules' (i.e. those in force prior to July 2012)

But holders of a Spousal Visa must go through the whole gamut ... and so your wife's next move will be to apply for what is called 'Indefinite Leave to Remain' (commonly referred to as ILR).

Which leads to my second question:

How long does my wife have to live here before applying for citizenship and can she apply having just extended her spouse visa rather than optaining right to remain indefinite?

Hope this makes sense?
Any advice would be appreciated

Many thanks

ILR (under Old Rules) can be applied for - at the earliest - 28 days before the date on which your wife has been in the UK for 2 years; e.g., supposing her current visa expires on August 15, 2015 ... then she'd be eligible to apply anytime after July 19 next year - providing she had passed the 'Life in the UK Test' and also attained the required standard of Listening & Speaking by an approved Home Office Examining Body in the English Language.

However, in cases of Spouse Visas granted AFTER 9 July, 2012 - when the system changed and the so~called 'New Rules' became operable - then it will take longer to complete the Immigration journey.

Here, then, is an example of the timetable for those on the longer stretch - based on the present setup:

Arrival in UK: 13 September 2015; apply for Further Leave to Remain 21/2 yrs - 28 days prior to [at the earliest] and certainly before the visa expiry date of 12 March 2018 - then again for an extended 30 months to cover the period to 12th Sept'r 2020 = a total of 5 years for *ILR ... and THEN ... finally, once *that penultimate hurdle is over, foreign nationals can, if they so wish, apply for British Citizenship.


Phew!

Now, I ought to conclude by stating that the facts I've provided above are taken purely "off the top of my head" and should be regarded as a generalisation, as it were ... because I brought my wife to the UK away back in 2009 - at which point, the whole shebang was a lot more straightforward. Accordingly, I would offer my apologies for any inadvertent inaccuracies on my part.

[Terpe]

Hi all

Got a few questions here.

My wife's spouse visa will expire next August and I'm wondering should I just extend or apply for right to remain indefinitely?

We would eventually be looking to apply for citizenship.

Which leads to my second question:

How long does my wife have to live here before applying for citizenship and can she apply having just extended her spouse visa rather than optaining right to remain indefinite?

Hope this makes sense?
Any advice would be appreciated

Many thanks

When did your wife apply for her visa to enter UK as a spouse ?
What is the duration of the current visa ? 27 months or 33 months ?

If she is eligible for ILR she will need to have passed Life in UK test and additionally have passed English Language Test at B1 level.

Citizenship requires 3 years living in UK as a Spouse PLUS ILR

[resnic123]

Hi Arthur

Thanks for the information.

This is very helpful but also very depressing.

So if I've got this right, my wife will have been here 2 and half years next August (on a spouse visa) and her visa runs out August 8th 2015. I can only apply July 11th (28 days prior ) for 30 month ILR and then apply again in January 2018 for 30 month ILR (to cover 5 year period) bringing me to July/Aug 2020 before I can apply for UK citizenship?

Wow if this is the case then I'll be in my 40s before my wife is a UK citizen.
There goes our travel plans

Thanks again Arthur

[resnic123]

Hi Terpe

Thanks for reply.

My wife is on a 33 month spouse visa which will expire August 8th 2015.

By that stage she will have been in UK 31 months. She sat an English language test for her spouse visa in Philippines.

From what I can gather, she'll have to sit out her whole spouse visa plus a 5 year ILR (total 8 years) before she can apply for UK citizenship?

Many thanks

[Terpe]

Hi Terpe

Thanks for reply.

My wife is on a 33 month spouse visa which will expire August 8th 2015.

By that stage she will have been in UK 31 months. She sat an English language test for her spouse visa in Philippines.

From what I can gather, she'll have to sit out her whole spouse visa plus a 5 year ILR (total 8 years) before she can apply for UK citizenship?

Many thanks

OK
That means your wife is under the new-rules and a 5 year immigration journey before being eligible for ILR

The next step is for her to apply for her second period of 30 months FLR
She will be eligible to apply for that shortly before her 30 months anniversary of arrival into UK

She can only apply for ILR after 5 years since UK arrival.
The Financial Requirement still needs compliance.

Once she has been granted ILR (settlement) she is eligible to apply for Naturalisation as a British Citizen.

She does not need to wait for 3 years as holder of ILR.
She needs only to have been living in UK as a spouse and be the holder of ILR at the time of application for citizenship.

On the question of English Language test the requirement for ILR is for a passing grade at level B1
If she already holds that then no worries.
If she holds level A1 then she'll need to take another test.

[resnic123]

Hi Terpe

Thanks for your quick response.

Ok, so once my wife has completed her 5 years on a spouse visa and FLR visa can we only again apply within that 28 day period before FLR visa expires?

I ask this because I have read it can take up to 6 months to process an ILR visa and you will be without your passport for this period.

Thank you.