Qualifying for indefinite leave

Hello please I have a question for my cousin. She and her husband currently live outside the UK and she wants to understand the rules around qualifying for indefinite leave to remain under the rules that say when you've been married for 4 years and living together outside the UK.

Does anyone have experience with this ?

That rule no longer exists- it was abolished 2 years ago, on 9th July 2012, when the new rules came in.

The only way for a couple who has been married and living together for more than 4 years to qualify for Indefinite Leave is to move to the UK on a spousal visa, and live together in the UK for 5 years.

They will need:

- a 2.5-year spousal visa
- then a 2.5-year FLR(M) visa
- then they can qualify for ILR after 5 years in the UK.

On this note, can someone clarify what the "continuous residence" requirements are for ILR for someone on a UK spouse visa? I'm likely to get a job that requires frequent travel, and I want to make sure that once I come to the UK with my British partner that I stay within those guidelines. I'm seeing some conflicting info. Thanks in advance.

There's no specific 'continuous residence' rule for ILR as a spouse - you don't have to stay in the country for a particular number of days.

All you have to be able to show is that you and your spouse have lived TOGETHER, at the same address as each other, and have been in a genuine relationship for the entire 5 years. You do this by showing evidence of mail addressed to both of you at the same address, evenly spaced (every 4 months or so), over the entire 5 years (so start saving your mail when you arrive in the UK).

If you have to travel for work reasons, this shouldn't affect ILR, as long as you continue to keep your joint residence as your primary home - as this kind of travel can't be helped. Even if you both move to another country for a few months during the spousal visa/FLR(M), this may not affect ILR either, as long as the UK continues to be your main residence and you both continued to live together during that time.

But if you choose you live apart for personal reasons (i.e. one of you lives in London and the other lives in Manchester for no other reason than you don't want to live together), then they may not believe you are in a subsisting relationship and so can refuse the ILR.

There is a restriction on being outside the UK when you apply for citizenship - you cannot have been outside the UK for more than 270 days in the previous 3 years before applying, with no more than 90 days in the final 12 months.

On this note, can someone clarify what the "continuous residence" requirements are for ILR for someone on a UK spouse visa? I'm likely to get a job that requires frequent travel, and I want to make sure that once I come to the UK with my British partner that I stay within those guidelines. I'm seeing some conflicting info. Thanks in advance.

Where are you seeing conflicting information? Work travel has no effect on continuous residence.

thank you @ksand24

Where are you seeing conflicting information? Work travel has no effect on continuous residence.

I suppose I should have said "heard", not "seen" or read. One of my friends was not able to apply for ILR (a couple of years ago) after living in the UK for almost 10 years because he had travelled too much for work. He wound up returning to India because he was so fed up over it. Are there different standards that apply to people who've been in the UK on non-spouse visas in terms of ILR and citizenship?

Yes, your friend was in a VERY different situation to you.

He was trying to apply for ILR under the 10-year continuous residence path, where you can qualify for ILR if you have been legally living in the UK for 10 continuous years on a variety of visas (including student visas which don't normally lead to ILR). It's a special case visa that not many people can qualify for.

It's much harder to qualify for ILR under the 10-year route than the normal spousal visa route as you have to meet more requirements and there may well be a restriction on days out of the UK.

I have a friend from Hong Kong who lived in the UK on student visas from the age of 12 to 22 and tried to apply for ILR under the 10-year route but it was refused due to her having an issue with one of her student visas and she had a gap of a couple of months between valid visas. She returned home to live in HK instead of staying in the UK and trying to get more temporary visas.

Yes, your friend was in a VERY different situation to you.

He was trying to apply for ILR under the 10-year continuous residence path, where you can qualify for ILR if you have been legally living in the UK for 10 continuous years on a variety of visas (including student visas which don't normally lead to ILR). It's a special case visa that not many people can qualify for.

It's much harder to qualify for ILR under the 10-year route than the normal spousal visa route as you have to meet more requirements and there may well be a restriction on days out of the UK.

I have a friend from Hong Kong who lived in the UK on student visas from the age of 12 to 22 and tried to apply for ILR under the 10-year route but it was refused due to her having an issue with one of her student visas and she had a gap of a couple of months between valid visas. She returned home to live in HK instead of staying in the UK and trying to get more temporary visas.

Oh the good ole 10 year route! I will have to stay nearly 12 years to qualify for ILR because of the days out issue. I am allowed 540 days in 10 years. Sounds like a lot, but actually that's 54 days a year for 10 years. I did a lot of travelling in my early 20s... For instance, I did a semester abroad during my degree (luckily I travelled back half way through, or that would have thrown another spanner!). Each route has different requirements in terms of days out.

I was recently talking to someone who works for UKVI and he was asking for feedback. I said that so many people get caught out by the constant rule changes, convoluted and bizarre, sometimes seemingly conflicting rules. Grr the 540 days out! I'm about to go on honeymoon, and we had to make it a short one because of this!