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Topic: Spouse Visa Question  (Read 359 times)

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Spouse Visa Question
« on: May 24, 2016, 03:12:54 AM »
Hello all,
Question...I am an American citizen and my husband is British, we've been living in the Chicago area for the past 11 years and have 3 kids all of whom have dual citizenship. We are looking to move to the UK next year and I am trying to figure out the visa end of it.

*I assume that I'd be looking for a spousal visa that would allow me to live/work in the UK with the rest of my family, but am I eligible for this since my husband is not currently living in the UK?  It seems like that is part of the requirement for this type of visa, but I'm sure there are others in the same boat as us?

*The visa is good for 2.5 years from the date it is approved, so it'd be best to wait until we are a few months away from moving, correct?

*From your experiences, would this be the best visa to have? I might be eligible for a work visa, as the UK is currently seeking physician associates from America to work in the UK. I would think that a spousal visa would be best and so I wouldn't be dependent on a specific job to stay in the country. We are thinking of living in the UK for a few years and likely then moving back to America (but who knows with the current state of this country... ???)

Appreciate any help you can send my way! Thanks in advance!


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Re: Spouse Visa Question
« Reply #1 on: May 24, 2016, 05:41:17 AM »
Welcome to the forum :).

No, the spousal visa is what you need and it's fine if your husband is currently living in the US - the requirement for him to be 'present and settled' in the UK just means that he has to be a UK citizen with the right to live permanently in the UK.

However, he has to meet a minimum UK income requirement in order to sponsor your visa, so depending on his circumstances he may need to move to the UK ahead of you before you can apply for a spousal visa.

In order to be able to apply for the visa while he is still living in the US, he has to meet two financial criteria:
1) he has a UK job offer paying at least £18,600 and starting within 3 months of moving to the UK
And
2) he has earned at least £18,600 in the US in the last 12 months before applying.

There are other ways to meet the income requirement as well, such as savings of £62,500 or more if he doesn't have a UK job offer.

Have a read through Appendix FM 1.7 (a link to it is in the documents section of the spousal visa information on the UKVI website - 'Join Family Living in the U.K.') to see all the ways he can qualify to
sponsor you.

In answer to your other questions:

1) you can apply no earlier than 3 months before you wish to move to the UK... So if you won't be moving until next year you have a few more months to wait. When you apply, you have to put an intended travel date, which can't be more than 3 months ahead, and you will have 30 days from this date to move to the UK. So say you applied today, the latest travel date you could put would be 24th August 2016 and you would have to move between 24th August and 23rd September 2016.

2) it's the visa you are expected to get as the spouse of a UK citizen. If your spouse cannot meet the financial requirement for the visa, the other options would be a work or student visa, but a work visa can be very difficult to qualify for and a student visa requires a lot of money for tuition and living costs.


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Re: Spouse Visa Question
« Reply #2 on: May 24, 2016, 01:50:16 PM »
Thank you so much for your reply! That makes sense. How long do spousal visas usually take to obtain? If you only have a 3 month window to travel, I assume not too long? Once he has a job offer there, will a signed letter from the future employer plus a current copy of his paycheck suffice to prove compliance with financial requirements?


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Re: Spouse Visa Question
« Reply #3 on: May 24, 2016, 02:13:36 PM »
It depends on the time of year you apply, how many applications are in front of yours, and if you pay for priority processing or not.

Typically non-priority applications take about two months to process and priority just under a month.  These can be shorter or longer depending on current demand.


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Re: Spouse Visa Question
« Reply #4 on: May 24, 2016, 02:20:30 PM »
Thank you so much for your reply! That makes sense. How long do spousal visas usually take to obtain? If you only have a 3 month window to travel, I assume not too long? Once he has a job offer there, will a signed letter from the future employer plus a current copy of his paycheck suffice to prove compliance with financial requirements?

You'll need bit more than that. It helps to familiarize yourself with the rules. Have a good read here.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/469692/Appendix_FM_1_7_Financial_Requirement_August_2015.pdf


https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-fm-se-family-members-specified-evidence

Spouse visas don't take long usually,  up to a couple of months at most although we're heading into the busy season now, so it could be longer.  If you pay for priority, it can take from a few days to a few weeks.


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