Applying with KOL?

I don't know if this plan can work out, but I thought I'd run it past the lovely people on here.

So, our family is all relocating from the US back to the UK and we need to get a visa for my hub.  If my hub travels for a short visit to the UK and takes the KOL while there (and hopefully passes ) and we submit the certificate along with the documentation that we've been married 4+ years outside the UK, can the ECO give us indefinite leave from here, like in the past? We have a thousand things to do in the UK before the big move and flights to the UK will cost about $800.

If this route is possible, a) we save money because a return flight to the UK is half the cost of applying for ILR! and b) hub gains a trip to the UK which we really could do with to start looking for apartments, daycare etc etc PLUS the baggage allowance.

Does it sound feasible? 

I do believe we've had a thread or two on here in the past from folks who have done just that - flown to the UK as a visitor, taken the KOL, gone back to the US and applied for LLE from there...

Thanks! I found a huge thread from last year but I still don't know if it's feasible or not. Has any of it been cleared up since then? It seems that if you enter the UK with the express purpose of taking the test and you don't tell the IO, then you could possibly be later denied a visa for deception  . And if my hub tells the IO that he's checking out apartments and daycares etc etc because we are planning on moving, could he be denied entry  Even though it's obvious that he will be leaving (because his whole family is in the US and because he has a return ticket, and, well, because people trying to sneak in aren't honest!)?

This just stinks and seems like the government is hell bent on fleecing us out of 750 pounds. We're a hard-working, law-abiding, tax-paying couple with two young children - I honestly think we'd contribute positively to British society. Why are they putting up so many barriers and making it so difficult?

I stand corrected - i found the posts of someone who successfully did it!!!

Thanks for heads up.

Here it is, in case anyone else is interested

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=41721

This just stinks and seems like the government is hell bent on fleecing us out of 750 pounds. 

You and a lot of other people on this board, and that's after either fiancee (and FLR) or spousal visa fees first! 

This just stinks and seems like the government is hell bent on fleecing us out of 750 pounds. We're a hard-working, law-abiding, tax-paying couple with two young children - I honestly think we'd contribute positively to British society. Why are they putting up so many barriers and making it so difficult?

It is quite a shock isn't it!? Especially after being exposed to films like 'Under the Tuscan Sun' where Diane Lane decided to take a trip to Italy.  Then she bought a house and stayed put...no sign of immigration anywhere, no mention if she might have already been an Italian citizen...if only it were that easy to re-locate to ANY country!

Glad you found the answers you were looking for regarding KOL. 

Yes, it is a shock! For some reason, I thought it'd be so easy. My Dad was naturalised after marrying my Mum in the 1970s and he told me that it was super-easy.

I'm happy to pay my way, but I hate this feeling that I'm being taken for a ride because we have no choice. I'd love to see the govt. actually justify where the £750 goes to or the £500 for the visa. How many person-hours does it take to check the application? I mean, banks aren't allowed to profit off you anymore by adding unfair fees. And we *can* afford it, even though it hurts. I'm sure that there are plenty of people for whom it must be a real and genuine hardship, especially with all the expenses involved in setting up a new life - and that's just not right    

Oh, the government openly acknowledges that the cost of the visa is significantly over and above the cost of actually processing the application.  In their mind, you're paying for the privilege to live in the UK, and for the funding of their other projects.