few questions

Was wondering if I could get some help with our situation.  I had ILR but we have been out of the UK for more than two years.  Also we have been married for more than four years.  Really need some advice here so any help would be great.

Is a "returning resident" visa possible or should we just forget that and start over ?  I hear this visa mentioned but have not heard of anyone getting one.

Could we get ILE automatically without starting over, as a previous post suggested, based on the fact that I had ILR ?  Has anyone done this ?

When would I have to have ILR by in order to get citizenship, under the old rules ?

Does ILR become effective from the date of your application or the date it is granted ?

Sorry for all these questions.  We are looking at going back to England very soon and are getting really confused with how to do it. 

Have you been living outside the UK for four years or more?

Sorry about leaving out that piece of info.  Yes, we have been living outside of the UK for four years or more.

I am in the same situation. I had ILR and lived in the UK for 15 years. I am now looking to move back and was advised to apply as a returning resident. I did that but unfortunately made it much harder for myself bu visiting for Christmas after I had applied but not yet recieved my visa yet. We were denied entry to the country and I have had to come back to the US and enter another brand new application which is now presenting problems because of being denied entry. It should be pretty straight forward for you. Good luck.

Is a "returning resident" visa possible or should we just forget that and start over ?  I hear this visa mentioned but have not heard of anyone getting one.

From what I've heard, a returning resident visa is extremely difficult to get, and it is more often than not refused. I haven't heard of anyone on the board here being granted one.

Could we get ILE automatically without starting over, as a previous post suggested, based on the fact that I had ILR ?  Has anyone done this ?

You won't be able to get ILE based on you having ILR previously, but you will be able to get ILE based on being married and living outside the UK together for 4 years or more. However, in order to get ILE directly from the US, you must have already taken the Life in the UK (KOL) test... but, the life in the UK test can only be taken in the UK.

So you would have 2 options:

1) Fly to the UK as a visitor, take the test, fly back to the US and then apply for a spousal visa, requesting that you be given ILE based on being married for 4 years and having passed the KOL test.

2) Apply for a regular spousal visa in the US and ask for it to be endorsed with 'KOL Req'd' based on being married for 4 years (this allows you to bypass the 2-year spousal visa residency rule and apply for ILR as soon as you have passed the KOL test), move to the UK, take the KOL test as soon as you like and then apply for ILR from within the UK.

When would I have to have ILR by in order to get citizenship, under the old rules ?

You would need to have applied for ILR before July 2011, because the new rules of probationary citizenship will replace ILR in July 2011.

Does ILR become effective from the date of your application or the date it is granted ?

It will be effective from the date it is granted, but if you are applying for ILR in the UK, as long as the application is sent off before the rules change, then I believe you will be okay (as it can take several weeks/months for the ILR to be processed in the UK, unless you pay £200 extra to go in person and have a same-day decision).

When applying for your spousal visa/ILE in the US, if you hire a visa expediter to hand-deliver your application to the consulate, which means it gets put to the front of the processing line, it could be approved in as little as 24-48 hours. If you don't use an expediter, you're looking at a wait of 60-90 business days for processing.

Hope this makes sense .

Being married 4+ years and living together those 4+ years outside the UK you can receive ILE if you have the test pass certificate for the Life in the UK (KOL) test which you can take as a visitor to the UK and then upon returning to the US apply for ILE as the spouse of a British Citizen.

If not, you will need to apply for the spousal visa with the 'KOL Req' Endorsement which allows you to enter the UK on that visa, take the test as soon as you feel ready and then immediately apply for ILR once you pass the test.

Just be aware 'returning resident' visas are nearly impossible to get and are widely regarded as a waste of time and money to even make the application. It is best to probably either go to the UK take the test & apply for ILE or make an application for a Spousal visa with the 'KOL Req' endorsement.

Wow.  Thank you so much for all this help.
So I think I pretty much understand what is being said.  We will likely go the spousal visa w/KOL req route unless we can fit in a trip to England, before we move back, to take the KOL test.  Sounds like getting a returning resident visa is like finding a winning lottery ticket laying on the ground. ha ha

I must admit I am concerned about the three year residence rule for citizenship.  If we have the ILR before July 2011 will they allow us three years (July 2014) to apply for citizenship under the old/current system ?

I thought I read that they were only giving people two years (July 2013) to get citizenship under the old/current system ?

Will they will allow me to use the time I originally spent living in England under the ILR to count towards my 3 year citizenship residence requirement ?

Once again thanks for helping and lending us your time everybody and good luck to all on this journey.  You guys are great !!!!  It is nice to know we are not alone in all of this.

Your previous time in the UK unfortunately won't count toward the residence period for Citizenship. In order to qualify under the current rules for Citizenship you would need to enter the UK probably no later than Early/Mid June this year so you would qualify before July 2013 and you would have to get your ILR before July 2011.

Residential requirements

In order to demonstrate the residential requirements for naturalisation you need to:

■have been resident in the United Kingdom for at least three years (this is known as the residential qualifying period); and
■have been present in the United Kingdom three years before the date of your application; and
■have not spent more than 270 days outside the United Kingdom during the three-year period; and
■have not spend more than 90 days outside the United Kingdom in the last 12 months of the three-year period; and
■have not been in breach of the immigration rules at any stage during the three-year period.

Start of the residential qualifying period

The residential qualifying period will be worked out from the day we receive your application. Most unsuccessful applications fail because the applicant was not present in the United Kingdom at the beginning of the residential qualifying period. You must make sure you meet this requirement before you make your application. For example, if we received your application on 25 November 2005, you would have to show that you were in the United Kingdom on 26 November 2002.

I think I've got it !  It appears the clouds are parting and the sun is breaking through.
Once we move back to England, must do before early/mid June, my time starts accruing towards the 3 year goal.
Take my KOL ASAP and get the ILR before July 2011.
Apply for Citizenship before July 2013.

My mistake was that I thought you had to have ILR for 3 years to get Citizenship.

Final questions (for today at least).  When you pass the KOL test and apply for ILR could we still be turned down for ILR ?

Is there a page that shows the old or I guess current Citizenship requirements ? Trying to figure out what the changes are going to be.

I promise these are my last questions today.  Have a great weekend everybody, wherever you are !!!

The new requriements for citizenship haven't even been announced yet, so the page that I cited IS the CURRENT requirements: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/eligibility/naturalisation/spouseorcivilpartnerofcitizen/.

You could be refused ILR if you didn't meet the requriements (not taken the KOL test or your marriage has broken down). Here is the page with the ILR application form SET(M). The form and the guidance for the form is on the right of the page and the page itself describes how you qualify: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/settlement/applicationtypes/applicationformset(m)/.

WebyJ that was fast !!!  You are great.  I dont know what we would do without this site.  Talk to you later guys and gals.