FLR(M) and extended leave out of the country

Hi everyone,

I received my FLR(M) visa in June 2008.

Unfortunately, my husband's business has become a casualty of the current economic times in the UK. Although he has applied to many jobs here matching his skills and experience, he hasn't been successful. So he decided to look outside of the UK and has been offered a great job in Canada. And it would require us to move there.

DH called the UK Border Agency who told him that my time away in Canada would just be tacked onto the end of my visa. Is this correct?

I'm worried because my visa expires in June 2010 and we think we will be in Canada for at least 2 years, riding out the recession. What will happen? Am I to come back into the country before the visa expires, explain my situation and get an extension next June? Is there such a thing?

We do plan to come back to the UK.  I'm overwhelmed by the whole thing, I had just uprooted my whole life to come to this country about a year and a half ago, never thought I'd be doing it again so soon. 

I'm worried about the visa. I do not want problems with immigration when we come back to visit friends and family or to have future visa problems when we permanently come back to live in the UK.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!

If you come back to settle before your visa expired, that is fine, you can just apply for ILR as if you have never left.

Otherwise, if you let the visa lapse, you will have to start again and apply for a new spousal visa.

You can't just pop back to extend the visa or get ILR, as you wouldn't genuinely intend to settle or leave in the UK, so any attempt to do either would be making a false declaration.

Vicky