Possibility of not meeting 30 month period after initial entry visa

Hi all,

Hope you can help.

I understand that a UK spouse visa is issued for a 33 month period when issued outside of the UK.  As part of the requirement for a FLM visa, my wife needs to spend 30 months in the country or she will not meet the requirements of that visa.

My wife's visa was issued on the 1st April 2015.  She arrived in the UK on 20th June 2015, not being able to travel sooner from the U.S. because her mother was receiving cancer treatment and needed to look after her.  From what I understand, this means 2 months and 20 days have been eaten into the'3 month allowance.'

On November 21st 2015, we travelled to Miami for thanksgiving and returned to the UK December 1st.  This is another 10 days, which brings the total time she has been out of the country since her visa issue date to 3 months (give or take a day or two).

In May 2016, my wife wishes to travel to Miami for 2 weeks because her sister who lives in Egypt is travelling to Miami to visit her mother.

My questions are:

1) If she doesn't travel any more, will she have accrued enough time in the UK by the time we apply for her next visa?
2) If she does travel more, which takes her over the 3 month allowance, what impact will this have?  Will she need to apply for another visa to bring her up to 30 months in the country and then apply for FLM?

Any answers, guidance or support you can offer is greatly appreciated.

You are fine.  She just needed to enter the UK within 3 months and take up residence here.  She can travel outside the UK as much as she wants.  The big thing is that you two just need to be living together during these 30 months.  Her taking short trips home is totally allowed.

Phew!!

I was getting so worked up and stressed out.  Thank you so much for the prompt clarification.

Yes, it's not an issue - the only date that matters is the initial date she entered the UK, in her case, 20th June 2015... because this will determine the dates that she can apply for FLR(M) and for ILR.

There is no set length of time she can be out of the UK for during the visa... the only thing that matters is that you live TOGETHER for the entire visa, even if that's not all in the UK... for example, one couple here spent 6 months in England and 6 months in France each year and they qualified for ILR with no issues, because they lived together in the UK and France, not separately. You just have to make sure that the UK is your main home.

... for example, one couple here spent 6 months in England and 6 months in France each year and they qualified for ILR with no issues, because they lived together in the UK and France, not separately. You just have to make sure that the UK is your main home.

Out of curiosity, and totally irrelevant to the original thread, did the non-UK spouse in this example have a separate visa for her time in France, or is it automatically permitted as part of an EU/UK agreement?  I've wondered about this for some time.

Out of curiosity, and totally irrelevant to the original thread, did the non-UK spouse in this example have a separate visa for her time in France, or is it automatically permitted as part of an EU/UK agreement?  I've wondered about this for some time.

Yes, she would need to meet the requirements for France.  There would be something comparable to the EEA family permit in the UK.