Spousal Visa and working overseas

Hi,

I am getting married to my American fiancee In May in the USA and afterwards we will then be both returning to live in the UK under the Spousal Visa scheme. I am a UK resident and citizen.

I have just received a job offer that will mean, whilst I will remain a UK taxpayer and be working for a UK domiciled company, I will be working in Amsterdam. If my wife comes with me to stay in Amsterdam (accommodation provided by my employer, we will be retaining an address in the UK), will this effect her gaining ILR when the spouse visa expires? That is, does the ILR have a residency requirement?

And if my wife finds work in Amsterdam (a possibility), I expect this to add another hideous layer of complexity but would the UK authorities look unfavourably on this?

cheers

Ian

How long do you expect to be in Amsterdam?


Victoria

I will be on a one year fixed contract. Afterwards this can be renewed or I could be reassigned to another role overseas (Europe and Asia) depending on the business circumstances of my employer.

If you away for one year because of work then the Home Office have the discretion to allow the ILR providing the employer supports your argument that you had no choice but to work overseas on secondment.  Any more than that and it would certainly be refused.

It might be easier if you look into the possibility of your wife entering Amsterdam under the EEA visa and then looking into her entry to the UK once you actually come to settle here.

Victoria

Thank you Victoria.
I'm a bit confused about the EEA visa I thought it only applied to EEA nationals. I will still be based in the UK, and still be a UK taxpayer. Does the EEA visa have to be applied for from the Dutch authorities? If we stayed in Amsterdam during the week and returned to the UK at weekends would that help from a residency perspective?

Ian

You will be an EEA national excercising your treaty rights in the netherlands, and this gives you certain rights to bringing your non-EEA family over there with you.  You should ocntact the Dutch consulate for details of how their application of the system works.

Coming back to the UK at weekends would help, but I doubt your wife would get ILR if that was all you were doing for over the 1 year period.  The Home Office are likely to question your committment to residing in the UK.

Victoria

They would question our commitment to reside in the UK even as a UK taypayer and homeowner with a joint mortgage? Sounds like time to write to my MP.

I take it if I worked in Amsterdam and the wife stayed in the UK this would count as time 'living apart' and would also be unbeneficial from the Home Office's view?

Ian

They would question your committment to reside in the UK if you have been living elsewhere for a year and have a contract to live elsewhere for a further year.  I doubt there would be anything your MP could do about it.  Basically, if you spend over 50 per cent of the two year probationary period not resident in the UK, they will probably stop making allowances for your work and will not overlook the absence for your wife's ILR application.

If you worked in Amsterdam and your wife lived in London....tricky.  If you visit every weekend, then you could probably argue it (with the right person drafting your arguments!) but having this set up for more than 12 months is, again, likely to raise eyebrows.


Victoria

So if my wife doesn't get ILR what then? She is never allowed to live or work in the UK? As she will still be my wife and I'd remain a UK citizen could we apply again?

I realise this is an unusual situation but I assume this will becoming increasingly common as the global village expands. I would hate to be part of the UK's brain drain due to hysterical postering and tightening immigration rules.

So if my wife doesn't get ILR what then? She is never allowed to live or work in the UK? As she will still be my wife and I'd remain a UK citizen could we apply again?

I realise this is an unusual situation but I assume this will becoming increasingly common as the global village expands. I would hate to be part of the UK's brain drain due to hysterical postering and tightening immigration rules.

If she doesn't get ILR she can get a 1 year FLR and then reapply ad infinitum.  But it looks to me like the EU route is the least hassle way to go.  I didn't understand what the objection to that is. 

As long as she remains married to you and you are in a relationship she will be able to apply for leave to enter or extend her leave to remain if you are going to be living in the UK, even if she never qualifies for indefinite leave.

After you have been living in the netherlands you could also use EU law once you move back, but that is probably a bit more intricate than you would need.

Victoria

Garry,

The objection to the EU route is that I won't be living in Amsterdam until after I start this new job, if I accept it. Our plan before this was to spend the time helping my wife move from the US to the UK after we get married and have honeymooned in the USA. However I can't support my wife under the terms needed for the Spousal Visa until I have a new job (I'm being made redundant at the end of this month). Also I assumed the fact that I will continue to be paid in the UK for tax purposes would count for something.

Reconsidering (I always assumed the route above would be the way to go), my wife could enter the UK under the normal 6 month touristy thing and then enter the Netherlands under the EEA visa once I'm living there. We shall have to do some further research to see if this is viable. I'm afraid this route might raise eyebrows, re. why are you not travelling on a spousal visa after you are married, lack of return ticket et al..

Thank you both again for your comments.

You should check with the Dutch Embassy as to whether or not she will be able to apply for the EEA visa from the UK if she is only here on a visit visa.  She may have to make the application from the US before you leave.

Unfortunately, your residency for tax purposes and your residency for immigration purposes are two totally seperate things.

Victoria

Not really.  They don't care about where you pay tax.

And as to 'raising eyebrows'…   Somebody asks "Why don't you have a spousal visa?"  You say, "We don't need one".  They say, "Why?".  You say, "We're based in A'dam - here's the EEA permit."  It's not really going to leave them gasping in disbelief, is it?.

Alternatively, and somewhat more creatively, you may want to look at the 'Portuguesa' loophole to see if there's any value in it for your situation.

I've just phoned the Dutch consulate, they were very helpful. They say in principle there is no objection, and that a residency visa for my fiancee could even be applied for from within the Netherlands. I'll get my better half to contact the Dutch embassy in the US and see what the system is for getting an EEA permit in advance.

And I'll bite, what is the Portuguesa loophole?

Ian