[Merged]: Assorted ilak Questions

1. No.

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1087.aspx?CategoryID=68&SubCategoryID=162

In order to register at the dr's office my husband used I had to have a valid visa in my passport. Anyone on holiday who gets sick and needs A&E is not refused, but they can make you pay the bill. However, to have a GP you are meant to actually reside in the country. Someone with more experience may be able to tell you more.

I think people get annoyed because most people have gone the legit way to be with their partner and have had many sleepless nights apart. It cost me a lot of money to reach being granted citizenship, and at one point, I didn't see my husband for a year. It's hard to read about someone overstaying for four years, and then just being able to walk right back into the country. I am not having a go at you Ilak. I think it's just difficult for so many of us who had to do absolutely everything by the book to earn the right to live in the UK.

Right I understand what you are saying, but if I am on a 6 month visiting visa and am curious about whether or not I can register with a doctor, then I would go to my local to find out right?

I mean thats all I did, I went there and asked them if I was allowed to register as a visitor and she said for me to bring in my passport and she will take a look to make sure my visa is valid.

Then handed me the form...

Is it not them who are supposed to know the rules otherwise they will be letting everyone register with valid visa's.

Because I am really confused as to whether a visitor can register or not?? The doctors where I registered seemed to have no problem with it.

There are some guidelines about what overseas visitors are entitled to here.

From that document:

The National Health Service is primarily for the benefit of people who live in this country. It is therefore considered that eligibility to receive free medical treatment should relate to whether a person is ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom (UK) and not to nationality, the payment of National Insurance contributions or taxes.

The courts have decided that a person is regarded as “ordinarily resident” in the UK if he or she is lawfully living in the UK voluntarily and for a settled purpose as part of the regular order of his or her life for the time being. A person must have an identifiable purpose for his or her residence here and that purpose must have a sufficient degree of continuity to be properly described as settled. It is unlikely that anyone coming to live in the UK, intending to stay for less than 6 months, will fulfil these criteria.

also (from the same document):

I also called the Department of Health’s advice line (020 7210 4850). The advice I received seems consistent with HSC 1999/018 (and confirmed in more recent publications).
The rule of thumb they gave was that somebody is ‘ordinarily resident’ if both of the following apply:
• They will be in the UK for at least 6 months.
• Their passport is open-ended – allowing them to stay for at least 1 year, without any restrictions.

I mean thats all I did, I went there and asked them if I was allowed to register as a visitor and she said for me to bring in my passport and she will take a look to make sure my visa is valid.

Then handed me the form...

Is it not them who are supposed to know the rules otherwise they will be letting everyone register with valid visa's.

But you didn't have a valid visa which allowed you to register with a GP - a valid visa for being entitled to free NHS treatment is one that is valid for more than 6 months (i.e. they made a mistake in letting you register).

Perhaps it simply didn't occur to the people at the surgery that people would show up there trying to access NHS services when they aren't entitled to them.

If it were me, I would have looked at the NHS website to find out if I could register with a GP on a visitor visa, not gone to the local surgery where they are more accustomed to answering phones and organising patient files than dealing with immigration issues.  

[Mod note]

question has been asked and answered. move along now.

Thank you KSand24. That cleared things up.

Am I right to include my NHS card with my application or is this not necessary?

not necessary

Not necessary 

Are you sure?

Just tell them you registered. Aren't you putting that in your letter?

Let me rephrase, it won't hurt to send it, but it's not going to make a difference if you don't. Heck, most people I know have lost their cards anyway.

OK thank you.

If my husband meets income requirement, pays all bills, rent, and has 105.95 left over every week, and we can prove all this, then will him not having a bank account be a big problem in the application? I mean can they refuse because of this reason alone?

That is all I want to know. I have so many posts, it's so difficult to dig out my old answers. And yes, I know this is my fault 

I don't think anyone can answer this any further than they already have.

What people have pointed out, however, is that the biggest concern will be making sure you are honest as to why he does not have a bank account.  Several discrepancies were pointed out in this thread, which you seem to have ignored:

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=55474.0

[mod note]

seriously people. do NOT reply to this thread if you don't have anything useful to add.

and don't forget






<----------------ignore button! it works a treat!

If you have already submitted your application all you can do is wait. If he doesn't have a bank account they may wonder why, given just about everyone in the UK has one.