Hi,
Not sure if this is the right forum but thought I would post to see if anybody might have gone through a similar situation and be able to share their experience.
I am an American nearing the end of my 5 year work permit and have been residing in the UK with the same employer since my arrival. I am married to another American (for 9 years now) and we have a young child together, also born in America prior to moving to the UK. Both of them have entry clearance as dependants on my work permit.
We have had marital difficulties these last few years and have separated, although we remain in contact and share responsibility caring for our child who goes back-and-forth between us. I am looking at filing for ILR soon and do not want to jeopardize an already difficult situation by putting any of our residency at risk.
After looking at the SET(O) form I'm wondering about the bit below from section 2
newcomer link: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/applicationforms/settlement/forseto04091.pdf [nonactive]
"If you have a partner and/or any children under 18 who are living with you in the UK and who are applying for indefinite leave to remain as your dependants, this is where you give their details. “Partner” means your spouse, civil partner, unmarried or same-sex partner."
Its hard to say what the future holds at this point. I definitely want us all to remain in the UK for the foreseeable and can't imagine the hardship and disruption our (albeit dysfunctional) family would face in the event the ILR is not granted or my spouse is not eligible to remain in the UK, however I am also concerned for my own residency status and want to ensure I protect myself in this process as well.
I am not sure what other options are available to us in the event my spouse is no longer considered my dependant. Note my spouse's name is on our lease and we still hold a joint bank account. Also our child attends school in the UK and has lived here longer than in the US.
There is a possibility for my spouse to get a work permit (she has also worked here for the same employer since arrival), but we have been told that switching visas will restart the clock on her ILR eligibility which is not desirable; as in the event her position is made redundant we would be right back where we are today.
Any/all comments welcome as I am sure you can understand this is not an easy situation to deal with.
Many Thanks
