Can you advise? Missed deadline, plus errors!

Those of us here suggest moving to the 3rd country only to people who can't meet the salary requirement as a way for them to be able to be together until they CAN meet the requirement or are able to go the Surrender Singh route as a way to circumvent the UK immigration requirements by becoming an EU citizen in the eyes of the law.

I would like to believe that we all tacitly think the current requirements are asinine and to put in the American fashion, 'unconstitutional', but I have been wrong.

I still can't figure out how you would say 'unconstitutional' in UK parlance.

Out of curiosity, what 3rd country has immigration that's easy to get through for a US and UK citizen? We looked just to see in case we got tired of the politics in both places, but couldn't find anywhere that was any easier.

Out of curiosity, what 3rd country has immigration that's easy to get through for a US and UK citizen? We looked just to see in case we got tired of the politics in both places, but couldn't find anywhere that was any easier.

Well, normally, I would say any EEA country, since you could move there under EU law, meaning that as long as the UK spouse is exercising treaty rights there (by working, studying etc.), the US citizen would have the automatic right to live and work there without needing a visa (you would just need a residence card).

However, assuming Brexit still goes ahead, that likely won't be an option anymore.

Other than that, I don't know of any particularly easy countries to move to - presumably, one of you would need to secure a work or student visa and then the other could try to get a dependant visa to move with them.

Do either of you have claim to any other citizenships at all?

Par2malv, curious if you've heard anything from UKVI. I've still not heard anything, totally radio silence. And when I tried to call the help line, they were anything BUT helpful. They only sized my anxiety to worsen, if anything.

Aeonix, my experience is that the help line is useless.

In the end, I decided that I had so many corrections to make on the printout that it was better to just start over! So the submission date is no longer an issue. I hope it turns out to be a non-issue for you, too.

I went ahead and paid the NHS fee again. I think I cancelled my first application, but am not completely sure (the helpline folks are equally useless by e-mail). My application should arrive on Tuesday 2 August ... hoping for one NHS refund, but not two.

All the best!

It depends if they were criminal convictions or not, and the time elapsed between the conviction and visa application, re:

"As long as you declare the convictions and include the necessary paperwork, it shouldn't be an issue. They can only refuse the visa based on convictions if they happened in the last 12 months."

There are detailed guidance notes on the internet about criminal convictions for spouse visas at least.  I would think they apply to other settlement visas also.

This is for more recent criminal convictions:

Basically, they say that if there was a non-custodial sentence handed down, if may affect the decision of the ECO's to give the applicant a visa.  Generally, it would depend on the circumstances of the case.  But they do say that the conviction (eg a fine) could be a ground for a refusal. How long for is something they do not say.  However, if you look at the same guidance notes they state that in the case of a prison sentence, if the prison sentence was a small one, eg for 30 days, it will prejudice their giving a settlement visa for up to 2 years (from memory.) 

The longer the prison sentence, the more problems the applicant has in convincing the ECOs to give a visa, within set time frames.  I think for a long prison sentence, they will not be awarded a settlement visa for 10 years.  The sentences and times involved are on the internet, and I've seen three of them from 2015-6, all with the same information.

The upshot is that a criminal conviction will be something they will take note of, especially if it's a quite recent one. 

Article 8 can be used, and the ECO guidance notes do say this.  Maybe to offset the negative effect of a more recent criminal conviction.