Can we apply for a Spouse Visa with No Current UK address.

Thanks for all this detail..

In your first example...

“An example:
- she submits her application on October 15th and puts an Intended Travel Date of December 15th
- the visa is issued on November 30th
- her 30-day visa vignette is valid from December 8th (7 days before the 15th) to January 7th
- her BRP will be printed, starting on December 8th 2018 and expiring on September 8th 2021, and should be sent to the Post Office by December 8th (or by whichever date the visa approval letter says it will be available to pick up)
- she flies to the UK on, say, December 12th and arrives on the 13th (her 5 years to ILR will start on December 13th)
- she picks up yet BRP on say, December 14th
- she can then come and go from the UK as she pleases, travelling with her passport and BRP.”

You mention that both the BRP and the Vignette will be stamped Dec 8th 2018

Yet if she arrives in the UK on Dec 13th and her 5 years to ILR will start on December 13th.

Where will there be a record that this was the actual date she arrived in the UK. Will immigration put an Ink Stamp in her Passport that records this..?

You mention that both the BRP and the Vignette will be stamped Dec 8th 2018

Yet if she arrives in the UK on Dec 13th and her 5 years to ILR will start on December 13th.

Where will there be a record that this was the actual date she arrived in the UK. Will immigration put an Ink Stamp in her Passport that records this..?

The 5 years to ILR starts on the day she enters the UK. Her visa will be stamped with this date, and this is what she will need to show in the future to prove what date she 'activated' her visa.

She MUST get that stamp, as without it, she:
a) won't have a record of entering the UK
and
b) won't be allowed to pick up her BRP (as she needs to show the stamp to prove when she entered)

This means that she must make sure that when she flies to the UK for the first time on her spousal visa, she DOES NOT enter through the Republic of Ireland (i.e. Dublin).

This is because there are no immigration controls between Ireland and the UK (due to the Common Travel Area, CTA), and therefore she will only go through Irish immigration and not UK immigration. It is actually illegal for UK immigration to stamp her passport if she arrives via Ireland. So, even if the cheapest flights are the ones that go via Ireland, she must make sure she does NOT book one of them, and that she arrives into the UK directly (she can connect in any other country except Ireland).

WOW

I’m glad you mention this .. DON’T ENTER VIA IRELAND WITH YOUR VIGNETTE VISA.

When I’ve travelled too and fro between the US and UK I’ve mainly landed in Manchester or London, just once in Norwich.

I suppose when they stamp your Vignette 7 days prior to you selected exit date, you are getting to the option to leave up to a week sooner if you’re ready to go before you expected, and then up 23 days after if you need more time.   Great care needs to be taken when booking air tickets thatit lands between the dates on the Vignette.

WOW

I’m glad you mention this .. DON’T ENTER VIA IRELAND WITH YOUR VIGNETTE VISA.

When I’ve travelled too and fro between the US and UK I’ve mainly landed in Manchester or London, just once in Norwich.

It's not a problem travelling through Ireland for a holiday, or once she has her BRP, it's just the first entry on her spousal visa vignette that she cannot travel through Ireland... because she won't get that important first entry stamp in her passport.

Once she has picked up her BRP, she can travel via Ireland as much as she likes.

I suppose when they stamp your Vignette 7 days prior to you selected exit date, you are getting to the option to leave up to a week sooner if you’re ready to go before you expected, and then up 23 days after if you need more time. 

Yeah, pretty much. Officially they are supposed to make the vignette valid starting on your selected entry date (to the UK), but for some reason they keep issuing it for 7 days before.

What you don't want to do is put a date much further in the future than you actually want to move... because you don't want to be in a position where you are ready to move, but your visa isn't valid for another few weeks.

For example,
- you apply on October 15th
- you choose January 15th as the travel date
- you receive the visa in November... but the 30 days doesn't start until January 8th (7 days before the date you put)
- so, even though you already have the visa, you can't actually travel to the UK until January... so that's almost 2 months of having the visa, but sitting around waiting because you are not able to move!

Great care needs to be taken when booking air tickets thatit lands between the dates on the Vignette.

Yes, which is why you should NOT book any flights until she has the visa in her hands, and has checked it for dates and errors. You don't want to be in a position where you have flights booked, but then the visa arrives and it's not valid for her to travel on the date you have booked.

Thanks for that ksand24

I’m not being morbid now, but just practical, and I don’t want my wife being left in the bottom of this deep hole I’ve been digging, so I’ve perused this part of the UK.gov website...

https://www.gov.uk/visas-partner-dies

Should I ‘turn my toes up’, (die), before my wife’s reached the 5 year (ILR) point in the migration journey, If I’ve understood what my wife’s option will be, she can...

Apply right away for Indefinite Leave to Remain, subject to a current fee of £2,389

I believe she can do this even if she’s within the first 30 month period of the Entry and Leave to Remain stage, without the need to go through the Extended Leave to remain stage..?

There doesn’t appear to be a Financial Requirement on this occasion..?  Which makes sense as there will only be one person’s finance to contemplate.

Does anyone know otherwise..?

Thanks for that ksand24

I’m not being morbid now, but just practical, and I don’t want my wife being left in the bottom of this deep hole I’ve been digging, so I’ve perused this part of the UK.gov website...

https://www.gov.uk/visas-partner-dies

Should I ‘turn my toes up’, (die), before my wife’s reached the 5 year (ILR) point in the migration journey, If I’ve understood what my wife’s option will be, she can...

Apply right away for Indefinite Leave to Remain, subject to a current fee of £2,389

I believe she can do this even if she’s within the first 30 month period of the Entry and Leave to Remain stage, without the need to go through the Extended Leave to remain stage..?

There doesn’t appear to be a Financial Requirement on this occasion..?  Which makes sense as there will only be one person’s finance to contemplate.

Does anyone know otherwise..?

Yes, that's all correct. There is no financial requirement because she would not be applying under one of the partner/family routes anymore, she would be applying using the 'Other' category (SET(O), not SET(M)), which is used for a number of different visa types.

We have had a couple of people on the forum apply for ILR after their UK partner/spouse has passed away.

Hi at UK Yankee

I realize rules and monetary amounts may change over the years, but assuming things remain basically the same I have a question that I’m sure other’s must have pondered and experienced.

I am a UK born citizen who has lived in Dallas Texas in the USA, and been married to my US wife, for 8 years. I am retired, on two UK pensions and in a few years time, when my wife retires onto her US pension, I would like to go back to the UK, with my wife, for us both to live in retirement.

Although my pensions alone falls short of £18600, our two pensions between us should adequately cover the financial requirements not counting our savings, which alone should be adequate.  Over £65,000. We currently have a mortgage free house here in Texas, which we would need to sell first, to have the funds to buy a house, (without mortgage), in the UK. 

My question is a ‘matter of timing’.  As I no longer currently have a place of residence in the UK, can we apply for a Spouse Visa for my my wife, before we make a move into the UK, so that we can then both, (together), find a UK rental house initially, then sell our US house,  then seek a home to buy in the UK.

I get the impression, from all prior explanations, that I would need to be living in the UK first, (or at least have a UK address), before applying for a Spouse Visa for my wife..?

I’m also a little confused, where my wife would need to go for the Biometrics. Could she pick a location in Texas to have this done..?  Can my wife apply online for a Spouse Visa from outside the UK..?  Our nearest UK Embassy is in Houston, would she/we need to go there to be interviewed..?

Regards..

Shy.

Sounds like you meet the financial requirement. You do not need to live in the UK. But accommodation requirement DOES apply you  need to fly there and rent something or have someone there provide a room in their house without breaching overcrowding guidelines based on number of people/rooms which are a bit complex. Any intention or ability to buy a hous ein the future does not count as accommodation has to be ON ARRIVAL and trust me you'd be lucky to buy in 6 months even with cash ready



Disclaimer: I am a Level 3 OISC advisor and so my opinions are informed by knowledge of the law and years of practice. Yet, no opinion given without detailed review of an individual case should be taken or treated as competent legal advice.

Many Thanks for that, olg_childs

Very informative

Hi olga_childs

I notice at the HM Land Registry website, the ₤3 copy of the Register and Title details you can view are ‘NOT GUARANTEED COPIES’   

Would a computer printout of the ₤3 copy be good enough for the Visa Application people.  I’m learning how fussy they are over having ‘ORIGINAL’ bank statements and the like..?

Hi olga_childs

I notice at the HM Land Registry website, the ₤3 copy of the Register and Title details you can view are ‘NOT GUARANTEED COPIES’   

Would a computer printout of the ₤3 copy be good enough for the Visa Application people.  I’m learning how fussy they are over having ‘ORIGINAL’ bank statements and the like..?

The £3 copy is what you need.

Olga just joined the site yesterday and not everything she’s posted has been correct.  We will help her learn the ropes.  Stick to the advice of anyone marked as an “expert” here and you’ll get your approval.

Many Thanks KFdancer 

ACCOMMODATION

I can appreciate that you can’t use a hotel as temporary accommodation until you can find a house to purchase in the UK, as such a property wouldn’t be considered stable enough.  So a Rented Property is the minimum you can have, if you don’t have family or friends to stay with.

But what of a Fully Furnished rental, where all Bills are paid in with the rent, which has a minimum let requirement of just 1 month, which would no doubt need to be renewed several times to cover the time it takes to sell a US house and Buy a UK house. As there’s only my wife and myself, a 1 bed property should be adequate, as for example in the following link. BUT, would such an accommodation be considered too ‘Hotel Like’ to be acceptable by the Visa People..?

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/to-rent/details/48778528?search_identifier=e748ea1796eb832252a73c9c682ca4d3

ACCOMMODATION

I can appreciate that you can’t use a hotel as temporary accommodation until you can find a house to purchase in the UK, as such a property wouldn’t be considered stable enough.  So a Rented Property is the minimum you can have, if you don’t have family or friends to stay with.

Some people have been successful using a hotel, though it's not ideal.

But what of a Fully Furnished rental, where all Bills are paid in with the rent, which has a minimum let requirement of just 1 month, which would no doubt need to be renewed several times to cover the time it takes to sell a US house and Buy a UK house. As there’s only my wife and myself, a 1 bed property should be adequate, as for example in the following link. BUT, would such an accommodation be considered too ‘Hotel Like’ to be acceptable by the Visa People..?

That should be fine - people have also been successful using short-term (i.e. 1-month) rentals as well.

Ahh Thanks for that ksand24

A Relationship Question.

I’m reading online that as part of the ‘Relationship Requirement’ its a good idea to include proof of communications between my wife and myself, such as letters, Facebook and  WhatsApp chat logs etc..!!

We’ve been married 8 years and since we’ve been married, call us ‘Old Fashioned’ but we ‘Talk to one another’.. We neither of us communicate using Facebook, nor WhatsApp, (whatever that is), nor do we write to one another living in the same house..!! 

We do occasionally text one another with our iPhones and iPads, but these records are not kept permanently nor would I know how to print any of these out..?

We occasionally send emails to one another using gmail, but my wife’s email address is still in her former maiden name so I’m sure this would only confuse things even if I knew how to print these out also.

How crucial is it to include communications documentation when none might exist..?

Since posting this I’ve found this website explaining how to print out gmail emails..  But it still doesn’t take away my problem of the maiden name..!

https://support.google.com/mail/answer/8255?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en