Trevor1809

I thought that the life in the UK test was onlt for citizenship. Thought I would take a look at what was required on the ILR application form and the web site is telling me that my wife must pass the Life in the UK test. Is that correct, I thought it was just B1?

The test centre was Trinity at Holborn.

Nice to see that in 2014 Croydon actually replied to letters. Now they just throw them straight in the bin.

Can I clarify that a Grade 5 Entry Level Certificate in ESOL International (Speaking and listening) (Entry 3)* CEFR Level B1.1 is the correct certificate for a UK ILR visa application.

Not sure if I picked the right cost of an ILR visa but if thos rates continue then an ILR visa in 10 years time will be over £9000. Imagine getting the bank loan to pay for that then getting the application rejected?

I suppose the next thing will be we see that you earn £18600 per year and meet the earnings requirement however we reject yout appliaction on the basis that you can't afford the visa fee.

I know that this was 2014 but only 16 million tourists flying in each year? England is a constituational monachy, should that be Great Britain?

I suppose most of us should consider ourselves lucky that we can openly discuss this sort of thing without the fear of the religous police knocking on our doors.

Is the point of earnings requirement not being missed if the passport is stamped no recourse to publinc funds. The earnings requirement might as well be £1.50, no recouse to public funds.

Iaine Dale presenter on LBC had a phone in on this subject the other evening. Normally he is a sane, respectable presented but even he displayed the type of bigotry that many who say keep immigrants out at all cost display. When presented by a woman from a support group with the fact that any immigrant can't claim any any benefits for at least 5 years he simply didn't believe it. He then stated that immigrants would dissapear into the black economy if they fell on hard times.

Like all the self employed builders, taxi drivers aren't part of the black economy.

The Government has succeeded with its intention of demonising spousal immigrants as layabout scroungers and nobody can see it.

"The agreement Cameron reached with the other EU members did not abolish or remove Surinder Singh; it did, however, tighten up the requirements in order to prevent fraud and make it available only to couples who had genuinely been living in another member state, rather than those who moved there temporarily purely to utilise the judgement to by pass the immigration rules of the EU nationals home state. "

Call it fraud if you like but it is perfectly legal. Just like Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook etc etc etc act perfectly legally when they divert income to tax havens.

Amazing that DC can go to such lengths to stop what I guess might amount to a few tens of immigrants, I will be surprised if it is even hundreds but he did naff all about billions being moved off shore.

It is legal not fraud.

Getting £1million when you are actually a terrorist is fraud.

I think the nub is that total immigration is circa 700,000 per annum and yet the Conservatives bother them selves with a few thousand out of spite.

25 minutes ago, 7by7 said:

Trevor1809; it was not I who brought up Latvia! I was responding to another member; which you must know as you quoted him!

 

I didn't say that you brought up Latvia what I said was "You raised to subject of the Latvian whinging on about a Latvian person bring his/her British spouse to Latvia."

The previous post mentioned Latvian wife. You raised the issue of Latvian complaining about a British wife.

6 minutes ago, bobrussell said:

The main reason as stated within the actual court decision is that it is extremely difficult to prevent someone living in the UK access to welfare, NHS and social housing. How do you refuse help with accommodation to a family suddenly homeless? Do you prevent the family living in social housing? How do you deal with a medical emergency in someone not entitled to NHS care that arrive at the hospital?

Having rules preventing access to public funds does not make them practical to enforce.

No enforcement is required if the person is not in the UK.

 

It was quite a smart way to minimise the bureaucracy but not necessarily that humane!

 

Well of course to get the visa the NHS surcharge would have to be paid so access to the NHS would be perfectly legal. And given that the estimated figure (that I heard at least) of £500 m on NHS tourists, that incidentally many commentators said wasn't worth collecting, then I don't see what the issue is.

My take is if the passport is stamped no recourse to public funds then the earnings requirement comes down to discrimination pure and simple.

2 minutes ago, 7by7 said:

From everything May has said; only if the remaining 26 allow the same for the approx. 2 million British citizens living in other EEA states.

 

How on earth has it cost you £15 per minute to set up her test?

 

The LitUK test is booked online and the helpline, if needed, is an 0800 number!

 

At £150, the cost of a B1 speaking and listening test is expensive; but these, too, can be booked online. If booking by phone and going to be charged £15 per minute to so do; choose another test centre!

The 10 minute test costs £150. 150/10=15

"I have no idea what the Latvian immigration rules are; except that, as with the UK's and those of all other EEA states, they are nothing to do with the EU;"

So no point in raising it then.

"Unless you believe that one of the reasons Cameron called for the EU referendum was so British citizens could no longer use Surinder Singh! Unlikely, considering he supported remain and expected the referendum to do the same!"

So why did he slip the removal into the conditions for remaining in the EU. I find it rather hypocritical of the other EU nations who are now whinging on about freedom of movement to have agreed to this denial to UK nationals to have their rights as an EU citizen removed.

"Unless you believe that one of the reasons Cameron called for the EU referendum was so British citizens could no longer use Surinder Singh! Unlikely, considering he supported remain and expected the referendum to do the same! "

Obviously not but he used the negotiations to slip that one in as he thought nobody would notice. Given how close the vote was may be a stupid thing to do as otherwise I would have voted remain.

"But, of course, this topic is about the UK's financial requirement for family migration, which is part of the UK's immigration rules and so nothing to do with the EU freedom of movement directive nor the UK's membership of the EU. "

You raised to subject of the Latvian whinging on about a Latvian person bring his/her British spouse to Latvia. I am merely pointing out that a Latvian as an EU citizen can circumvent any Latvian immigration rule, something that was going to be denied to a UK national. It does have relevance to the subject in as much SS bypasses the earning requirement (and English test)

Whatawonderful day said was "But a recently retired UK pensioner, say 65 years old, who then marries a Thai lady,  would not be able to live "happily ever after" back in the UK as she would not be granted a settlement VISA apparently as his State pension together with any private pension (if any) would not meet the 18,600 income requirement. 

But it appears no problem if the lady comes from Latvia !!!!"

Of course post Brexit there would be no need for the spouse of a Latvian to meet earnings requirements, pass and English test, pay the NHS surcharge or pay any visa fees.

58 minutes ago, bobrussell said:

The income figure in itself is not unjust. It was selected as the figure above which a family would not be able to claim income related benefits. The tax payer should not pay for someone's 'life choice'.

What is unjust is the inability of anyone to demonstrate they can afford to move to the UK without claiming state aid. There is no mechanism to show this.

An example would be an older couple with no rent, no mortgage and limited living expenses as opposed to a family with £20K in financial commitments each year.

What is pretty inescapable is the fact that there is major unease regarding all immigration in the UK. One of the key reasons (apparently) for the Brexit vote result. Immigration is a very dirty word for a lot of people in the UK and there is going to be little political will to do anything that may increase it.

 

Not withstanding the fact that the immigrant is denied access to public funds until the ILR is granted so surely this is all academic anyway.

1 hour ago, 7by7 said:

Or any other EEA state!

 

I would not be surprised if on some forum somewhere a Latvian who does not meet the Latvian government's  requirements to live in Latvia with his non EEA national spouse is complaining that there would be no problem were his spouse British!

Is it a fact that Latvia has a more stringent earnings requirement than the UK or is that speculation? At least as an EU citizen the Latvian has the right to use Surinda Singh, an option that was of course being denied to UK nationals thanks to David Cameron.

I regularly went through the other channel as the was queue was shorter than the UK/EU one. If I am with my wife then I go through the other channel with her. Sometimes get a strange response.

I will pass that on to my MP and ask him what planet his colleagues just flew in from.

The check in staff were telling my wife so the conversation was in Thai. The staff don't seem to know what is even happening with the site so I guess they will be out of a job. I hope they also all find suitable new jobs. I assume is will be a condo or another "boutique" hotel. I can't see what else would cover the expense of a prime site.

God help us then if the same unaware MPs have anything to do with negotiating Brexit. But can you clarify, is there any category of non EU migrant that does not need to sit an English test?

I see that they are also proposing local areas setting the award of Visas. So getting a settlement visa would be based on a post code lottery.

Sad to here that this hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 19 is closing in September. Long over due I guess as the site must be worth billions. Stayed here since my first trip in 1980. It is very out dated but the location is good, staff are friendly and even the waitress in the coffee shop commented on how tall my 17 year old son is now. She last saw him 2 years but still recognised him. And the price is cheap. Last year I couldn't get in at Honey and stayed at some poncey hotel in the lower sois at more than double the price and had to use the same towels for all three days.

What are the recommendations for staying in Bangkok in a friendly, clean, air conditioned place that wont cost and arm and a leg?

Just come back from my holiday to Thailand to see that in the UK news, MPs have come up with a brilliant idea to integrate immigrants more by getting them to pass English tests before entering the UK. Did my flight back take me through some time warp? Is the current English test requirements not for all non EU immigrants or is it just spouses that are subject to the tests? My wife is now preparing for her third test ready for the ILR.

Mrskint consider yourself lucky if you only pay £200 per year, I paid £2000 in surcharges for my wife's FLR. I am still awaiting UKVI's reason for overcharging by a factor of 4. And of course my wife still pays tax and NICs.

"As to how they know: medical training. Clinical signs, test results, reported symptoms."

My son missed 2.5 months off school in the run up to important exams due to his GP's inability or refusal to diagnose a liver infection. Repeatidly said is was viral gastroenteritis. Now even I can go onto the internet and see that this should last up to 10 days so why after 2 months does his quack insist that it is viral gastroenteritis. The joke was then that he then gave him antibiotics. Again even I know antibiotics don't work on a virus. Only after insisting on a second opinion did they find that it had high levels of something or other but by now just border line to suggest he had a liver infection that completely knocked him out for over 2 months.

The upshot was my son flunked all his exams and is now on the UK unemployable scrap heap. Still, look how much money the NHS saved by not having to treat the actual cause of his illness. Mustn't complete too much though. At least he didn't die.