Kadafi

That swede is gonna have a rough time in jail

The above post is incorrect.

Time spent in the UK as a visitor does not count toward the 24 month residential qualifying period for ILR. It can though, count toward the three year residential qualifying period for citizenship.

The 24 months will start when your wife first enters the UK with her spouse visa. You will notice that it is actually valid for 27 months. This is to allow people time to wind up their affairs and travel to the UK. Once she has been resident in the UK for 24 months, actually 28 days before this, she can apply for ILR; provided she meets all the other requirements, of course.

Many thanks

So if my wife stays in the UK for the next 23 months continuously she can apply for ILR in June 2014? also she will have 18 months visit stays in the UK bringing her total to around 3.5 years. Therefore could she apply for a british passport straight after receiving ILR?

Does family visit visa's count towards the period of time spent in the UK to apply for ILR? my wife has previously spend 18 months inside the UK on visit visas over the last couple of years.

Also what can she not do on a settlement visa compared to ILR? I know she cant access to public funds but can she register wIth NHS, local dentist etc? work, study, opening bank account, NI number, obtain driving licence?

My wifes spouse visa expires 28/10/2014, how long before could she apply for ILR?

Thanks everyone for your concerns and contributions. Believe it or not we got the notification this morning and asked to collect today also. We got the visa and we'll all be in the UK by the end of the week.

Still sinking in personally!

Good luck to everyone who is going through the same process, I can't explain to you the relief you will feel when you get the good news.

congratulations! all the best for you and the family

I think what gets most people is that they may well say allow 90 days so most people would think that is 3 months when it is not it is close to 5 months with there being approx 21 working days per month.

But statistics show it is not taking 5 months for settlement visa's to be processed. It would seem around 10-12 weeks is the current guideline.

We requested for our application to be fast tracked.

Just to let people know my wife collected her passport today and has been granted her settlement visa she will be back in the UK on saturday! so happy with the british embassy right now!

When did you submit the application kadafi? I thought it was July?

We submitted the application on Thursday 5th July and got the message that they had made a decision on Monday 23rd July.

Just to let people know my wife collected her passport today and has been granted her settlement visa she will be back in the UK on saturday! so happy with the british embassy right now!

Good luck Kadafi that was fast. We submitted our two child applications on the same day as you. We also stated

There has been a significant change in my two children's circumstances

and there are serious, and compelling family reasons, along with compassionate grounds for their applications.

Thanks ralphsilver, my wife goes to collect her passport tomorrow...if good news she will fly to the UK on saturday.

Are you in UK? is your wife in thailand with your children? my son is with me in UK and wife is in Thailand so we pleaded our case for priority as its harmful for a 3 year old to be separated from his mother for a long period of time. (plus few other reasons but thats a long story).

Indeed, as the new ILR rules from October 2013 mean she will need B1 in both when she applies for ILR

I think you'd posted before that she'd taken it; but I'd forgotten.

I assume you mean 12/7 and 19/7.

yes i did post it somewhere before but not sure which thread.

Does my wife have to take the whole test again or can she take just the listening test somewhere as she has already past the speaking at B1 level.

Kadafi, applications can jump the queue for compassionate reasons.

Here's hoping the confusion over whether her LitUK test negates the need for an A1 pass has not resulted in a refusal.

She submitted the application on 5/7 but she took the english test at vantage on 12/7. My wife then submitted the english test blue certificates to vfs on 19/7 as embassy had made contact requesting them.

My wife got B1 speaking and A2 listening which i thought was a good score shame she just missed out on getting B1 in both areas.

Just to let people know my wife has received an email stating that a decision has been made and that her documents will be ready to collect from the vfs within 2 working days.

She submitted her application on 5th July and we cant believe a decision has been made already! although we did request priory due to family reasons so they must have taken this into account.

We prey for a positive outcome.

All this waiting is really getting on my block now. Far to long! #whatajoke

yeah 2-3 months is a long time out of someone's life to be waiting for an application to be looked at

The application was submitted on the date it was submitted; in the example you give that would be 5th July.

The entry clearance section requesting further information does not change this.

Many thanks for your response.

Quick question.

If a settlement visa was submitted on 5/7 but they ask for additional information which has been passed on today. Will the application still be class as submitted on 5/7 or will they change the submission date to 19/7 because they required an additional document?

Update:

kadafi: submitted 6/7

was submitted 5/7

You could appeal if rejected, but would the certificate be viewed as new evidence or additional evidence. Ask Tony from visa plus for an answer.

Strictly speaking it must be regarded as new evidence, as no evidence of the required pass in English at A1 Level was provided. UKBA could argue that the guidance is clear, and requires an A1 pass cert from an approved test provider. That said, I would hope that, if the visa is refused, either the ECM will use common sense and overturn the decision when the decision is reviewed after the appeal is submitted, or the Immigration Judge at the appeal will do so.

If the application is refused, then the applicant must pay either 80 GBP or 140 GBP to submit an appeal. The appeal must be submitted within 28 days, in the UK or online.

I have told the embassy that she has passed at A2 level. The embassy has emailed that they will process the application once the evidence has been received, I guess this is good news! waiting back on confirmation if the vantage siam certificate is enough or they want the cambridge certificate also. I have also asked if we should submit the certificate to the vfs or bring it directly to the embassy.

If they are feeling generous they will accept the certificate, if not they will refuse the application. Would you be able to pass the new guidelines for settlement visas?

But we could appeal and that would be under the old rules as the application went in before July 9th? yes the new rules will not effect us, it went in before July 9th to avoid the new 5 year probation period and extra visa fee after 2 years.

You met her in October/november on a holiday to thailand, do not see her for six months and then return to meet her family and child. Now you are applying for a 4 month visit to the UK, all abit fast considering the amount of time you have spent together..no wonder the UKBA need to tighten things up. I lived with my gf(now wife) for 2.5 years in Thailand before applying for her first UK visit visa.

Email received from the Briitish embassy, bangkok

Thank you for your e-mail of 6^th July 2012

We cannot accept the Life in the UK test as evidence of meeting the English language requirement for spouse visas. The immigration rules states that the applicant must provide

“an original English language test certificate in speaking and listening from an English language test provider approved by the Secretary of State for these purposes, which clearly shows the applicant's name and the qualification obtained (which must meet or exceed level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference.”

Whilst the Life in the UK test exceeds level A1 of the CEFR it not a test of speaking and listening and nor is it offered by a test provider approved by the Secretary of State for these purposes. The Life in the UK test is a computer based test where your wife knowledge of a curriculum about Life in the UK is tested. Her ability to speak English is not tested as she only interaction during the test is with a computer. The UFL operate the Life in the UK test for settlement/citizenship purposes but they are not on the list of approved test providers for spouse visa English testing. It’s a different type of test to the one we are looking for.

Please visit the UK Border Agency website for further guidance on the English language requirement and exemptions. Further guidance and a full list of test providers can be found here.

We hope that you find this information useful.

Yours sincerely,

So that confirms it, my wife has now passed her Bulats at A2 level and will pass the certificate onto them asap. As the application has already been submitted they may not take it into account but we have no other option.

Because we only submitted the visa applications Last Thursday 05/07/12 and assuming that the Embassy do not work Sat / Sun that is four working days as i said in the previous post.

My wife submitted her application on the same day and has not heard anything yet apart from the confirmation text message. Not sure if a telephone call is a good or bad sign, i guess it doesnt really indicate much with regards to outcome. Maybe because there are children involved the embassy want to make double sure they have all the facts to make the correct decision.

Anyone know the up to date fee from Vantage for the Bulats test? also how long it is valid for as ive heard it expires in 2 years? If my wife passes at B1 grade we would hope to use if for her ILR which would be more than 2 years from now.

Also does anyone know how long it takes to obtain a A1 certificate?

I'm confused.

In the waiting times topic you say

For anyone who has submitted a settlement visa lately, my wife showed her documents today and a member of staff checking them stopped her from submitting her application because she didn't have an english certificate. She has passed the life in the uk test, you dont need both?

and then you say

My wife submitted her settlement this morning also and 09.30

So, did she have a second appointment and VFS agreed to forward her application with just the LitUK certificate?

Despite what the UKBA told you on the phone, I am still not convinced that an LitUK pass is acceptable as the requirement is speaking and listening and the LitUK test is written.

We will find out when your wife recieves her decision; I very much hope that I am wrong and she gets her visa.

7by7 she returned and insisted that it was submitted because she did not want to miss the 9th July deadline, it has now been forwarded to the Embassy. I have emailed the bangkok british embassy but no response as yet, its now a waiting game.

If the new B1 english is required in 2013, wouldnt she need to pass that anyway? meaning she would have to take A1 english test now and yet again in order to apply for ILR. How can the UKBA justify someone having to take and pay for 2 english courses.

The life in the UK tennis is enough on its own.

have you submitted a settlement using only the life in the uk test?