UK Settlement Visa

[Aussieroaming]

My wife and I are thinking of moving to the UK for a couple of years to get her a settlement visa and just to see what living in the UK is like. I'm british but have never lived (except as a kid) or worked there. We dont plan on working at all while we are there and have sufficient funds. Would there be any issue with this given that i have never worked or registered there. I was born i the UK and my parents emigrated to Australia when i was 6. Plan is to buy a property and live in that while we are there.Thanks

[theoldgit]

You wouldn't move to the UK to get a Settlement Visa, you're wife would need to apply for a visa from her country of residence.

 

She would apply as the spouse of a Settled Person, even though your're not actually resident, assuming you are a full blown British Citizen,

 

You would need to demonstrate that you meet the financial requirements, that being an income of £18,600 per year or alternatively cash savings.

 

Your wife would need to pass an English test and undergo a medical test you show she's clear of TB.

 

The visa applicantion fee is currently in the region of US$2000 and on top of this she would need to pay a NHS Surcharge of £600.

 

When granted this would allow her to live in the UK for 30 months, after which she would need to apply for Further Leave to Remain, and pay more fees, that should give you sufficient to decide if the UK is right for you both.

 

From what you've detailed, I don't see any issues.

[7by7]

You will, of course, need to prove that you are, indeed, a British citizen and so have the right of abode in the UK.

 

Do you have a British passport?

 

If not, although you could apply for a certificate of entitlement, obtaining a British passport instead may be easier, although much of the required evidence is the same, and will certainly be cheaper.

 

See Prove you have right of abode in the UK and Overseas British passport applications.

 

With regards to your wife; theoldgit has covered all the basics, but you may find Family visas: apply, extend or switch and the links therein useful. Remember she will be applying for her first visa and will be applying from outside the UK. So ignore the parts about extending and applying inside the UK for now; though they will be relevant should you decide to stay for longer than 30 months. In which case she will need to apply to extend her stay, known as further leave to remain, at that time. The parts on switching aren't relevant to you at all.

 

You say

17 hours ago, Aussieroaming said:

We dont plan on working at all while we are there and have sufficient funds

If meeting the financial requirement through cash savings, the minimum required is £62,500.

 

This money can be in your name, your wife's, your joint names or any combination of these. But it must be in acceptable types of accounts or investments where it is available to you immediately and been in your possession for at least 6 months prior to the visa application.. See under "7.Cash Savings" of the financial appendix.

 

[Aussieroaming]

17 hours ago, 7by7 said:

You will, of course, need to prove that you are, indeed, a British citizen and so have the right of abode in the UK.

 

Do you have a British passport?

 

If not, although you could apply for a certificate of entitlement, obtaining a British passport instead may be easier, although much of the required evidence is the same, and will certainly be cheaper.

 

See Prove you have right of abode in the UK and Overseas British passport applications.

 

With regards to your wife; theoldgit has covered all the basics, but you may find Family visas: apply, extend or switch and the links therein useful. Remember she will be applying for her first visa and will be applying from outside the UK. So ignore the parts about extending and applying inside the UK for now; though they will be relevant should you decide to stay for longer than 30 months. In which case she will need to apply to extend her stay, known as further leave to remain, at that time. The parts on switching aren't relevant to you at all.

 

You say

If meeting the financial requirement through cash savings, the minimum required is £62,500.

 

This money can be in your name, your wife's, your joint names or any combination of these. But it must be in acceptable types of accounts or investments where it is available to you immediately and been in your possession for at least 6 months prior to the visa application.. See under "7.Cash Savings" of the financial appendix.

 

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I have a British passport, I never applied for Australian citizenship. We are financially secure, I just wasn't sure that we could convince the uk government that we were going to apply for a visa with no long term job plan. We could comfortably buy a reasonable house and have enough to satisfy the monetary rule afterwards. Because I have never really lived there, never paid tax there etc I thought the Gov might be reluctant to let my wife in. She is Uni qualified and she has her own investment accounts, so I'm not wanting to appear as her sponsor. She could meet the fiscal rules without my input at all.

[theoldgit]

Unfortunately it's your income that counts, though as 7by7 points out if you were going to use the cash savings route any cash under the control of you both would be taken into account.
It's a tick box exercise I'm afraid, you have to meet the financial requirement set out by the UKVI, the fact you can buy a house actually means nothing, though you do need to provide evidence of suitable accommodation.


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[7by7]

3 hours ago, Aussieroaming said:

Because I have never really lived there, never paid tax there etc I thought the Gov might be reluctant to let my wife in

 You are a British citizen and as such have the right to live in the UK; regardless of how old you were when you last lived here, how long you have been absent and how much UK tax, if any, you've ever paid.

 

Your spouse or partner also has the right to live in the UK with you, providing you and she meet the requirements of the relevant rules; in this case the Immigration Rules Appendix FM: family members, and can show that you do so with the required evidence; see Immigration Rules Appendix FM-SE: family members specified evidence.

 

3 hours ago, Aussieroaming said:

She is Uni qualified and she has her own investment accounts, so I'm not wanting to appear as her sponsor. She could meet the fiscal rules without my input at all.

Remember that 'sponsor' does not just mean the person who provides the finances; amongst other meanings it also means a person who is the reason for allowing another to be granted something, such as UK residency!

 

You are her spouse and a British citizen; without your sponsorship she has no reason under the rules to be granted residency in the UK.

 

Whether or not her finances alone can used to meet the financial requirement depends on how you are meeting it, see the financial appendix.

 

As you have said you will be meeting it via cash savings than yes, these savings can be in her name alone. Provided, of course, they meet the requirements and the required evidence can be provided. See "7.4. Cash savings – further guidance" in the financial appendix.

 

If her, and your if any, investment accounts do not meet these requirements, but do produce an income then that income may be able to be used to meet the requirement under category C: see "6. Non-employment income." Such income, if acceptable, can be combined with cash savings to reduce the amount of each required.

 

As theoldgit says, you will also need to show in her application that you have adequate accommodation arranged for when you arrive in the UK. A short term let should do, in which case you should explain in your sponsor's letter that this is a temporary arrangement while you find somewhere more permanent.