UK Settlement Visa - Overview, updated July 2019

[theoldgit]

I've redrafted part of this topic to provide an overview of the procedures for applying for a Settlement Visa to the UK, the information is focused on those applying from Thailand, the advice regarding Further and Indefinite Leave to remain is being updated, slowly, and will be added in due course.

 

This guidance is not intended to be a step by step guide and certainly not a "Dummies Guide" to the complete process, but is intended to provide a simple overview to the procedure, providing links where appropriate.

 

The UKVI website gives an overview of the requirements and procedures, but please be aware that the rules, and certainly the procedures, do change so please double check everything before committing yourself to both time and money. https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa  

 

If you have any questions regarding your individual circumstances please create your own thread and the team will endeavour to assist you, but please keep in mind that, apart from a couple of exceptions, the team are not professional visa experts but rather guys who have been through the process themselves, keep up with current legislation and try to help others.

 

There are various categories of UK settlement visa, but those which concern most of us that use this forum are:

• Fiancé/Proposed civil partner
• Spouse/Civil partner
• Unmarried partner/same sex partner
• Children

 

These categories allow the visa holder to enter the UK for 30 Days during which time they need to collect a Biometric Residence Card from a nominated Post Office, this card shows their Immigration Status within the UK, the holder of the visa may stay in the UK for 30 months, after which they then will need to apply for Further Leave to Remain, FLR, for a further 30 months after which they can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain, ILR, this, as the name implies, allows them to stay in the UK on an indefinite basis, though prolonged absences could void the ILR.

 

If the applicant has entered the UK via the fiancé route, in this case they would have been given a visa that allowed the applicant to visit the UK for six months, marry within that period and then apply for FLR, Further Leave to Remain, and when granted would allow the holder to remain in the UK for 30 months, following which they would need to go through the FLR process again for a further 30 months.

 

 

What you’ll need to prove

You must be able to prove one of the following:

• you’re in a civil partnership or marriage that’s recognised in the UK, or
• you’ve been living together in a relationship akin to a marriage for at least 2 years when you apply, or
• you are a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner and will marry or enter into a civil partnership in the UK within 6 months of arriving

 

You also need to prove that you:

·    have an acceptable knowledge of English, unless you have a degree or acceptable qualifications researched in English, or you are a child, an adult over 65 or the national of a number of countries, not Thailand.  The applicant will need to take an approved English test with at least a CEFR level A1 in speaking and listening, either in Thailand or when visiting the UK on holiday. The test must be from an approved test centre.

 

• Can financially support yourself and any dependants travelling with you.  see Financial Requirement

 

• That you are free from Tuberculosis (TB),. Applicants aged over 11, from Thailand and certain other countries, need to get a certificate confirming that they are free from infectious Tuberculosis (TB) before applying for a visa. All children must see a clinician who’ll decide if they need a chest x-ray. Children under 11 will not normally have a chest x-ray. You must take your child to an approved clinic and complete a health questionnaire. If the clinician decides your child does not have TB they’ll give you a certificate. Include this certificate with your child’s UK visa application.

Tuberculosis-test-for-a-uk-visa-clinics-in-thailand

 

• Details of the accommodation that you and your sponsor intend to live in and permission for you to stay there along with evidence of any other occupants, This evidence could include, Land Registry documents, mortgage statements, rent book or tenancy agreement, council tax statements, property inspection report, utilities bills, accommodation details with a supporting letter from the occupant/ landlord confirming that you are able to stay there.

 

• Evidence that the applicant and the sponsor are legally married and have actually met, are in a Civil Partnership or have been in a subsisting relationship akin to marriage, have been living together as man and wife, for two years or more.

 

If you do not meet these requirements you may still be able to apply for a visa or extend your permission to stay if you can prove very compelling circumstances.

• if you have a child in the UK who is a British citizen or has lived in the UK for 7 years and it would be unreasonable for them to leave the UK
• there would be very significant difficulties for you and your partner if you lived together as a couple outside the UK that could not be overcome
• it would breach your human rights to stop you coming to the UK or make you leave

 

If you’re applying as a fiancé, or proposed civil partner you must prove that:

• any previous marriages or civil partnerships have ended
• you plan to marry or become civil partners within 6 months of arriving in the UK

 

Application Process

All applications for Settlement in the UK must be made, and paid for, online https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/visa-type

 

The application fee is non-refundable if the application is refused.

 

The NHS Surcharge, to cover the cost of any NHS treatments during the initial 30 months in the UK, also has to be paid online, or at the initial FLR stage for those applying via the fiancé route, whilst the application fee is non-refundable the NHS Surcharge can be refunded in the event that the Visa is refused, evidence that the NHS Surcharge has been paid must be provided before an appointment can be made to attend the Visa Application Centre.

 

An appointment must be made to attend the Visa Application Centre, VAC, to submit biometric details, VFS do offer a number of options for appointments and whilst they do offer paid services especially for “prime time” appointments and lounges, they are not really necessary, or at least shouldn't be.

 

Partners and sponsors are not encouraged to accompany applicants into the VAC and if they do manage to get inside are not normally allowed to take part in the application submission process.

 

Applicants can upload their supporting evidence from their own computer, basic details are supplied on the VFS website, the option is or the VFS staff at the VAC will scan and send the documents for a fee.

 

The UKVI no longer supply a list of suggested and/or required documents, I understand that during the application process suggestions of what the applicant might like to supply are made, but it's for the applicant to provide evidence to prove that the application is compliant.

 

Any documents from a UK based sponsor do need to be sent to Thailand for resubmission to the decision making centre as they can be uploaded directly by the sponsor in the UK, or via a Settlement Scanning Hub in the UK. 

UK Settlement Visaapplications - new additional process

 

It should be noted that VFS staff play no part in the application decision making process whatsoever, there is no interview by VFS staff, their role is to capture the biometric details of the applicant and receive the applicant’s passport.

 

VFS and indeed the UKVI do offer a number of premium services, uploading of supporting evidence, checking of documents as well as the VFS premium service various levels of fast tracking of applications for applicants with an unblemished immigration history are offered by the UKVI, again at a, fairly hefty fee.

 

Following submission of the application it is considered by a directly employed member of UKVI staff based in Sheffield, the Entry Clearance Officer, ECO, will decide whether an applicant meets the criteria, and if so will issue the visa.

 

The passport is retained by a small UKVI team based in Bangkok, when a decision has been made, hopefully, a visa vignette will be inserted into the passport by the team in Bangkok, in the case of a refusal a letter will be printed and in both cases inserted into an envelope and returned to VFS for returning to the applicant.  

 

VFS will/should advise the applicant that a decision has been made and the passport returned to their office, VFS and their staff will not know the outcome of the application. The applicant can then collect the passport, or nominate somebody to collect on their behalf. If they wish the passport to be delivered to their home they should request the service, and pay the fee at the VAC office when the passport is submitted.

 

The applicant then has 30 days to travel to the UK and collect their Biometric Resident Permit from their nominated Post Office, it should be pointed out that the UKVI advise that travel arrangements should not be made until the visa has been issued. If the applicant cannot travel within 30 days it is possible to get a new 30 – day vignette, which currently costs around 150 GBP.

 

If the applicant has applied as a fiancé, or proposed civil partner then they must apply for Leave to remain before their initial visa expires, this will entail costs and the supplying of evidence similar to that for an initial application for a spouse or civil partner.

 

You may be eligible to apply for settlement (indefinite leave to remain in the UK) if your partner dies, your partner must have either been a British citizen or had indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

 

Your permission to be in the UK must have been based on being their partner. A ‘partner’ is your spouse (husband or wife), your civil partner, someone you were living with in a relationship that’s like a marriage or civil partnership.  

 

 

[theoldgit]

This post is closed for comment, if you notice any typos, advice that is incorrect or needs updating, I'd be grateful if you would PM me.

 

Thanks