Multiple Visit Options To Uk?

[TexasRanger]

Just wondering what anyone thinks my best options are for the wife visiting UK regularly.

My job means that I have been living with the Mrs here in Bangkok for the last few years with only one visit to UK since we have been wed. When I am off from work it is such a hassle to get my bank statements and other paperwork in order to get a visitors visa that I can't make a quick decision to visit my family in UK on a whim.

The only alternative I can see is living there for a few years and going the settlement route but we don't really want to live in UK all the time if we can help it and the life in the UK test will be a pain as the Mrs's English isn't so good.

Is there such a thing as a multiple visit visa or another route I haven't considered so we can visit without having to go through the ball ache of getting a 6 month visit visa every time?

Are there no perks for a married couple sigh

Cheers for any ideas in advance

[7by7]

UK visit visas are usually multi entry. As you are living with her in Thailand and as she has had a visit visa before, and presumably complied with it's conditions, then a subsequent one should be a formality. Especially if it's been less than 2 years since her last one. Once she has had several 6 month visas she should apply for a longer term one.

Remember, though, that whether she has a 6 month visa or a 10 year one she cannot spend more than 6 months out of any 12 in the UK.

[UKresonant]

I would try the 5 or 10 year multi visit visa, and post how you get on with it ! ? I intend getting one for the wife, as you say its difficult to take an opportunity for a cheap flight or a quiet period for leave, without knowing you have visa clearance for the wife. 13325 per application Life in UK test is a bit odd anyway, (wonder if I would pass )

[mariner29]

The multi entry visa is your best choice try they are of various lengths of duration. If you have lived with your wife for 4 years or more and can prove this you are entitled to apply for ILR should she pass the kol test.

[TexasRanger]

The multi entry visa is your best choice try they are of various lengths of duration. If you have lived with your wife for 4 years or more and can prove this you are entitled to apply for ILR should she pass the kol test.

If we go for ILR do we have to spend a specific amount of time in the UK?

I just found this on a google search, I was in crown service, does anyone else know of this.....

This will not affect many people here, but if it helps just one, then it's worthwhile to post it.

If you have been married abroad to a Brit for 4+ years, and the Brit has been engaged in Crown Service, you can apply for permanent residence (ILE) at a post abroad WITHOUT taking the KOL. In place of a KOL certificate, they will accept a letter of reference from another Brit which confirms that you have sufficient knowledge of life in the UK, and do not need to take the test.

I thought this was too dodgy a loophole to be real, but it's been confirmed by an on-the-ground case. As I said, few people will actually qualify, but it's worth knowing anyway...

Edited October 22, 2008 by TexasRanger

[mariner29]

In some cases, we can give your husband, wife or civil partner permission to live permanently in the United Kingdom as soon as he/she arrives. To qualify for this, you must:

have married or formed a civil partnership four years ago;

have spent that four years living together outside the United Kingdom; and

now be returning to the United Kingdom to settle here together.

Information from http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/ukreside...fecivilpartner/

All the information can be found on the above link.

In reference to the amount of time spent outside the UK , you may still be granted settlement ILR if she/he has spent a limited time outside the country. This may have been for employment etc, however if the majority of time has been spent overseas they may doubt an intention to live together permanently or to settle in the UK.

Good luck

Edited October 22, 2008 by mariner29

[manjara]

I have the same problem. Last time I applied for a visit visa for my wife and daughter, they gave me the 3rd degree about why I wasn't applying for a settlement visa!? Cos I don't want to live in that f***ing country! I just have people I like to visit every now and then.

Now I have 3 daughters and have been married and living in Thailand (mostly) for the last 6 years.

I'd like to be able to visit my relatives in Denmark and the UK without the need for multiple applications to embassies, letters of recommendation, guarantee of support etc, etc and I don't want to live in either Denmark or the UK (for now at least!)

There should be an easier way to just get a visa based on length of marriage or something. The Danish embassy were worse and insisted that we had a Danish citizen living in Denmark provide an invitation and statement of their ability to support us!!! My brother had the same story from China and reported them to the european court. In his case they backed down, but without admitting fault.

If I can get a 5 or 10 year visa for the wife without going through the settlement process, that would be ideal. We certainly don't want to spend more than 6 months of any year in the UK or Europe.