My wife has just been granted a settlement visa for 2yrs and 3 months, she is currently pregnant and to our relief can now give birth here in the UK.

I know its very early days but was just wondering what the next step is? I read that she is entitled to another 2yrs without returning to Thailand. also, what is the minimum term she has to spend here in order to qualify for another 2yrs, I thinks it FLR?? we will of course want to return to Thailand for a holiday so her parents can see there grandaughter.

Thanks in advance, look forward to your comments.

Waz

My wife has just been granted a settlement visa for 2yrs and 3 months, she is currently pregnant and to our relief can now give birth here in the UK.

I know its very early days but was just wondering what the next step is? I read that she is entitled to another 2yrs without returning to Thailand. also, what is the minimum term she has to spend here in order to qualify for another 2yrs, I thinks it FLR?? we will of course want to return to Thailand for a holiday so her parents can see there grandaughter.

Thanks in advance, look forward to your comments.

Waz

Your wife can apply for an Indefinite leave to remain visa (ILR) after being in the UK for 2 years, in order to apply for this she will have to have passed the life in the UK test or an ESOL course at her local college. Between now and the next 2 years keep every single letter, utility bill, bank statement, c/card statement and anything else with your, your wifes and both your names and address's on, also keep any letters and such addressed to your new baby to show that you are a family.

If your wife just wants a new 2 year visa then again keep all documents mentioned above and she can apply for a new 2 year visa no sooner than 28 days before her old visa finishes. Your wife can leave and re-enter the Uk as many times as she wants on her 2 year visa.

My wife has just recieved her ILR visa and can now apply for a UK passport 1 year after recieving her visa. My wifes sister went through the Life in the UK test while my wife is going through an ESOL course (She reached the required level to get her ILR visa at Christmas) which started in September and finishes in June.

Hope this helps

Brigante7.

During the initial 2 years she is, of course, allowed holidays out of the UK. There is no specified limit on the amount of time she is allowed outside the UK, but she may have problems with her ILR application if she spends more time out of the UK than in.

After she has been in the UK for 24 months, but before her current visa expires, she can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. She will need to demonstrate that her marriage to you is still extant and that you have been living together for the last 2 years and you can adequately support and accommodate yourselves. She will also need to show that she can satisfy the knowledge of language and life in the UK (KOL) requirement.

ILR will entitle her to remain in the UK indefinitely, and come and go as she pleases; although if she were to spend a continuous period of 2 years or more out of the UK her ILR could lapse.

If for some reason she does not qualify for ILR at the end of her current visa she can apply for Further Leave to Remain instead. The requirements are basically the same except she does not need to have been in the UK for 2 years and does not need the KOL requirement. FLR lasts for 2 years and if she becomes qualified for ILR during this time she can apply for it without waiting for the FLR to expire. However, if she has still not qualified for ILR at the end of this period then she will need to apply for FLR again. At the moment she can apply for FLR again and again every two years, however this is under review and it is likely that the government will limit the number of times people can be granted FLR before they have to either obtain ILR or leave the UK.

Once she has ILR and has been resident in the UK for a total of 3 years from her first entry she can apply for naturalisation as British. Unlike FLR and ILR there is a maximum time allowed outside the UK whilst qualifying for citizenship. She must have been legally in the UK on the exact day 3 years prior to applying and during the interceding 3 years have spent no more than 270 days in total out of the UK with no more than 90 days in the final year.

As both the UK and Thailand allow dual nationality, becoming a British citizen will not affect her rights as a Thai citizen in any way.

See:-

Extending your stay

Applying for settlement in the United Kingdom

Knowledge of language and life in the United Kingdom

British citizenship

You may find Newcomers to the United Kingdom useful.

Thanks for the comments. Thanks for the links too 7by7, much appreciated.

regards