Appling For Ilr Whilst In Thailand

[micky44]

hi folks, is it possible for the thai wife to apply for ILR in the UK , whilst we are in thailand together, we have plenty of documents to prove the marriage is sustaining i.e com charge gas elec bills ni number p60, and she has

knowledge of uk life pass cert.at the moment we are in the uk on FLR, JUST we need to go to thailand before we can aply in the uk, been maried now almost 5 years. cheers.

[Boo]

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Uk-Visa-Stra...lr-t123182.html

have a look at this thread.

[7by7]

at the moment we are in the uk on FLR, JUST we need to go to thailand before we can aply in the uk

She cannot apply for ILR in Thailand, only in the UK. It may help your situation to know that she can apply for ILR up to 28 days before her FLR expires.

If she absolutely has to go to Thailand before getting her ILR and cannot return to the UK before her FLR expires then she will have to apply for a new visa in Bangkok.

How long have you been living in the UK?

It is possible that as you have been married for more than four years and as she has passed the LitUK test then she will not be granted a 2 year spouse visa; she will be given Indefinite Leave to Enter, which is the same as ILR except it is granted outside of the UK whilst ILR is granted inside the UK.

See here for a brief explanation of ILE.

However, usually in order to qualify for ILE one must have been living with one's British partner outside the UK. But it may be possible, if for the majority of your marriage you were living out of the UK, that she would be granted ILE.

The application form and fee are the same, so she would simply complete VAF4, include evidence of the lenghth of the marriage and how long you were living together outside the UK plus her LitUK certificate. The ECO will then grant ILE if she qualifies, or a spouse visa if not.

(Edited by 7by7 to correct factual error.)

Edited May 8, 2009 by 7by7

[7by7]

She cannot apply for ILR in Thailand, only in the UK. It may help your situation to know that she can apply for ILR up to 28 days before her FLR expires.

Forgot to add that she can also apply in person and get a same day decision at a public enquiry office. See here.

However, the fee for this is £1020 instead of £820 whwn apply by post.

[cuddleypete]

Hi there micky i would just like to ad that if your wife is on flr you can apply at anytime in the 2 years you do not have to wait for the 28 day rule, as i have done this myself after speaking to uk border agency.

[ThaiVisaExpress]

at the moment we are in the uk on FLR, JUST we need to go to thailand before we can aply in the uk

She cannot apply for ILR in Thailand, only in the UK. It may help your situation to know that she can apply for ILR up to 28 days before her FLR expires.

If she absolutely has to go to Thailand before getting her ILR and cannot return to the UK before her FLR expires then she will have to apply for a new visa in Bangkok.

How long have you been living in the UK?

It is possible that as you have been married for more than four years and as she has passed the LitUK test then she will not be granted a 2 year spouse visa; she will be given Indefinite Leave to Enter, which is the same as ILR except it is granted outside of the UK whilst ILR is granted inside the UK.

See here for a brief explanation of ILE.

However, usually in order to qualify for ILE one must have been living with one's British partner outside the UK. But it may be possible, if for the majority of your marriage you were living out of the UK, that she would be granted ILE.

The application form and fee are the same, so she would simply complete VAF4, include evidence of the lenghth of the marriage and how long you were living together outside the UK plus her LitUK certificate. The ECO will then grant ILE if she qualifies, or a spouse visa if not.

(Edited by 7by7 to correct factual error.)

Just to bring you up to speed you cannot apply using the Vaf 4 online applications only 7by7 things have changed in Bangkok. As we found this week they are totally not accepting these forms.

Regards Paul

[micky44]

cheers lads for the replys, very very helpfull, all the best micky.

[7by7]

Hi there micky i would just like to ad that if your wife is on flr you can apply at anytime in the 2 years you do not have to wait for the 28 day rule, as i have done this myself after speaking to uk border agency.

Not necessarily. It depends on why she applied for ILR.

If she had time qualified for ILR but, for example, had not satisfied the KOL requirement so applied for FLR instead, then yes; she does not have to wait a further two years and can apply for FLR once she has satisfied that requirement.

However, if, for example, she entered the UK with a fiance visa and obtained FLR after her marriage then she cannot apply for ILR until she has held the FLR for two years; although as said earlier she can apply up to 28 days before the FLR expires.

Be warned, if she applies for ILR but is not time qualified, or does not meet one of the other requirements, her application will be refused and the fee will not be refunded.

TV, thanks for the update.

Edited May 10, 2009 by 7by7

[ThaiVisaExpress]

We experienced this ourselves lol.

[micky44]

Hi there micky i would just like to ad that if your wife is on flr you can apply at anytime in the 2 years you do not have to wait for the 28 day rule, as i have done this myself after speaking to uk border agency.

Not necessarily. It depends on why she applied for ILR.

If she had time qualified for ILR but, for example, had not satisfied the KOL requirement so applied for FLR instead, then yes; she does not have to wait a further two years and can apply for FLR once she has satisfied that requirement.

However, if, for example, she entered the UK with a fiance visa and obtained FLR after her marriage then she cannot apply for ILR until she has held the FLR for two years; although as said earlier she can apply up to 28 days before the FLR expires.

Be warned, if she applies for ILR but is not time qualified, or does not meet one of the other requirements, her application will be refused and the fee will not be refunded.

TV, thanks for the update.

hi there 7by 7, slightly confused now!!as corectly stated, my wife entered on a two year settlement visa, passed the K/Luk, ni number, paying tax, comm charge gas elec bills,two jobs money in the bank,driving li/ the chappies at sheffield said we had spent too long out side the uk, and could not prove we were still married, although both our passport stamps proved we had entered and left several S/A countries together, so they gave her 12 months FLR, for £950, !!! i said to them : thats a lot for 12 months:: so they said have 24 months then!! so thats the situation now, we now have documentary evidence spread over a full 24 months ,even though there is still12 months left on the flr. do we have to wait then till the end of the complete 24 month visa, or could we apply now, confussed ? i am !! cheers micky.

[7by7]

I think that as her first ILR application was refused because she had spent too long out of the UK then she may have to wait the full two years before she can apply again.

However, I am confused by them originally granting 12 months.

(Edit:

Thinking about it, if ILR was refused because she had not met the two years residency requirement, then she may very well be able to apply once that requirement has been met. Hence them originally granting 12 months. How much of the last two years has she spent outside the UK?)

Hopefully Scouse or TVE can clarify, or you could contact the UKBA and ask.

NB.

There is no clear maximum time allowed out of the UK when qualifying for ILR. However one does need to show that the UK is one's actual residence. Short holidays are, of course, no problem, but it is difficult to do if one has spent long periods outside the UK. That one did so in the company of one's UK partner is, I'm afraid, irrelevent.

To clarify one point. Previously if one applied for ILR but it was refused one would often be granted FLR instead, without having to pay a further fee. This is no longer the case and if one's ILR application is refused and one wishes to remain in the UK one needs to make, and pay for, a new FLR application.

Edited May 10, 2009 by 7by7

[micky44]

that extra 12 month was given to the wife and i so we could gather more supporting documentary evidence, only when i said that was expensive, they then said well have 24 !!!!!! cheers.

[ThaiVisaExpress]

You can re apply however ensure you satisfy the earlier concerns.

The home office obviously have doubts as to that there is an intention to live together permanently . I advise no more than 90 days per year outside the UK as it may affect citizenship at a later date.

I just checked myself on the 12 month FLR if an applicant has been issued this they may re apply for ILR after the 12 month period.

My thoughts are that they issued this to let her qualify by spending further time here in the UK. And not forgetting once she is Issued ILR she may apply for citizenship should she qualify under the rules.

Edited May 10, 2009 by ThaiVisaExpress

[guru]

Just for information purposes only in case some ILR applicants are getting nervous about time spent out of the UK. My wife and I spent 9 months out of the UK together during the 2 years my wife was on her settlement visa and she was awarded ILR a fortnight ago. However, I'm not saying that all applicants will be fortunate with large periods spent outside the UK as each application and Case Officer is unique, especially with no set limit prescribed.