Me and my wife are currently in the process of completing an application for a settlement visa for the UK With luck we hope this will be granted with-out any problems.

I was wondering what happens when the visa is granted, and what documents if any are provided on collection of the visa. I understand that the visa will allow my wife 2 years to live and work in the UK, where after with have to apply for ILR But would this visa alone enable to her to apply for work in the UK, or will she have to apply for a NI number or any other documents before she is able to take up work. If so what would she need and how is the best way to go about getting these.

The other question i have is with health care, would she be entitled to NHS care up on arrival in the UK or will we have to go privet. As we are hoping to start a family over the next few years and would the children to be born in the UK rather than Thailand. We have looked into the possibility of her becoming a UK citizen but this will take many years.

Thank you for your help,

Regards

Your wife will need to apply for a NI number on arrival and she will be entitled to NHS treatment.

Citizenship maybe gained within 3 years of first entering the country subject to her passing the KOL/ESOL requirement.

All documents should be returned with the application.

Your wife will get a two year three month visa in her passport. She will be able to apply for ILR after two years from the date of her arrival in the UK and during that two year period she must also pass either the life in the UK test or an Esol course at college to qualify. If, after the two year period she can't pass either of these tests she must apply for FLR which will give her more time and enable her to stay in the UK. She can apply for British Citizenship after being in the UK for three years, assuming she has ILR and you're still together of course.

She can work in the UK from the day she arrives if she wants to and her employer should give her a temporary NI number until she gets her own. It took about three months for my wife's NI number to come through.

As for health care she will be entitled to the same 'free' NHS care as any British Citizen is, also from the day she arrives in the UK. On the subject of health care if a British Citizen is returning to the UK after living abroad (and the UK Government know where he's been living) he's not entitled to free NHS care for six months (whether he's paid UK taxes while abroad or not) but his wife who's possibly never even set foot in the UK before is entitled from the moment she arrives.

See also:-

Applying for a National Insurance number

'Registering with a doctor's surgery' from Your local doctor (GP) and don't forget that she'll be eligible for NHS dental treatment, too (if you can find an NHS dentist!).

When she comes to apply for ILR she will need to provide evidence that you have been living together in the form of 'official' letters addressed to both of you jointly or each of you separately. These can be council tax statements, letters from government departments, bank statements, utility bills etc. So it is a good idea to have your utility bills etc. put into joint names and to start collecting them as soon as you can. You only need six of these, but they must be spread over the whole two years and be from at least three different sources.