UK Settlement Visa For My Thai Husband

[skeets]

hi all

just need some advise really.

ive been with my thai husband for 8 years and we've been married for 4 years in april. we have 2 young children together and have been living togther in rented accomodation since we met.

im an english teacher and hes a motorbike taxi driver (self employed)

we would now like to go and live in the uk for a few years so i can quality to be a primary teacher. i will need him to be able to work so im pretty sure we need to apply for a settlement visa. my parents have a 5 bedroom house and only they live there so we will be staying with them until we save enough for a deposit for our own place.

so, here are my worries, we dont really have any savings just a thousand pounds in an account here and another 1000 in my uk account, but we also dont have any debt, my parents are sponsering us and i have all their bank statements and house deeds to show that they can more than adequtely support us should they need to.

and secondly his English isnt really very good. will these factors go against us?

getting work will not be a problem as i used to work for a recruitment agency and still have contacts there but what are our chances? i will be applying at the end of next month.

thanks for all your words of wisdom.

[SeanMoran]

I cannot offer any reliable advice on visas to the UK, although I do recall there being some provision for those under 26 years of age from foreign countries to travel for working holidays in the UK in the past. It maybe that your husband is over 26, which would defeat the purpose of that avenue.

As an alternative to further your primary objective, there are many websites online where you might qualify your English skills with the goal of better teaching of the language, and this might be achievable without having to leave Chonburi if you have reliable Internet access. If you are already employed, then it might be wise to retain that employment while you continue your studies, for the prerequisites for formal qualifications have tightened up greatly over the past five years?

Good luck whichever way you choose to go.

[Boo]

you wont have any issues imo. The main obstacles are proving you have an actual real relationship, well 2kids & 8 years of history will prove that, just provide enough evidence for them to see it.

The other main obstacle is how you will support yourself. Make sure you write a covering letter outlining & emphasizing your parents willingness to support you when you arrive & also make a big point of how easy it will be for you to get work, let them know what jobs are available to you & also approx how much you will be earning. Also make it clear that he plans to work as soon as possible.

We did it 6 years ago & my husband could read & write English fluenty but his spoken was quite bad, he is now fluent, had a good job working at a school for 3 years & gained his British citizenship over a year ago. It was the best move we ever made.

Good luck

[skeets]

thanks for the quick replies folks.

to Seanmoran

we're both well over 26 nearing the 40 mark actually!

while i want to return mainly to qualify as a teacher i also really miss my family and would like to spend a few years nearer to them too so staying here isnt really an option.

to Boo

Thanks for all the tips, am presently sorting everything out and hopefully will be going to the embassy in February. Will make sure i get everything you suggested too.

Did your husband find it easy to make friends in the uk? one of mines main worries is that he wont have anyone to go fishing or play snooker with!

im sure ill be here again with more worries sooner or later!

[7by7]

See also:-

Uk Settlement; Spouse Visa Or Ile?, Have you been married for 4 years or more?

Settlement; Spouses*

Maintenance and accommodation*

*When you click on these two links you may be asked for a user name and password. If so, simply click on 'cancel' and you will be able to proceed.

[Boo]

He found a couple of guys, one through me who has a UK wife & the others from working in the early days in Thai restaurants but his main friends were a Brit guy he worked with at the school & a Swedish guy who is like his cosmic twin. Thankfully though he isn't a social butterfly & was quite happy spending most of his free time at home on his computer & with his guitars & fx machines

I'm sure he will be fine, the first year in the hardest imo but once he is working & making his own money I'm sure he will see the benefits of UK life.

[gregchambers]

If you have been out of the UK for so long you probably have become non-resident with regards to the UK

If you have become non-resident you can not claims benefits for the first two years of your return (but are okay with NHS).

If above, worth pointing this out in your application as they can not then say they are worried about you claiming benefits!

[cuddleypete]

Skeets Your husband should not have any problems making friends in the uk it is no different than a husband bringing his thai wife to the uk, I remember when my wife came she said i dont know anyone which she didnt but it was not long before she met a thai lady in a asian shop we was in. ( now she knows many thai ladys, i dont know if good or bad ok, but not bad if they not come round to eat)

all the best to you both

Edited January 6, 2010 by cuddleypete

[torrenova]

If you have been out of the UK for so long you probably have become non-resident with regards to the UK

If you have become non-resident you can not claims benefits for the first two years of your return (but are okay with NHS).

If above, worth pointing this out in your application as they can not then say they are worried about you claiming benefits!

That is incorrect. The second a UK citizen arrives back in the UK with the intention of returning and remaining in the UK they are immediately classed as resident and entitled to any and all benefits which they would be allowed to claim had they never left the UK. I went through this in great detail and though in 2008 the Benefits Agency were not aware of the ruling in this instance, they were certainly aware of it by the beginning of 2009.

You are correct that someone visiting the UK, perhaps for the specific purpose of medical tourism for example, could be denied but that is because they are merely visiting. If they are intending to remain in the UK permanently, then those exclusions do not apply.

The OP will be eligible for state assistance from the day she returns to the UK.

[skeets]

hi people,

i actually went home last year in march for 2 months and worked with no problems also got child benefit for the time we were there too so im still a resident.

i know my husband wont be able to claim benifits but im pretty sure im still entitled to if i need to, also when i was in the uk in march i was told that if i stayed i could claim housing benefit if i needed too as well.

what is the situation with doctors though? does anyone know? myself and my daughters can just register with a doctor but what about my husband? (thats if we get him a visa, touch wood)

were going to apply in February but wont have been married for 4 years until April, will check out the links, thanks 7by7.

sounds good that all your partners have made friends, cosmic twins and met good or bad thai ladies! so i hope mine can too, we would be going to leicester which has a huge multi cultural population but not sure how many thais, i know theres at least one thai restaurant though so there must be at least a very small thai community somewhere.

cheers

[Boo]

He will receive an NHS card in the post around a week after arriving in UK & you use that to register at the local GP. As a resident of the UK he is entitled to NHS treatment the same as any UK citizen the moment he arrives.

[Boo]

were going to apply in February but wont have been married for 4 years until April, will check out the links, thanks 7by7.

You only have to prove that you have been in a relationship AKIN to a marriage not actually married. Thai friend of mine who has been together 10 years with his Scottish gf & who only married in March 2009, applied for & receive ILE in June 2009.

[Boo]

Here is the thread I started for them

[CharlieB]

He will receive an NHS card in the post around a week after arriving in UK & you use that to register at the local GP. As a resident of the UK he is entitled to NHS treatment the same as any UK citizen the moment he arrives.

Incorrect. She will have to take him along to her local surgery, and a week or two after they accept him as an NHS patient he will receive an NHS card through the post.

[Boo]

My husband received his NHS card a week after arriving in UK & before we went to the GP so correct for us.

[CharlieB]

My husband received his NHS card a week after arriving in UK & before we went to the GP so correct for us.

An NHS card is only normally issued when requested by a doctors surgery, because it should have the persons registered surgery and doctor's name on the card to aid when you move to another area.

How do I get an NHS card?

[torrenova]

You don't need an NHS card or NHS number even to register with a GP. You need passports and something with your address on it. The easiest thing is to get something from a bank or government office.