Landing In Uk On Settlement Visa

[Guest jonzboy]

Hi all

wife and I landed at LHR yesterday morning. We were greeted by an announcement onboard our BA flight that UKBA were on strike so expect delays. Fortunately we were T5 and the first flight to land so no queues. Just imagine the chaos at T3 when all the other Asian flights land between 05.00 and 06.00.

Presented wife's passport and landing card and I informed the UKBA chap that she was activating her settlement visa (didn't say what sort, but she has ILE having already taken the KOL test before applying).

Got asked one question, "how long have you been married?" (I'm thinking, "what's the relevance of the length of our marriage?") but reply "five years"

Low and behold, the UKBA official says to me "that's good, your wife's visa exempts her from two years probation so she can apply for naturalisation after one year"

???

So I piped up " I think it takes three years..."

"No" he says, "just one year, it's because you've been married for more than two years"

This is when I said to myself, don't get involved in contradicting him and said nothing further

Wife's passport get's the chop, so to speak, and we're on our way after a process of about a minute.

Any chance we'll get that UK passport for the wife in a year's time???

[VisasPlus]

I'm no expert on naturalisation, but the requirements still seem to be :

Residential requirements

In order to demonstrate the residential requirements for naturalisation you need to:

• have been resident in the United Kingdom for at least three years (this is known as the residential qualifying period); and
• have been present in the United Kingdom three years before the date of your application; and
• have not spent more than 270 days outside the United Kingdom during the three-year period; and
• have not spend more than 90 days outside the United Kingdom in the last 12 months of the three-year period; and
• have not been in breach of the immigration rules at any stage during the three-year period.
  

No doubt someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

[paully]

^ Agreed, as far as I know.

The official UKBA guidance booklet on naturalisation, Guide AN, does state:

"7. Have lived in the UK for a minimum of 5 years before you apply

If you are applying on the basis of marriage or civil partnership to a British citizen the legal

requirements are the same as

12456

above

• and you have lived in the UK for 3 years."

The only exception is for Crown Service. Have you been in Crown Service, johnzboy?

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/applicationforms/nationality/guide_an.pdf

[Thongkorn]

If your girlfriend comes to the UK for a holiday, on a holiday visa (6 month). then she goes home and you go back and marrie her the three years start from when she came on her Holiday visa, So in theory 2 years from when she comes on a settlement visa, t he border agency was right.

[paully]

^ But how to explain this comment by the official?

"that's good, your wife's visa exempts her from two years probation"[/Quote]

[7by7]

If your girlfriend comes to the UK for a holiday, on a holiday visa (6 month). then she goes home and you go back and marrie her the three years start from when she came on her Holiday visa, So in theory 2 years from when she comes on a settlement visa, t he border agency was right.

Not necessarily.

The applicant must have been physically present in the UK on the exact day three years prior to the Home Office receiving the application. The type of entry clearance they had at that time is irrelevant.

During the three years prior to the application they must have spent no more than 270 days in total out of the UK, with no more than 90 days in the final year.

For example it would be possible to spend 6 months in the UK as a visitor; leave and spend 270 days, or 9 months, out of the UK and then return with a settlement visa. One would have completed 15 months out of the 36 required, so one could apply for naturalisation after another 21 months in the UK with a settlement visa, provided one did not leave the UK at all during that time.

Except, of course, one needs to have ILR or the equivalent and that takes 24 months; but if, like the OP's wife, one entered with ILE this would not be a problem.

Like previous posters I can find nothing in any UKBA or Home Office publication to say that ILE holders are exempt from the three year residency requirement or have a shorter qualifying period based upon the length of their marriage; but would be very interested to know if there is anything to this other than a mistake by the IO concerned.

NB, the three year residential qualifying period applies to the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen. For others it is 5 years with no more than 450 days in total out of the UK during that time with no more than 90 days in the final year.

[Guest jonzboy]

7 X 7

precisely my point, after all, my original post was mainly to expose the inadequacies of individual staff working at UKBA, as i quickly realised he was full of cr@p

recently had a similar experience whilst researching how to take my dog back to UK, having sorted out all the DEFRA rabies requirements I was trying to find out how the customs clearance was handled on arrival. I rang the HMRC hotline, got transferred to a supposedly knowledgable type who told me to go through the red channel and declare the dog, I mean, HELLO, the dog goes to the Animal Reception Centre, as I already knew, I just wanted to know where I go to clear the animal after the ARC vet clearance is given. The correct answer, as I now know, is it is done by an airline appointed agent.

So, moral of the story, take everything you're told by an "official" with a large pinch of salt and do your own due diligence!!!

The wife's naturalisation is now 2 years and 364 days away and counting...

[7by7]

It may be, Jonzboy, that this individual was drafted in as strike cover from elsewhere in the UKBA and is not fully aware of the rules concerning naturalisation.

In which case he should have kept his mouth shut!

Perhaps he usually works on the telephone helpline. Call them with the same question 5 different times and you'll get 5 different answers!

[Guest jonzboy]

It may be, Jonzboy, that this individual was drafted in as strike cover from elsewhere in the UKBA and is not fully aware of the rules concerning naturalisation.

In which case he should have kept his mouth shut!

Perhaps he usually works on the telephone helpline. Call them with the same question 5 different times and you'll get 5 different answers!

Interestingly, on arrival the wife and I initially queued at the UK/EU passport line (as we were advised by UKBA on our earlier visit to UK in the summer) but ,on getting to the service point, we were told that they could not process arrivals on settlement visas "because of the strike" and that we had to go queue again at the other nationality passport section where (supposedly) they had more experienced staff on duty. There was also mention of a "health check" requirement, but that never happened, maybe because we came from a non-TB country?

Go figure...

[bangkockney]

Interestingly, on arrival the wife and I initially queued at the UK/EU passport line (as we were advised by UKBA on our earlier visit to UK in the summer) but ,on getting to the service point, we were told that they could not process arrivals on settlement visas "because of the strike" and that we had to go queue again at the other nationality passport section where (supposedly) they had more experienced staff on duty. There was also mention of a "health check" requirement, but that never happened, maybe because we came from a non-TB country?

Go figure...

There is still TB in Thailand. Students, for example, are required to have a chest x-ray as part of their UK student visa application.

Edited October 16, 2010 by bangkockney

[7by7]

As should the OP's wife as part of her settlement application! (Assuming she applied in Thailand.)

Tuberculosis testing for applicants visiting the UK for longer than 6 months

[Guest jonzboy]

As should the OP's wife as part of her settlement application! (Assuming she applied in Thailand.)

Tuberculosis testing for applicants visiting the UK for longer than 6 months

wife applied in Hong Kong where TB checks are not required