I'M Back In The Uk Now,

[Stabbo-Lad]

Hi all,

I made the decision to relocate back to the UK ahead of the wife and kids so I could find work and suitable accommodation and then apply for settlement visas so they can join me here.

Fortunately I've managed to get a job pretty quickly (just over 2 months-started Wednesday)and have a house lined up for rent.

So, how soon can I apply for settlement visas for the wife and stepson (both Thai)? Do I need to wait, say 6 months, until I have so many months worth of salary cheques and house rentals before I can apply?

If so I'm thinking of applying for visitors visas for them to come and stay for a few months whilst the salary/housing paperwork builds up. Obviously there's the extra cost to consider but I miss my family and want them here with me asap.

Also it would give the wife a taste of what to expect when she does move here (not sure if that's such a good thing actually).

So, time-line wise, what I am looking at for a settlement visa?

SL.

[onnut]

I can't help you but would like to say that I will be in your position in 6 weeks time. I have a son with my wife so he has a UK passport but I will need to do a visa for my wife.

I'm looking forward to going home but not looking forward to leaving my loved ones behind.

I have a meeting on Monday with an ex Consulate for the British Embassy to ask questions about this. I will post what I learn.

I will follow this thread also.

Good luck

[tigerjohn]

I can't help you but would like to say that I will be in your position in 6 weeks time. I have a son with my wife so he has a UK passport but I will need to do a visa for my wife.

I'm looking forward to going home but not looking forward to leaving my loved ones behind.

I have a meeting on Monday with an ex Consulate for the British Embassy to ask questions about this. I will post what I learn.

I will follow this thread also.

Good luck

you do not have to wait that long now you have a job and house lined up, i myself came home last march after spending time there, i was lucky i found employment within 1mth and sent in 8 0r 9wks wageslips and used my sisters address to get my wife here until i found somewhere when she arrived, she put the visa in may and arrived here august, you may be a little longer waiting for utility bills etc, but once visa goes in waiting time is less now than it was then so you could be even faster, good luck

[Stabbo-Lad]

I have a son with my wife so he has a UK passport.....

Hi Onnut,

I read your thread earlier today so you've saved me the job of replying to it.

I also have a 3 y/o son. Watching and talking to him on Skype makes me miss him all the more which is why I'm prepared to shell out the extra money for visitors visas if the settlement route is going to take a long time. He's got a UK passport of course so its just the wife and stepson. They've all been to England before on holiday so I expect VV's to be fairly straightforward.

My situation sounds very similar to your own, returning to the UK was my only real option. I flew back end of November, just before the worst December on record. After 6 years of 30 degree heat it was a real shock to the system.

I've been lucky I guess in getting sorted with a job and house fairly quickly and being back here isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, There's doom and gloom sure but the jobs are out there if your prepared to go looking for them.

Good luck to you, I'll be following your progress with interest.

SL.

Ps,

I also see your looking for a flight. I ended up with Gulf Air (through Ebookers @16500ish) via Bahrain and both flights were very good. GA flights have gone up since then, I was looking a few weeks ago and Egypt Air were cheapest.

SL.

Edited February 12, 2011 by Stabbo-Lad

[Stabbo-Lad]

you do not have to wait that long now you have a job and house lined up, i myself came home last march after spending time there, i was lucky i found employment within 1mth and sent in 8 0r 9wks wageslips and used my sisters address to get my wife here until i found somewhere when she arrived, she put the visa in may and arrived here august, you may be a little longer waiting for utility bills etc, but once visa goes in waiting time is less now than it was then so you could be even faster, good luck

Well that's certainly encouraging news. I was always under the impression I had to show the ECO's some consistent history of employment and accommodation.

[Thongkorn]

Best of luck , Goes to show you that there are jobs in the UK and its not all bad.Hope you get sorted soon.

[VisasPlus]

You can apply for the settlement visas at any time you want.

What you need to do is to show the ECO that you can support and accommodate your family. In theory you don't have to even have a job if, for instance, you have sufficient funds available to do that. Assuming that you haven't, then you must show that your income, minus your expenses, leaves enough money for you to financially support the family without them having to seek financial help from Public Funds.

Similarly, you will have to how that you can accommodate the family. That can be in accommodation that you own or rent, or even in accommodation owned by friends or family. Whichever route you take, you will have to provide documentary evidence that there is adequate accommodation for you all.

Without knowing all the details, I wouldn't recommend the visit visas route. If you are only just getting financially sorted out for the settlement aspect, then it may be difficult to show adequate funds for the family to visit, etc. If you are in a position to finance visit visas, then fine, but be careful or you may lose your money by applying and having the visas refused. As I said, without knowing more detail, it is impossible to advise you on this aspect.

[onnut]

SL

Thanks mate, good luck.

PM me if there are any questions you would like me to ask tomorrow.

Also which area are you in the UK?

[7by7]

As VP says, there is no reason why you cannot apply now. Simply explain in your sponsor's letter that you have been living in Thailand and returned first to arrange employment and accommodation which is why you cannot supply very many pay slips. You presumably had a bank account in Thailand, so supply statements from that account as well as any that you have opened now you are in the UK. If you can't do so, explain why.

See Maintenance and accommodation.

Like VP, I see little point in applying for visit visas first. You all want to live in the UK, and if you cannot meet the maintenance and accommodation requirements for settlement it is unlikely that you would meet them for a visit.

[Stabbo-Lad]

Thanks for all the help and advise guys.

Everything's now dependent on wifey selling our house. We have a buyer and she's hoping to be finalized and moved out by end of April.

If that goes to plan, this is my thinking:

- Submit settlement visa applications mid-March time. That gives me some slack to get all the paperwork together.

- Six weeks waiting time from submission date, realistic or not? judging by this thread times are coming down allthe time but I guess that

can change at any time.

- Decision by end of April.

- Flights for early/mid May.

Does that sound a feasible plan of action?

Obviously the wife's got the house to sell first, then A1 English test and TB certificates to sort.

What do you think guys, am I being over-optimistic with this timescale or not ?

SL.

I'm in Nottingham btw Onnut.

[7by7]

Waiting times are indeed coming down at the moment. The guide to processing times shows that in December 92% of settlement applications were resolved between 16 and 30 working days (Hopefully the figures for January will be out soon.)

However, as you say, this can change. TiggerFish's figures for applications submitted by TV members last March show waiting times of 7 to 8 weeks.

Remember that if you want to ensure that she has the visa by a specific date she can submit the application early and ask for the start date to be postponed for up to three months; though if she does this she cannot travel until the actual start date of the visa.

Also, the visa will be valid for 27 months but she only has to be resident in the UK for 24 months to meet the residential qualification for Indefinite Leave to Remain, so there is some flexibility there, too.