Ilr - Uk

[ShugNorris]

Hi there,

My Thai wife has been here in the UK for 2 years satisfying the correct amount of days in the UK, passed Life in the UK test etc.. She came to the UK on the 14th March 2009 so just over two years, her visa expires 1st June 2011. The letter in the passport says that you should not apply for ILR any more than 28 days prior to the current one expiring otherwise it'll be rejected and they'll keep the fee.

I'm confused as 28 days doesn't seem very long to process the application and get it back?

Am I misreading the information? I'm more than a little confused!

When should we apply for ILR?

Thanks in advance.

Shug

[7by7]

The earliest she can submit her application is 28 days before the 2nd anniversary of her first arrival in the UK with her spouse visa; the latest is the day the visa expires.

If she applies by post 28 days is a short time to process the application; it will probably take at least 14 weeks and possibly 6 months. However, provided she submits her application before her current leave to enter/remain expires then it will be automatically extended until her ILR application is decided.

Remember that the UKBA will hold onto her passport until the decision is made; if she requests it back before a decision is made then, apart from exceptional compassionate circumstances, her application will be treated as withdrawn but the fee will not be refunded.

If she wishes, she can apply in person for a same or next day decision, but will have to pay extra.

See Completing application form SET(M)

[maj]

hello shug im new to thai visa my wife has just got her ilr visa today . We applied in person they gave us the date when we booked the appointment im glad we went because they were keen on our documents regarding letters for proof of cohabitation

luckily we had taken extra paper work just in case.just my opinion but for what it cost im glad we went in person any way good luck from one happy couple MAJ

[ShugNorris]

Hi, just dropping back in to say thanks.. It's lucky I clarified that...

We applied in person at the Public Enquiries Office and got the visa..

I work on a ship on a 10 week rotational basis, just began the new job in November and the guy was going to reject it due to the fact that we hadn't lived together for two years as I was away for a 10 week period.. thankfully he consulted the case officer who said it was ok.. slightly worrying for a moment.

We had only two joint named letters also so provided individual letters for most of the period.

Everything seemed ok, mainly concerned about extra mortgage payments and salaries.

Anyway, thankfully I checked here to find out when to apply, so.. thanks again

ShugNorris

[tjthai]

Hi all

Been a while since I been on here but have a question about ILR. My wife and stepdaughter will be applying for ILR and 24 months started October 2009.

I am sure I read somewhere that any previous trips to the UK would count as time spent and therefore we would be able to apply sooner than that.

Does anyone know if this is correct or whether I imagined it?

Shame we can't do it before the April increase as the dependent application almost doubles

Thanks in advance

Cheers

TJThai

[steve187]

your wife will need to have been in the uk,on the day, two years prior to the application being received, a visit visa will do. remember to satisfy the time allowed out of the country, for ILR.

[tjthai]

Hi Steve

Thanks for your reply.

We are all here in the UK already and will be applying for ILR 28 days prior to the 2nd year anniversary which will be 26th August this year. My question is though my wife had previously been to the UK on 2 visit visas and so I wish to know whether the time spent in the UK on these visas is counted towards the 24 months and so therefore we would be able to apply earlier, by the amount of time on visit visas.

I hope that makes sense!

Cheers

Trevor

[steve187]

Yes the time will count but she needs to have physically been in the uk, on the day two years prior to the application being received, and the amount of days out of the country need to comply with the rules.

the easiest way is to list here all dates the wife and any dependents have been in the uk.

[steve187]

Hi tjthai

disregard all my posts.

i am sorry to have caused you to have false hopes, but it would seem that I in a rush to answer your post, got ILR and citizenship mixed up,

[7by7]

I am sure I read somewhere that any previous trips to the UK would count as time spent and therefore we would be able to apply sooner than that.

As Steve187 says, he has got citizenship and ILR applications mixed up.

The qualifying period for ILR starts on the day the applicant first arrived in the UK with their settlement visa (or if they entered as a fiance or proposed civil partner, the day they received their FLR after the marriage/civil partnership).

Time spent in the UK previously, as a visitor for example, does not count towards the qualifying period for ILR.

However, time spent in the UK as a visitor can count towards the three year qualifying period for citizenship; provided the applicant was physically present in the UK on the exact date three years prior to submitting the application and during the intervening three years has spent no more than 270 days out of the UK with no more than 90 days in the final year. (This is for applicants who are spouses or civil partners of British citizens. For others it is 5 years and 450 days.)

[tjthai]

Hi Steve and 7by7

Thanks for the clarification on that - I think I must have been getting confused having read the citizenship stuff too!

Talking of citizenship, my stepdaughter is 17 so will go on her mum's ILR app as dependent this October. However she arrived in January 2010 as visa was refused to start with.

Does the 3 years mean that if my wife and daughter do the citizenship at the same time they'll have to wait until the January 2013 for the 3 year anniversary of my daughter arriving?

Thanks again for your help.

TJThai

[7by7]

Children under the age of 18 cannot be naturalised as British; however they can be registered as British citizens.

In your step-daughter's case she has no direct entitlement to British citizenship, and so registration will be at the discretion of the Home Office under section 3(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981. There is no minimum time she must have been in the UK in order to apply for registration.

As said, your wife can apply for naturalisation once she has been in the UK for 3 years, and her daughter can apply for registration at the same time and provided all the other requirements are met and she is under 18 I can see no reason why it would not be granted.

She must be under 18 when the application is submitted. If she is over 18 when her mother applies for naturalisation then she will be unable to apply for registration as a child. People aged 18 or over have to apply for naturalisation in their own right; which means that as she is not the spouse of a British citizen she will need to have been in the UK for at least 5 years before she could apply.

See British citizenship.