Planning A Head (2Nd Uk Settlement Visa)

[malct]

My Wife is here on a UK Settlement Visa which expires in Jan 2014.

just a few questions to ask.

1. My wife is intending to stay in the UK for a further 27 months after Jan 2014 all going well, which will coincide with my planned retirement at a young age of 55, So the first question is, can my wife apply for another settlement Visa and can this be done without having the Life in the UK Test?

2. I understand that you can only apply for naturalisation after 5 years, so is that 2 X settlement visa or do you apply for

permission to remain in the UK. Guess there will be a form for that.

3 Even though we intend to retire over in Thailand, Would it be a benefit to my wife to

apply for naturalisation when the time comes, But i guess she would have to spend so much time in the UK every year and also may effect myself living in Thailand

​4. Regarding time in the UK, i understand that my wife must be in the UK for 24 months out of 27 Months, Is this a requirement if we are applying for the 2nd Visa? (this has limited the number of holidays abroad for us ;-(

i know that its a long time away, But i have been thinking about the future and whats the best way to go about everything and our restrictions regarding time out of the UK and also the Life in the UK test and retirement for myself

Malc

[7by7]

Your wife could apply for a second settlement visa and this means that she would not have to take the LitUK test or an ESOL with citizenship course.

But, she would have to return to Thailand to do so.

Alternatively, she could apply for Further Leave to Remain in the UK as your spouse. This would last for 24 months at the end of which she could apply for FLR again or, if she wished, Indefinite Leave to Remain or simply leave the UK.

To be time qualified for ILR she must have been living in the UK for at least 24 months, although obviously time outside the UK for holidays etc. is acceptable.

As the spouse of a British citizen she can apply for naturalisation after living in the UK for 3 years, not 5. During the 3 years she must not have spent more than 270 days out of the UK with no more than 90 days in the final year.

However, to apply for naturalisation she must be free from immigration time restrictions; i.e. have ILR.

For more on naturalisation, see British Citizenship Basics.

If she were to be naturalised then she would be able to leave the UK as often and for as long as she wished without any restriction; the same as any other British citizen.

If she had ILR but was not naturalised then her ILR would lapse after a continuous period outside the UK of 2 years or more. Furthermore, if it became apparent to an immigration officer that she was not a UK resident but using her ILR for visits then s/he could cancel it, although she would be admitted as a visitor on that occasion.

[malct]

Thank you for your Reply 7By7.

So it makes good sense for my wife to be naturalised after she has been in the UK since this will allow her to come back into the UK at a later date. If applying for Further Leave to Remain in the UK , Then she has to pass the life in the UK test.

Malc

[7by7]

Yes, if after you've retired to Thailand you feel that you may want regular trips back to the UK, Europe or anywhere else where Thais need a visa but Brits don't then it would make sense, in my opinion, for her to be naturalised as British and obtain a British passport.

No, she does not need to pass the LitUK test for FLR, but she will need to provide evidence of her basic English ability, even if she already did so when she obtained her initial spouse visa. See here.

Obviously, if she took the speaking and listening test to obtain her spouse visa she wont have to take the test again, simply provide the same evidence as before.

She will, however, have to pass the LitUK test or an ESOL with citizenship course (see here) if she wants to apply for ILR. She must have ILR, or the equivalent, if she wants to apply for naturalisation.