Proposed Uk Settlement Visa Changes

[7by7]

Correct, I missed that bit; many apologies.

If applying for ILR after October 2013 then you will need to have passed the LitUK test and obtained level B1 (or equivalent?) in English speaking and listening (page 68).

[AngryParent]

Also with respect to the requirement for children, if they are your children and are entitled to UK citizenship through birth I am presuming that you are not sponsoring them as they have the right to enter the UK without a visa? In which case the minimum required income does not increase. It should increase for dependent children of the applicant which are not related to the sponsor through birth - is this correct or have I missed the point?

That was my understanding also. If your children are British citizens then the minimum income level of GBP 18,600 still applies. It is only if the children are not British citizens that the increased amounts apply.

I had been looking at returning to the UK with my wife and daughter. The only difficulty I see, from my point of view, is having the employment offer. It will be very difficult to be get a UK job offer whilst working in Thailand, unless you are being sent back by your company.

You need more than just an offer. You need to show that you have either earned 18,600 in the last 12 months, or your salary was this in a continuous job for the last 6 months. If not, you need to abandon your family in Thailand and go back and work in the UK for 6 months before you can apply for the spouse visa.

[7by7]

There will be various ways of meeting the requirement; including a combination of savings, income derived from savings as well as employment or prospective employment. See para 83 of the statement and the relevant appendices.

Whilst I agree, and said so much earlier in this topic, that the figure of £18,600 p.a. is much too high, it does represent, at current exchange rates, about 75,000baht per month.

I am not sure of the average pay for UK expats in Thailand, but from what I have read on this forum I would hazard a guess that for most it is at or above this figure.

Although if living in Thailand as the spouse of a Thai on a marriage visa one only needs an income of 40,000baht per month; but how many people in that position are looking to relocate back to the UK? Few, would be my estimation.

[marksm]

Correct, I missed that bit; many apologies.

If applying for ILR after October 2013 then you will need to have passed the LitUK test and obtained level B1 (or equivalent?) in English speaking and listening (page 68).

Just to get my head round this my wife is just waiting on her FLR visa so how long do u have to wait before applying for the Ilr ? Will the ukba say where they have to achieve the b1 in speaking and listening ? Will the Esol course still be required ? Or isit the just the living in the uk test ?

[toddmeister]

If applying for ILR after the Oct '13 when the new B1 requirement comes in she would have to apply under those rules. If she can apply before that date she will apply unde the current rules ie LITUK or ESOL with citizenship

[marksm]

If applying for ILR after the Oct '13 when the new B1 requirement comes in she would have to apply under those rules. If she can apply before that date she will apply unde the current rules ie LITUK or ESOL with citizenship

IF my wife passes the LITUK or ESOL and she is 12-18 months into her FLR visa can she apply for the ILR visa?then

[simple1]

Can anyone outline what happens if GF/wife is granted a visa, arrives in UK and the UK sponsor then becomes unemployed. Does the couple immediately receive UK government benefits?

[dracos]

Also with respect to the requirement for children, if they are your children and are entitled to UK citizenship through birth I am presuming that you are not sponsoring them as they have the right to enter the UK without a visa? In which case the minimum required income does not increase. It should increase for dependent children of the applicant which are not related to the sponsor through birth - is this correct or have I missed the point?

That was my understanding also. If your children are British citizens then the minimum income level of GBP 18,600 still applies. It is only if the children are not British citizens that the increased amounts apply.

I had been looking at returning to the UK with my wife and daughter. The only difficulty I see, from my point of view, is having the employment offer. It will be very difficult to be get a UK job offer whilst working in Thailand, unless you are being sent back by your company.

I agree that in many cases it will be difficult. I don't however see any reason why you cannot take a holiday to the UK (with or without the family) do an intensive job search and interviews, secure the job with start date as late as possible and then return to Thailand to submit the application and wait with the family until the application is approved. The downside to this is you will not know how long it could take to secure a job.

My biggest concern would be if you have to give up employment in Thailand to secure employment in the UK and then your visa application does not get approved for any reason. Then you have possibly lost your life in Thailand but the family cannot join you in the UK so you would end up seperated.

[7by7]

[iF my wife passes the LITUK or ESOL and she is 12-18 months into her FLR visa can she apply for the ILR visa?then

If this is her second FLR and so she has already spent at least 24 months in the UK as your spouse, she can apply for ILR now.

If she entered as your fiance and this is her first FLR , obtained after your marriage, and so has not so has not yet spent at least 24 months in the UK as your spouse; no, she will have to wait until the FLR expires. Although she can apply 28 days before that date.

Can anyone outline what happens if GF/wife is granted a visa, arrives in UK and the UK sponsor then becomes unemployed. Does the couple immediately receive UK government benefits?

Your wife cannot claim any public funds until she has ILR.

You can claim any and all public funds to which you are entilted, but until your wife has ILR you cannot claim any extra due to her living with you.

There are exceptions to this, tax credits and child benefit for example, but as far as jobseekers allowance etc. are concerned you could only claim as a single person.

[thaicbr]

So the point of this is to stop people milking the system. Surely the simple thing to do would be to sign a document stating you are not eligible for state support for a certain number of years. Job done.

sent from my Wellcom A90+

[marksm]

Thank you for the reply 7by7 yes this is her first FLR visa just thought id ask but i have a few Questions you may be able to help .

She will fall into the new rules. she will have to pass the b1 in speaking and listening .

Q1.They say you have too pass the LITUK and the B1 from oct 13 does this mean the ESOL In citizenship isn't sufficient .

Q2.Am i correct in saying the probation period goes from 2 years too 5 ? if so she will stay on the FLR visa for 5 years ?

Q3Will the ukba say where my wife will have too go and achieve the B1 standard like they do in Thailand .

Q4 When or how many years will it be before under the new rules will you be able to apply for the ILR visa then Citizenship.

sorry if ive wrote anything incorrect I just want to try and understand and map out what my wife has to achieve to lead a normal life in the uk .

many thanks mark

[bobrussell]

I am not sure how the rules will be implemented. It appears that it will be a requirement to have the five years probationary period split into an initial 33 month period then a follow up 30 month period. I assume this 'renewal' half way through will cost a not insignificant amount of money so should keep the UKBA coffers topped up. If I have missed something please let me know!

Will it be TLR then FLR then ILR? As I read it the B1 pass is expected by the end of the first period of TLR.

(it states:

Assuming the assumptions above hold and migrants at lower levels of English language currently earn the minimum wage and have an employment rate of 52 per cent, we expect migrants to be around £1,200 per annum more productive from year 3 onwards (once they have learnt B1 English). The cumulative impacts are estimated to increase output and wages for residents in the UK by around £55 million (PV) over 10 years.)

Your wife will be able to live a normal life in the UK as long as you earn enough to keep the UKBA off your back and she does not get a criminal record!

Edited June 22, 2012 by bobrussell

[7by7]

Marksm,

Q1. Yes, if applying for ILR after October 2013 then an ESOL with citizenship course will no longer be sufficient. One must have both passed the LitUK test and obtained B1 or better in speaking and listening.

Q2. Yes, and as bobrussell she will need to make, and presumably pay for, an application after living in the UK for 30 months to extend her stay for a further 30 months.

The statement of intent says that an A1 in speaking and listening is required for this, but the pass obtained for the original visa is sufficient. It also says that the LitUK test and B1 pass are required for settlement, i.e. ILR, so she will not need to have passed these at this stage.

However, she will need to show that you still meet the financial requirements. If I've read it right, her income will be taken into account if she is working.

Q3. Yes, she will have to obtain the B1 qualification from an approved provider. Whether these will be the same as those currently in use for the A1 requirement for the initial visa, I don't know. The statement of intent says that a list of acceptable tests will be published early next year.

Q4. The residential qualification for citizenship for spouses and civil partners of British citizens remains the same; 3 years. However, in order to apply for citizenship she must be free of immigration time restrictions, i.e. hold ILR, which she cannot apply for until she has been living in the UK as your spouse for at least 5 years.

This means, of course, that the minimum period spent living in the UK before she can apply for citizenship is effectively raised to 5 years.

[7by7]

This topic has so far mainly concentrated on the financial aspect of the changes.

I thought it would be useful to summarise all the changes which are likely to effect members here:-

• minimum income threshold of £18,600 for sponsoring the settlement in the UK of a spouse or partner, fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner with a higher threshold for any children also sponsored; £22,400 for one child and an additional £2,400 for each further child;
  
• extending the minimum probationary period for ILR for spouses and partners from two years to five years;
  
• abolishing ILE for spouses and partners where a couple have been living together outside the UK for at least the last four years;
  
• from October 2013, requiring all applicants ILR to pass the Life in the UK Test and present an English language speaking and listening qualification at B1 level or above of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages unless they are exempt;
  
• restricting family visit visa appeals, initially by narrowing the current definitions of family and sponsor for appeal purposes, and then, subject to the passage of the Crime and Courts Bill which was published on 11 May 2012, removing the full right of appeal against refusal of a family visit visa.
  

(I should confess that the above summery is not my work; I copied it from another website.)

[Kadafi]

So if my wife applies before the new rules come into effect on the 9th July and is issued a 27 month spouse visa meaning she could apply for ILR in august/september 2014. She holds the lituk certificate already but would she also have to gain the B1 english or does that only apply to people on the new 5 year probation rule?

sorry if this has already been explained somewhere before.

[7by7]

It will apply to all those applying for ILR from October 2013; unless they are exempt. So, unless she is exempt, she will need to obtain a B1 speaking and listening qualification before applying for ILR.

[marksm]

Thanks for the Quick reply again. I know this thread is for the financial but there's so many Questions to be asked .

Iam just reading the statement of intent after a very rude conversation with lady from from the ukba .

She Quoted from the statement of intent that my wife is under the old rules because she has already applied for her FLR visa .

And she wouldn't have to achieve the B1 English and speaking .

I went on and asked we haven't herd anything for a few months even though we've payed and done the biometrics in the first 2 weeks . I Asked will she get the 30 month visa she put the phone down . nice

[7by7]

As she has applied for FLR she must have recieved her initial entry clearance before 9th July 2012. Therefore she will be treated under the old rules. Her FLR should be valid for 24 months from the date of application (not the date she receives it) and at the end of that she can apply for ILR.

The only effect these changes will have on her is that as she will be applying for ILR after October 2013 she will need to meet the new language requirement, not the current one.

[enquirer]

About the requirement for £18,600 annual income:

It is an enormous leap from the previous requirement (unofficial but widely used) to earn at least the equivalent of the UK benefits a qualifying couple would receive, ie about £112 a week or less than £6000 a year. It's all very well quoting £18,600 as being the average or even median income in the UK - it ignores the fact that a huge proportion of UK couples earn much less than that (and a large proportion well over it, of course, but this thread is not about them).

My Thai daughter-in-law recently applied for ILR on my son's income of about £10,000 a year and was refused (given DLR for 3 years instead) on the grounds it was not enough to support her without further recourse to public funds. Yet they have been living frugally but happily on this amount ever since she received her spouse visa in Bangkok and returned to the UK nearly three years ago.

We are lucky enough to continue to be dealt with under the "old" rules; I just wanted to agree with those who say the new financial requirement is much too high.

Edited June 23, 2012 by enquirer

[samsingsong]

I'm in a bit of a state of shock! I checked into the forums to ask a question and stumbled upon this topic, all of which is news I wasn't aware of.

I've been 'speed reading' through the posts to try to get a grip on how this situation affects my wife and I. I've got myself into a bit of a panic trying to take in all the implications! I would be very grateful if any of you with full knowledge of the issue could please help me, or point me in the direction of the points most appropriate to our situation.

My Thai wife was granted her UK Settlement Visa in March and we have been in the UK since early April. So my wife will be applying for ILR in 2 years - July 2014.

My question: Will our situation be affected by these changes to the rules, or do the rules apply as they were when my wife was granted her visa in March 2012?

Very grateful for any advice.

(The question I had inteded to ask when I logged-in today, I'd better post separately!)

Edited June 23, 2012 by 7by7
Font size and colour changed. Forum rules: Posting in all capitals or in all bold, and using large or unusual fonts and colors is bad netiquette

[Kadafi]

Even though my wife is caught up in all these new rules, i believe they are a positive change for the UK. My wife has passed her life in the uk test and will now need to meet the new B1 english which should not be a problem and could benefit her. It is about time they raised the minimum to £18,600 (personally I still believe its a little generous) but to have a foreign partner coming into the uk when the sponsor is unemployed or earns less than this means more drain on tax payers.

I dislike the new 5 year rule (another visa payment at 30 months) the additional visa fee just feels like a complete rip off. I'm sure there could have been a better and fairer way to have extended the probation period.

[7by7]

My Thai wife was granted her UK Settlement Visa in March and we have been in the UK since early April. So my wife will be applying for ILR in 2 years - July 2014.

My question: Will our situation be affected by these changes to the rules, or do the rules apply as they were when my wife was granted her visa in March 2012?

If applying for ILR after October 2013 then an ESOL with citizenship course will no longer be sufficient. One must have both passed the LitUK test and obtained B1 or better in speaking and listening.

This is the only change which will affect your wife.

[7by7]

I dislike the new 5 year rule (another visa payment at 30 months) the additional visa fee just feels like a complete rip off. I'm sure there could have been a better and fairer way to have extended the probation period.

I am in favour of extending the probationary period for ILR to 5 years. Genuine couples have nothing to fear from this and it may dissuade some sham marriages.

However, the extra LTR application after 30 months is completely unnecessary, proves nothing and is just a cynical money making exercise by the government. As can be seen from the impact assessment which VisaPlus posted here.

[samsingsong]

My Thai wife was granted her UK Settlement Visa in March and we have been in the UK since early April. So my wife will be applying for ILR in 2 years - July 2014.

My question: Will our situation be affected by these changes to the rules, or do the rules apply as they were when my wife was granted her visa in March 2012?

If applying for ILR after October 2013 then an ESOL with citizenship course will no longer be sufficient. One must have both passed the LitUK test and obtained B1 or better in speaking and listening.

This is the only change which will affect your wife.

Thank you 7by7. So only the language requirement will affect us, but not the minimum income rule?

Luckily, my wife passed her Bulats English Speaking / Reading and Listening tests with CEF Level B1, so that’s not a problem.

As far as the income requirement goes, I am retired due to ill health and I'm well short of the £18k p.a.

However, as I own our property, cars etc., in England and Thailand outright and owe nothing, my income is enough to get by… if not extravagantly!

As somebody commented earlier, a person could have an income of £100k, but have a mortgage and other expenses of £99k. Thereby having less 'readies' to live on than I do!

Thai bashers please take note: (on my brief overview) These rules appear to me to be as badly thought through as many Thai laws which affect us expats!

Edited June 23, 2012 by 7by7
Font size and colour changed. Forum rules: Posting in all capitals or in all bold, and using large or unusual fonts and colors is bad netiquette

[7by7]

Thank you 7by7. So only the language requirement will affect us, but not the minimum income rule?

Correct, and as your wife already has speaking and listening at B1, all she needs to do in that respect is pass the LitUK test.

The minimum income and other new requirements will apply only to those applying for their initial family settlement visa on or after 9th July 2012.

Note that she can apply for ILR after being in the UK for 24 months, actually 28 days before that date. So, if she arrived in the UK in April 2012 then she may be able to apply some time in March 2014.

ILR, and other, fees regularly increase above inflation in April each year. Get my drift?

[7by7]

I had a funny feeling, so checked your past posts and found this one where you say

My wife has recently been garanted a UK Settlement Visa.:

'VISA SETTLEMENT SPOUSE/CP(KOL REQ)' (Valid 27 months).

This means she has Indefinite Leave to Enter, but had not satisfied the knowledge of life and language in the UK (KOL) requirement.

Therefore she does not need to wait for 24 months before she applies for ILR but can do so immediately she has satisfied KOL; either by passing the LitUK test or if she applies before October 2013 by progressing one stage on an ESOL with citizenship course.

[samsingsong]

Thank you 7by7. So only the language requirement will affect us, but not the minimum income rule?

Correct, and as your wife already has speaking and listening at B1, all she needs to do in that respect is pass the LitUK test.

The minimum income and other new requirements will apply only to those applying for their initial family settlement visa on or after 9th July 2012.

Note that she can apply for ILR after being in the UK for 24 months, actually 28 days before that date. So, if she arrived in the UK in April 2012 then she may be able to apply some time in March 2014.

ILR, and other, fees regularly increase above inflation in April each year. Get my drift?

Thanks 7by7.

Phew..... what a relief!

I just feel sorry for others in our situation who haven't got so far along in the Settlement process. There's no way I'm ever going to be able to get £18k a year again, so I hate to think what would happen to us if we hadn't gone for the visa earlier this year. (We've been together over 7 years).

Thanks for the tip.. I'll be sure to apply for ILR in March to beat the price increase!

[7by7]

Did you see my further post? As she has ILE subject to KOL she can apply as soon as she has satisfied KOL! She does not have to wait the full 2 years.

[samsingsong]

Did you see my further post? As she has ILE subject to KOL she can apply as soon as she has satisfied KOL! She does not have to wait the full 2 years.

7by7 , No, I had missed that part . Fantastic news. Yipeee!

Exhausted from the stress & worry of the application, we had set aside the KOL test for a while - thinking we had 2+ years to do it.

We'll now get cracking on it and get it done a.s.a.p. so we are able to travel freely between Thailand & the UK. I can't stand the English winter!

Many thanks for all your help - as always.

[Kadafi]

Does anyone have any information, links with regards to this B1 english test requirements? difficulty level compared to the current ESOL course, how much the B1 english will cost, is it currently available to take or do we have to wait until the list of providers are released by ukba.