Can My Long Standing Thai Wife Come To Uk?

[millwall_fan]

i am a UK citizen but I live in Thailand. My son is a British and Thai citizen. My wife is Thai. She has lived in UK and worked there. she has an NI number. Is she still subject to this new law that says that I have to have 16,000 pounds in income or savings to live and work there or given her history, is she exempt? We don't want to go back to Blighty, but it was always our fall back position.

[bobrussell]

What was her visa status? ILR will generally lapse after two years outside the UK.

Some may qualify as a returning resident:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/settlement/returning-residents/

For this the applicant will have to show strong links to the UK or have lived in the UK for much of their life.

Failing this it is back to a standard settlement visa as I understand it.

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be able to help.

[VisasPlus]

As bobrussell says, if she has been outside of the UK for more than 2 years, then she must start the visa process again.

I'm not sure where you get the figure of 16,000 GBP from ? The income requirement is 18,600 GBP a year. If your income is less than this, then it is possible to make it up with savings, but a calculation is required to let you know how much you need in savings ( based on your annual income). For instance, if you have no income, you need 62,500 GBP in savings.

[Kiggs]

Sorry to hijack this a little. Just a question about the money.

Is that 18600 after tax or before? If its after tax there are going to be a lot of ppl very upset

[7by7]

It's gross; before deductions.