Settlement visa question

[4u2mad]

I beg your indulgence if this has been asked and answered before.

Finally my wife was granted a settlement visa for the UK (spouse/C.P) with the commencement date of 10/6. As she is a government employee, it has taken some time to arrange her retirement. We now have the date of 30/6 for that. She then has to arrange her pension, Thais and paperwork seem to make for an uneasy mix, and my wife cannot give me a firm date. We did intend to travel together, and stated such on the application. I have just heard from home that my father is very ill (93 y.o) and I now need to travel to the UK in the next day or so.

The two questions I have

1. Am I right in thinking that her visa MUST be utilized within 3 months of is commencement date, or has this now changed ?

2. I will not be travelling with my wife as stated on the application. Will this (small) change have a serious implication?

Thank you in advance for your expert knowledge

[toddmeister]

Answer to Q2 - no, it will have no implication at all. The visa has been granted already. She can enter the UK as and when she pleases with or without you. But she should be prepared to answer any questions asked of her at immigration when she arrives in the UK

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[4u2mad]

Thank you Toddmeister, I had hoped as much, but you never can tell!! Her English is pretty good, Now all I need is the answer to Q1, I am sure an expert will be along soon

[Kalbo]

The 'window' for travel should be indicated on the visa sticker on the passport. Prior to April 2015, the window for travel was about 33 months, with the recommended departure time frame being

within 3 months of visa start date. However, from this year, and as can be seen on the UK government web page, they started rolling out a new system whereas the applicant would would be

issued a '30 day travel vignette', in effect meaning that the departure window has been shortened to within 30 days, with this 30 days starting from the flight date specified during the application.

I myself am in a very similar situation, and had I known about this before my wife applied, I would have stated my departure date as August as opposed to the end of June.

As of yet, I have not seen any one with these new travel vignettes and so cannot confirm what I have written, this is only what I have read on the government web site.

[4u2mad]

Kalbo, Thanks for the reply. To clarify exactly what is in wife's passport, I have attached a copy. I have no idea if this is the new style 30 day must travel type or not, Needless to say we are all stressed at the mo

[bigyin]

This is the old style and shows that your wife's visa is valid until..looks like March 2018. You get the initial visa for 33 months and you can travel anytime until the visa expires but...you must be in the UK for 30 months before applying for FLR which is a further 30 months so that you have your 5 years residence when it comes to applying for ILR. If you don't make the initial 30 months then you will be short after the 30 months FLR and will have to apply and pay for further FLR. At both of these stages the new Health Surcharge of £500 will also kick in. I am in exactly the same position with settlement visa started 12 June under the old rules. We are flying back on 8 August so my wife will get in the necessary 30 months before applying for FLR. Hope this makes sense...if not I am sure 7by7 or someone more used to this will explain it better.

[4u2mad]

Thanks Bigyin.

We applied 28th March, but didn't receive the EC until 18th May. Wife couldn't give notice until start of June, and the 1month notice takes us up to 30th of June. Now with the Ol'chap being ill, I have to fly back sooner. BTW, are you sure we will have to pay this NHS charge? (£500) Wifey is a nurse and is dead keen on working on our return, seems a bit unfair as she will be paying NHS cons as part of her N.I ?

[bigyin]

You won't have to pay it this time as you have your visa under the old rules but you will have to pay at each FLR stage but not at ILR. Working or not it does not matter. I'm afraid that spouses of UK citizens are a very easy target so we get stung every way. Your visa started 10 June so she has until , say 9th September to set foot on UK soil. She might just manage it but as you say paperwork here is a complete nightmare. At the end of the day the worst it will mean is an extra FLR application but of course that is not cheap at £601-£1001 per time plus £500 health surcharge so best avoided if possible.

[4u2mad]

Then I guess we will just have to put it down as an expense on the tax return? Together with the visa, English language and TB cert. fees? Maybe I should just bend over now? Please excuse the crudity, but I know when I am being shafted

[Kalbo]

Then I guess we will just have to put it down as an expense on the tax return? Together with the visa, English language and TB cert. fees? Maybe I should just bend over now? Please excuse the crudity, but I know when I am being shafted

LOL. Looking on the bright side, at least she got the old style entry clearance which means you have, in effect, a 3 month window for travel. If it was the newer travel vignette, then you'd be

bending over another 2 or 3 times.