Spouse/Visit Visa Advice

[SteveHarris89]

Hi everyone, this is my first post here as most questions I have had have all been answered through other posts, however, I need some advice on a particular issue.

My girlfriend and myself got engaged this week and are planning to get married in Thailand in January/February 2016. We are then planning to apply for a spouse visa so we can live together in the UK. We have been together for nearly 5 years and I lived in Thailand for 4 years. She has been here previosuly on a visitor visa and is currently here on her second visitor visa.

My issue is that I have read that immigration 'don't like' people staying in the UK on visitor visas for more than 6 months in any 12 months.

During her first visitor visa she was in the UK from 10th December 2014 to 13th March 2015 (3 months)

On her current visitor visa she arrived in the UK on the 28th July 2015 and we currently plan for her to leave on the 7th January 2016 (Just over 5 months)

I am worried that this is over 6 months in a 12 month period and that this could affect a spouse visa application.

Does anyone have any experience of this or any advice?

I can change her flight for her to go back early but we would really love to be together for Christmas and New Year.

Many Thanks in advance for any help

[ThaiVisaExpress]

The only way that this might affect a spouse visa is if she overstayed either of her visit visas. As she hasn't then the length of her previous stays in the UK do not affect any spouse visa application. You can confirm this by having a a look at paragraph A320 onward of the immigration rules. There's quite a lot, so the relevant section is here :

20141106_immigration_rules_part_9_final.pdf

[7by7]

Just to add that the reason for this 'max 6 months out of 12' convention, not rule, is to prevent people from attempting to use visit visas for de facto residence in the UK, thus bypassing the settlement rules.

Obviously not your fiance's intention.

She may have a problem were she to apply for another visit visa early next year; but as she will be applying for settlement, nothing to worry about IMHO.

[SteveHarris89]

Thank you both for your replies. They have put my mind at ease so it looks like she will be here for Christmas and New Year

Now time to start gathering everything we need for a Spouse Visa Application!

[ukguy51]

_{I have had both good and bad on this subject mostly positive with just one refusal. As said in the above posts there is not hard rule on frequency or length of any visits in any given 12 month period. See paragraph 5 here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visitors-general-vat01/visitors-general-vat01 as 7by7 pointed out its proving that your not intending to use the visits as de facto residence. I pointed out in our previous applications that the frequency was for my disabled son to build a bond with my now wife and his now step mum. As is most areas in visa applications the onus is on the Applicant to state what the visits are for and to convince the ECO that it is just that a visit. I have just successfully got a visit visa whilst awaiting an appeal on a spouse visa as a stop gap and my wife only returned on the 30th June 2015 from a 6 month visit this being for 6 months again dated the 7th October so only a 3 months gap. I found that if you lay out perfectly good reasons for the visit with evidence if you have it then the ECO is more likely to grant than just assume you are using it as de facto which seems the norm starting point.}

_{Good luck and hope the wedding goes well.}