extention of stay in the UK as english not good enough

[karen960]

Hi my thai husband is on a spouse visa in the UK. We were only planning to stay the first 2 half years to save money then retire back to Thailand, however we,ve not got enough money so was looking to stay in UK a bit longer. My problem is he dosent have enough time to pass the life in the UK test as his english reading is not good enough. Is there an extention we can apply to giving him 6 months more.

[ubonjoe]

Moved to the visas for other countries forum.

[Richard W]

You don't need to pass (or even take) Life in the UK by the half-way stage. However, in October (I think) the English requirement for the second half goes up to A2.

The only visa I can think of is settlement (FLR(M)), for which he will now have to pass the NHS surcharge £500. I haven't heard that one can get refunds if one abandons the UK. However, I can't advise you to go for the second half of the five years, for he would only be eligible if the two of you intended to permanently live together in the UK, and clearly you don't.

[karen960]

You don't need to pass (or even take) Life in the UK by the half-way stage. However, in October (I think) the English requirement for the second half goes up to A2.

The only visa I can think of is settlement (FLR(M)), for which he will now have to pass the NHS surcharge £500. I haven't heard that one can get refunds if one abandons the UK. However, I can't advise you to go for the second half of the five years, for he would only be eligible if the two of you intended to permanently live together in the UK, and clearly you don't.

Hi Richard thanks for your reply. i,ve clearly researched wrong, i thought he needed to pass life in the UK and his ielts test prior to applying for the second half of his settlement visa. i will go back to the drawing bored and start researching again. Could you send me a link of where it states what documents i need to apply for the second half of the visa. Thankyou

Edited March 18, 2016 by karen960

[7by7]

After living in the UK for 30 months he needs to apply for Further Leave to Remain; see Apply to remain in the UK with family.

The language requirement for this is currently the same as for the initial visa: A1 in English speaking and listening. He can use the same pass he used for his initial visa even if the certificate has expired or the provider is no longer on the approved list.

But, as Richard says, in October the requirement changes to A2, so unless he achieved this for his initial visa, if he will be applying after the change he will need to take the speaking and listening test again with a current approved provider and achieve at least A2.

Remember, too, that the financial requirement needs to be met again for FLR; but this time your husbands income can be used as well as or instead of yours.

FLR lasts for 30 months. The usual procedure at the end of this is to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. The language requirement for this is at least B1 in speaking and listening and the LitUK test. If he hasn't achieved this by then he, currently, can apply for FLR again instead. However, this and previous governments have talked about limiting the number of times someone can apply for FLR before the have to apply for ILR or leave!.

Your plans seem flexible, so some points for you to consider.

If he leaves the UK while he has FLR then once it has expired he will need the appropriate visa to enter the UK again.

If he leaves the UK when he has ILR then if he spends a continuous period of two or more years outside the UK it will lapse and he will need the appropriate visa to enter the UK again. Even if it hasn't lapsed, if immigration at his port of entry to the UK have reason to believe he is not actually a UK resident but is merely using his ILR for visits they could cancel it there and then; though he would be allowed in as a visitor on that occasion.

If your plans and circumstances allow a longer stay, then once he has ILR he can apply for British citizenship. Once he has that he, of course, can enter and leave the UK as often and for as long as he wishes; just as you can.

Both the UK and Thailand allow dual nationality, so becoming British wont effect his Thai citizenship nor his rights as a Thai citizen in any way.

[karen960]

After living in the UK for 30 months he needs to apply for Further Leave to Remain; see Apply to remain in the UK with family.

The language requirement for this is currently the same as for the initial visa: A1 in English speaking and listening. He can use the same pass he used for his initial visa even if the certificate has expired or the provider is no longer on the approved list.

But, as Richard says, in October the requirement changes to A2, so unless he achieved this for his initial visa, if he will be applying after the change he will need to take the speaking and listening test again with a current approved provider and achieve at least A2.

Remember, too, that the financial requirement needs to be met again for FLR; but this time your husbands income can be used as well as or instead of yours.

FLR lasts for 30 months. The usual procedure at the end of this is to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. The language requirement for this is at least B1 in speaking and listening and the LitUK test. If he hasn't achieved this by then he, currently, can apply for FLR again instead. However, this and previous governments have talked about limiting the number of times someone can apply for FLR before the have to apply for ILR or leave!.

Your plans seem flexible, so some points for you to consider.

If he leaves the UK while he has FLR then once it has expired he will need the appropriate visa to enter the UK again.

If he leaves the UK when he has ILR then if he spends a continuous period of two or more years outside the UK it will lapse and he will need the appropriate visa to enter the UK again. Even if it hasn't lapsed, if immigration at his port of entry to the UK have reason to believe he is not actually a UK resident but is merely using his ILR for visits they could cancel it there and then; though he would be allowed in as a visitor on that occasion.

If your plans and circumstances allow a longer stay, then once he has ILR he can apply for British citizenship. Once he has that he, of course, can enter and leave the UK as often and for as long as he wishes; just as you can.

Both the UK and Thailand allow dual nationality, so becoming British wont effect his Thai citizenship nor his rights as a Thai citizen in any way.

[karen960]

After living in the UK for 30 months he needs to apply for Further Leave to Remain; see Apply to remain in the UK with family.

The language requirement for this is currently the same as for the initial visa: A1 in English speaking and listening. He can use the same pass he used for his initial visa even if the certificate has expired or the provider is no longer on the approved list.

But, as Richard says, in October the requirement changes to A2, so unless he achieved this for his initial visa, if he will be applying after the change he will need to take the speaking and listening test again with a current approved provider and achieve at least A2.

Remember, too, that the financial requirement needs to be met again for FLR; but this time your husbands income can be used as well as or instead of yours.

FLR lasts for 30 months. The usual procedure at the end of this is to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. The language requirement for this is at least B1 in speaking and listening and the LitUK test. If he hasn't achieved this by then he, currently, can apply for FLR again instead. However, this and previous governments have talked about limiting the number of times someone can apply for FLR before the have to apply for ILR or leave!.

Your plans seem flexible, so some points for you to consider.

If he leaves the UK while he has FLR then once it has expired he will need the appropriate visa to enter the UK again.

If he leaves the UK when he has ILR then if he spends a continuous period of two or more years outside the UK it will lapse and he will need the appropriate visa to enter the UK again. Even if it hasn't lapsed, if immigration at his port of entry to the UK have reason to believe he is not actually a UK resident but is merely using his ILR for visits they could cancel it there and then; though he would be allowed in as a visitor on that occasion.

If your plans and circumstances allow a longer stay, then once he has ILR he can apply for British citizenship. Once he has that he, of course, can enter and leave the UK as often and for as long as he wishes; just as you can.

Both the UK and Thailand allow dual nationality, so becoming British wont effect his Thai citizenship nor his rights as a Thai citizen in any way.

Oh great stuff i thought we,d have be parted again because he dosent have enough knowledge of english. His visa runs out in July 2016 so can we apply using his A2 pass which was achieved from vintage siam in Bangkok 33 months ago.

[bobrussell]

Unless the plan is to go back to Thailand and reapply for a visa should you wish to return later, my advice is to get working on his English skills so ILR is achievable in a couple of years.

There is absolutely no guarantee what obstacles future governments will place nor how much more it will cost so best to get everything in place as soon as possible.

Someone with limited English skills will struggle to pass LitUK so it cannot be done last minute!

I would guarantee it will not get easier or cheaper in the future!!