confused -

[hamziyan88]

A couple of my colleagues at work..... have told me somehting and im confused.

one colleage told me her friend, is married to a Jamaican man. Theyve been married for 3 years. she bought him back to the UK as part of spouse, he did spouse + plus 1 year ILR but when he applied last month for BC they told him he has to wait until its been 5 years...

Similarly, my other colleague his friend has been on the 2 year spouse + 1 year ILR and been refused cos its too early, they have to apply when its been 5 years.

is this a new thing or what cos on the UKVI website its not saying that at all.. the still 3 year rule for being married to british citizens still applies?

ideas anyone?

[Casa]

You must have been granted ILR before qualifying for BC and the route to ILR is now 5 years. I don't understand 'he didnspouse' ?
Is his wife British or an EU national? When did her Jamaican husband apply for his spouse visa to settle here?

[hamziyan88]

The guy returned to uk in december 2011 on spouse visa. he did 2 year spouse, and 1 year ILR... so why does he need to wait another 2 years? his wife is english.

[hamziyan88]

And also, like my case...im british and my hubbys iranian. Hubbys spouse visa started in 2012, he got ILR in July 2014 so eligibility as it stands, is still under the 3 year rule...right?

[Casa]

1. The Jamaican husband shouldn't have to wait for 5 year residency. I wonder if you've been misinformed or the mistake was made by a council NCS clerk (not UKVI)
2. Your husband is under the 3 year rule.

[hamziyan88]

yeah thats what i thought. Thanks Casa

[jaweb]

Anyway there might be something as there is a member here and his wife is British too and came to UK in 2009 and he was refused!

[Casa]

But refused for what reasons?

[hamziyan88]

Refused for applying too early. Personally I think that he didn't apply as the spouse of UK citizen.. As he's no longer with his wife, they're separated...that seems to be the most likely reason.

[Casa]

Actually, my question was directed at jaweb. However, a refusal wouldn't be due to the separation. For BC purposes a couple are considered to be married even if they are legally separated. This would only change once the divorce decree absolute has been served.

[hamziyan88]

What I'm saying is he didn't include his wife's passport so they probably didn't think he was applying on marriage basis

[Casa]

May well be the case then.

[jaweb]

[quote="Casa"]Actually, my question was directed at jaweb. However, a refusal wouldn't be due to the separation. For BC purposes a couple are considered to be married even if they are legally separated. This would only change once the divorce decree absolute has been served.[/quote]


He WAS considered as a spouse of british! So it is not the case. His name is Julian11. I am sure you will see his posts here. He can tell more details

[Casa]

His case was complicated. He was applying under the EEA regulations (although married to a BC) and refused (according to UKVI) due to not proving he had been exercising his Treaty rights for the full 5 years. There is admittedly confusion over this due to possible errors by the NCS.
The cases we have been discussing in this thread don't refer to EEA nationals.

[jaweb]

[quote="Casa"]His case was complicated. He was applying under the EEA regulations (although married to a BC) and refused (according to UKVI) due to not proving he had been exercising his Treaty rights for the full 5 years. There is admittedly confusion over this due to possible errors by the NCS.
The cases we have been discussing in this thread don't refer to EEA nationals.[/quote]


he was not supposed to exercise his treaty rights for 5 years as he is married to a british national.
Anyway if this happened to an eu citizen you can expect nothing better for a non eu

[Casa]

"If you are a national of a member state of the EEA and do not have indefinite leave to
remain in the United Kingdom, you will need to have been resident in the United
Kingdom for at least five years even if you are married to a British citizen."

"If you are from an EEA member state or Switzerland you will be free from immigration
conditions if you have been exercising EEA free movement or establishment rights in the
UK for 5 continuous years"

If the applicant is in the UK under EEA regulations and not on a UK spouse visa, then the above applies. A non-EU national isn't required to exercise treaty rights (as this isn't relevant) and they qualify for BC after only 3 years legal residence if married to a BC. However as the spouse route to ILR is now 5 years (post 9 July 2012), a BC application can't be submitted until permanent residence has been achieved.