Spouse Via Questions

[cyborg001]

Hello,

I will marry my British fiance in Feb in a civil ceremony in UK and subsequently make a spouse visa application. We have already received the "no objection or investigation" letter from HO Liverpool.

Q1.) She earns over £30k so meets the £18,600 requirement but what about the adequate accommodation one? Does it have to be a place in her name only (owned or rented)? Thing is I own my 1 bedroom flat in London and that is where we would live. So can my flat count as required suitable accommodation?
Q2.) Is it a requirement that we must have been living together BEFORE marriage? She lives 15 mins away from me and is here 4 days a week and we will live together after marriage.

Q3.) I would have left my job at the end of december and when I apply I would be in my leave curtailment period. Currently on a Tier 2 (Gen) visa valid for many years still. Am I allowed to switch to a spouse visa inside UK or does this come under the less than 6 months visa validity clause which would not allow me to apply? Thought that was only for visas originally issued for less than 6 months e.g. visitors.

Thanks!

[Casa]

Hello,

I will marry my British fiance in Feb in a civil ceremony in UK and subsequently make a spouse visa application. We have already received the "no objection or investigation" letter from HO Liverpool.

Q1.) She earns over £30k so meets the £18,600 requirement but what about the adequate accommodation one? Does it have to be a place in her name only (owned or rented)? Thing is I own my 1 bedroom flat in London and that is where we would live. So can my flat count as required suitable accommodation? Yes
Q2.) Is it a requirement that we must have been living together BEFORE marriage? She lives 15 mins away from me and is here 4 days a week and we will live together after marriage. No

Q3.) I would have left my job at the end of december and when I apply I would be in my leave curtailment period. Currently on a Tier 2 (Gen) visa valid for many years still. Am I allowed to switch to a spouse visa inside UK or does this come under the less than 6 months visa validity clause which would not allow me to apply? Thought that was only for visas originally issued for less than 6 months e.g. visitors. You aren't required to have 6 months remaining on your current visa. This is for holders of visas which have been issued for less than 6 months.

Thanks!

Unless you are an exempt national, ensure your A1 English test is on the approved list. NHS surcharge of £500 is payable online before submitting your FLR(M) application.

[cyborg001]

Thanks very much for the prompt responses

I have done my bachelors and masters degrees in the UK and been here for over 9 years now. 7 months away from ILR in 10 year route. So I think language part should be OK?

Also, regarding my flat. It is on a shared ownership scheme i.e. pay a mortgage on bought % share and a reduced rate rent on remaining to housing association. None of these are public funds. I am considered the "owner" for legal purposes.

Do I still need a letter from HA saying they will allow my wife to live with me even though I'm a shared owner?

[Casa]

If it's a HA property you should submit a letter agreeing to your wife living there. Also include mortgage agreement/rental documents. Are you aware that if you switch to a FLR(M) spouse visa that this will re-set your clock and you'll be on a five year route to permanent settlement (ILR) ?

[cyborg001]

WHAT?! Switching to a spouse visa resets my 10 year ILR clock?? Are you sure? I thought for the 10 year route you must be in a legal category (any category) and must not have been out of the country for over a certain period!

Please can you confirm or guide me to where this is stated or any case examples? This makes a mockery of the 10 year route.

I also have an option to join a MBA course (confirmed admission and CAS offer) i.e. switch to Tier 4. So you're saying my being a student will give me more rights and faster ILR than being married to a citizen?

Scared now

[Casa]

Sorry to have given you a heart attack! I misread your post as qualifying for ILR under your current visa. Deep breath...no problem switching.
Benefit of marrying a BC means you can apply for British citizenship immediately you have been granted ILR.

[cyborg001]

HAHAHA! OMG thank God! I nearly peed my pants! Think I did actually. So yes, I can switch to ILR upon 10 years legal stay while on FLR(M) for last few months.

I didn't know about the citizenship thing. So I don't need to stay on ILR 11 months as people normally have to before citizenship?

Also, does being on my curtailment period harm my application chances if we meet all other criteria? I will do a premium application. If they reject do I get right of appeal and would time spent under appeal period count as legal stay towards ILR meaning I can switch while appeal is on?

Thanks!

[Casa]

HAHAHA! OMG thank God! I nearly peed my pants! Think I did actually. So yes, I can switch to ILR upon 10 years legal stay while on FLR(M) for last few months. Yes, sorry for the shock!

I didn't know about the citizenship thing. So I don't need to stay on ILR 11 months as people normally have to before citizenship? Would be 12 months after ILR if you weren't married to a BC.

Also, does being on my curtailment period harm my application chances if we meet all other criteria? I will do a premium application. If they reject do I get right of appeal and would time spent under appeal period count as legal stay towards ILR meaning I can switch while appeal is on? I'll leave this for someone else to advise.

Thanks!

[geriatrix]

Unless HO issues a curtailment notice, there is no "leave curtailment period".

[cyborg001]

Regarding co-habitation requirement, is this required only for subsisting marriages (i.e. ones that have happened a while ago) or also to prove new marriages? And is it required on first time FLR(M) applications?

I will marry my fiancé in Feb but we will only move in together officially after that. Is that an issue for "genuineness" purposes?

Thanks!

[cyborg001]

Unless HO issues a curtailment notice, there is no "leave curtailment period".

So to clarify I mean the period after one receives curtailment letter. My work ends at end of Dec and most prob I will have received my curtailment letter by Feb which is when I will marry and apply for spouse visa.

Will/could this be an issue or trap? I applied for notice to marry before my notice period at my job in end Nov and received the "decision not to investigate" letter in 4 days.

[CR001]

Regarding co-habitation requirement, is this required only for subsisting marriages (i.e. ones that have happened a while ago) or also to prove new marriages? And is it required on first time FLR(M) applications?

I will marry my fiancé in Feb but we will only move in together officially after that. Is that an issue for "genuineness" purposes?

Thanks!

If you have the documents you can submit them. But they are usually required for second FLR(M) applications not first time applications.