Lost passport & spouse visa - travel on emergency passport?

[jonnybgoode]

Hi,

I'm a british citizen. My wife (a US citizen) has a UK spouse visa issued and activated 2 years ago. She's now been here with me, living, working etc etc and we've not traveled abroad in that time. We are due to go on holiday (a family holiday) for 2 weeks to the US to spend time with her family and mine and guess what, her passport is lost with the spouse visa sticker in it.

She has an appointment booked with the US embassy in London to get an emergency passport, but if we travel are we likely to have problems with her coming back into the UK without the lost passport/visa? She doesn't have a BRP, it was just the sticker in the passport however all her biometrics were provided when we applied 2 years ago for the visa.

Once she gets her new US passport we will obviously need to get her Visa transferred. Am I right in thinking that we will need to pay the transfer fee and she will be issued with a BRP instead of a new sticker?

I may have missed things, but the main question is CAN we travel and legally re-enter the UK without it affecting her Leave to Remain (which by the way was granted until March 2017).

Thanks in advance.

Jonny

[CR001]

She cannot re-enter the UK if she does not have a spouse visa. She will be admitted as a visitor (if the UK even accepts the emergency travel document as many counties documents such as this are no longer accepted).

If she is admitted, it is likely to be as a visitor.

She will need to apply for a BRP card to replace her missing visa.

Where was it lost?

[asp]

If she is being issued with a new US passport, even a short validity one, rather than just an emergency travel document (for use one way to the US) she has an alternative.

Apply for vignette transfer abroad. It may also be cheaper than making a TOC application within the UK.

In UK she can't go down the (much cheaper) BRP replacement card application route as she has never had a BRP.

[vinny]

Being admitted as a visitor may cancel her spouse leave.

[jonnybgoode]

If she is being issued with a new US passport, even a short validity one, rather than just an emergency travel document (for use one way to the US) she has an alternative.

Apply for vignette transfer abroad. It may also be cheaper than making a TOC application within the UK.

In UK she can't go down the (much cheaper) BRP replacement card application route as she has never had a BRP.

She has now got a 1 year US passport from the US Embassy.

I see that applying for vignette transfer abroad is £183. Any idea how long these take to be processed?

Thanks

[asp]

Can take up to 3 weeks, but usually less.

TOC is 8 weeks, and more expensive.