Does my partner meet the HSMP requirements?

[Ash14]

Hi All,

I'm trying to figure out if my partner meets the HSMP requirements so that I can get 10 points for my application.

He doesn't have a traditional university degree, although he is a pilot (and a British citizen - don't know if that matters) and has an Airline Transport Pilot License, which requires pretty serious exams.

He worked for several years as an instructor (which also requires a qualification) then had a lag time of 4 years trying to find work in the industry and, by the time I apply, he will have been working full-time as a business jet First Officer for 19 months.

Do you think this is enough to qualify him? Are these considered adequate vocational qualifications?

[Cosmopol]

I think the fact that he is British and employed in a professional occupation will more than qualify him: they add 10 points to favor couples who have better "survival" chances, where the partner's degree will help him/her get better established. If your partner is professionally employed de-facto, I can't see a single reason for you not to get 10 points.

Just make sure you document your relationship well (as specified), so there are no questions.

[John]

Ash14, you talk about your partner, so presume the two of you are not married. If you are married then it would of course be appropriate for you to apply for a spouse visa.

If the two of you live together and are unmarried, how long have you lived together? If for two years or more then you should apply for an unmarried partner's visa.

Both a spouse visa or unmarried partner's visa would give you an unlimited ability to work in the UK.

[Edit] Just seen your other post. As you have been together more than two years it would seem better to proceed with an unmarried partner's visa, rather than HSMP.

[f2k]

i agree with John, in that if you should apply for a spouse visa instead, causeeither way in order to qualify you need to show you have lived together for 2years, and a partners visa is better anyway. That aside, I would exercise some caution there seeing that your partner is British, in that the spouse point was brought in to encourage people with qualified partners to apply and to be able to have their partners accompany them, it says something like ‘your partner must not be already resident in the UK’ or something like that and even though I assume you are living outside UK, your partner being British might actually cause some complications, that’s just how I interpret it, and I am sure there are many here who will interpret it differently, so that’s something you might want to investigate b4 your apply.

[Ash14]

Hi Guys,

Sorry not to be more specific. We are not married. I am here on a sponsored work permit and work in London. We looked into the unmarried partner visa but the lawyer was hesitant to take on our case as we didn't have joint documentation.

Also, while we have lived together since January 2003, he spent several months based in Cannes, France last year (he's a pilot) and I thought this would be a complication for the unmarried partners visa.

To be honest, I'm not really keen to do the whole unmarried partners thing, as we may do the real think down the road - I just want the possibility of switchings jobs if I want to.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

[Cosmopol]

Given your reasons, why don't you go the HSMP route and claim 10 points for him if you want (or not claim if you don't have to).

[hk_007]

One of the criteria to get spouse/partner points is that the person in question must not have been granted permanent settlement in the UK which provides all rights of a citizen. Since a British citizen already has the right to live and work in the UK, by extension of the above rule it could be argued that points cannot be claimed for a partner/spouse who is a citizen.

[f2k]

Hi Guys,

Sorry not to be more specific. We are not married. I am here on a sponsored work permit and work in London. We looked into the unmarried partner visa but the lawyer was hesitant to take on our case as we didn't have joint documentation.

Also, while we have lived together since January 2003, he spent several months based in Cannes, France last year (he's a pilot) and I thought this would be a complication for the unmarried partners visa.

To be honest, I'm not really keen to do the whole unmarried partners thing, as we may do the real think down the road - I just want the possibility of switchings jobs if I want to.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

the only problem i can foresee is that the same documentation that you need for the spouse visa is probably the same documents (if not more)you need to claim the points and i think it is for the same time period as well, so it is really a matter of if you cant get one you cant get the other. i think though if your got a second opinion from another solicitor about that spouse visa because it will also offer you the same flexibilty as HSMP.

[lightpace]

further to cosmopol's opinion, i would suggest that if you already comfortably cross the points threshhold (65) without the 10 points in question, you had rather avoid the complications. at least with an approval, you would then play around with the flexibilities.

[Ash14]

hey all,

thanks for the suggestions. unfortunately, i need his 10 points to meet the 65.

f2k, what you mentioned about documentation for both unmarried partner visa and HSMP was also a concern of mine. i was kind of hoping that because other factors are taken into account besides cohabition for the HSMP, a lack of joint documentation might not be scrutinized as closely as it would be in an unmarried partners visa where that is so fundamental to granting the visa, but i'm not sure this is very sound reasoning.

i think i probably need to get a second opinion from a solicitor.

[bani]

Ash, i don't think you can get around this criteria mentioned by hk:

One of the criteria to get spouse/partner points is that the person in question must not have been granted permanent settlement in the UK which provides all rights of a citizen. Since a British citizen already has the right to live and work in the UK, by extension of the above rule it could be argued that points cannot be claimed for a partner/spouse who is a citizen.

if you can't get hsmp without his 10 points, i think it is best to find more joint documentation to get the unmarried partners visa.

[John]

Ash14 wrote :-

.... a lack of joint documentation .....

Are you thinking that you need documents addressed to both of you? Things like bank statements on a joint account? If that is your thinking then I don't think that is correct at all.

You simply need documents that are addressed to either of you ... at the same address!

By definition some quite acceptable documentation, such as letters from the Inland Revenue, or a Notice of Coding (form P2), will always be addressed to just one of you, and so will things like a NHS Card.

Going for the unmarried partner's two-year visa seems the logical way to go, if you do have the necessary supporting documentation to support such an application.