Should My Wife choose my Spouse Visa or Student Visa?

[LESTOU]

My wife is going to get her PhD degree soon. She could renew either a PSW visa or my SW spouse visa. The PSW will allow her to stay uk for another three years, which is longer and cheaper. But I will be formally working in UK for 5 years by 01/04/2023 without any gaps. My question is if she applies for the SW Spouse Visa now, can she apply the ILR together with me on that date?


Many Thanks!

[CR001]

The PSW will allow her to stay uk for another three years, which is longer and cheaper.

It is called a Graduate Route visa, it's not called "PSW". A Graduate Route visa is for TWO years, not three years.

But I will be formally working in UK for 5 years by 01/04/2023 without any gaps. My question is if she applies for the SW Spouse Visa now, can she apply the ILR together with me on that date?

No she cannot. She would need 5 years on the skilled worker Dependent visa before she could apply for ILR.

[secret.simon]

For an applicant (such as your wife) to apply for ILR, they typically need to be on the same (or similar) visa for five continuous years.

If the types of visas have changed over a period of time, such as from student to Graduate Route or to spouse, the ILR clock resets to zero anyway.

So, she will need to complete either five years on a Skilled Worker Dependent visa or 10 years on a combination of visas before she can apply for ILR.

[LESTOU]

Thanks for the reply. 10 years route is probably easier for her.

[ywlgy]

The PSW will allow her to stay uk for another three years, which is longer and cheaper.

It is called a Graduate Route visa, it's not called "PSW". A Graduate Route visa is for TWO years, not three years.

But I will be formally working in UK for 5 years by 01/04/2023 without any gaps. My question is if she applies for the SW Spouse Visa now, can she apply the ILR together with me on that date?

No she cannot. She would need 5 years on the skilled worker Dependent visa before she could apply for ILR.

PhD can get 3 years.

To OP:
Your previous post suggested you were granted spouse (i assume tier 4 dep on your wife?) visa from 16/02/2018. Did you get a Tier 2 visa after that and when? This date, rather than the work start date (you might start working under Dep visa) will determine when you are eligible for ILR.