Travelling abroad after marriage, together and separately

[On The One]

After marrying over a year ago, I received my further leave to remain last Autumn. In the Spring of this year, my British wife went off to work abroad on a 12-month contract. I have been in England for the first six months of this contract, but am finally soon able to join her. After her contract runs out, we will return to the UK for the next six months, before applying for indefinite leave to remain. My questions are:

Was it a problem that my wife was abroad for six months without me?

Is it generally a problem if you go abroad (together) during the time of your two-year further leave to remain?

[John]

I fear you may have problems getting your ILR.

So you currently have a two-year spouse visa? Just to summarise, during that two-year period, before you apply for ILR, how much time will you have spent in the UK?

Also, given the need to prove the two of you have been living together as man and wife, does your wife still have post being sent to her at the UK address while she has actually been abroad?

[On The One]

We will have spent one year in the UK.

Other than the bank statements we do not get any other mail together at the moment.

[John]

OK, I think you need to have a good read of the new form SET(M), particularly the requirements about evidence of living together that need to be provided, and then you will probably agree that you might well have a problem getting your ILR.

[bash_h]

John,

Im in a similar situation to this (I think)

My wife is on a marriage visa for 2 years, but a few weeks after she came to the UK, we are now in the netherlands because im on a secondment (which will probably last about 2 years). at the end of her visa, When we apply for ILR and we are still here in NL, I will make a personal appointment to croydon and take evidence of us living together (NL local authority letters, boarding passes for the two years to show we have been travelling together + still have strong ties to the UK, joint bank/credit card statements to my UK address etc)

Surely that should be enough for ILR? As I interpret it, the requirement for ILR is to be living together as man & wife, NOT living together as man & wife *in the UK*

What do you think?

[John]

There are others more knowledgeable about this but my feeling is that your wife will not get ILR, based upon what you say, but instead will need to apply for another two-year spouse visa.

After all the idea of the spouse visa .... a settlement visa .... is that the person settles in the UK. Your wife has not done that, albeit for a very good reason.

If you are in Crown Employment .... working for the UK Government in the Netherlands ... then the situation would be rather different, and better.

[bash_h]

Hmm, I see your point, but Im relying on the fact that its a secondment ie. as for the forseeable future, its a fixed term and im still being employed by the UK company, and Im paying tax/national insurance in the UK through my pay. So even though im not working for the crown, im still in effect a UK resident only on a temporary assignment within the EU.

If they want me to apply for another 2-year visa, i wont, instead i'll just get an EEA family permit and do a surinder singh on them!

[John]

If they want me to apply for another 2-year visa, i wont, instead i'll just get an EEA family permit and do a surinder singh on them!

Not an unreasonable comment but do appreciate that going down that route will delay when your wife gets her ILR, and therefore the point at which she can apply for naturalisation as British. That is, saving £260 or rather the equivalent in €s, could delay the ILR by a couple of years and the naturalisation by a year or two.

As said earlier in this topic, I would very much welcome comment by others as to whether my opinion is unduly pessimistic.