Must be resident to sponsor spouse?

[wantoosoon]

Hi there, can you help me?

I'm a British citizen who has been living in Hong Kong for the last five years. I married my Nepalese wife here in June 2005. We would like to move to the UK permanently.

My understanding of the immigration procedure is that I should move back to the UK, get a job and an apartment, then sponsor my wife, who will apply from HK.

However, my wife knows several Nepalese couples or families who have moved to the UK together, i.e. without one family member having to go first.

I suspect this is because they have a different visa situation: they've suddenly been granted citizenship or similar. The Border Agency website, however, says this:

Your husband, wife or civil partner must be over 21, and must be:

* currently living and settled in the UK; or
* returning to the UK with you to live here permanently.

You must show that:

* you are legally married to each other or have registered a civil partnership;
* you are going to live together permanently as man and wife, or as civil partners;
* you have met each other;
* you can support yourselves and any dependants without help from public funds;
* you have adequate accommodation where you and your dependants can live without help from public funds; and
* you are aged 21 or over.

My question: is it possible for both of us to go to the UK at the same time, without me first getting a job and suitable accommodation?

Many thanks for your help!

Ben

[Wanderer]

If you have substantial savings, yes.

[mochyn]

As you have been married for more than 4 years outside the UK, you can travel back together but you must have money to do it this way

[DesignChick]

what amount is considered substantial?

[batleykhan]

You still have to apply for a visa for your wife and will need to convince the ECO that you can support,maintain and accomodate your spouse without recourse to public funds.

That means you have a house to live in, that you have plenty of money with you to pay for your cost till you find a job.

Now if you can prove this, and your wife is granted the visa, then you can both come together to the UK

I am of teh opinion that it is best for you to come over, find a job, get some accomodation and then apply for your wife.

I think you are getting mixed up with certain people from Hong Kong who were ( and also their spouses) wer granted full Brtish Citizenship before the Chinese took over. They were allowed to enter with no restriction.

Now unless you are one of them, then I am afraid your wife will have to apply ILE and to be granted that you have to meet the criterias that you outlined in your post as well as what I have said.

[mochyn]

You still have to apply for a visa for your wife and will need to convince the ECO that you can support,maintain and accomodate your spouse without recourse to public funds.

That means you have a house to live in, that you have plenty of money with you to pay for your cost till you find a job.

Now if you can prove this, and your wife is granted the visa, then you can both come together to the UK

I am of teh opinion that it is best for you to come over, find a job, get some accomodation and then apply for your wife.

I think you are getting mixed up with certain people from Hong Kong who were ( and also their spouses) wer granted full Brtish Citizenship before the Chinese took over. They were allowed to enter with no restriction.

Now unless you are one of them, then I am afraid your wife will have to apply ILE and to be granted that you have to meet the criterias that you outlined in your post as well as what I have said.

These certain people were HK Police and military types who would have encountered difficulties after the Handover

[wantoosoon]

Thanks for that, guys. So many helpful replies in such a short space of time!

We've got about 15,000 pounds in the bank, which will probably rise to 20,000 by the time we apply. I take it this is enough?

I believe the people my wife was referring to are offspring of former Gurkhas who all of a sudden were granted citizenship recently, but I'll have to clarify that with her. At any rate, we're not in that situation.

So it seems that we will need to have accommodation sorted before we arrive. I was planning to stay with family while we look for work. I take it this won't fly with an ECO?

[batleykhan]

Sorry to be a bearer of bad news Ben, but I am of the opinion that with even this amount of money, I dont think they will grant your wife a visa.

I am afraid this amount of money will only last a few months with the cost of living in the UK.

The ECO needs to be convinced of the long term prospect of you being able to maintain, support and accomodate without recourse to public funds.

Your suggestion is a short term plan. If I was in your shoes, I would come here to the UK first, live with your relatives for a few weeks and then to find your own place( with the amount of money you could easily afford to rent a small flat/house), try and get a job if you can, and then apply for your wife to come over.

I know it will mean seperation from your wife for a few months, but I am afraid that is a sacrifice that you have to pay.

If you want to to do it the way you want, then give it a try. If you get away with it, then you have done damn well.

[sjb2016]

I'm happy to be the bearer of good news. Mind you, I am in no way an immigration advisor, but, I don't see why you should have a problem. I'm a US citizen and my partner is a UK citizen. We applied for my un-married partner visa whilst living in Shanghai. We had about £20,000 in savings but no home in the UK. Her dad wrote a letter stating that we could live with him until we found our own place and that we would pay rent. We also got a land registry doc stating that he owned the property and that it had enough room for all three of us to live in it.

I think £20,000 should be enough. It obviously depends on where you live and how you live now (I know Hong Kong is very expensive), but if £20,000 will only support you for a few months, you should re-consider your priorities However, if you're concerned, the rules on third party sponsorhsip have been chagned recently, so family can help out with money. Not sure how it works exactly, but it's possible.

Anyway, good luck