BNO vs USA Passport & Dual Nationality

[gimli2222]

Hi Looking for some advice here

My partner is originaly from Hong Kong but has been living in USA for 13 years and holds a full US passport. She also holds a BNO passport from Hong Kong which has currently expired but we have been told by British Passport office that she is able to re-apply for a full BNO passport. I am a british citizen by birth and need to know what is the best method of entry for my partner to the UK, which passport to use etc. We are looking at settling here long term and she wants to work but also attend college etc. I have looked at student visa's and unmarried partner options. Being chinese, she may have some difficulty that i have not forseen, even on a US passport.
Any advice or suggestions would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance everyone, Gimli

[JAJ]

Hi Looking for some advice here
My partner is originaly from Hong Kong but has been living in USA for 13 years and holds a full US passport. She also holds a BNO passport from Hong Kong which has currently expired but we have been told by British Passport office that she is able to re-apply for a full BNO passport. I am a british citizen by birth and need to know what is the best method of entry for my partner to the UK, which passport to use etc. We are looking at settling here long term and she wants to work but also attend college etc. I have looked at student visa's and unmarried partner options. Being chinese, she may have some difficulty that i have not forseen, even on a US passport.

How long have you been living with your partner and is there any plan to get married? And how old is she? (this may affect her ability to come to the UK as a working holidaymaker if you're not yet eligible to sponsor her).

Also, are you currently living in the US or in the UK?

[gimli2222]

Currently I live and work in the UK and my partner lives and works in the US. I am out in the US now over CHristmas sorting out as much as I can. She is 35 and I am 39. Technicaly we have not lived together I guess but I understand that I have the option of applying for the Unmarried Partners Visa with the four year option and two year probation. I think this is right. Currently, we have no preference as to my partner being either a student of working but for her the ideal situation would be to work and attend college part time to improve her written english skills. Hope this clarifies things a little. Any advice?

[gimli2222]

Yes we eventualy plan to get married but as of yet have not discussed any date or arrangment

[JAJ]

Currently I live and work in the UK and my partner lives and works in the US. I am out in the US now over CHristmas sorting out as much as I can. She is 35 and I am 39. Technicaly we have not lived together I guess but I understand that I have the option of applying for the Unmarried Partners Visa with the four year option and two year probation. I think this is right. Currently, we have no preference as to my partner being either a student of working but for her the ideal situation would be to work and attend college part time to improve her written english skills. Hope this clarifies things a little. Any advice?

As far as I understand it you can't normally apply for an unmarried partner visa (UPV) without having 2 years cohabitation. Others will be able to advise on whether there's any flexibility here.

Otherwise there is the fiance visa (for getting married in the UK) or a spouse visa (if you marry in the US or HK). However it's not necessarily a good idea to rush into marriage just for visa reasons.

As a BNO she would be eligible for a Working Holiday visa to the UK which would allow you to clock up some time together - however, age 35 she is too old.

If you want to clock up some time in the UK with a view to an in-country UPV then a student visa, HSMP or work permit might work. However all these options have downsides and the 2 year wait for ILR (indefinite leave to remain) will only start once she moves onto a spouse or UPV - not before.

One thing you should know is that as a BNO she will have immediate rights to vote once living legally in the UK. However, for travel purposes, her entry clearances should probably be placed in her US passport.

After 3 years living in the UK, once she has ILR, she will be eligible to apply for naturalisation as a British citizen if you are legally married by then. If not legally married, she will have to have ILR for 1 year, and have a total of 5 years legal residence in the UK.

Something else she needs to know is that as a US citizen living overseas,she will need to continue filing US federal tax returns, even if she is not required to pay anything (due to foreign income exclusions and foreign tax credits).

[ppron747]

As far as I understand it you can't normally apply for an unmarried partner visa (UPV) without having 2 years cohabitation. Others will be able to advise on whether there's any flexibility here....

Para 13.14 of the Entry Clearance volume of Diplomatic Service Procedures (=staff instructions) on the UKVisas website makes it fairly clear that there is little scope for flexibility, with regard to living together, I'm afraid:

The parties having been living together in a relationship akin to marriage/civil partnership which has subsisted for two years or more
"Living together", should be applied fairly tightly, in that we would expect a couple to show evidence of cohabitation in the preceding 2 year period. Periods apart would be acceptable for good reasons, such as work commitments, or looking after a relative which takes one partner away for up to 6 months where it was not possible for the other partner to accompany and it can be seen that the relationship continued throughout that period by visits, letters etc. Where a couple have been living together for the preceding 2-year period but have been dividing their time between countries and may, for example, have used the "visitor" category, then this will be sufficient to meet the requirement....

[gimli2222]

Ok Thanks for the useful info there. THis is from the site that I have posted a link to at the bottom of the post concerning unmarried partner visa on relationships of less than 4 years. below is a direct quote from the site


"If your application for an unmarried partner visa is successful you will be eligible to work in the UK as soon as the visa is grant"

"If you and your UK citizen partner have been together for less than four years you will be issued an unmarried partner visa for a period of two years. At the conclusion of the probationary two year period you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR – also known as permanent residence in the UK) provided that you are still living together in a relationship."

http://www.visalogic.net/United-Kingdom ... ?t=4&t2=24

Thanks again, this is all invaluable for the both of us

Gimli

[ppron747]

Academic in your case, since you haven't been living together anyway, but you may have seen in recent posts in this forum that the "four year option" (ie immediate settlement where the couple have been living together for more than four years) is set to disappear in April, coinciding with the introduction of the requirement for people applying for ILR to pass the Life in UK test.

From April, all spouse / UP / civil partnership visas will be granted for a probationary period of two years, Regardless of the duration of the relationship. Sensible, huh?

[gimli2222]

Well from what I understand that is a good thing for us right! Both of us are working professionals so we both have options open with regards as to where to get married eventually. We both agree that she should keep her american citizenship incase we want to move back to the US at a later date. The Tax thing is sorted from her end already and she is aware of those issues. We are hoping for a move sometime after August 2007 but who knows with the crazy imigration rules that this country has.

Thanks for the advice and if anything else comes to mind, please let us know, it really is appreciated you guy's.

Oh, and a happy new year to everyone as well!!!

[JAJ]

We both agree that she should keep her american citizenship incase we want to move back to the US at a later date.

There should be no question of her losing her American citizenship provided she intends to keep it. Even becoming a naturalised British citizen in due course ought not to be a problem

See http://www.richw.org/dualcit/ for an explanation of US law on dual citizenship.

[gimli2222]

Thanks to you both for posting all of that useful information. I'm not sure how easy this is going to be for us and I just hope that beauracracy keeps a sensible head. Lets just hope things go well.

Cheers and If we think of anything else or find out any more, we will keep posting here. Great site as well.

[gimli2222]

Thought of something else already.

What would you guy's suggest would be the best way to do this?

(Big question I know)

Cheers

[gimli2222]

Looks like the best way here is the student visa option as she wants to study in UK as well. Hoping for a part time option but I think only full time available with student visa