New Zealand couple YMS change of visa

[Iain]

We are having some trouble figuring out our best option, we are both on work visas, my partners expires in Nov 2011 and mine in June 2012, we have had a baby here (NZ citizen not UK) and my partner has been an at home mum for the past 8-9 months as a dependant of mine (not on a dependants visa) recently we traveled outside the UK and on return were treated incredibly poorly when we tried to re-enter as our then 5 month old didnt have a visa (although we assumed she didnt need one as she is on a NZ passport and clear to enter for 6 months at a time? thats a seperate issue) we were eventually stamped thru and have had a very hard time tracking down exactly what visa she should be on, the home office left my partner on hold for the best part of an hour long phonecall and told her that 'noone has ever had a child in the UK while on a tier 5 work visa before' which is rather amazing because we personally know a few dozen couples who have.
The main issue now is, when my partners visa expires she will technically be an overstayer, is there a way other than applying for a dependancy visa that she can stay living at my expense until my visa expires? we obviously dont want to abuse the system but £1480 worth of visas for my partner and daughter seems rather excessive for an extra few months (I intend on leaving mid Feb) that we would like to spend seeing more of Europe.

[Lucapooka]

Are you both on YMS? Your only options appear to be Tier 2 or study. Both of these must be applications from outside the UK.

[Iain]

We are both on YMS, I dont understand why she cant stay here as a holiday maker, as thats what she will be doing.

[Lucapooka]

She can leave and attempt to re-enter immediately as a visitor. She can't simply switch into visitor without leaving. I say attempt as her re-entry will be at the discretion of the UKBA and based on the quality of the answers she can give to any questions about why she wants to re-enter the UK so soon after being resident there for 2 years.

[Iain]

it strikes me as a completely insane system that is based on 'the opinion of the BA officer' it should be based on a clear and precise set of details, not on someones mood.
At what point should she leave the UK and attempt re-entery, if she does so before her visa expires she wont be coming in as a visitor and if she waits till it expires she will have overstayed?
When we came into the country last time my daughter was 'almost denied entry' because she had no legal right to be here, the fact that she is a 5 month old baby and her mother is legally entitled to enter would to me indicate she does have sufficient recourse to entry into this country.

[Lucapooka]

She wants to continue to reside in the UK and that is not the purpose of the visit visa category (whether you agree or not) and there is a possibility of her re-entry being refused on that basis. You need to think carefully about the reasons you will give for wishing to enter as a visitor and be prepared to answer any questions. It's not impossible if you make plans and have credible and good quality answers.

[Iain]

I understand exactly what you're saying but when i check the UKBA website regarding visiter visa 'family visit' they both clearly fall into that visa, it also stats that unless she has been refused entry to the uk before or has criminal convictions that as a NZ passport holder she is not obliged to apply for a visa and that she may enter for up to 6 months, ultimatly she doesnt want to remain in this country, she wants to be travelling with me, using my home in the UK as a base, unfortunatly earlier this year i was forced into signing a 12 month lease on a property as the property we resided in was sold and we were unable to find any rental property for less than 12 months, i realise this isnt the conern of the UKBA but its also the only reason I am staying, if i could get out of my lease early i would buy my tickets and pack my bags tomorrow.
My only concern is because of our last entry the way we were treated, even though we had checked with the home office and when we registered our daughters birth that there was absolutely no issue with our baby travelling with us, at no point until immigration control at heathrow did we encounter anything contrary to what we were told, he even enjoyed telling us that it happens all the time, if thats the case, maybe they should put some information out!
This has just turned into a frustrated rant, sorry, but its absolutely ridiculous trying to get anything done legitimatly in this country, no wonder there is such a massive problem with illegal immigration, it seems to be a more efficient system!

[fchenaj]

about why she wants to re-enter the UK so soon after being resident there for 2 years.



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