Aussie with UK passport - What about my wife?

[lwross]

Hello everyone,

My name is Lachlan. In January 2009 I am moving from Australia to Leeds, England for a 12 month work assignment. Myself and my wife of 1 year were born and raised in Australia but my Father was born in Scotland so I recently applied for a British Passport which was granted (yay!). My wife is not eligable for a British Passport. FYI, My wife & I have been together 11 years so it is not a marriage of convenience.

My wife will take a leave of absence from her work here in Aus and will join me in Leeds and would obviously like to work (legally). She is currently 30 years old and will be 31 years of age by the time we go to Leeds.

My question is, what kind of visa should my wife apply for?

I looked into the working holiday visa that Aussies are eligable. It says that the applicant must be between 18-30 when applying so that should be OK if she applies in the next few weeks. But it also says that this visa is not really for people who are not taking a "working holiday" and you need to detail the holiday's itinerary in the application.

What about a spouse visa? From what I have read, I would need to have "Settled" in the UK for her to then apply to join me. I currently do not have a residence in the UK as I am waiting till December to Leese an apartment.

Any nudge forward in the right direction would be hugely appreciated as I have never ever had to deal with visas/immigration before and I have never been to UK or Europe before.

Thanks!!!

Lachlan.

[nate]

Hi Lachlan,

My wife and i are having a similar problem. Did you manage to find a solution?
We are both Aussie born, both under 30 and wanting to buy a one-way flight to live and work in UK. I have a British passport.
Any help would be appreciated! Can't seem to get clear info anywhere!
Nathan.

[lwross]

Originally Posted by nate

Hi Lachlan,

My wife and i are having a similar problem. Did you manage to find a solution?
We are both Aussie born, both under 30 and wanting to buy a one-way flight to live and work in UK. I have a British passport.
Any help would be appreciated! Can't seem to get clear info anywhere!
Nathan.

Hi Nathan,

Unfortunantly I have not figured anything out. My wife is coming over here for 6 months only so she has applied for a working holiday visa and we are still waiting for a response (its been a month now). I'm not sure what I would do if she wanted to come over permanantly. I hope things work out for you.

Lachlan.

[phat-dave]

You need to apply for a spouse visa (defacto/married) - you'll need to evidence that youve been together for two years and then your spouse will have a two year probationary visa, before being granted permanent residency (ILR). If you have been together greater than four years and have evidence of this, she'll be eligible for ILR without probation.

If you are a citizen, you do not need to be settled in the UK to apply for your partner. I do believe you need to have evidence that you can support her - ie: letter from your employer confirming your salary and confirmation of your initial accommodation etc.

After five years have passed as ILR - Your partner may then apply for UK citizenship.