Spouse/civil partner visa questions - help!

[jlms]

Originally Posted by Bevdeforges

I've seen a number of people quote this EEA rule here on the forum for both Britain and Spain. I have tried in vain to find any reference to this on the French Service-Public website, and in fact I had considerable difficulty myself in getting the right to live and work here in France, even though I am married to a French national. (French law can be like that - as a spouse, I am expected to live with my spouse, but the State can still refuse me a visa to do so.)

I do know that the French still refuse the right to work to the spouse of a French national for at least a year after the marriage (possibly two these days). Personally, I'd jump through whatever hoops they put you through to get the visa that states you have working rights, no matter what that EEA treaty is supposed to say.
Cheers,
Bev

EEA & Swiss nationals (INF 18)

Try looking for rights of EEA nationals, normally the rights of their family members will be explained there.

Amazingly the Home Office recognizes that this information does not necessarily apply to British citizens . A case waiting to be brought to the EU courts if there ever was one IMHO.

[oddball]

Originally Posted by Badly Drawn Girl

On second thought (in reference to the address thing), perhaps I should just wait until we're actually in the States and then exclude our New Zealand address altogether. But the fact that we're just staying at my temporary US address (it's my parents' place) doesn't really reinforce the fact that we actually live together, so much as our shared NZ address does...

GAH!

I way to give proof of cohabiting , is to provide signed and witnessed documentation for a shared house/apartment or hotel room in BOTH of your names . Civil marriage is/was the period of time you lived together on a continous basis , as apposed to a ceremony declaring your love . Wherever you move , you will need proof of living together with similar documentation , this is how British immigration explained it to me when i had thought of returning to the UK to establish my full pension rights .
I think i am correct in saying that , the continuance rule is to ensure you are aware of British culture and can converse in reasonable English .
Hope this gives a little more insight . Colin .

[AustinWong]

I beg to differ with others above.

I still say that you will get settlement Visa as a spouse, which will entitle you to work and receive the benefits of a British Citizen. Having to sit the test is more aligned to work permits and citizenship.

[oddball]

Originally Posted by AustinWong

I beg to differ with others above.

I still say that you will get settlement Visa as a spouse, which will entitle you to work and receive the benefits of a British Citizen. Having to sit the test is more aligned to work permits and citizenship.

You are most likely correct in regards to a legal spouse , but i read a while ago that civil partnership needs to be proven , as there is no documentation for the period of co-habitation required ,other than that which you have to offer, once you have proven this , you have the same rights as a LEGALLY married couple . Colin

[AustinWong]

Fair point.

I am wondering now if there is something amiss.

Is Badly Drawn Girl a guy? I am guessing not.

If they are man and wife they may have had a celebrant marry them or just got it sorted in a registry office. This does not make it a civil union, they will be considered legally marrie.

So which is it? If they are husband and wife she should be applying for a settlement visa as a spouse.

[MichelleAlison]

Although when I married my Argentine husband, 25 years ago, the immigration situation was totally different and he was given indefinite leave to remain after only one year. But things have changed.

I read an article recently about an Indian man and an American woman and their three children (plus one child from the woman's first marriage), who wanted to live in the UK. The man and his three children were granted British passports before they left India and thought that once they were in the UK, the American wife and American daughter would have no problem to remain. The 15 year old girl has been refused leave to remain without an appeal and the mother has also been refused leave to remain with an appeal.

From what I have been reading recently, it seems that it is no longer true that being married to a British citizen, gives you automatic rights to remain.

Obviously, we shouldn't believe everything we read, but some of it must be right.

Michelle

[AustinWong]

I think the issue there is you must have your settlement visas before you arrived issued in your home country. Same rule applied to us.

Maybe the article did not clarify? Only guessing.

[MichelleAlison]

Originally Posted by AustinWong

I think the issue there is you must have your settlement visas before you arrived issued in your home country. Same rule applied to us.

Maybe the article did not clarify? Only guessing.

The article did state something to that effect, but the fact that the family had been resident in India before they arrived in the UK, made it impossible for the family to relocate to the USA first, as they had no home there and the husband would not have been able to get a work visa, making it impossible for him to feed and clothe a family of six. If I remember rightly, he did have a job lined up in the UK though.

I suppose every case is looked at differently though.


Michelle

[LadyLily43]

I hope no one minds, but I would like to ask a few questions now myself. (Please feel free to tell me if I am being arrogant or rude in any way; if I am I apologize ahead of time.) As some of you know from my previous posts; my husband Mark, my son Tom and I are hoping to move into the UK ourselves if Mark can find a job first. He is an IT specialist; a Network Administrator/Analyst in fact. My question is simply how difficult it might be for both of us to apply for work visas? In my case; I don't have skills anywhere near the level of Mark's but if we did move to the UK; Mark and I thought it would be easier to afford everything if I could get even a part time job in an Asda store or some other similar location. I do have a few skills; having previous experience as a store clerk; both a printer and a mail room clerk in the US Navy, as a peer tutor; and an administrative assistant...I do not know though how many of my skills are employable there though...

[Bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by LadyLily43

My question is simply how difficult it might be for both of us to apply for work visas?

The trick is that normally you can only make one application at a time for a visa. (Check with the Consulate on that one.) If you apply for a dependent/spouse visa, then you and your son get your visas if your husband gets his.

If you apply for your own work visa, you could wind up bound by the terms of that visa, which may not grant you residence rights that correspond with those of your husband. Say you lose your job, you may be required to leave the country, while your husband would have the right to stay. Your son would stay or go depending on who got him a dependent visa.

Or worse, say one of you gets a work visa and the other is turned down. Then what do you do?

You might also want to ask the Consulate what you work status would be if you enter the country on a dependent's visa. It may be fairly easy to convert if and when you find a job - or there may be a standard waiting period during which you cannot work (say, a year or two). But it generally depends on what type of visas the family enters the country on.
Cheers,
Bev