[SimonZ]

I'm a little bit confused and I would appreciate some advice please.

I am a Swedish citizen and I have been working with a Swedish company in Lebanon for a couple of years, and at the work I met my girlfriend who is from Lebanon.

Now after I've worked there for a while, I have received a permanent position in London. Me and my girlfriend have decided to get married and settle down in London.

I have been reading on the forum about the spouse visa, but I'm still confused. As I'm not a UK citizen (as I wrote I'm from Sweden) and I'm a little bit confused about the spouse visa.

How long must I have been living here to be able to bring her to the UK? And what about the rules regarding the income, must I have been living here for years so they see my income from my taxes?

Yee, I'm confused as you can read.

Your help would be much appreciated

 

[Joppa]

I'm a little bit confused and I would appreciate some advice please.

I am a Swedish citizen and I have been working with a Swedish company in Lebanon for a couple of years, and at the work I met my girlfriend who is from Lebanon.

Now after I've worked there for a while, I have received a permanent position in London. Me and my girlfriend have decided to get married and settle down in London.

I have been reading on the forum about the spouse visa, but I'm still confused. As I'm not a UK citizen (as I wrote I'm from Sweden) and I'm a little bit confused about the spouse visa.

How long must I have been living here to be able to bring her to the UK? And what about the rules regarding the income, must I have been living here for years so they see my income from my taxes?

Yee, I'm confused as you can read.

Your girlfriend needs an EEA family permit from the British consulate. Get married first and apply for it. You can submit it straight after your wedding, though you must show your relationship is genuine and not a marriage scam. So include as much about your relationship. Attach a statement showing how you met, your deepening relationship, decision to be engaged, your commitment to each other for life and your hope for the future. Enclose photos of you two, trips taken together (tickets, accommodation receipts etc) and joint financial responsibility such as joint tenancy, jt bank account or insurance (if any). You will have to enclose evidence of your job, pay and income, and your new job in UK. The permit should be issued fairly promptly and there are no fees.
See UK Border Agency | EEA family permits
UK Border Agency | UK Border Agency in Lebanon

After moving to UK, she should apply for her residence card on form EEA2, valid 5 years.

 

[SimonZ]

Your girlfriend needs an EEA family permit from the British consulate. Get married first and apply for it. You can submit it straight after your wedding, though you must show your relationship is genuine and not a marriage scam. So include as much about your relationship. Attach a statement showing how you met, your deepening relationship, decision to be engaged, your commitment to each other for life and your hope for the future. Enclose photos of you two, trips taken together (tickets, accommodation receipts etc) and joint financial responsibility such as joint tenancy, jt bank account or insurance (if any). You will have to enclose evidence of your job, pay and income, and your new job in UK. The permit should be issued fairly promptly and there are no fees.
See UK Border Agency | EEA family permits
UK Border Agency | UK Border Agency in Lebanon

After moving to UK, she should apply for her residence card on form EEA2, valid 5 years.

Thank you so much!

So there is no rules for how long I have been in the UK OR how long I have been working?

 

[Joppa]

Thank you so much!

So there is no rules for how long I have been in the UK OR how long I have been working?

No. If you are already in UK working, she can apply for her permit and come to UK. Or if you are still abroad, she can get her permit and you can arrive together in UK. What she cannot do is to arrive in UK before you do. You don't even need a job offer in UK (which you have), because as a Swedish national you are allowed to come to UK and look for work, initially for 3 months.

 

[manny.j]

Joppa, although my situation is different but we are in the process of filing SET(M) form on basis of my marriage to my wife for 4+ years (she has KOL REQ endorsement in her passport). In section 2 "Your Partner's Details" there is a question on how long the applicant's spouse have lived in the UK...well since I am moving back to the UK with my wife from the US, we are considering filling in years prior to me leaving the UK (which was back in 2002) and with a brief note stating we are applying for her ILR on basis of KOL REQ endorsement by UKBA in UK consulate in NY.

Is our approach reasonable?

 

[Joppa]

Joppa, although my situation is different but we are in the process of filing SET(M) form on basis of my marriage to my wife for 4+ years (she has KOL REQ endorsement in her passport). In section 2 "Your Partner's Details" there is a question on how long the applicant's spouse have lived in the UK...well since I am moving back to the UK with my wife from the US, we are considering filling in years prior to me leaving the UK (which was back in 2002) and with a brief note stating we are applying for her ILR on basis of KOL REQ endorsement by UKBA in UK consulate in NY.

Is our approach reasonable?

Sorry, I don't quite understand your question.
You may have described your situation in a previous post, but can you explain what it is?
Such as
a) Are you both US citizens living in America?
b) On what basis did your wife obtain a spouse visa with KOL REQ endorsement for UK?
c) What is it exactly you want to do?

 

[manny.j]

Sorry, I don't quite understand your question.
You may have described your situation in a previous post, but can you explain what it is?
Such as
a) Are you both US citizens living in America?
b) On what basis did your wife obtain a spouse visa with KOL REQ endorsement for UK?
c) What is it exactly you want to do?

In response to your questions:

a) I am a British citizen living in the US and also have US citizenship. My wife and I have been married for nearly 8 years now.

b) On the basis of my being a British citizen.

c) She got the KOL REQ endorsement on the basis of our 8 years marriage living abroad (ie not in the UK).

So we are hoping to have her sit the LITUK test as soon as we get there and then apply for her Indefinite Leave to Remain by filling SET(M) form as KOL endorsement gives a foreign spouse opportunity to apply for ILR without having to wait for 2 years. Its in SET(M) form that there is a question in section 2 asking how long the applicant's spouse (which is me) has lived in the UK. So my question was, since I have been living abroad outside the UK for the last 8 years, how do we answer this questions?

 

[Joppa]

In response to your questions:

a) I am a British citizen living in the US and also have US citizenship. My wife and I have been married for nearly 8 years now.

b) On the basis of my being a British citizen.

c) She got the KOL REQ endorsement on the basis of our 8 years marriage living abroad (ie not in the UK).

So we are hoping to have her sit the LITUK test as soon as we get there and then apply for her Indefinite Leave to Remain by filling SET(M) form as KOL endorsement gives a foreign spouse opportunity to apply for ILR without having to wait for 2 years. Its in SET(M) form that there is a question in section 2 asking how long the applicant's spouse (which is me) has lived in the UK. So my question was, since I have been living abroad outside the UK for the last 8 years, how do we answer this questions?

That's a simple one :happy:
Just write 'From birth till 2004 and from 2012' or just write down the years, say '1975 - 2004, 2012 -'.

 

[manny.j]

That's a simple one :happy:
Just write 'From birth till 2004 and from 2012' or just write down the years, say '1975 - 2004, 2012 -'.

Thanks, we will do just that