[manny.j]

My wife (US citizen) and I (UK citizen) both reside in the US and have been married for 7+ years. She recently got her entrance clearance visa with KOL endorsement.

We both have been planning to leave sometime in March or April 2012 and intend to have her sit the LITUK test as soon as we reach there followed by in-person ILR application in person.

Sounds fairly straight-forward (I hope) however, we have additional variable in our plans...basically we have family obligations here in the US and because of which we are considering returning back to the US right after my wife obtains her ILR visa for 6-8 months. We want to go now only because we are concern the new rules may effect us and we much rather apply for ILR before 6th April when the new rules are implemented.

My questions are:

1) Can my wife after getting her ILR visa in the UK can return to the US for 6-8 months and then can return back to the UK in late 2012 without any problems?

2) If this is possible, how long are we required to stay in the UK from day we get her in-person appointment for ILR settlement visa? If her application is approved is there a time we are required to stay in the UK before she can travel abroad?

We may actually stay in the US without returning to the UK in March if the new rules does not effect people with KOL endorsement on their visa as that gives her the flexibility of applying for ILR application straight away after sitting the LITUK test i.e she will not have to wait for 2 years like majority of immigrations are required to on marriage based visa.

 

[Joppa]

My wife (US citizen) and I (UK citizen) both reside in the US and have been married for 7+ years. She recently got her entrance clearance visa with KOL endorsement.

We both have been planning to leave sometime in March or April 2012 and intend to have her sit the LITUK test as soon as we reach there followed by in-person ILR application in person.

Sounds fairly straight-forward (I hope) however, we have additional variable in our plans...basically we have family obligations here in the US and because of which we are considering returning back to the US right after my wife obtains her ILR visa for 6-8 months. We want to go now only because we are concern the new rules may effect us and we much rather apply for ILR before 6th April when the new rules are implemented.

My questions are:

1) Can my wife after getting her ILR visa in the UK can return to the US for 6-8 months and then can return back to the UK in late 2012 without any problems?

That shouldn't be a problem. She can stay away for up to 2 years without losing her ILR status. But if she wants to get naturalised, prolonged absence can disqualify her and make her qualifying period of residence (3 years) longer. Maximum absence allowed is 270 days combined during the whole of three years, with 90 days in the last year prior to application. There is some discretion over compassionate or occupational reasons, for example, when you have to leave UK to look after a sick relative or if long assignments abroad are an implied condition of your job with your UK employer, Crown service or similar bodies.

2) If this is possible, how long are we required to stay in the UK from day we get her in-person appointment for ILR settlement visa? If her application is approved is there a time we are required to stay in the UK before she can travel abroad?

She should wait till she gets her biometric residence permit, which is a new requirement for those applying for ILR from 29th February. She should get it in the post within a few days to a week.

We may actually stay in the US without returning to the UK in March if the new rules does not effect people with KOL endorsement on their visa as that gives her the flexibility of applying for ILR application straight away after sitting the LITUK test i.e she will not have to wait for 2 years like majority of immigrations are required to on marriage based visa.

That should be fine. Any new rule shouldn't affect her as she already has a visa with KOL REQ.

 

[manny.j]

That shouldn't be a problem. She can stay away for up to 2 years without losing her ILR status. But if she wants to get naturalised, prolonged absence can disqualify her and make her qualifying period of residence (3 years) longer. Maximum absence allowed is 270 days combined during the whole of three years, with 90 days in the last year prior to application. There is some discretion over compassionate or occupational reasons, for example, when you have to leave UK to look after a sick relative or if long assignments abroad are an implied condition of your job with your UK employer, Crown service or similar bodies.



She should wait till she gets her biometric residence permit, which is a new requirement for those applying for ILR from 29th February. She should get it in the post within a few days to a week.



That should be fine. Any new rule shouldn't affect her as she already has a visa with KOL REQ.

Brilliant...I guess we will then buy our return tickets after her ILR test.

Thanks buddy

 

[manny.j]

One more question...how long does my wife should wait before attending the Settlement ILR visa in person after the Life in the UK test? I have heard there is a day or two wait, can anyone confirm this?

 

[Joppa]

One more question...how long does my wife should wait before attending the Settlement ILR visa in person after the Life in the UK test? I have heard there is a day or two wait, can anyone confirm this?

Straightaway if she can get an appointment. She will receive a pass letter on the day of the test which she must take to her PEO appointment. Make sure she doesn't lose it - it won't be reissued and she will have to take the test again.

 

[manny.j]

Straightaway if she can get an appointment. She will receive a pass letter on the day of the test which she must take to her PEO appointment. Make sure she doesn't lose it - it won't be reissued and she will have to take the test again.

Wow...are you sure about this? I would really appreciate Joppa if you can provide some official reference to this, only if you can! The reason I ask is because I may have read somewhere about the Home-Office requiring at least 24-48 hours to upload the results of LITUK for the UK Immigration to receive this information for potential foreign spouse applying for ILR.

 

[Joppa]

Wow...are you sure about this? I would really appreciate Joppa if you can provide some official reference to this, only if you can! The reason I ask is because I may have read somewhere about the Home-Office requiring at least 24-48 hours to upload the results of LITUK for the UK Immigration to receive this information for potential foreign spouse applying for ILR.

When you have completed your application for citizenship or indefinite leave to remain, you should attach your pass notification letter and send both to the Home Office. The Home Office will retain the information it gets from test centres for a reasonable period. However, you should submit your application as soon as possible after taking the test.

Life in the UK Test website

 

[manny.j]

When you have completed your application for citizenship or indefinite leave to remain, you should attach your pass notification letter and send both to the Home Office. The Home Office will retain the information it gets from test centres for a reasonable period. However, you should submit your application as soon as possible after taking the test.

Life in the UK Test website

Thanks Joppa. So to confirm, if my wife, for example, sits LITUK test on 26th March and passes the test...she will get a pass notification letter and she can get appointment for ILR for 27th March without having to wait for 24-48 hours as I initially thought?

 

[Joppa]

Thanks Joppa. So to confirm, if my wife, for example, sits LITUK test on 26th March and passes the test...she will get a pass notification letter and she can get appointment for ILR for 27th March without having to wait for 24-48 hours as I initially thought?

Yes, that will be fine.

 

[manny.j]

When you have completed your application for citizenship or indefinite leave to remain, you should attach your pass notification letter and send both to the Home Office. The Home Office will retain the information it gets from test centres for a reasonable period. However, you should submit your application as soon as possible after taking the test.

Life in the UK Test website

Just thought of sharing my findings regarding how quick can one apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after LITUK test.

According to Booking an appointment for our premium service it states here the following:

"If you want to apply for settlement at a public enquiry office, your appointment must be at least 2 working days after you have passed the 'Life in the UK' test. This will allow time for the test result to be sent to us electronically. If the test result is not on our system when you attend your appointment, we will not be able to decide your application on the same day."

Hence, we must wait for at least 2 business days after the test to apply for ILR. Although from the above, it also implies that even if someone attend the settlement interview in person and they do not have the results sent to them electronically, it may just delay them issuing the ILR visa but probably will not reject our application out-right.