[IKSMOM]

Hi,

I am a Singapore citizen married (for 4 years this coming November) to a British citizen. We have a child of 2 1/2 years holding a British & a Singapore passport.

We were married in Singapore the year 2008 and our marriage certificate is recognized worldwide. Have been living and working (me mainly) in Thailand since our marriage. Our child is born in Thailand.

I have left my job in Thailand and am looking to stay in the UK to be with my husband and child and his family - hence the need for a permanent resident. I do not wish to give up my Singapore citizenship.

For a Singapore passport, we do not need visa to visit UK and we are allowed 6 months stay here.

Now that I am here in the UK, under the visiting visa, how do I go about to apply for a UK permanent resident? I have looked into the FLR(M) and I must admit it is all too overwhelming.

Any advise, especially from those who have had such experience in an almost equivalent scenario out there, is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time.

Cheers!!

 

[Joppa]

Hi,

I am a Singapore citizen married (for 4 years this coming November) to a British citizen. We have a child of 2 1/2 years holding a British & a Singapore passport.

We were married in Singapore the year 2008 and our marriage certificate is recognized worldwide. Have been living and working (me mainly) in Thailand since our marriage. Our child is born in Thailand.

I have left my job in Thailand and am looking to stay in the UK to be with my husband and child and his family - hence the need for a permanent resident. I do not wish to give up my Singapore citizenship.

For a Singapore passport, we do not need visa to visit UK and we are allowed 6 months stay here.

Now that I am here in the UK, under the visiting visa, how do I go about to apply for a UK permanent resident? I have looked into the FLR(M) and I must admit it is all too overwhelming.

Any advise, especially from those who have had such experience in an almost equivalent scenario out there, is greatly appreciated.

You can't apply for any visa ('switching') while you are in UK as a visitor, so any application has to be made in your country of usual residence or nationality. Your options are to apply for spouse visa, valid 27 months (you can apply for indefinite leave to remain - ILR - after 2 years), anytime before November, or wait till November and apply, when you still get 27-month visa but with KOL REQ. What it means is as soon as you arrive in UK and pass the Life in the UK (LITUK) test, you can apply for ILR or permanent residence straightaway. But you still have to pay the full fees for ILR.

One thing you can do is to try to take and pass the LITUK test now while you are still in UK. You need to go online and book a test and pay £50.
See Life in the UK Test website
Now there is one thing you need to bear in mind. Most test centres require you to produce a proof of UK address, such as utility or council tax bill, bank or credit card statement etc. If your husband is already living in UK, a bill in his name will probably do, as it shares the same surname. Or try to get your name added to a utility bill - it's usually just a question of phoning them up to ask.
At the end of your test, if you are successful you get pass notification letter. Don't lose it, or it won't be replaced! Take it home to Singapore and enclose it with your application for spouse visa after November (after being married 4 years). If you are approved for your visa, it will be for indefinite leave to enter (ILE) and you will be permanent resident on arrival. This will save you the hassle and expense of an ILR application in UK.

 

[IKSMOM]

HUGE THANK YOU JOOPA!!! I must admit I have been reading the threads on such situations as mine and you have patiently and knowledgeably answered all!

I have read your response, though not happy with the fact that I have to leave (do I really have to leave the UK?? just pushing my luck here ) - I sure do have lots and lots more questions. Here's to begin :

1. How long do you think it takes for the spouse visa processing time? Assuming I am in Singapore doing the application.

2. Does it matter that if we wait till November 2012 for our 4 year wedding anniversary? Or do I still stand a 'good' chance for applying spousal visa before the 4 year marriage date?

Sorry Joopa but really lots of questions. Rather stressful too I must admit. We have a young child to take into consideration and travelling back and forth is not the thing we would like to do as we have limits in funds.

Working in Thailand has drained all our savings as the company we worked for was going downhill. We do have some savings but I fear the fact that I read somewhere the spouse has to be earning GBP26K a year. I think you mentioned that it will be implemented in October 2012?

Thank you hugely and I may come back with more questions - please bear with me/us.

 

[Joppa]

HUGE THANK YOU JOOPA!!! I must admit I have been reading the threads on such situations as mine and you have patiently and knowledgeably answered all!

I have read your response, though not happy with the fact that I have to leave (do I really have to leave the UK?? just pushing my luck here ) - I sure do have lots and lots more questions. Here's to begin :

1. How long do you think it takes for the spouse visa processing time? Assuming I am in Singapore doing the application.

I cannot locate recent processing times for Singapore. But count on about 3 weeks.

2. Does it matter that if we wait till November 2012 for our 4 year wedding anniversary? Or do I still stand a 'good' chance for applying spousal visa before the 4 year marriage date?

It's not the question of being easier to obtain your visa, but convenience. If you apply before your 4th wedding anniversary, your visa wil be valid for 27 months, and after 2 years you can apply for ILR. If you wait till your anniversary, and if you meanwhile pass your test, then you will be issued with indefinite leave to enter visa, making you a permanent resident on arrival. Since it's only a matter of a few months, it seems sensible to wait till November and apply.

Sorry Joopa but really lots of questions. Rather stressful too I must admit. We have a young child to take into consideration and travelling back and forth is not the thing we would like to do as we have limits in funds.

Working in Thailand has drained all our savings as the company we worked for was going downhill. We do have some savings but I fear the fact that I read somewhere the spouse has to be earning GBP26K a year. I think you mentioned that it will be implemented in October 2012?

There is no way you can apply within UK. If you do, your application will be rejected, you lose all your fees and you are told to leave the country. Some people appeal on human rights ground to be allowed to apply within UK (called discretionary leave). The downside is there is a very long lead-in time before a decision is reached, there is no guarantee of success and it will take you 6 years to attain ILR status.

 

[IKSMOM]

WOW!! Thank you and sorry its Joppa

Okay, its been 3 hours since I asked my question and I have been reading as much as I can.

The only reason why I want to apply from 'Inside the UK' because it is stated so in the UKBA, Applying from inside the UK' that one can do so - or am I reading it wrong

The first paragraph stated :

"This page explains how to apply for permission to remain in the UK as the husband, wife or civil partner of a British citizen or a person who is present and settled here, if you are already in the UK in a different immigration category."

Does 'different immigration category' not cover tourist visa?

I read your last response -

"There is no way you can apply within UK. If you do, your application will be rejected, you lose all your fees and you are told to leave the country. Some people appeal on human rights ground to be allowed to apply within UK (called discretionary leave). The downside is there is a very long lead-in time before a decision is reached, there is no guarantee of success and it will take you 6 years to attain ILR status."

- I can hear my heart go plop but still am hoping for some rays of hope with the 'Applying from inside the UK' site.

Many thanks Joppa. Time to sleep now. Will check in tomorrow and do more reading then... that is if I can go to sleep.

 

[Joppa]

WOW!! Thank you and sorry its Joppa

Okay, its been 3 hours since I asked my question and I have been reading as much as I can.

The only reason why I want to apply from 'Inside the UK' because it is stated so in the UKBA, Applying from inside the UK' that one can do so - or am I reading it wrong

The first paragraph stated :

"This page explains how to apply for permission to remain in the UK as the husband, wife or civil partner of a British citizen or a person who is present and settled here, if you are already in the UK in a different immigration category."

Does 'different immigration category' not cover tourist visa?

I read your last response -

"There is no way you can apply within UK. If you do, your application will be rejected, you lose all your fees and you are told to leave the country. Some people appeal on human rights ground to be allowed to apply within UK (called discretionary leave). The downside is there is a very long lead-in time before a decision is reached, there is no guarantee of success and it will take you 6 years to attain ILR status."

- I can hear my heart go plop but still am hoping for some rays of hope with the 'Applying from inside the UK' site.

Many thanks Joppa. Time to sleep now. Will check in tomorrow and do more reading then... that is if I can go to sleep.

See
Can you 'switch' if you are already in the UK?
You may be allowed to switch into the category of husband, wife or civil partner if:

you are currently in the UK with permission as a fiance(e) or proposed civil partner, or as the husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried/same-sex partner of a relevant points-based system migrant, and you are still with the same husband, wife or partner; or
you entered the UK in a different immigration category (for example, as a student), and you have been given permission to live here for a total of more than 6 months since your most recent admission to the UK. For example, you can switch if we gave you a 3-month visa and then permission to remain for 5 months, totalling 8 months. Your current permission must have been given in accordance with the Immigration Rules, not 'exceptionally' (outside the Immigration Rules).

You will not be allowed to switch if:
you have entered or remained in the UK in breach of the immigration laws (for example, by overstaying your visa); or
your marriage or civil partnership took place after a decision was made to deport or remove you from the UK; or
you came to the UK as a visitor with permission to stay for 6 months - you must leave the UK and apply from your country of residence.

UK Border Agency | Can you apply?

 

[nyclon]

Unfortunately, no a visitor visa is not an immigration category. A work visa, for example would be a different immigration category. As Joppa said, you cannot switch from a visitor visa to any other type of visa.

 

[IKSMOM]

Thank you soooo much Joppa & nyclon. If only I knnew of this fantastic forum with wonderful advises, I would not put myself in this position

Moving onto the next stage, I read somewhere about applying the spouse visa in your native country. Do I apply by post, in person, mail or email? Sorry for I saw several posts stating something about UPS/DHL box?

Another thing, since I am on visitor visa, if I travel out to Spain & back to UK (before heading out to Singapore), will I be granted another 6 months? Just want to 'buy' time since 7th November marks our 4 year wedding anniversary, it would be good to be able to go straight to apply for ILR.

I also was told that if I stay in the UK for months on visitor visa, I won't b allowed in the UK for the next 6 months?

I'm sorry for all these questions, I just don't want to understand it wrong again as its a costly misunderstanding. Neither do I want to be apart from my husband & child

Many many thanks.

 

[nyclon]

Moving onto the next stage, I read somewhere about applying the spouse visa in your native country. Do I apply by post, in person, mail or email? Sorry for I saw several posts stating something about UPS/DHL box?

This link should help explain what you need to do to apply for a visa from Singapore. I believe there may be slightly different procedures depending what country you are applying from.


://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/countries/singapore/?langname=UK%20English

Another thing, since I am on visitor visa, if I travel out to Spain & back to UK (before heading out to Singapore), will I be granted another 6 months? Just want to 'buy' time since 7th November marks our 4 year wedding anniversary, it would be good to be able to go straight to apply for ILR.

I also was told that if I stay in the UK for months on visitor visa, I won't b allowed in the UK for the next 6 months?

No. Leaving the country and then re-entering does mean you will be granted another 6 month visitor visa. If you attempt it, you are likely to be refused entry which could jeopardize any future visa applications. You are allowed to visit 6 months out of 12.

 

[IKSMOM]

Ok thank you very much nyclon. No further questions at the moment but I am sure I will have lots in the future. Thank you all for your time and advises.
:clap2: