Surinder Singh path forfeits naturalization by marriage?
Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2013 1:58 pm
Hello all.
I am Latin-American and met my British husband when we worked together in my country 14 years ago. We lived together for 6 years and got married in UK in 2006. I gave up my career and obtained a UK Settlement visa in 2007 when we moved back to England, but my husband could not get a job in his field within Britain and he accepted another position abroad.
We remained working abroad and going back to Britain every year as we own our home there (it is our home, it is not rented out) until 2009 when my visa was due for renewal. I was supposed to apply for ILR then but we thought I would not qualify due to the long periods absent from UK.
So -under professional legal advice- I got another Settlement visa (not an extension). This one finished in 2011 while my husband was still working abroad and I was with him.
In June 2012 my husband changed job and we moved to an EU country to be closer to home. As we go back to UK often, I got a 2-year Visit Visa which is valid until 2014. But early this year when we found that immigration rules are to change in October again, my husband resigned his post with the view of going back to Britain and stay, because we feared that this new regulations would make my options for naturalization more difficult in the future. This seems the last resource despite the slim probabilities of obtaining appropriate work once there (my husband’s professional field is very specialized, requiring him to work in the tropics).
After getting legal advice again, we obtained a Family Permit in July this year and went home to UK only for a month to organize our definitive return later this winter. At the moment we are abroad again as my husband has to finish some last pending work commitments.
I have not applied yet for the Residence Card/Permit because I now doubt this decision to take the “Surinder Singh” option. I have read online (maybe on this site but I can not find the quote again) that once one takes this path one will be compelled to complete 5 years of continuous residence before being granted ILR, therefore naturalization is not possible before 6 years.
Under the former regulations I would have been able to apply for ILR after 3 years, and we wonder if we could request naturalization now based on my previous settlement visas, we hoped that we could request the time of presence in UK requirements to be waived since my husband’s work had compelled me to live abroad.
I meet all the other requirements under Immigration Rules Part 8 Art. 282 (b) but I do not know if applying for ILE is still possible (I have not been able to find information about how to apply in the UKBA site). For the rest, as you can judge I am able to communicate in English, we are economically self-sufficient, we have our own home and I fulfil every other requisite as requested for a wife’s naturalization except the permanence in UK.
I hope someone here can help me with opinions about best possibilities for me to obtain a fair way to naturalization. I already tried legal advice twice and it proved a waste of money. I feel it is rather unjust that in order to establish my legal right to live in my home, my husband would have to give up his right to professional achievement. He is almost 60 and has great experience in his field, but not likely to be easily employable in England.
Thanks a lot to all for your interest, input... and patience. B
I am Latin-American and met my British husband when we worked together in my country 14 years ago. We lived together for 6 years and got married in UK in 2006. I gave up my career and obtained a UK Settlement visa in 2007 when we moved back to England, but my husband could not get a job in his field within Britain and he accepted another position abroad.
We remained working abroad and going back to Britain every year as we own our home there (it is our home, it is not rented out) until 2009 when my visa was due for renewal. I was supposed to apply for ILR then but we thought I would not qualify due to the long periods absent from UK.
So -under professional legal advice- I got another Settlement visa (not an extension). This one finished in 2011 while my husband was still working abroad and I was with him.
In June 2012 my husband changed job and we moved to an EU country to be closer to home. As we go back to UK often, I got a 2-year Visit Visa which is valid until 2014. But early this year when we found that immigration rules are to change in October again, my husband resigned his post with the view of going back to Britain and stay, because we feared that this new regulations would make my options for naturalization more difficult in the future. This seems the last resource despite the slim probabilities of obtaining appropriate work once there (my husband’s professional field is very specialized, requiring him to work in the tropics).
After getting legal advice again, we obtained a Family Permit in July this year and went home to UK only for a month to organize our definitive return later this winter. At the moment we are abroad again as my husband has to finish some last pending work commitments.
I have not applied yet for the Residence Card/Permit because I now doubt this decision to take the “Surinder Singh” option. I have read online (maybe on this site but I can not find the quote again) that once one takes this path one will be compelled to complete 5 years of continuous residence before being granted ILR, therefore naturalization is not possible before 6 years.
Under the former regulations I would have been able to apply for ILR after 3 years, and we wonder if we could request naturalization now based on my previous settlement visas, we hoped that we could request the time of presence in UK requirements to be waived since my husband’s work had compelled me to live abroad.
I meet all the other requirements under Immigration Rules Part 8 Art. 282 (b) but I do not know if applying for ILE is still possible (I have not been able to find information about how to apply in the UKBA site). For the rest, as you can judge I am able to communicate in English, we are economically self-sufficient, we have our own home and I fulfil every other requisite as requested for a wife’s naturalization except the permanence in UK.
I hope someone here can help me with opinions about best possibilities for me to obtain a fair way to naturalization. I already tried legal advice twice and it proved a waste of money. I feel it is rather unjust that in order to establish my legal right to live in my home, my husband would have to give up his right to professional achievement. He is almost 60 and has great experience in his field, but not likely to be easily employable in England.
Thanks a lot to all for your interest, input... and patience. B
