Extension of Tier 1 General spouse Visa that was applied before 9th July 2012

[Navzero]

I kindly request to help me with the following queries related to the extension of visa for my spouse.

1. My wife got her Tier 1 General Partner visa on 18.06.2012 until September 2013. She left to India after that as we decided to have the delivery of our son in India. Due to various reasons I couldn’t apply for an extension of her Visa along with my son. But they visited UK in 2015 on visitor visa. In 2015 I have acquired British citizenship and went back to India and only returned to the UK in 2020. I would like to bring my wife and son back to the UK now.

A. Can I apply for an extension of Tier1 General partner visa including my son also on the same visa as a dependent?

B. If yes to A, as my wife’s first Visa was issued before 9th July 2012, will she be eligible for ILR on a 2 year route?

C. For English Language Requiremen- I did not submit the UKNARIC validation proof for the visa in 2012. Will this remain same or any additional proof required?

D. As they have visited the UK in 2015 on visitor visa are they still eligible to apply for an extension as one of the rules seem to be that the applicants should not have had any visa either issued or rejected after 9th July 2012. If not eligible should I have to apply for a family visa to take the 5 year route before they can apply for ILR? ( my son was born in India when I had ILR)

I kindly request you to please help me with these queries.

Many thanks

[CR001]

A. Can I apply for an extension of Tier1 General partner visa including my son also on the same visa as a dependent?

No they cannot. They must apply under the Spouse/child settlement visa and start from scratch again.

B. If yes to A, as my wife’s first Visa was issued before 9th July 2012, will she be eligible for ILR on a 2 year route?

There is no longer a 2 year route. She doesn't qualify anyway as she doesn't have a continuous Tier 1 dependent visa. Her previous time on Tier 1 dependent is irrelevant now and is lost.

C. For English Language Requiremen- I did not submit the UKNARIC validation proof for the visa in 2012. Will this remain same or any additional proof required?

Tier 1 dependents were never required to meet the English requirement. For a spouse visa, she must meet the A1 English requirement.

D. As they have visited the UK in 2015 on visitor visa are they still eligible to apply for an extension as one of the rules seem to be that the applicants should not have had any visa either issued or rejected after 9th July 2012. If not eligible should I have to apply for a family visa to take the 5 year route before they can apply for ILR? ( my son was born in India when I had ILR)

No, even without the visitor visa, she still wouldn't qualify as her visa she had expired a very long time ago. You cannot use any of that time anymore.

They must both apply for a family visa route and you need to meet the £22,400pa financial requirement with a minimum of 6 months evidence, it also varies depending on how you are planning to meet the financial requirement, ie. savings, self employed etc. You also have to prove adequate accommodation.

Be very aware that the IHS fees are increasing on Tuesday next week too. Current fee is £400 per year per person, so for an initial visa it is £1200 EACH. From Tuesday, 27th, it goes up to £624 per year for your spouse and £470 per year for your child, so about £1560 total for your wife and £1175 for your child. This is in addition to the visa fee of £1523 EACH.

[Navzero]

Hi CR001, thank you so much for your response. I will go with the settlement route.