Proving Intent to Return (my wife is visiting)

[biasoc]

I need some advice on how to prove intention to return for a Visit Visa. My situation is as follows:

I am a British citizen with a Nepali wife. We met nearly two years ago when I was volunteering there and after coming back to the UK for a short time, I returned to marry her about 1 year ago. We were aware of the difficulties of getting a Family of a Settled Person Visa from the start - especially the financial requirements - and have been planning for it. It took me a while to find a sufficiently well paid job after being out of the country for such an extended period of time. But I have now found a good job and when my probation ends in April my salary will then be over the 18,600 figure. So we should be able to make the application in October.

However our marriage has caused many problems for her at home and so we are hoping that she can come here for 6 months on a Visit Visa while we wait for the time when we can make the application. But I am worried that if we apply for a Visit Visa now it might be rejected, if the Officer making the decision believes our true intention is for her to stay illegally at the end of those 6 months.

This is not our intention at all. We want to do everything by the books so that it doesn't cause problems for us later. We want her to come and stay with me for the maximum allowed period and then go home to stay with family and, if possible continue her work as an English teacher until she can come here on a Family of a Settled Person Visa. But the problem is, how do we prove that this is our intention?

My question is, if we outline our situation and write a letter to explain our intentions, is this likely to be accepted? What can we do to maximize our chances of getting this Visit Visa?

[Casa]

Your challenge is to convince the ECO that your wife has sufficient ties to her home country and that she won't overstay her visitor visa. This may prove difficult with a husband living in the UK.

Regrettably spouses frequently enter on visitor visa and then decide not to leave, which have a negative impact on genuine visitors such as your wife.

A request for a 6 month visa will be considered as too long for a visit and flag up a warning with the ECO.

[ohara]

We want her to come and stay with me for the maximum allowed period and then go home to stay with family and, if possible continue her work as an English teacher until she can come here on a Family of a Settled Person Visa. But the problem is, how do we prove that this is our intention?

The best place to start is by not asking for 6 months

[biasoc]

Thank you for your response

Could you advise how long we might be able to get a Visa for? I can understand why 6 months might seem too much, but I'm not sure what might be considered acceptable by an ECO. Remember, this is not just a quick holiday, it's a visit so that a married couple who haven't seen each other in over a year can spend some time together. Might 3 months be acceptable?

We can provide evidence of ties to her home country. Firstly she has a son from a previous marriage who will be staying there. She is only partially responsible for him, but he will be starting college next year and she wants to be there, at least some of the time to support him. Secondly she has talked to the principle of her school and he is happy to give her as much leave as she wants. He can provide a letter to this effect.

[Casa]

Thank you for your response

Could you advise how long we might be able to get a Visa for? I can understand why 6 months might seem too much, but I'm not sure what might be considered acceptable by an ECO. Remember, this is not just a quick holiday, it's a visit so that a married couple who haven't seen each other in over a year can spend some time together. Might 3 months be acceptable?

We can provide evidence of ties to her home country. Firstly she has a son from a previous marriage who will be staying there. She is only partially responsible for him, but he will be starting college next year and she wants to be there, at least some of the time to support him. Secondly she has talked to the principle of her school and he is happy to give her as much leave as she wants. He can provide a letter to this effect.

Rather than the school principle saying that she can have as much time as she wants, it would be better to give a date by which she must return.