Now I am not sure what visa i need

[Bogside Bill]

Having looked on the UK visa website, i am now unsure what is the right visa for me to apply for.

I married my UK citizen wife in UK 11yrs ago. We then left to live in Australia. I am Australian. I am also a nurse. Not sure if i need a spouse visa, ILR, settlement or HSMP.
We are both still in Australia. Can anyone clarify what is the right option for me?

[sakura]

You have two options.

You can either apply for a spouse visa, which is valid for two years, and then subsequently you apply for ILR. Naturalisation as a British Citizen would be 12 months after being granted ILR (as the spouse of a British Citizen) - at least this is the situation as it stands now.

Or you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front ... %20sixteen (section 13.2 and 13.5), but to obtain this you must take and pass the Life in the UK Test, which can only be taken in the UK. ILE works like ILR - it is like automatic permanent residency. You can obtain this after being married for four years outside the UK. It would obviously be expensive to come to the UK, take the test, then return to Australia to apply for ILE, but at least you would not need to apply for ILR in future. After three years in the UK, you can apply for naturalisation (as the spouse of a British Citizen) - at least this is the situation as it stands now.

Don't apply for a work permit or HSMP - these are employment visas and it would take much longer (right now 5 years) to qualify for ILR. Simply apply for a spouse visa (or ILE).

[Administrator]

.

Given the situation as I understand it from this other topic:

-> Immigration for family members -> Australian Nurse Married To Brit Who Wants To Go Home


I think your best option is to go for the Spouse visa. It will give rights to immediate employment.

The Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) might give you those same rights, but I am not familiar with the details on that.

The main thing is that you are clearly in a stable & long-term marriage. The danger of a spouse visa is usually a divorce .. under which you will lose your rights to stay in the UK if that happens before your two years are in. Your rights to stay & work are tied directly to your marriage ...

For you guys, that seems to be a non-issue.


I suggested a number of things in that other thread. You're going to have to map out what you both can live with and follow that strategy. Without more input from you folks, it will become harder & harder to speculate as to possibilities.

Personally, I find it near-impossible to imagine you cannot find work as a nurse in the UK within three to six months.

The first job might not be the best, but all you need immediately is enough to get you into the UK. Once you're in, you can behave & job-switch more or less as if you are already a citizen. You have VAST advantages over other immigrants trying to come in.

Might be a tough first year, but you'll be established and building on it in your second. Since you seem to be in this for the long haul, six or nine months of pain & chaos right now will really not matter much by mid-2009 or so.

Keep getting money in your bank accounts - all of them - no matter how. Sooner is better. Even if the money is just loaned and sitting there unused, it shows a balance that you theoretically have control over and can be used as a basis.

the Admin

[JAJ]

I married my UK citizen wife in UK 11yrs ago. We then left to live in Australia. I am Australian. I am also a nurse. Not sure if i need a spouse visa, ILR, settlement or HSMP.
We are both still in Australia. Can anyone clarify what is the right option for me?

What's your nationality? Australian?

If your wife hasn't got her Australian citizenship it would be recommended to do so before leaving.

[vinny]

See also Guidance - Husbands, wives and partners (INF 4) and 13.5 - Spouses/civil partners and how they qualify.

[Bogside Bill]

I married my UK citizen wife in UK 11yrs ago. We then left to live in Australia. I am Australian. I am also a nurse. Not sure if i need a spouse visa, ILR, settlement or HSMP.
We are both still in Australia. Can anyone clarify what is the right option for me?

What's your nationality? Australian?

If your wife hasn't got her Australian citizenship it would be recommended to do so before leaving.

Cheers for your help guys.
Yes I am Australian, she is English My wife got citizenship 5yrs ago, so no problems there

Will go look at the links posted