SET(M) or FLR(M) for My Spouse

[Quasimodo]

Hi all,

Apologies if this topic has been covered elsewhere, but would really appreciate if you could comment on our case summarised below:

- I'm a british citizen and my wife was granted a spouse visa on 10 February 2010 expiring on 10 May 2012 (i.e. 27 months later.)

- She first entered the UK on 16 May 2010 (i.e. 96 days after the starting date of her visa) on her spouse visa.

- She then spent the three-month summer period between the end of May 2010 and the end of August 2010 outside the UK. (We travelled to each other every other or third weekend in this period.)

Now my questions:

1) Is my wife eligible to apply for ILR from 18 April 2012 (i.e. 28 days before 16 May 2012) or does she need to apply for FLR first?

2) Assuming that she is eligible to apply for ILR, would the fact that she spent three months outside the UK back in 2010 cause a problem? Specifically, are there any restrictions on time that can be spent outside the UK in ILR applications?

3) I understand that we need to submit 6 forms of documentation to evidence the fact that we have been living together at the same address for the past 2 years. We've got enough utility bills, bank statements etc on her/our joint name and address from August 2010 onwards. However for the period between May - August 2010, the only document we seem to have with her name and our address is an offer of employment letter that she had got from a private Firm. We've got the envelope that the letter came with as well. Would this letter be acceptable to UKBA? Also, do we have to submit documents that absolutely cover this period?

Your advice is very much appreciated. Many thanks in advance.

[MelC]

your wife has not been in the UK for the required 24 months out of the 27, as she arrived AFTER the date that would have given her the 24 months.

she is not eligible to apply for ILR in April 2012.

[vinny]

1. She may apply for ILR from Wednesday, 18 April 2012.
2. Should be okay.
3. Submit as much documents as you can.

[Quasimodo]

Thanks guys. Much appreciated.

Vinny, I really hope you're right.

[Quasimodo]

your wife has not been in the UK for the required 24 months out of the 27, as she arrived AFTER the date that would have given her the 24 months.

she is not eligible to apply for ILR in April 2012.

MelC, Thanks for your response but I'm not sure if I agree with you.

She actually did make her first entry into the UK on her spouse visa on 16 May 2010 with the intention to reside with me here. She would be applying for an ILR nearly 24 months after this date (or 23 months to be precise with the 28 days subtracted from the qualifying period.)

Assuming that there is no official limit on how many days she can spend outside the UK to apply for ILR, why should the fact that she took a 3 month summer holiday outside the UK disqualify her from applying for ILR?

I may of course be wrong here. Any other comments are welcome.

[Greenie]

the earliest a spouse can apply for ILR is 28 days before she completes the two year probationary period, as she entered the UK within 3 months + 28 days of the visa being issued she will have sufficient time to apply before her leave expires. There should be no problem for your wife to apply for ILR rather than FLR asssuming she meets the other requiremments for settlement.

[Quasimodo]

the earliest a spouse can apply for ILR is 28 days before she completes the two year probationary period, as she entered the UK within 3 months + 28 days of the visa being issued she will have sufficient time to apply before her leave expires. There should be no problem for your wife to apply for ILR rather than FLR asssuming she meets the other requiremments for settlement.

That's what I thought too. Thanks Greenie.