If you are living abroad, are married to or the civil partner of a British Citizen or a person who is settled in the UK, your application to join him/ her in the UK will be considered on the rules of the Appendix FM which was introduced in July 2012.
Some of the basic requirements are that:
1. both parties are aged 18 or over at the date of application;
2. parties to the marriage or the partnership are not related in a way that means you could not marry in UK law;
3. parties have met
4. you have a genuine and subsisting relationship with your partner
5. if you are married or are in a civil partnership it is valid in UK law;
6. you meet the suitability requirements;
7. your previous relationship has permanently broken down
8. both parties intend to live together permanently in the UK;
9. you satisfy the financial requirement;
10. you satisfy the accommodation requirement – there will be sufficient accommodation for you without relying on public funds,
11. you satisfy the English language requirements.
If you are successful with your spouse visa application you will be granted entry clearance for an initial period of 33 months. You will need to make an application for an extension. If you are successful with your extension application you will be granted leave to remain for a further period of 30 months. After 5 years of residence with your spouse you may apply for settlement.
It will be in your interest to seek legal advice at the initial stages when you consider making the application, to get advice on spouse visa requirements. Remember! appeals against refusals are expensive and appeal procedure generally takes a long time to conclude. Getting proper legal advice and assistance from an experienced solicitor is bound to help.
We have a complete package relating to ‘Spouse Visa to the UK’ and we are able to assist your sponsor by preparing the Sponsorship documents that he/she needs to submit to the Entry Clearance Officer when making the application for entry clearance.
Please contact us on 0208 577 5491 to speak to one of our experienced immigration solicitors to discuss how we may help you.
