:help: I tried to check this online, but the home office website relating to this is down.
I have a UK passport, but am not a UK resident. I haven’t lived there for any length of time since I was 12. My parents are UK citizens, but not residents (at the moment).
Guangtou is Australian. We got married, and are thinking of moving (maybe maybe) to the UK. How would Guangtou go about getting (a) residency and (b) citizenship?
As far as I know, as you are a British national, your spouse can apply for a spouse visa which would be for 2 years and entitle them to be able to work. Once the 2 years is up, they can apply for indefinite leave to remain, which is pretty much a free run of the place. Citizenship takes a bit longer. If I remember rightly, you have to have lived for 5 years consecutively in the UK and meet all the criteria including passing a citizenship test now!! Yes, you have to answer questions about good Old Blighty!! Exciting hey! Anyway, good luck and I will try and find out more detailed info tomorrow. Anyone who wants to go back to the UK needs help! :loco:
I suspect you may have to shed some grey matter and common decency too. Not that I want to unduly concern you Gcat, but you don’t suppose guangtou only married you for your passports? You know he gave up quite a shimmering career at Miss Kitty Kats to marry you.
Well, it’s been about 3 years since I got a spouse visa for my Taiwanese wife in the UK, and it was for one year only. Also, she wasn’t allowed to cost the government anything, which I think means that she would have to pay for any medical help, etc. Not sure about the working part.
BTW, once the year is up, it’s easy to extend for a longer period, ASAIK.
I married my Taiwanese wife in the UK in Jan last year. She applied for a spouse visa and was given 2 years and was free to work. The ‘no government funds’ is not health care as she was able to use the NHS without a problem. The issue is with things such as unemployment benefit, tax credits etc. Now that we are living in Taiwan, I think that she has to wait an extra 2 years before she can apply for indefinite leave to remain, but we are awaiting confirmation of that. As for citizenship, it is getting harder by the year as the government cracks down on immigration. uch will depend on the rules for British nationals who have not lived in the UK for so long as to what the situation will be. I hope this helps.
Gcat - can you clarify whether you yourself are a UK citizen? UK nationality issues are complicated and it is possible to hold a passport without being a citizen or having right of abode in the UK.
Are you sure? That would be very strange and unique. A valid passport surely means automatic citizenship? Not residence, but citizenship. Not nationality, but citizenship.
Otherwise, what does a valid passport mean or prove?
Are you sure? That would be very strange and unique. A valid passport surely means automatic citizenship? Not residence, but citizenship. Not nationality, but citizenship.
Otherwise, what does a valid passport mean or prove?[/quote]
I am not sure about this. When I was applying for a British passport a few years ago, I was not allowed to obtain one. I first had to apply for citizenship. This process took almost 9 months. Only then, could I apply for a passport.
Are you sure? That would be very strange and unique. A valid passport surely means automatic citizenship? Not residence, but citizenship. Not nationality, but citizenship.
Otherwise, what does a valid passport mean or prove?[/quote]
Because of Britain’s colonial past there are various grades of passport - some of which do not automatically entail citizenship or right of abode. As an example my sister was born in Saudi Arabia (both my parents are British) and they had to apply for citizenship for her (even though she already had a UK passport).
Strange and unique? Maybe we just like it that way…
A valid passport means essentially that the holder is under some form of protection from the government that issued it. It is usually concomitant with citizenship, but not necessarily. Once again, UK nationality laws are pretty damn complicated.
Are you sure? That would be very strange and unique. A valid passport surely means automatic citizenship? Not residence, but citizenship. Not nationality, but citizenship.
Otherwise, what does a valid passport mean or prove?[/quote]
I am not sure about this. When I was applying for a British passport a few years ago, I was not allowed to obtain one. I first had to apply for citizenship. This process took almost 9 months. Only then, could I apply for a passport.[/quote]
But what you need to remember is that the UK has several classes of passport, a throwback to its colonial days.
Many HK’ers, Indians etc have passports issued by the UK authorities, but do not have citizenship, or even rights of residency. So yes it is possible.
If you are a British citizen your spouse should be granted entry clearance as a spouse with limited leave to remain for 24 months. (Less is of course better, as you can apply for ILR sooner.) Your spouse will be able to work and apply for a national insurance card and use the NHS. “No recourse to public funds” means your spouse will not be taken into consideration in calculating your unemployment benefit (but you may apply for yourself) nor will you get any recognition of your needs as a couple when it comes to public housing or housing benefit. After the 12 months are up, your spouse may apply for indefinite leave to remain, and those restrictions are lifted.
If you have been married for more than four years your entry clearance should be marked settlement and indefinite leave to enter granted. For some reaon the HO website says these endorsements are “rare”. Don’t see why frankly.
You will have to be in the UK or travelling on the same flight as your spouse when he applies for settlement. A British citizen present in the UK for whatever length of time is considered “settled” for the purposes of the legislation, and the legislation as I understand it is for a foreign spouse joining a settled person in the UK. The purpose of the visa (entry clearance) is “for settlement”.
As an aside, if you and your husband just turn up at Heathrow (and as an Aussie that is an option) and attempt to get in on a tourist visa, the IO may suspect he is trying to immigrate on the cheap and refuse entry altogether. Whether going for a holiday or for settlement I would contract the BTCO.
This all assumes your passport says “British citizen”.
The Hamdbook of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants is the most comprehensive guide to all this, but the Home Office website is startlingly comprehensive and explanatory. If only there was an equivalent in Taiwan.
Thanks for all the advice. My passport says ‘British Citizen’. How do they distinguish anyway? Whenever I go into the UK I just wave the passport at them, and it is rarely even opened. How do they know who has the right of abode?
So, it seems that Guangtou can work as soon as he gets there. Do I have to stay there for that two year period? If I was living in the UK, but coming to Taiwan during university semesters, would that work?
I’m quite sure that you’re right HG, as we’ve been married for less than 6 mths and he’s already talking about moving to the UK. I suspect he’ll get there and hate it. This is me getting my revenge. I’m still pissed off that the ‘Dr’ he puts in front of his name doesn’t help in any doctor/nurse games. Talk about a con!
UK passport = right of abode. British (Overseas) passport = no right of abode by default.
Don’t worry, immigration is always a tricky process but the UK is one of the easier countries to deal with. Guangtou can give me a call if he has any problems - he seems like a good bloke even if he is just after your passport and I still have a few pals back there who work as immigration lawyers.