Immigration to the UK
Discussion
Hi all,
Guess this is the right place to ask the question.
Currently living in Hong Kong looking to move back to the UK. I am a British national as is our daughter who has a British passport(born in Hong Kong) The fly in the ointment is my wife is Filipino and looking at the https://www.gov.uk/ website the amount of visas that we COULD apply for are mind boggling.
There are options to apply once in the UK (wife could get a tourist visa) or to apply while overseas. The plan would be to live with my parents while we get settled.
I dont want to stuff it up as apparently if you do this the wife could potentially get black listed.
Anybody have an real-life experience of this?
Cheers.
Guess this is the right place to ask the question.
Currently living in Hong Kong looking to move back to the UK. I am a British national as is our daughter who has a British passport(born in Hong Kong) The fly in the ointment is my wife is Filipino and looking at the https://www.gov.uk/ website the amount of visas that we COULD apply for are mind boggling.
There are options to apply once in the UK (wife could get a tourist visa) or to apply while overseas. The plan would be to live with my parents while we get settled.
I dont want to stuff it up as apparently if you do this the wife could potentially get black listed.
Anybody have an real-life experience of this?
Cheers.
Have been in a similar situation myself with a Filipino wife, (who I met while in Hong Kong) and looking at different visa options for potential relocation back to the UK.
Completely agree when looking at the usual channels there are a vast array of options that "could" work, but everything is suitably vague that ultimately leaves you wondering if it is possible or not when related to your exact circumstances, which invariably never match any examples given! I'm at the stage where I feel the next step for when ready to take the plunge is to engage an immigration lawyer who has prior expertise in the field as like you say, it is a potential minefield with possible consequences if the wrong option is chosen. Given the visas themselves are not cheap (couple of k for 10 year tourist visa as example), an extra £500 potentially spent on proper legal guidance (not an agency who claims to process it for you) would seem appropriate.
One thing to mention though is that you will need some kind of visa for your Filipino wife to get into the UK. So your option of waiting until you are in the UK to resolve the issue will not work. A long-term tourist visa that allows multiple entries over 1, 5, or 10 years is probably the best option short term as that allows time to be in the UK (up to a certain number of days per year, but doesn't allow any work etc) which can be used to allow you time to research and apply for the necessary resident visas. A multi-entry visa will save the ball-ache of obtaining single visit visas and days of your life queuing at a VFS centre as whichever option you choose for the residency visa, it will not be a quick process and may require multiple trips/visits.
My experience, and from comments made by immigration officers while chatting when entering the UK, is that if you are approved for the long term tourist visas you are seen as a 'safe-bet', especially once you have been in and out a couple of times. Having husband and kids with a UK passport very much seems to help with the application process too as our visa applications have always gone smoothly and quickly when compared with Filipino friends looking to obtain the long term tourist visas, but without the connection to the UK.
As an aside, but linked to the above, I used the entry to UK on Filipino tourist visa for my daughters, and then once we arrived, made the necessary appointments at the passport office in Peterborough and obtained their UK passports within a few days while in the country on holiday, which then meant for all subsequent visits (we generally come back to UK for holiday as a family twice a year) the entry process is very simple given my daughters have dual UK & Filipino citizenship/passports.
Good luck in processing, and my advice would be don't attempt travel without having the correct paperwork in place as airlines especially want to see every piece of paper that a Filipino has to prove you have a valid entry to the UK before allowing you on a flight - more so than the actual immigration officers at Heathrow!
Completely agree when looking at the usual channels there are a vast array of options that "could" work, but everything is suitably vague that ultimately leaves you wondering if it is possible or not when related to your exact circumstances, which invariably never match any examples given! I'm at the stage where I feel the next step for when ready to take the plunge is to engage an immigration lawyer who has prior expertise in the field as like you say, it is a potential minefield with possible consequences if the wrong option is chosen. Given the visas themselves are not cheap (couple of k for 10 year tourist visa as example), an extra £500 potentially spent on proper legal guidance (not an agency who claims to process it for you) would seem appropriate.
One thing to mention though is that you will need some kind of visa for your Filipino wife to get into the UK. So your option of waiting until you are in the UK to resolve the issue will not work. A long-term tourist visa that allows multiple entries over 1, 5, or 10 years is probably the best option short term as that allows time to be in the UK (up to a certain number of days per year, but doesn't allow any work etc) which can be used to allow you time to research and apply for the necessary resident visas. A multi-entry visa will save the ball-ache of obtaining single visit visas and days of your life queuing at a VFS centre as whichever option you choose for the residency visa, it will not be a quick process and may require multiple trips/visits.
My experience, and from comments made by immigration officers while chatting when entering the UK, is that if you are approved for the long term tourist visas you are seen as a 'safe-bet', especially once you have been in and out a couple of times. Having husband and kids with a UK passport very much seems to help with the application process too as our visa applications have always gone smoothly and quickly when compared with Filipino friends looking to obtain the long term tourist visas, but without the connection to the UK.
As an aside, but linked to the above, I used the entry to UK on Filipino tourist visa for my daughters, and then once we arrived, made the necessary appointments at the passport office in Peterborough and obtained their UK passports within a few days while in the country on holiday, which then meant for all subsequent visits (we generally come back to UK for holiday as a family twice a year) the entry process is very simple given my daughters have dual UK & Filipino citizenship/passports.
Good luck in processing, and my advice would be don't attempt travel without having the correct paperwork in place as airlines especially want to see every piece of paper that a Filipino has to prove you have a valid entry to the UK before allowing you on a flight - more so than the actual immigration officers at Heathrow!
Thanks for you reply.
Some good points. Although with the multi-entry tourist visa I believe you have to declare that you have no intention of settling in the UK , thus upsetting the immigration departing when you do. As usual thats hearsay so maybe not true.
I ll look into an immigration lawyer here in HK to at least advise me
Thanks.
Some good points. Although with the multi-entry tourist visa I believe you have to declare that you have no intention of settling in the UK , thus upsetting the immigration departing when you do. As usual thats hearsay so maybe not true.
I ll look into an immigration lawyer here in HK to at least advise me
Thanks.
https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse
On the face of it this is the one you need.
I have recently been through the process with my wife and strongly recommend speaking to a few immigration solicitors. The majority will do a free consultation to give you an idea of what you need.
Whilst we could have done everything ourselves the solicitor took the hassle out of it.
It seems complicated at first but is relatively straight forward, just have to make sure you have the correct documents.
Be prepared that it is going to cost. Roughly £1000+ for solicitors, £1000 (can also pay extra for a quicker decision) to the Home Office, £3500 NHS surcharge and some smaller items such as language test or any document translation.
Then be prepared to pay all this again in 3 years.
As far as I know your wife cannot apply to change visa status if she arrives on a tourist visa.
On the face of it this is the one you need.
I have recently been through the process with my wife and strongly recommend speaking to a few immigration solicitors. The majority will do a free consultation to give you an idea of what you need.
Whilst we could have done everything ourselves the solicitor took the hassle out of it.
It seems complicated at first but is relatively straight forward, just have to make sure you have the correct documents.
Be prepared that it is going to cost. Roughly £1000+ for solicitors, £1000 (can also pay extra for a quicker decision) to the Home Office, £3500 NHS surcharge and some smaller items such as language test or any document translation.
Then be prepared to pay all this again in 3 years.
As far as I know your wife cannot apply to change visa status if she arrives on a tourist visa.
Edited by StupidDecisions on Wednesday 30th April 07:39
Hi no personal experience of this, but a friend who is British and has four children with British passports with his Japanese wife with a Japanese passport returned to the U.K a few years ago.
However his wife was denied a residence visa and had to return to her last country of residence. Then apply for the residence visa from there, so spent around six moths before she could get the visa and reunite with her family again in the U.K.
I would strongly recommend following the guidance given by others above, on finding a specialist solicitor to guide you through the process.
best of luck.
However his wife was denied a residence visa and had to return to her last country of residence. Then apply for the residence visa from there, so spent around six moths before she could get the visa and reunite with her family again in the U.K.
I would strongly recommend following the guidance given by others above, on finding a specialist solicitor to guide you through the process.
best of luck.
Whilst I know nothing about solicitors in Hong Kong, I would suggest also looking at UK companies. They deal with spouse visas all the time and will have specific UK experience.
And as it is your spouse that is applying they don't have to pay the VAT on solicitors fees.
You can do everything (well almost) for the application over teams and email.
And as it is your spouse that is applying they don't have to pay the VAT on solicitors fees.
You can do everything (well almost) for the application over teams and email.
I’m writing this about the realities of the other side, it’s not a comment on the rights or wrongs of UK immigration policy, although I will touch on this slightly...
Mrs. DG is a very headstrong person, despite some of her friends using professional services for their visa applications, she decided to do by herself, yes she knows best.
This was just an application for a tourist visa, simple enough you may think, apparently not, you might consider the application fee is extortionate but not when you consider the detail they go into. Taking into consideration the travel and hotel costs, not exactly cheap exercise.
When notice came through, that her application had been refused, she was as you can imagine crestfallen. The reason given “They had cause to believe she may wish to remain in the UK” Nothing could be further from the truth.
Undeterred, the following year we applied again, but again Mrs DG decided she knows best, putting her trust in a local (Shenyang) agent, despite my pleas to use a significantly more expensive agent with far more visible experience
Yet again we received refusal, along with dreaded black stamp “access denied” remember all subsequent visa applications will also be able to view this. This was accompanied by a letter stating “Unless your circumstances significantly change, please do not apply again”.
Do I feel we were wronged by immigration services ‘NO’ they have a job to do and did it thoroughly, don’t under estimate this. Use an (preferably recommended) agent of good standing; it will save money in the long run.
I settled my foreign wife in the U.K. via the 5 year spouse visa route and she’s now a naturalised U.K. citizen and passport holder.
My stepdaughter also was brought as a dependent child and now is a young adult possessing indefinite leave to remain.
I wouldn’t attempt to undertake it without legal advice in the U.K, unless you have a lot of time on your hands and are highly organised with this type of stuff.
If you want a recommendation I wholeheartedly recommend speaking with https://latitudelaw.com/
It’s not cheap but neither is the process as a whole, and if you are filing badly prepared applications you’re wasting a lot of time and money.
Applying for a tourist visa for a spouse is a really bad idea.
My stepdaughter also was brought as a dependent child and now is a young adult possessing indefinite leave to remain.
I wouldn’t attempt to undertake it without legal advice in the U.K, unless you have a lot of time on your hands and are highly organised with this type of stuff.
If you want a recommendation I wholeheartedly recommend speaking with https://latitudelaw.com/
It’s not cheap but neither is the process as a whole, and if you are filing badly prepared applications you’re wasting a lot of time and money.
Applying for a tourist visa for a spouse is a really bad idea.
Edited by theboss on Saturday 3rd May 11:49
First of all thanks for all the responses.
We have ditched the visitor visa idea completely.
Ive spoken to a UK based Solicitor and the costs are ~2KGBP for their fees. I will have look at https://latitudelaw.com/ also (thanks)
Other fees
1,035.00 GBP – per year – payable for 3 years in advance.
1,938.00 GBP – Home office fee
The other thing is that to apply you need 88K GBP in cash that has been in situ for at least 6 months, OR which is more palatable is a job (or offer of a job) in the UK paying more than 29K PA.
With all this I ll try to find a job (or offer) in the UK and go from there. Its quite clear not to attempt this without proper advice which is what we will do.
I ll keep this thread updated. Thanks again.
We have ditched the visitor visa idea completely.
Ive spoken to a UK based Solicitor and the costs are ~2KGBP for their fees. I will have look at https://latitudelaw.com/ also (thanks)
Other fees
1,035.00 GBP – per year – payable for 3 years in advance.
1,938.00 GBP – Home office fee
The other thing is that to apply you need 88K GBP in cash that has been in situ for at least 6 months, OR which is more palatable is a job (or offer of a job) in the UK paying more than 29K PA.
With all this I ll try to find a job (or offer) in the UK and go from there. Its quite clear not to attempt this without proper advice which is what we will do.
I ll keep this thread updated. Thanks again.
Somebody said:
I've heard people say "Hong Kong has everything apart from snow. Why would we wish to leave Hong Kong?"
To me families leave HK mainly for their kids education. Does that apply to the OP?
Depending on your world view point, education provided by the PLA can be 2nd to none.To me families leave HK mainly for their kids education. Does that apply to the OP?
letdown said:
The other thing is that to apply you need 88K GBP in cash that has been in situ for at least 6 months, OR which is more palatable is a job (or offer of a job) in the UK paying more than 29K PA.
I'm sure your solicitor would have mentioned but you can also use a combination of wages and savings using the formula. Part of our cash came from a property sale that was completed less than six months prior to the application which was ok as we had owned it for more than six months.
StupidDecisions said:
I'm sure your solicitor would have mentioned but you can also use a combination of wages and savings using the formula.
Part of our cash came from a property sale that was completed less than six months prior to the application which was ok as we had owned it for more than six months.
Yes was mentioned but unfortunately I dont have that option available to me. Part of our cash came from a property sale that was completed less than six months prior to the application which was ok as we had owned it for more than six months.
letdown said:
First of all thanks for all the responses.
We have ditched the visitor visa idea completely.
Ive spoken to a UK based Solicitor and the costs are ~2KGBP for their fees. I will have look at https://latitudelaw.com/ also (thanks)
Other fees
1,035.00 GBP – per year – payable for 3 years in advance.
1,938.00 GBP – Home office fee
The other thing is that to apply you need 88K GBP in cash that has been in situ for at least 6 months, OR which is more palatable is a job (or offer of a job) in the UK paying more than 29K PA.
With all this I ll try to find a job (or offer) in the UK and go from there. Its quite clear not to attempt this without proper advice which is what we will do.
I ll keep this thread updated. Thanks again.
It is expensive, and that generally needs repeating after the first 33 months, for another 27.We have ditched the visitor visa idea completely.
Ive spoken to a UK based Solicitor and the costs are ~2KGBP for their fees. I will have look at https://latitudelaw.com/ also (thanks)
Other fees
1,035.00 GBP – per year – payable for 3 years in advance.
1,938.00 GBP – Home office fee
The other thing is that to apply you need 88K GBP in cash that has been in situ for at least 6 months, OR which is more palatable is a job (or offer of a job) in the UK paying more than 29K PA.
With all this I ll try to find a job (or offer) in the UK and go from there. Its quite clear not to attempt this without proper advice which is what we will do.
I ll keep this thread updated. Thanks again.
Then the ILR application itself costs money. And if you go for naturalisation, so does that.
I estimate my wife and stepdaughter cost about £35k to become permanent residents, including legal costs.
I used different financial proofs, initially based on salary + dividend income from my Ltd Co. Laterally based on savings and they did accept S&S ISA holdings, it didn't need to be a literal cash account.
What you do generally find is that the process is an absolute minefield, you can trip up so easily on some obscure technicality. That's why the solicitors are (IMO) essential. They know exactly what the home office staff are looking for in the information that is supplied, and how to avoid the obstacles.
For comparison we visited the US last year when my wife had naturalised as a UK citizen but before she could receive a UK passport, so I was pissed off at having to get her a US tourist visa instead of an ESTA.
Couple of hundred dollars and a quick trip to Nine Elms later and she gets her non-UK non-EU passport back with a 10 year US visit visa stuck inside, with 6 months allowed per visit, no questions asked.
Conversely when we want to bring my MIL over to the UK at Christmas for a few weeks we pay about £200 and that lasts for only 6 months, if we want a longer one the costs are proportionally greater and they scrutinise the application much more closely. There's also a load of BS costs the visa application centre are allowed to add when she takes her passport in, it's a license for the outsourced service provider to print money. The whole thing is a cash making racket.
Edited by theboss on Thursday 8th May 14:12
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