Scenario of In-Country Spouse Visa Application by Non- UK citizen

Good morning, my partner and I need some Visa/immigration advice. My partner is Australian and wanted to stay in the UK - his visa runs out in February 2018. We are waiting to firstly get some advice on the best route to go down visa wise. I look forward to hearing from you soon, best wishes

Our Response

Thank you for your email immigration enquiry,

The rules under Appendix FM relate to making spouse visas and unmarried partner visas, which is what you appear to be making an enquiry about. I do however have limited information but will provide immigration advice based on what I have received.

I suggest that a visitor should not make an in-country application for a spouse visa or unmarried partner visa unless there are unsurmountable obstacles in them returning home to apply for entry clearance, which is applying from the country of origin (Australia). The reason for this is that the Home Office do not wish to process applications where the applicant has a visa for less than 6 months validity, from its initial grant, or visitors. Unsurmountable obstacles may include health issues or the presence of children. Each case varies depending on the facts and we can speak further about this over a telephone conference.

My advice is that you plan and prepare the application now and apply when he goes back home to Australia. The processing times vary of this type of application but range from 2 - 8 weeks. If you want to have a priority processing of this, the decision-making post charge an additional fee of approximately £500 to do so.

Aside from the above, if we apply for a spouse visa, entry clearance, we need the make sure that compliance of the rules can be achieved and to do this we must consider the following:

• The financial requirement for spouse visa of £18,600 must be met by you, as the person sponsoring your partner to remain;
• The genuine and subsisting nature of your relationship must be properly evidenced. This can be done with Utility bills, photographs and evidence of frequent contact. If you are married, the marriage certificate too will be required;
• Accommodation must be suitable under the housing act for him to remain with you are your property. An accommodation report may be a good idea to get;
• English language will need to be satisfied, which can be done with an Australian passport unless he is not a national of Australia. We can discuss this in more detail in a free telephone consultation along with all of the other issues;
• We need to make sure that he meets the good character requirements, so there are no criminal convictions that would prevent him applying under Appendix FM.

There are more factors to consider when applying and there may be a different avenue for us to consider if there are more facts. For this reason, speaking to us and taking advantage of the free consultation, we offer over the phone would be a good starting point.

How We Can Help

If you have any immigration enquiry about spouse visas, unmarried partner visa or any visa issues including appeals and deportation, our experienced and knowledgeable immigration solicitors are here to help so give us a call today at 020 3744 2797 or email us at info@reissedwards.com.