I am in UK as a work permit holder for the past 5 years and satisfy all the requirements to apply for permanent residency. But my problem is that my husband has not been able to pass the life in the UK test. He has attempted 4 times and has failed in all his attempts. I still have my visa for 1 more year and my husband is compelling to apply for PR on my own but I am worried as to what will happen to him when the current visa runs out. Could you please advise me on this?
Girija Birmingham.
Dear Girija,
If your husband is not confident to do the Life in the UK test he can undertake the ESOL skills for life Course route. This involves attending English for Speakers for Other Languages Course ( ESOL) with citizenship elements and after the successful completion of the course he would be assessed by an independent tutor and if he satisfies all the criteria will be awarded the certificate. This certificate is enough to apply for PR and British citizenship in UK. This is a good way by which people who are not able to do the Life in the UK test to get though the Knowledge of life in UK element of the settlement visa rule.
In your case either you can wait for your husband to qualify the ESOL exam and apply for PR together or apply for your Permanent residency now and let your husband apply for PR when he qualifies the ESOL certificate. This will involves an additional cost for you in paying the full Home Office fees for his application being £1250. If passes the course and applies along with you he only need to pay the dependant's fees of £350 for his application. Think about this with your husband and make a wise choice. ESOL courses are available in all parts of UK and just google it to find the nearest course provider in your area.
I am in UK on a Tier 4 visa and I wish to bring my husband to UK as a dependant spouse. I was told by a friend that since 29th November every one who applies from overseas as a dependant spouse needs to do the IELTS exam. Is it correct and does my husband needs to do the IELTS exam to come over to UK as my dependant?
Remya, London
Dear Remya,
The English language requirement only applies to those who apply to come over to UK as the dependant spouse of a British citizen or the dependant spouse of a person with indefinite leave to remain in UK. It does not apply to the dependant spouses of a person with limited leave to remain. This means that any one who wishes to come over to UK as the dependant spouse of Tier 4 migrant, dependant of a Tier 1 migrant, Tier 2 migrant or a Post study worker or the dependant of a work permit holder or the spouse of a domestic worker does not need to satisfy the requirement of the English test. Accordingly those persons do not need to do the IELTS exam. Therefore your husband does not need to do any IELTS exam. He can apply to join you as a dependant spouse.
I am a chef and came to UK on a work permit visa. My work permit was stamped on 04th June 2006 and is valid until 03rd June 2011. As my father was having an operation I came to UK only on 30th July 2006. I am told that I can only apply for indefinite leave to remain 28 days before the day I entered UK. Accordingly I will be only able to apply on 02nd July 2011. But my visa is finishing on 03rd June 2011. What should I do in this circumstance? My employer does not have a sponsor licence and he is not willing to apply for the same in order to extend my visa. Kindly advice.
Biju, Surrey
Dear Biju,
In order to apply in person at the UKBA Public enquiry Office you can only make an application from 28 days prior to the date when you enter UK. This will be from 02nd July 2011. But as your visa finishes on 03rd June 2010, you will not be able to make an application in person at the Home Office. As per the immigration rules you can make an application to the UKBA by post 30 days before your current visa finishes. So technically you can submit a postal application and by the time the application is considered by the immigration officer you will be able to complete the 5 years residency period and will be able to get the indefinite leave to remain provided you satisfy all other requirements of the immigration rules. Your visa conditions get automatically extended if you make a valid application to the UKBA before the expiry of your visa and therefore your work permit get automatically extended until the application is considered by the UKBA. Currently postal application is taking 2 months time for processing and you will satisfy the residency requirements by this time and therefore we would advice that there is no need for a further work permit/visa extension in your case
Paul John, Solicitor, Paul John & Co Solicitors, London
My Mother has a multiple entry visit visa for 2 years. She has been in UK for 6 months now. I wish to keep her for more. I was told by a friend that if you go out to another European country for a few days and then you can return for another 6 months UK. Is it possible. ?
Sajan, Bournemouth
Dear Sajan,
As per the immigration rules you can only stay for a period of 6 months at a stretch in UK as a visitor and all the visits cannot be for a period of more than 9 months in UK in a year. So if your mother has a schengen visa and she wish to come back to UK for a period of less than 3 months normally she will be allowed to enter UK again as a visitor. She need to produce a return ticket to India within 3 months of her second arrival in UK. In multiple entry visit visas you are not allowed to stay for 12 months in a year in 2 stretches. If you stay for another 6 months on re entry then the immigration officer can cancel the visit visa at the port on your next arrival. So please make sure that your mother has a return ticket within 3 months of her second entry to UK.
I am a dental nursing student and is working part time as a dental nurse in a dental surgery as part of my practical training. The surgery has now been granted the Tier 2 sponsor licence and they are willing to grant me a job offer. But my employer told me that they don't currently have any certificate of sponsorship and they will be applying for additional certificates of sponsorship. My course has not finished but my visa is finishing on 31st December 2010. In this circumstance could you please advice me what to do whether to apply for the Tier 2 visa or extend my student visa?
Anitha London
Dear Anitha,
Since 19th July the UKBA is not awarding any certificate of sponsorships to new entrants in the Tier 2 entrants list. This was the reason why your employer was not granted any certificate of sponsorships. This has happened due to the Immigration Cap adopted by the UKBA in July 2010. At present UKBA is granting additional certificate of sponsorship only for the purpose of extension of Tier 2 visa of existing work permit or Tier 2 visa holders and as far as we are aware no new COS were issued for new Tier 2 visas. The last month UKBA had stated that they will not be considering the grant of COS to any jobs even on the shortage occupation list if the salary is below £20000. Therefore in this circumstance it is highly unlikely that your employer will be granted an additional Certificate of sponsorship to sponsor you as a Tier 2 Migrant. Even though you can apply for the Tier 2 visa 28days before the grant of a COS, as in your case the chance of getting a Certificate of Sponsorship is very slim and therefore we would not advise you to make an application for the Tier 2 visa. Our advice would be to apply for the extension of student visa.
Paul John
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