MsCanada11

britbrit83, it would be much more better to consult a lawyer who has a relevant experience! Of course, it's not free, but it helps to get really useful information and save your money later...
Good luck!

HIDDY

To be fair to those who have taken the time to relay their own experiences. It has already been pointed out to the OP on more than one occasion that seeking official/professional advice should be her first port of call.

ajax

You are totally right. I offer my unreserved apologies if it came out in any way disrespectful. Professional advice is always the best type of advice in cases such as these, but anecdotal evidence can be useful.

:D!

IIRC the criteria are the previous criteria for applications submitted prior to 9 July 2012, namely income above the level of income support that a settled family living in the UK would receive (or savings to that amount valid for the proposed period of the visa - which is now 33 months).

The best forum for a US citizen to use is http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?board=17.0, and if still uncertain how to proceed then paid advice from a regulated immigration advisor would be the next step as suggested by others.

ajax

I mean this in the nicest way, but I really don't know what you are saying here. What criteria are you talking about? The proposed period of which visa? I thought that the initial FLR visa was now five years outright. Am I wrong? Where does 33 months factor into this?

britenbsas

You are. The initial visa for a spouse or civil partner is now 33 months after which you have to apply for further leave to remain and then indefinite leave to remain after at least 60 months in the UK

ajax

Okay, thanks. The .gov website has been dumbed down so much that I couldn't actually find that information (although it's probably somewhere obvious)! Good to know.

HIDDY

No need to apologise ajax I wasn't offended.

I know you meant well.

:D!

I'm talking about the criteria that you asked about in the earlier quoted post. At the risk of being completely wrong as I can't be bothered to actually check on the dumbed-down gov.uk site, this is what I was trying to say with my earlier post:

The current criteria are Ł18600 income per year / Ł62500 savings etc etc.

The previous criteria for applications received prior to 9 July 2012 were related to income support thresholds. I don't know anything about the UK benefits system, but it was something like you needed enough income/savings so that you wouldn't qualify for income support even if your visa status qualified for it.

As previous spouse visas were granted for 2 years, your savings would need to cover the 2 year period if you had no income.

I believe that these previous criteria still apply in those exceptional disability cases - but as the visa period is now 30 months in-country and 33 months from outside the UK, you would need a bit more savings that before.

leila92

HELLO GUYS, PLEASE I NEED ADVICES FOR MY CASE.

i came to london under the status of a student visa tier 4 which had two years and six months right to stay. i got married before on february 2015 and my visa expiry date was on 20 fabruary 2016.

we didnt apply for a spouse visa as we knew we wont meed requirements as we were living in his mum's house and he sold his business that werent doing really well.
so we decided to work through the year before applying for my spouse visa and getting my own flat then we will apply for it.

on the second of january 2016, we applied for my spouse visa which we did it by ourselves without any help of a solicitor. it got rejected as we put the details of a bank account number that didnt have money in it. we applied this time by the help of a solicitor and again we got refused as it is stated we didnt pay the health surcharge. we paid it for the first time and we didnt know that they refund it and when they did, they didnt even send a letter to notify us literally nothing so we didnt know. unfortunately, my visa had expired when i got the response! but the solicitor adviced us to apply again, we did but we get refused again because they said my visa application was sent after my visa expired. well truly we sent it on january and it kept going back and forth to the home office in hope of getting a positive response! now, they gave us the right to appeal. guys please is it the right decision to do which appealing and if we will appeal, do you think the judge will be on our side? as he may say to me i overstayed which i was waiting for their response when my visa had expired and then i applied again. please, help as im tired of waiting! and i dont want to go back to my country to apply from there as it takes longer and it will delay me starting my business and getting active in my life like i used to be!

UKtravelbear

Whilst I welcome you please note that Flyer Talk is is not a dedicated immigration discussion site.

I suggest you look for one of those or ideally talk to a properly qualified immigration pracitioner who knows the law.

The Judge will be on the side of the law. No one here knows the details of your case to be able to comment.

:D!

Appeals are only successful if there was an error in the original decision. Appeals can take months to be heard and decided.

It looks like your application was correctly refused the first two times, and after this, as your leave to remain in the UK had expired, you would have to return to a country where you can reside in order to make further applications unless there are exceptional circumstances (for which your solicitor should be the one to advise you).

In general fresh applications from outside the UK are faster than appeals and the only reason to appeal is a genuine compelling reason why you must stay in the UK. Delaying the starting of a business is not a genuine compelling reason.

LondonElite

Your description is very confusing and hard to understand, but I suggest that you contact an immigration lawyer with relevant expertise and experience. An internet chat room is not a place where you will get specific advice and direction that you require.

It sounds like there was a combination of errors on your part and processing problems, but overstaying your visa was a big mistake. If you are still in the UK you should seek professional advice, and be prepared to be told that you must leave the UK, apply from your home country, and hope that your spousal situation is considered favourably.

Microwave

Hear hear.

stut

Indeed, this bears repeating. You are, of course, welcome to ask the question, but should treat any answers as opinion, not advice (even if we do have lawyers posting here!)