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UK Spouse Visa - Applying From Hong Kong

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  1. #221

    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    14,414
    Quote Originally Posted by Bobbolar:
    Jac do you not have a uk sponsor, it will be extremely difficult without one i think? We didnt do the expedited process as so many people had been complaining about it paying extra and not getting done in the time. I found out today if you keep your passport that once the decision has been made they call you forward and the passport is sent to Manila for stamping/vignetting etc. I have heard that you dont find out the result until the passport is back in your own hands, making life difficult for those who need to give a months termination notice as you must travel to uk within 30 days of the date stamped in the passport.
    Wasn’t the case with my wife’s Singapore passport.
    Never had to be sent off, we recieved the letter to confirm it’s been approved alongside the sticker to put on the passport.

    When we landed at Heathrow my wife showed them the letter and the guy from the border agency put the sticker in and stamped it.

    All done

  2. #222

    Join Date
    Nov 2019
    Posts
    19

    I think its because my wife is a filipina and theres no visa service at the Hong Kong consulate. They send all the documentation there


  3. #223

    UK sponsor, my husband, is working and living in HK right now, so we don't have any accommodation in uk. As we have kids, so I don't know if we can find friends who have a big enough flat/house that meet the requirements, so we might have to do a short let I guess?

    Thanks for the heads up on the termination notice period.
    It's a logistics nightmare.

    I have been thinking
    Option 1: travel to uk first then come back to wrap up ( we need to resign and sell our apartment)

    Option 2: Sell quickly, give money in lieu of notice, pack and leave ; I think Bobbolar can do this since you said your belongings is minimal, so you just lose a month salary(?)

    Option 3: Resign and sell our apt earlier, while waiting for the decision
    According to this https://www.gov.uk/guidance/visa-dec...outside-the-uk, get a decision within 12 weeks of attending your appointment at the visa application centre ... not there is no guarantee it will be approved and we might have to wait longer ... without a salary ...


  4. #224

    Join Date
    Nov 2019
    Posts
    19

    Hello again. Wow I thought our situation was quite a difficult one. The worst thing about this process is the total uncertainty of whether a visa will be approved, no matter how watertight you think your case may theres just no guarantee it will be approved and its difficult to get updates from UK. Its a most stressful time really. I really dont know the best option for you but I would think it would be better if your hubby came ahead and sorted the accomodation first so you have a base in uk. If you have kids of different sexes they cant share a room after I think the age of 10 or 11. Securing a suitable place is important and I guess a short term let would be ok until you are all settled here and able to get a long term property. You will need good references and credit record to rent a place here. There are new rules in paying deposits for renting which Im not familiar with. Really the resignation is probably the easiest thing. My wife cant terminate until we have a decision if she gives her employer notice they may kick her out there and then as we know they will be very pissed that shes leaving. Once we have a decision and its a favourable one she can terminate. She will travel to uk asap after telling them. Her friend just walked out of her job last week and is now in uk. If youre not going back to HK then it doesnt matter I guess. Our compromise is going to offer the employer 14 days notice to give them a little time which they dont deserve as theyre awful people. Then my wife will forego her salary and leave. She wants to leave HK with a clean record so she can work once she gets here. We need to have days to spare in case the Biometric card is not ready for collection. This has to be collected before the visa stamp expires. Its really an un-nerving time getting this done. We have waited five years to get this done and now the final hurdle is coming soon.


  5. #225

    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Posts
    482

    This all sounds a real pain. We’ll be doing it next year. We don’t want to rent a place and leave it empty while we are finishing up and applying from here. Is there any problem with choosing our own date to leave HK and going into UK on a tourist visa and applying in country?


  6. #226

    Ours came in 6.5 weeks with the priority service


  7. #227

    From what I know they don’t really offer that as an option. You just wait while you apply and once you get the ok you have 30 days to get to Uk to collect the biometric card. You can pick where you collect this from a list of post offices.


  8. #228

    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    14,414
    Quote Originally Posted by Mary 2:
    This all sounds a real pain. We’ll be doing it next year. We don’t want to rent a place and leave it empty while we are finishing up and applying from here. Is there any problem with choosing our own date to leave HK and going into UK on a tourist visa and applying in country?
    Never apply whilst you’re in the UK.
    Always do it from overseas and wait for a decision first before coming over.

    Speak to the guys at British Connections in HK and they’ll advise you the best way round the housing issue etc

  9. #229

    Hi Mary

    You can't apply in uk I think.

    Bobbolar

    We can't afford 2 homes ( 1 here in hk and uk ), both emotionally and financially , so we want to move together.

    Thanks for the advice on renting. I hope I can get a job or else I guess I need to place a larger than normal deposit (6 months?) to rent a place after I land. We also want to buy our place but I guess it might take some time to look around so better do that after we moved there.

    I am looking at service apartments/short lets at the moment, where a upfront deposit equals to the rent is required most of the time.

    Jac


  10. #230

    Join Date
    Nov 2019
    Posts
    19

    Hello Folks just to say Visa Approved and wife coming to UK feb 28. Thanks for sharing your experiences and Good Luck to those applying.

    kimwy66 likes this.

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