Spouse Visa and Working Rights in the UK

ap1985

Firstly, apologies if this is not the right forum to post on. My husband is currently on a spouse visa and his visa is going in for his second extension at the end of this year. I wanted to ask whether anyone knows if he can still look for a new job whilst his visa will have expired but his application for extension will have been submitted to the embassy. Will an employer generally accept this or will he have to wait?
Thanks in advance.

bamgbost

He could, and see if he can explain to potential employer that the application is in progress. (have photocopy of passport / visa to hand, along with any documentation of proof of application)


However ideally, can he not start looking early? You can apply for the Visa extension 3 months before it expires.


Are you applying by post of in person? In person costs more, but gets processed a lot faster.

ap1985

Thank you Bamgbost for your response. We are going through a solicitor who is currently dealing with the application. His visa expires end of December.

synapse321

The employer should be ringing a dedicated no for the Home Office to check to see if they are legally entitled to work with a new application in process.

Savvy_Sue

ap1985 wrote: »

I wanted to ask whether anyone knows if he can still look for a new job whilst his visa will have expired but his application for extension will have been submitted to the embassy.

I'm sure he can. Whether it's worth him doing so is another question ...

ap1985 wrote: »

I wanted to ask whether anyone knows if he can still look for a new job whilst his visa will have expired but his application for extension will have been submitted to the embassy. Will an employer generally accept this or will he have to wait?

IF the employer does not need him to start until after the visa might reasonably be expected to have arrived, then MAYBE he wouldn't land straight in the reject pile, but one of our questions is whether there are any restrictions on your right to work in the UK. And I can tell you that if there ARE restrictions then they'd better not be that you actually can't, right now, start work, or that you only have the right to work for the next three months, or anything like that.

That may seem harsh, but as an employer, we would be breaking the law if we had someone on the books who did not have RTW.

SeanG79

You are entitled to work while a decision is being reached on the extension, however it is a gamble for the employer to take on a new recruit when the visa may not be extended, one which I don't think many employers will take.

Is their any reason why you are going through a solicitor? Having been through the process, if you meet all the criteria as listed on the Home Office website and provide all the relevant documentation, it is a relatively straight forward process to do on your own. Also, you can often pay a higher fee to get a quicker (in my case same day decision).

ap1985

SeanG79 wrote: »

You are entitled to work while a decision is being reached on the extension, however it is a gamble for the employer to take on a new recruit when the visa may not be extended, one which I don't think many employers will take.

Is their any reason why you are going through a solicitor? Having been through the process, if you meet all the criteria as listed on the Home Office website and provide all the relevant documentation, it is a relatively straight forward process to do on your own. Also, you can often pay a higher fee to get a quicker (in my case same day decision).

Thank you for your response and advice. My husband just felt more comfortable going through a solicitor.