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Spouse VISA extortion

Rich9573
Posts: 13 Forumite
NOTE: This is in the wrong section as have been re posted in the correct section.
Hi All,
Bit about me: I am 28 have a decent job, wife and a 5 month old son. We have a house with a 35 year mortgage.
My wife is Malaysian, she studied here and has now lived in the UK for around 7 years. She is coming up for her 2nd round of renewing her spouse visa which will last another 2.5 years after which I will have to pay again. I was looking at the cost for this round and it now £3000.
This is seriously getting ridiculous as it is going to cost us almost £10k just so we can be together. We are already tight on money as we try and pay off our mortgage, look after our son and try to put something into our pension. It really seems that the UK government is punishing me for marrying someone out of the UK.
I honestly feel this is unlawful and discrimination. What do you guys think? I really want to somehow take this further. I mean currently in society we already have enough going on with without this kicking us down more.
Sorry maybe i'm here to vent but I honestly think this is unfair and cannot hold up.
Hi All,
Bit about me: I am 28 have a decent job, wife and a 5 month old son. We have a house with a 35 year mortgage.
My wife is Malaysian, she studied here and has now lived in the UK for around 7 years. She is coming up for her 2nd round of renewing her spouse visa which will last another 2.5 years after which I will have to pay again. I was looking at the cost for this round and it now £3000.
This is seriously getting ridiculous as it is going to cost us almost £10k just so we can be together. We are already tight on money as we try and pay off our mortgage, look after our son and try to put something into our pension. It really seems that the UK government is punishing me for marrying someone out of the UK.
I honestly feel this is unlawful and discrimination. What do you guys think? I really want to somehow take this further. I mean currently in society we already have enough going on with without this kicking us down more.
Sorry maybe i'm here to vent but I honestly think this is unfair and cannot hold up.
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Comments
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When I saw the reference to VISA I assumed you were talking about the payment card network!
I now see though that your question is nothing to do with banking - if you want to vent then you might wish to post on the Praise, Vent & Warnings board?0 -
This board is really not the right place to discuss visas and UK immigration policy but since you have posted here: it would probably be cheaper for her to apply for British citizenship. Last I heard it now costs around £1,700. She would have to renounce her Malaysian citizenship as Malaysia doesn't allow dual nationality. Good luck with finding a way forward.0
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A spouse visa is £1,523, not £3,000.0
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Thanks guys, sorry i'll move the post there.
And to reply to glider that fee does not include the NHS payment you need to pay upfront. Which you will also have to pay again as you earn money.0 -
This board is really not the right place to discuss visas and UK immigration policy but since you have posted here: it would probably be cheaper for her to apply for British citizenship. Last I heard it now costs around £1,700. She would have to renounce her Malaysian citizenship as Malaysia doesn't allow dual nationality. Good luck with finding a way forward.
Not really how it works...you can't just decide you're entitled to citizenship...Debt Totals July 2019::
[STRIKE]£350 Natwest Credit Card [/STRIKE]/ ]Now £0 (paid off and closed 04/2017) £15,500 postgrad loan from parents/ Now £7,000 £5,000 sister loan/ Now £0[STRIKE]£500 train ticket loan from parents [/STRIKE]/ Now £0 (paid off 16/02/18)[STRIKE]£2,000 Overdraft[/STRIKE] Now £0 (paid off 09/03/18) £1,967.83 Barclays 0% card Now £0 Total £7,0000 -
Silver_Queen wrote: »Not really how it works...you can't just decide you're entitled to citizenship...
What are your suggestions for the OP?0 -
Silver_Queen wrote: »...you can't just decide you're entitled to citizenship...
How is that comment relevant? Nobody has suggested that is the case.0 -
Being a naturalised Brit myself, there is little I don't know about applying for UK citizenship. Where did I say you can just decide you are entitled to citizenship? If you care to click on the link I posted, you will see that it goes to a page entitled "Check if you can become a British citizen".
What are your suggestions for the OP?
I can tell you now that if the OP's wife has lived here for 7 years, 2.5 of those years as a spouse and the rest as a student, she is not entitled to apply for British citizenship at this stage.
I think it's misleading for you to suggest that she can apply for citizenship instead of extending her spouse visa, this is not true at all and can really mess up someone's immigration by screwing up the continuity of residence. Sure, a citizenship application may be cheaper, but it's not an alternative to applying for an extension like you're suggesting.
It is a bold claim for you to say that there's not much you don't know about citizenship just because you're a naturalised citizen.
I have no suggestions for OP because there is no way around paying for an extension, which is what his wife requires, and unfortunately the government can charge whatever they please. Unless they're on a low enough income that they can get a fee waiver, they have no choice.Debt Totals July 2019::
[STRIKE]£350 Natwest Credit Card [/STRIKE]/ ]Now £0 (paid off and closed 04/2017) £15,500 postgrad loan from parents/ Now £7,000 £5,000 sister loan/ Now £0[STRIKE]£500 train ticket loan from parents [/STRIKE]/ Now £0 (paid off 16/02/18)[STRIKE]£2,000 Overdraft[/STRIKE] Now £0 (paid off 09/03/18) £1,967.83 Barclays 0% card Now £0 Total £7,0000 -
Silver_Queen wrote: »I can tell you now that if the OP's wife has lived here for 7 years, 2.5 of those years as a spouse and the rest as a student, she is not entitled to apply for British citizenship at this stage.0
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Is this relevant to the bank account thread?
The immigration system is expensive but many cases are complex and expensive to facilitate. This definitely shouldn't be met through general taxation but by those wishing to use it.This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com0
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