While you are in the UK

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Can I work in the UK?
Getting married in the UK
Fijian Passport renewals
What benefits can I claim?
How do I get a National Insurance Number?
Access to Further Education, Higher Education, NHS Bursaries and student loans
I currently live in the UK but I want to visit Europe/USA on holiday
Access to healthcare

Can I work in the UK?

All spouses should be eligible to work in the UK. If you have a residence permit that allows you to live here, it will say what restrictions (if any) there are on your employment.

Therefore if it doesn’t say that you can’t work on your visa, then you can!

If an employer is concerned about your ability to work in the UK, or is saying that they are not able to employ you because of your immigration status, then you can ask them to call the Sponsorship and Employers hotline on 0300 123 4699.

‘No work’ visas: Some Visa Application Centres have been known to issue ‘no work’ visas to spouses of Commonwealth soldiers, this is incorrect. If you have received a ‘no work’ visa, send your passport into the address below with a covering note explaining the situation.

Armed Forces Team
ICC2
7th Floor
Lunar House
40 Wellesley Road
Croydon
CR9 2BY

The passport will then be sent to the relevant department to get the visa changed. However, be warned that it can take a few months before the correction is made due to limited staff.

Getting married in the UK

You should find the information you need on the ukba.homeoffice website. It is no longer necessary to have a visa valid for more than six months in order to get married in the UK, it is also no longer necessary to get a Certificate of Approval. However, if you are planning to come to the UK to get married or register a civil partnership with a soldier who is already a British Citizen, and you want to stay in the country afterwards, you will need entry clearance (permission to enter) as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner. Both you and your partner must be aged 18 or over. For all information click here.

Please note that it is not possible for a fiancé(e) to come to the UK to get married if the soldier is not a British Citizen. Fiancé(e) visas are only issued to those marrying someone already settled in the UK, a soldier is not considered to be settled whilst still serving unless they have British Citizenship.

The following is from the UKBA website:

Changes to marriage/civil partnership requirements

From 9 May, any migrant subject to immigration control wishing to give notice to marry or register a civil partnership in the UK will no longer need:

a certificate of approval or,
an entry clearance for the purpose of marriage or registering a civil partnership or,
settled status in the UK.

Requirements which are unchanged

Migrants who are subject to immigration control will still need to:

give notice to marry or register a civil partnership in a designated register office. Migrants who wish to give notice at a non-designated register office will need to provide evidence that they are not subject to immigration control.
meet other existing requirements for giving notice e.g. evidence of nationality, name and surname and date of birth and that they are free to marry. Contact the registration service for more details about these requirements.

More information on giving notice can be found on this direct.gov.uk web page.

Just because you get married does not guarantee that you will be able to get a visa to remain in the UK. This will depend on whether you have married a soldier who is already a British Citizen and whether you have leave to remain for six months or more.

Soldier is a British Citizen

If you have married a soldier who is a British Citizen and you have leave to remain in the UK in a different immigration category (for example as a student) which was issued for more than six months, then you should be able to ‘switch’ into the category of husband or wife of a British Citizen. This visa is also called the two years probationary spouse visa and is applied for using form FLR(M). To download the visa application form and the guidance notes, click here. You may need to take an English Language test to be able to apply for this visa. Information on this test can be found on the ‘ILR and Visa extensions in UK’ page.

If you were not issued with a visa for more than six months or you are currently here as an ‘overstayer’ then you may have to return to your home country to make an application to come back into the UK on the correct visa. You may wish to try to remain here and make an application to remain ‘outside the rules’ but this can be a very long-drawn out process, which usually involves having to appeal and attend court hearings and is not advisable without a good immigration lawyer. Returning home and making the correct visa application can often be the quicker and cheaper option.

Soldier is a Commonwealth Citizen

If you have married a soldier who is a commonwealth citizen then it is possible to switch onto a dependants visa even if you were only issued with a visit visa for the UK. The form you would need to complete is called an FLR(O) form. Information on applying for this visa can be found on the ‘ILR and Visa extensions in UK’ page.

If however your leave to remain has expired and you have become an ‘overstayer,’ you will find it more difficult to be granted an extension. Depending upon your circumstances you may need to seek qualified immigration advice and would have to be prepared to appeal and attend a court hearing should your application be refused. You would need to provide good supporting documents with your application to explain the circumstances.

Fijian Passport renewals

I have been waiting for my Fijian passport to be renewed and my UK visa has now expired.

I have been contacted by a number of Fijian spouses who are worried because their UK visas have either expired or are due to expire* whilst they await the return of their passport from Fiji. I contacted the Immigration Enquiry Bureau to find out what they suggest and was told the following:

The spouse should make an application and send it in to UKBA without the passport
The application must be accompanied by an official letter from the Embassy confirming that an application for a passport renewal has been made and that there are currently problems in Fiji relating to passport renewals
The caseworker will assess the application and will decide whether to hold on to it until the passport can be sent to them or whether to issue the visa/vignette on another form of documentation.

I contacted the Fijian Support Network who were able to give me a contact within the Fijian High Commission. I have now received confirmation that the Fijian High Commission will produce a letter stating that an application for a passport has been made. To do this they will require a copy of the revenue receipt received when payment was made as well as full details of the applicant.

If your UK visa has already expired or will expire shortly please get in touch with me with these details, I will then pass this information on to the High Commission.

*If your UK visa has not yet expired, it is important that you make an application for a new one before the expiry date. Even if the application cannot be processed immediately, you will have made an ‘in time’ application so will not be considered to be an ‘overstayer’.

Can I still apply for ILR?

I have asked HQ Land Forces whether a spouse with a visa which has now expired is still able to apply for ILR. Immigration rules states that it is necessary to have an existing visa before ILR can be applied for. I am concerned that instead of being issued with ILR, UKBA would issue ‘discretionary leave’ instead. This would result in the spouse having to wait a further six years before being eligible to apply for ILR. It would be much better therefore to apply for an extension visa (FLR(O)) instead, even if you are eligible to apply for ILR. HQ Land Forces have asked the question of UKBA and are currently awaiting a response. Information on applying for this visa can be found on the ‘ILR and Visa extensions in UK’ page.

Can my Fijian passport be posted to the UK?

Whilst the Fijian immigration department will not post passports, they will allow the passport to be collected by a family member and are happy for the passport to be sent direct to the applicant by post using DHL. This will cost $125 Fijian dollars and will take about five days. I am awaiting information regarding other options.

What benefits can I claim?

If you have been given permission to live in the UK, this permission may include the condition that you have 'no recourse to public funds'. If so, you will not be able to claim most benefits, tax credits or housing assistance that are paid by the state. For all information on what you can and cannot claim, click here.

Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit: If you are claiming Child Benefit, the soldier will need to be the main claimant but your details will also need to be on the form. To claim Child Tax Credit you will need to make a joint application. To do this you will both need a National Insurance Number. The soldier’s NI number will be requested for him by his unit via a ‘Request to Issue a National Insurance Number’, signed by the soldier and sent on his behalf by the unit to the Inland Revenue. All Regimental Admin Offices have details of this procedure. For information on how to get a National Insurance Number if you are the spouse, scroll down to the heading below.

Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit claims should be made as soon as possible after arrival of the family in the UK. Claims will only be backdated for up to a period of three months, so any delay may result in benefit being lost. All Unit Welfare Offices and Regimental Admin Officers have details of how to claim. Alternatively, for more information, click here.

Sure Start Maternity Grant: You may also be eligible to claim this grant if you are pregnant. If you already claim Child Tax Credit at a rate higher than the family element you should be eligible for this. If this is your first child, you should wait until the child is born and you have claimed Child Tax Credit, then you should be eligible to apply. For all information click here or speak to your midwife. Recent changes to this grant mean that you are now only able to claim it if you have no other children under the age of 16 in your family.

Disability benefit: Disability Living Allowance and Carers Allowance can only be applied for once the family member who qualifies has got ILR. Entitlement to these benefits are also subject to meeting the correct criteria as laid down by the Department for Work and Pensions. For more information about these specific benefits, click here and here.

How do I get a National Insurance Number?

If you need to claim benefit and/or tax credit (or if your partner needs to claim benefit/tax credit for you), your application for an NI number will be done as part of the benefit claim process.

If you have the right to work in the UK and you are looking for or starting work, you will need to make an appointment at your local Job Centre. For all information on obtaining National Insurance Numbers, click here.

Access to Further Education, Higher Education, NHS Bursaries and student loans

A lot of the following information is taken from the excellent UK Council for International Student Affairs website www.ukcisa.org.uk. Click on ‘Fees and Funding’ on the home page.

Is my course higher education or further education?

Higher education courses include HNC and HND courses, undergraduate degrees (for example, BA, BSc, BEd) and postgraduate degrees (for example, MA, MSc or PhD).

Further education courses include GCSEs, AS and ‘A’ levels (and their equivalents), NVQs, GNVQs, BTECs and Access courses.

Further education

If you are in one of the categories below, you must be charged home fees (this also includes any course funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and HE courses funded by the Department of Education and Learning). There are a number of other categories on the UKCISA website, so please check if you don’t qualify under those below.

People who have lived in England or Northern Ireland for the three years before the start of the course
People with 'recently settled' immigration status (Indefinite Leave to Remain). To be included in this group, you must be someone who became 'settled' in the UK within the three years immediately preceding the start of the course
People whose husband or wife or civil partner is 'settled' in the UK, and who have been married or in a recognised civil partnership for at least one year, and resident in the UK for at least one year.

In England only, 16-18 year olds who have ILR themselves, or are accompanying parents who have immigration permission to be in the UK.

The majority of spouses of serving soldiers will qualify under category three above, (as long as they have been married and in the UK for one year) because a Commonwealth soldier is considered to be settled whilst they are serving. If your soldier spouse is a British Citizen, you also qualify under the same category.

Higher education

To qualify for home fees at a University, you must fall into one of the following categories (there are many more categories on the UKCISA website, the ones below are those that are of most relevance to the majority of spouses of serving soldiers):

People who have ‘settled’ status (ILR or British Citizenship) and have lived in the UK for the three years before the start of the course.
People who are married to, or the dependant of*, a British Citizen and have lived in the UK for the three years before the start of the course.
People who are EU nationals and have lived in the UK for the three years before the start of the course.

Therefore, if you are the spouse of a Commonwealth soldier, you will normally not be able to study at a University unless you have ILR and have lived in the UK for three years. If you are the spouse of a British Citizen, you will be able to study even if you haven’t got ILR, but only if you have lived in the UK for the three years prior to the start of the course**. If you are not sure whether you qualify as a home student, it is always advisable to contact the Universities you are interested in and ask to complete a ‘fees status questionnaire.’ This will allow them to assess your individual circumstances. If you are unhappy with the decision, contact the University for an explanation. You can also contact the UKCISA Student Advice Line on 020 7107 9922 (1-4pm Mon-Fri only)

*Dependants include children or grandchildren of the UK or EU National (or their spouse) who are under 21, or over 21 if still fully dependent.

** If you have been on an accompanied posting overseas for part of the three years, it may be worthwhile contacting the University to explain your situation and to see if they will make an exception.

NHS Bursaries

To be eligible for an NHS Bursary you need to have settled status (or be an EU national) and have lived in the UK for the three years before the start of the course. However, if you were away from the UK for all or part of the three-year period because you were on a posting overseas, you will not normally be prevented form being eligible for a bursary.

For more information about NHS bursaries, click here.

Student support

The following is a very brief summary of some of the categories that may apply to you if you are the spouse of a serving soldier. For detailed information about student support and the criteria for eligibility click here.

Category 1: Settled status and living in the UK and Islands. You qualify if you have ILR and you have lived in the UK for the three years before the start of the course. You don’t need to have had ILR for three years; you just need to have it before you start the course.

Category 2: European Union nationals and family living in the European Economic Area and Switzerland. To be eligible under this category, you must be married to a UK national and have lived in the UK for the three years before the start of the course. If you are eligible under this category, you will only qualify for a loan for your tuition fees, not the full student loan.

Category 3: Non-UK European Union nationals living in the UK and Islands. To be eligible under this category you must be an EU national and have lived in the UK for the three years prior to the start of the course.

I currently live in the UK but I want to visit Europe/USA on holiday

Depending upon your nationality, you will usually need a Schengen visa to visit Europe. This currently covers 22 countries within Europe and will allow you to stay for up to 90 days (although this varies depending on which country issues the visa). A Schengen visa is applied for at the Embassy of the country in which you will be spending the most nights on your trip or, if you are spending the same amount of nights in more than one country, then you apply for the visa from the Embassy of the country which you will enter first. You will need to ensure that you have three months left on your UK immigration visa at the time that you return from your holiday. For more details and information on how to apply for a visa from France, click here. For links to the embassies of other Schengen countries, click here.

To travel to the USA it may also be necessary to apply for a visa, this can be done via the American Embassy in London, click here for all information

Access to healthcare

The following information is on the Department of Health website.

Under the current Regulations, anyone who is taking up or resuming permanent residence in the UK is entitled to free National Health Service (NHS) hospital treatment in England. If your intention is to live permanently in the UK you will be exempt from hospital charges from the date of your arrival in the country but you should expect to be asked to prove your intention and that you are legally entitled to live here. This exemption applies to your spouse, civil partner and children (under the age of 16, or 19 if in further education) if they are living here with you on a permanent basis.

As the majority of spouses now come to the UK on a ‘settlement visa’, it will not be difficult to prove that you intend to live permanently in the UK. If you have come over on a visitors visa which you have not yet extended, then it will be necessary to provide a few more documents to prove your intention to settle here. For example a letter from the soldiers unit confirming his length of service and your accommodation in Service Families Accommodation. If you have any problems accessing free healthcare you should contact your UWO in the first instance.