Hello Bluflyboy.

My husband and I were in your situation roughly 2 years ago..He is Nigerian with a complicated Status in the US, I am British/Nigeria with no complicated status, 4 kids with American and British status. Because of the hubby facing removals from the USA, we had the option of him either returning to Nigeria and me filing for the UK Sposal paperwork for him and we can all go to the UK or we all should go to Nigeria. We decided to move to Nigeria instead...the kids get to be close to family and lear the culture....

Saved roughly about $75k, Paid off our 2 cars, Rented a house in Abuja for 2 years, paid children school fees also for 2 years., Shipped the 2 cars to Nigeria, I found a Country Manager Job in Nigeria etc...Hubby will find an IT contract when we arrive..etc

Then Dec 31st 2014 we made our move feeling preapred etc. I dont really want to into all numerous challanges we had including insecurity, bad health care, being stolen from , hubby kidnapped by SARs, I can go on....But just to let you know within 2 years, considering we are relatively very low key people our $75k dwindled down as after first 6 months, the company i worked for stopped paying salaries. Hubby had a very difficult time finding a paid employment and decided to start his own IT firm..which we did but got stolen from most of the time by employees.

This forced the very difficult decision to abandon Nigeria again this time for the UK where I and the kids are citizens and filed Spousal Visa for hubby. So we finally moved back in to the UK this summer with all things now going well, looking back at the Nigeria experience without being negative, It was one of the worst decisions we made...unless you are willing to abandon your ethics and join the status quo...you are in for a very rough time.

it is also quite expensive to maintain a decent lifestyle in Nigeria as a family as well. So your $30k will not go as far as you think...so my suggestion is to put Nigeria on a back burner for now and think of other scenarios that might work better for you but if Nigeria is only the option,then my friend, you need to have a plan and strategise and knowing all your strategies might not work but be willing to tough the ride...I dont care what all your friends say, when the rubber hits the road as we say..you will find yourself alone very quickly.

Good luck.

Any more good news, I cant wait to celebrate with all people who are expectant.

are you my lawyer....lol wink wink

Spinardo:


Hello Teejay.... Your view is valid however we also need to confirm if she has children cause the ruling also affects children based on teh increasing gross income required per number of children...so if she does, that will be a MAJOR reason..... She confirmed that she meets the minimum gross of 18,600...besides i think it will be fool-hardy for anyone to submit without meeting the minimum gross.....

Also, technical foul.... family visa is not the same as a standard tourist visa oooo...the requirements differ. That said, I agree with your thoughts that the ECO COULD preclude that her hubby deceived them into availing a visa with another intent in mind.... At this point, it is the superior argument of the lawyer that may be the winning strategy....even as much as we understand that once u read up this thread, u will not need a lawyer, this "strategic" move by abbij ehhhnn....na lawyer fit argue am... heheheheheeee...

Best of luck my peeps waiting....I know it can be VERY tiring and HBP-prone but all we can do is pray.....and keep faith..... It will all be well....

Just my additions for further clarity to OUR "family"....

I agree with the above post. however, ours wasn't planned that way. We had proof of everything showing that there was no deceit . I was living in the UK for the last 1 year with my hubby and 4 kids living in Naija. I came simply to work for a year, however, when my hubby and kids came for holidays in march (to return 3 weeks later , had return tickets for them all), the kids refused to leave. My husband cannot go back to file as that will require me to take care of them which means, i may have to quit my job. He is the full time carer for them. Unfortunately i cannot afford the cost of a full time nanny to take care of 4 kids and i work over an hour away from home. The kids are all british so they have a right to stay.
However, if i chose to care for them, then i will need to quit my job which make it ineligible for me to file for hubby in Nigeria based on income. We meet the income treshold with my well paying job as well as every single requirement needed. So the only option we had was the route we went as we had full mitigating circumstance to show . We found schools for the kids, they got accepted into football academies (my son wants to play pro)- He got a 1 year contract with Norich City FC. (smiles) etc. so they kids are basically now considered settled, with dad involved in the everyday routine which will affect their settlement. I could go on.
I am just adding to what Teejay had said, it is not the advisable route to go unless you truly had no choice.

Per the app, we did a standard route.

teejay231:


Be advised that a family visit visa and standard visit visa are one and the same thing. Unless you are an EU national or able to prove highly exigent circumstances applying for a spouse visa via this route is NOT advised. The ECO will likely argue that your husband obtained a visit visa with the intention of overstaying and thus lied. Trust me, if this was the best option, most people will be doing it.

The family visit visa not a Tourist visa took about 3 weeks to get. He wa given 6 months Visa. We he got here, we hired an immigration attorney who help filed an in country application Spouse Visa based on compassionate circumstances e.g, me here with with kids alone, working with their their main carer not with etc blah blah blah, apparently you could file that way (EX 1 New rules).
We have filed and he can stay until decision given, we we did biometrics last week. All I am grateful for is the non separation from the family unit.
Blessed sis.

joygirl2017:





Hi dear ,thanks so much wish I could I change back the hands of time we didnt see this coming

have a question . You said hubby applied with family visit [b][/b]different from the normal tourist visa ? Did you apply priority or standard ?

Cos for spouse visa you need to apply from outside the uk .
The lord will favour us this week . Gonna lay low for a while

That is exactly what we did. We got the family visit 6 months for the hubby and while he was here in the UK with me me and the kids, filed his UK Spouse VISA in country.
The wait can take 3-4 months but at least we are together here. So sorry, I know how nerve racking it feels. You will get good news soon.

joygirl2017:





My dear feeling your pain just tired , priority is just rubbish route for now lol . Wish I applied for student visa then switch to spouse visa at least I'll be in the uk with my hubby . We thought by middle june ill bein the uk
They better go change that 15days to 2months lol. So annoying lol
God dey my sister hopefully u hear something next week I pray you do

Thank you so much. Your comment really helped and it happened exactly like you said. We arrived in the UK yesterday with no issues at the POE.

ekpotek:


No problem. Go as a family to the same POE. Try to avoid using the EU line as this will separate you and your husband even if they direct you to EU line as a British Citizen. Stay with your husband and submit all your passports together to the same POE. Everything will be fine. The last time I was with my British/Nigerian wife at POE, the only question they asked me was if my visit was for business or pleasure?

justwise:

I don't see your husband having any problem at the Poe and not applying for spouse visa will not pose any problem infact it should be an advantage because you are not desperate to run to the UK through marriage. It gives you a stronger tie to Nigeria

Thank you Just Wise, I truly appreciate your response. What type of questions should we anticipate? Would my travel history matter as i have come to UK quite often alone.

Abbi

Hello Just Wise,

So here is our scenario. I am British/Nigeria married to my Nigerian Husband for the last 12 years, years we have 4 British children together, we live in Nigeria at the moment.
We are planing to travel as a family for a 2 week visit to the UK in a couple of weeks and and I have worries about my hubby being denied entry at border contol.
We applied for his Visa last year (1st time application), it was immediately granted, my brother who lives in in the UK is our sponsor and host.
Can anyone who has gone to the UK on a family visit visa tell me what questions to anticipate at POE and how best to prepare for it. We are genuine couple with obvious and extensive documentation to prove so. I am also worried about the Immigration officer wondering why I haven't file for the Spouse Visa for him. Just to answer that question, we just really were never interested in living and raising our kids in the UK. We are happy here in Nigeria. So your help, remarks, suggestions are needed. Or should I just bloody stop worrying about nothing?

Hello Nairaland,
So here is our scenario. I am British/Nigeria married to my Nigerian Husband for the last 12 years, years we have 4 British children together, we live in Nigeria at the moment.
We are planing to travel as a family for a 2 week visit to the UK in a couple of weeks and and I have worries about my hubby being denied entry at border contol.
We applied for his Visa last year (1st time application), it was immediately granted, my brother who lives in in the UK is our sponsor and host.
Can anyone who has gone to the UK on a family visit visa tell me what questions to anticipate at POE and how best to prepare for it. We are genuine couple with obvious and extensive documentation to prove so. I am also worried about the Immigration officer wondering why I haven't file for the Spouse Visa for him. Just to answer that question, we just really were never interested in living and raising our kids in the UK. We are happy here in Nigeria. So your help, remarks, suggestions are needed. Or should I just bloody stop worrying about nothing?

Thanks in advance.