Hi British-Filipino friends, I hope everyone is safe and well. I came to the UK with a spouse visa and have now been living here for 5 years. I am due to apply for my ILR on April 2022. Unfortunately, my husband (Filipino-British) and I separated but have shared responsibility to our child who was born here. I am looking into the possibility of applying to permanently settle here in the UK as a parent. Interested to know if anyone has gone through the same process and could share any advice? Would there be a huge setback on going through this route as opposed to Spouse route? Any advice will be greatly appreciated Many thanks!
Problem is that it resets the clock as I understand it so end up 5 years away from ILR. When you can settle permanently The earliest you can apply to settle in the UK (called ‘indefinite leave to remain’) is after you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years continuously on a family visa as a parent. You cannot include time you’ve spent in the UK on any other visa.
Thank you for your response @Br28016 That is very depressing to know but yeah I missed that part Can I apply for this visa whilst I’m still here in the UK on Spouse visa? Or I have to apply outside of the country?
As I understand the rules you can apply for this one whilst in the UK. Know one person whose marriage broke down and managed to stay as parent of British child. Has home office been informed of breakdown ? Are you living apart ? Is there any chance of staying together long enough to get through to ILR point as really should try and get to that point as not that far off.
Hi @Br28016 thank you again for your response. The Home Office has not been informed of the breakdown. My daughter and I still live in our shared home that my husband and I are both named tenants but he already moved out.
@Br28016 followup question, is it necessary to wait until my FLR expires before I apply for ILR on Spouse route? There is a clause in the Eligibility statement that reads I can apply for ILR (as a partner) if I have been living in the UK for 5 continuous years — Which I already an Any thoughts would be helpful
You can apply if you came over on a spouse visa 5 years from landing in UK ie the day you cleared immigration. Was the child born in the UK
Hi @Mattecube thank you for your response. So that means from entry to FLR? Yes, my child is born here. My 5th year was July 2021. I am thinking to apply for ILR now as a spouse before our separation gets reported to Home Office.
i am a bit confused by your dates. What date did you actually arrive in the UK--and what visa did you have ?
Hi @bigmac thank you for your response and apologies for the confusion. I arrived in the UK 19th July 2016 on Spouse Visa (Entry) which I renewed after about 2years 6mos to FLR (spouse) — this current visa will expire on April2022. Question is, do I have to wait til it expires or I can now apply for ILR as I’ve already lived here for 5 continuous years?
so it must have taken several months to process your flr application if it doesnt expire till april22. I understand you can apply for ILR once you have been in the UK for 5 years--in any case --the standard processing time for an ILR application can take 6 months. ( unless you pay extra for super priority service ) is your husband willing to co-operate with you about this ?
Firstly you should not try and deceive the HO if you and your husband have split a change of circumstance must be advised. A few questions Is your husband a settled resident in the UK thus making your child a British Citizen? How will you meet the financial requirements, on your own, with your husbands alleged support or not at all? Don't forget that there are questions on the application form that will trip you up by trying to cover the deceit . The good news is you have a child that has the potential depending on her father's immigration status of being a Brit and this will help your cause as "a mother of a British child" this link will help as a start https://righttoremain.org.uk/toolkit/children
@Saint Quite some time ago my Filipina wife came across this albeit from a slightly different angle. Essentially what we discovered as we approached my wife’s ILR application was that it would be highly unlikely for the Filipina mother of a child born in the U.K. and with British nationality, be refused. I was fortunate at the time to be able to talk face to face very easily with U.K. / British Immigration and this was the message they conveyed. As we saw it at the time, it actually put us in a stronger position, if that makes sense.
