Samsamsam Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Hi Guys, Is it possible to pay for an express service to accelerate your visa application? My British husband will be applying via to 309/100 partner visa route (already married for 6 years). I ask because when I applied for my UK Indefinite Leave to Remain as a spouse of a British citizen, you could pay an extra £660 to do a service which got it done in a week. I was really hoping to find something equivalent for Oz! So far not finding anything ... Cheers Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Don't think so. Never been mentioned on here and I think folk would happily pay an extra few thousand to speed up their application. While you wait though, you could get your UK citizenship if you haven't already got it / you never know when you might need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samsamsam Posted January 13, 2019 Author Share Posted January 13, 2019 Re: express service: it was a long shot but worth a try! Re: British citizenship: toying with the idea... from my investigation to date (and considering the current Brexit climate), I've only found one benefit of becoming a citizen, which is avoiding tax issues upon the death of my husband or I. Now that the UK government has agreed to allow Australians border entry via the e-passport gate in the future, there's no draw card anymore for the passport for me! I haven't studied the whole ILR vs citizenship piece extensively however, so i'd be interested on hearing about any other key factors i've missed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, Samsamsam said: Re: British citizenship: toying with the idea... from my investigation to date (and considering the current Brexit climate), I've only found one benefit of becoming a citizen, which is avoiding tax issues upon the death of my husband or I. ... I haven't studied the whole ILR vs citizenship piece extensively however, so i'd be interested on hearing about any other key factors i've missed... I suggest you need to look into the ILR thing more thoroughly. I don't know why they call it "Indefinite" when it's not! I may be wrong, but I believe ILR is the same as Australian PR (permanent residence) - if you leave the country for too long, you lose it. With Australian PR, if you cease to be resident for more than 5 years, you lose it (but there's a pathway to apply for renewal). With British ILR, if you cease to be resident for more than 2 years, you lose it (and it looks like you have to start again from scratch). That's why we always suggest getting citizenship. You may think you'll never want to return to live in the UK, but if you have a blended Aussie/British family, you can never say never! Edited January 13, 2019 by Marisawright 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samsamsam Posted January 13, 2019 Author Share Posted January 13, 2019 Indeed you're right! Another £516 for a returning resident visa after being out of the country for 2 years! They're like leeches! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 No guarantee you would be let back in one your ILR has expired after 2 years. It's a relatively painless process and you never know when it might come in handy. Cheaper than getting your DH an Australian visa! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the Hat Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Definitely get your citizenship; Important point to note is that if you apply as spouse of a British Citizen (and only then) you do NOT have to intend to stay in the UK. Everyone else must intend to stay to apply, but this is not the case for partners. You know if you don't do it and want to come back it will cost a hell of a lot more than £1300 to get back in. Leeches is right! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the Hat Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 If you look in the London thread you will see most recent timings - no guarantees but most far less than the global times. Mine took about 8 months, others have been quicker, others a bit slower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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