Can my wife hold a UK passport?

I hold a UK passport that I am in the process of renewing. I live in
Denver and my wife is an American citizen. Is she entitled to dual
Nationality (UK and USA ) through me?

Thanks

Michael Mc Grenaghan wrote:




You can't become a British citizen by marriage alone. You'd have to
sponsor your wife into the UK on a spouse visa, after 3 years she could
become a naturalised British citizen.

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk (information on a spouse visa)
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk (naturalisation information)

Michael Mc Grenaghan wrote:


No, she is not, unless you got married before 1949.

Only to add that a spousal visa isn't required if the marriage is 4+ years
old. She gets ILE. 3 years still needed for naturalisation though.

http://www.transpondia.co.uk

Are you sure about that? Surely the position is that she still need a spouse
settlement visa, but is given ILE immediately, without needing to do the
usual probationary period?

paul

Yes, I'm sure. An applicant with an offshore marriage that has lasted 4+
years is not required to undergo the probationary period. They get
Indefinite Leave to Enter.

http://www.transpondia.co.uk (http://www.transpondia.co.uk/)

I think you're misunderstanding my point. Surely the spouse still needs a
spouse settlement visa? She can't just pitch up at a port of entry without
prior entry clearance, and be given ILE...

paul

No, she would not 'pitch up at a port of entry', but rather apply at a
consulate using the VAF2 form. She would check the first box, and if the
application were approved, she would receive permanent residence - not a
spousal visa.

But it would be a permanent resident visa granted on the basis of being a
spouse, no?

Indeed, but that does not make it a spousal visa. For example, she would
enter the UK under Paragraph 18 rather than Paragraph 281 - which is a
rather large difference.

So what, exactly, is a "spousal visa"? Google site searches on that phrase
on both the UKVisas and IND websites both give nil returns.

paul

In the "Type" field of the visa, it says either "VISA HUSBAND, Spouse of
...." or "VISA WIFE, Spouse of ...." The expiration date is two years from
the issuance date. It also states "No recourse to public funds". There is
also the abbreviation "MULTI" = Multiple entry.

On the ILE visa, it says "INDEFINITE" and there is no reference to being a
spouse or access to public funds. The expiration date is set to the
expiration of the passport.

Oh, I see...
And the applicant doesn't have to meet any of the requirements as regards
support and accommodation, and the ned to have met, etc, which normally
apply to spouses? They just need to have been married for four years...
Is that right?


paul

If they are married and can produce a marriage certificate, UKVisas is
usually willing to concede that the couple have met.

It's not clear where you want to take this, but I interpret the tone above
to be sarcastic, so I'll bow out. The last word is yours if you want it...

I point that I was getting towards before you "bowed out" was that, given
that the phrase "spousal visa" doesn't appear anywhere in the Immigration
Rules, to characterise it as anything other than simply a visa issued by
virtue of the applicant being a spouse is confusing.

AIUI, if a person, married to a British citizen, wishes to settle in UK,
then whether the marriage has lasted for 4 minutes or 4 years, they have to
meet the standard requirements of the Immigration Rules as regards adequate
funds to support them without recourse to public funds, adequate
accommdation, etc. They are applying for a visa to settle in UK as the
spouse of a BC, and this is what most people would interpret as being a
"spousal visa" application - if they were familiar with the term.

Yes, there is a provision whereby people who have been married for a long
time will be given "settlement" (ie indefinite leave to enter the UK)
_immediately_ the visa is issued, whereas people whose marriages have taken
place more recently are given have to "serve" a probationary period of two
years before being given indefinite leave to remain. But this doesn't alter
the fact that, regardless of the duration of the marriage, what they are
applying for before they get to UK is a visa to settle in UK as the spouse
of a BC - hence it is a "spousal visa", whether it results in settlement
immediately or later on.

paul