IND Sneakily Removes ILE for Those Married Long Term

Come April 2, 2007, the IND will no longer issue Indefinite Leave to Remain to foreign nationals settling in the UK have have been married to their spouses for over six years.

According to the new Life in the UK guidelines, everyone settling in the country will not be given indefinite leave to remain until they pass a Life in the UK test. This therefore has a knock on effect, that even is someone has been married to a UK citizen for 30 years, they will still have to go through a two year probationary period, proving they are living with their spouse as well as taking a Life in the UK exam and passing prior to the issuance of permanent residence status.

The effects of this are not only having to pay more fees and having to take exams about British life, but also make it more difficult for couples to transition to the UK from abroad because mortgage companies are reluctant to give people mortgages without permanent residence status as well other social and financial implications of being only allowed in the country on a limited basis.