I’m British, and want to return home with my foreign partner. Help!

[brownbreadd]

Hi,

I am a British citizen with a foreign partner. We are currently residing in Dubai and working here, however long term I am very quickly realising that this isn’t going to be my forever place.

I am desperately missing friends and family, and the way of live back home in the UK (yes, really!) and would like to start looking into ways to return home, but with my partner.

My partner is Turkish, we both moved here to Dubai earlier this year to be together after a lengthy long distance relationship.

we are both working here, earning a good salary, and are unmarried.

does anybody know of the process in which I should take in order to look at the possibility of coming back to the UK and bringing him, too?

Jokes aside it’s scary how many people genuinely suggest this when talking about the situation! It’s scary..

The key word there is “seem”. You’re not talking about your average country where bad things happen.

In Dubai, the authorities don’t care about their own citizens, let alone western ones, and they will actively set them up. They are the criminals. They will not help you.

Anyone ignorant on this topic should not be visiting there, let alone living there.

It's not really possible to provide much meaningful advice without knowing you and your partner's precise circumstances (e.g. savings, qualifications, earnings etc.).

There are a variety of routes that could be possible: your partner could come over on a student visa if he were prepared to pay for and attend university here (this would allow him to work for a max of 20hrs per week); your partner could get sponsorship from an employer (and only some roles and employers are eligible); he could come as a skilled worker (although that sounds unlikely given his sector - but he could retrain and gain qualifications in a sector such as nursing or engineering or certain areas of teaching). All those could allow him to come to the UK independent of you and then you'd be able to move back and find work at your leisure (money permitting).

If you were married or considering marriage then ther are other options (basically spousal visas) - that's where your income and savings would be considered.

Your best bet is to get advice from an immigration when you're perhaps a bit closer to considering a move home.

As you've seen, the rules and routes change regularly so there is little point in spending too much time or money pursuing this now if a move isn't realistically on the cards for several years. However, his best bet for general long-term immigration opportunities is to gain lots of qualifications and experience in in-demand sectors and save up as much money as possible.

You need to live together for two years and have lots of evidence of the cohabitation for the unmarried partner visa.

And for both spousal and unmarried partner visa you must show evidence of adequate housing for you both. So it could be moving in with friends and family but you have to show there is adequate space - number of bedrooms etc - for the living conditions of everyone in the house.

If it changes often then you’re likely to get outdated advice. If someone else has had a similar situation, the process is likely to have changed since they were in that situation.

The latest, most up to date information will be on gov.uk.

@brownbreadd

Hi OP, can I recommend you go to the Brit Expats Forum specifically the moving back to the UK section. As well as a wealth of information on there from people who have made the move there’s also very knowledgable people that have either historically or currently work for the UK Government in immigration/visas etc.

I respectfully disagree with this. Distance and EU don't matter. We did ours from the US. Don't go moving to any country where your income will drop though!

It's this group.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/139807999382936/?ref=share

I think unmarried partner visa has changed so you don't have to have lived together for 2 years anymore.
You definitely need accommodation but I have seen people use air b&b successfully.

I'd get an appointment with an immigration solictor/lawyer to find out. You can usually get a initial short appointment for free. The thresholds and rules always seem to be changing.

I married a South Africa. We did the spousal visa then indefinite leave to remain route so he didn't have to worry about where he worked. He's an engineer and one job didn't support visa - you had to have your own. Although he could have gone on other visa's with everything else.

It's not as quick and easy as the news / social media makes it out to be!

HNRTT but if you have sufficient disposable income then the first step might be to seek advice from a decent expat-focused law firm in the UK?

you don't need to move to Turkey, you just need to get married wherever it suits you. Usually you would need to show a good income and proof of genuine relationship (e.g. visits to families, trips together, joint bills ,etc). My guess is fi your work transfers you to the UK and you have good income it should be doable.

Could he apply to Uni then come on a student visa? DH did that, then did post study work, then a few skilled worker visas, eventually ILR and is now British passport holder.

we didn’t bother with the marriage route as seemed better to do it independently even though we were living together once back in U.K., and eventually married.

I really wouldn’t marry him op. My dear friend had a wonderful relationship with her Turkish boyfriend, they got married and had children, and it went downhill from there.

The ‘western’ values she thought he had (and definitely did have for at least 10 years) evaporated, and he became extremely strict, controlling and violent. We have all tried to get her home over the last 6/7 years with no luck, she isn’t allowed to leave. His family have taken over her life, her parenting and she is treated very badly by all of them.

We have been worried sick for years about her. He has affairs openly and has now raised their DDs as strict muslims, so despite the fact they had agreed to give the dc the choice in terms of religion - this hasn’t happened. They are all trapped now. My friend’s father has since died, and he took her last remaining hope - the inheritance. He spent it on buying some failing bars, and flashy cars and watches, and women dare I say it, I am devastated by this situation, and could never imagine recommending this to anyone no matter how in love they might be.

Dh and his siblings wouldn't be married if they didn't marry people from other countries. Or even exist as their mum isn't British either. It is becoming more common.

You will need a job in the UK that will pay at least £29,000 (this was supposed to increase to £38,700 but I doubt the current government will do that). But if you've been earning above this level in the UAE and get a job in the UK that qualifies, you can bring him with you right away.
If you use savings instead, the minimum amount is £88,500 and you must have held that for at least 6 months, maybe more.
You also need to either be married or be able to show that you've been in a committed relationship (akin to a marriage) for at least 2 years. Ideally you need to have been living together, or have very strong reasons for why this wasn't possible such as work or study in different countries.
And you absolutely WILL be able to return to the UK one day - in fact you'll have no choice (unless you move with him to Turkey - no idea what their requirements would be though) since it's impossible to retire in the UAE as a foreigner.

It sounds like you have read the government website and understand what you have to do, but don’t want to do it. Maybe that’s harsh, but I don’t see why you would bring a boyfriend you have only lived with for 3 months back to the U.K. if you aren’t serious enough to want to get married. The move is clearly possible. It just requires that you jump through some irritating hoops. If I were you, I’d enjoy being in Dubai and being together for now, then revisit the idea of moving Heike in due course. It’s still early days for your relationship and Dubai offers great opportunities to build a nest egg.

There's been lots of useful advice so I have nothing to add. The only thing I would say is what happens if he comes to the UK and doesn't like it? Maybe he would prefer to live in Turkey or Dubai? I would just enjoy what you have right now not fret about the future.

Have you looked at earning potential and what you can afford here in the uk with your post tax salaries.
The job market isnt great and most roles are requiring return to office. The wrap around care is expensive too. I think you should consider not coming back until your kids are older personally. Its not great here right now.
I work in marketing btw.

They've changed the rules slightly, but you still have to show that you've lived in a committed relationship, "akin to marriage" for at least two years. The guidance to case workers specifically instructs them to make sure the couple isn't just at "boyfriend/girlfriend" stage. If they haven't lived together for two years they need to have very strong reasons for why this wasn't possible - not just "we didn't feel ready".
Basically nothing has really changed.

A non-negotiable when we first got into our relationship, and discussed coming to Dubai, was that it was never going to be forever. I’m a hugely family oriented person and I am struggling already, being apart from them.

I also don’t want to raise my children in another country, if the time comes where I will have them (future, not any time soon).

Rich foreigner can retire in the UAE, as long as they are entirely self-supporting. They can’t naturalise, gain permanent residency or have recourse to public funds. It’s a sensible system, as it allows Dubai to have a vibrant economy in which all migrants are guaranteed to be net contributors to the GDP and tax base.

I think your relationship is far too young to even think about this. Live together for 2 years, get married and then try and establish where you will both live. He isn’t keen on living in the UK, you aren’t keen on living in Turkey so you need to start by spending some extended time in each country and in the area you would live so you are both as well informed as possible about where you will spend your lives.

I don't quite know what you are hoping to hear on this thread.

You both already have visas to work in Dubai. So you know how the process for visas work.

If you don't want to get married then its very simple, he needs to find a visa he's eligible for and get a job in the uk.

If thats not an option, then you will need to move back to the UK, earn enough get married and apply for a visa.

There is no short cut around this. If anything this is likely to get harder in years to come, so if this is what you really want to do, then you will have to do it.

Otherwise you need to accept if you want to be with him, then you will not be able to return to the UK.

Thats just how things are. As much as it might suck for you.

You should not have children anywhere outside of the UK unless you are prepared to stay there indefinitely.

I would leave and come home in your place, and it’s up to him to find a way to join you there if he wants to. Does he have a portable career such as a doctor or surgeon? That would help.