I'm UK citizen, residing in Germany, does my non-EU wife need a visa to visit the UK?

Question

I'm UK citizen. I reside in Germany with my non-EU wife, who holds German resident permit. Does she need visa to enter UK?

Answer 1

Assuming we're talking about visiting the UK and not settling in the UK...

Yes, ultimately your non-EEA spouse will need a visa of some sort... UNLESS she is a non-visa national. There are currently 56 countries whose citizens exempt from the visa requirement. If your spouse holds a passport from any of the countries listed, she can visit the UK by 'visa on arrival'.

If your wife is a visa national there are several other routes to consider...

• She can apply for entry clearance as a Standard Visitor. She would apply just as anyone else, i.e., being the spouse of a Brit does not confer any special treatment in those applications. After you read the guidance, you can return here with specific questions about the application.
• She can apply for an Article 10 Residence Card if her type of German Residence Card qualifies. This is the preferred route given you have written. Having an Article 10 card will enable her to access the various EEA routes.
• She can use the 'Singh Route'. In order to qualify, you (the British national) needs to have at least 6 months of exercising treaty rights in an EEA member state. If you have been working or studying in Germany for 6 months or more, you will qualify. Note that the Singh Route is used for establishing residence in the UK and trying to use it for visiting can be problematic. If you want to use the Singh Route, please post any future questions to Expats (we don't deal with it here)
• She can also apply for entry clearance on a spousal visa, but this would not be advisable unless you wanted to actually settle and live in the UK.

She cannot use the EEA family permit route because this is not available to the spouses of British nationals. She also cannot use her German residence permit for the same reason.

Adding... The link provided by 'pnuts' (to whom thanks) points to the walk-through to establish if your spouse is a visa national or not. The site goes on to explain how to apply for the visa (technically an 'entry clearance').

Adding... The link provided by Relaxed (to whom thanks) points to the UK's publication on Article 10. This is a family based inward route which involves the primary (i.e., the EEA national) exercising treaty rights in much the same way as the Singh Route.

Answer 2

I am a British citizen living in France with my Russian wife who has a Carte de Séjour. We are going to visit the UK soon. Have a look at the following link.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/entering-the-uk-as-the-holder-of-an-article-10-residence-card/entering-the-uk-as-the-holder-of-an-article-10-residence-card

I would recommend writing to or calling UK Visas and Immigration to be sure.