British immigration

[deleted at user request]

Hi all,
I'm British and living back in the UK at the moment. My wife should be coming to join me soon and we are working on her spouse visa. I have had both a business and spouse visa in Japan, with no problems. My spouse visa and re-entry permit are current. We lived for a short time in the UK before marrying, and also lived in Australia for a few months.
We got married in the UK and registered in Japan
The main concern to me is that I'm not working full time currently, as the reason I came back to the UK was to do an MA and a DELTA. We have fairly substantial savings, and my wife will probably work part time when she gets here too. I should be back in work within a year, once I have graduated.
I am also wondering about the letter I need to write to the embassy in Tokyo, explaining why I want my wife to join me. Apart from the obvious reasons (I like my wife!), is there anything else I should say?
Does anyone have any wisdom to offer? Experiences to share?
Thanks in advance for your help!

[sosa]

I'm in a similar situation, only I'm Canadian. My wife is Japanese and I came back to Canada after 5 years in Japan to go to Law school. I had to apply to sponsor my wife, and I don't have an income either.

It wasn't any problem being approved as a sponsor, they seemed more interested in verifying that we had a real marriage than anything else. I don't know what the situation is with UK immigration but in Canada spouses don't have to provide any information about their financial situation, all we have to do is guarantee that we will support our family member and provide the necessities for a minimum of three years.

That said, the whole process totally sucks ___. Its been a year and a half and several thousand dollars in costs so far and we are still waiting for approval....

[Mandrake]

Bobby,

It may be quicker to do the whole Visa thing in Tokyo. Originally when my ex-wife got her Visa from Tokyo it took all but three days. We were married in the UK as well.