Just out of interest guys and to calm my nerves, my wife clients home to the Philippines next week and she has two passports. Her old passport and her maiden name, which contains the spouse Visa and a new passport in her married name. I have also advised her to take our marriage certificate just in case... I think I've asked this before last year, but should everything be okay for getting back into the UK?
We have left the UK twice, over the last 3 years. After my wife aquired her replacement passport she took both with her. The old with the spouse visa in and the new. And yes, we did take our marriage cert with us, just in case. The only problem we had getting back into the UK was when checking in on our return journey with Ryannair. They held us up for 15 minutes until they realised my wifes paperwork was fine. Other than that. No problem getting back in each time.
The wife got back from the Philippines three weeks back, she used her new passport with married name and was only asked if she works in the UK on her arrival back in Manchester. She took her old passport, marriage certificate and BRP just in case as they both have her old name on them, which reminds me, we must get her name changed on the BRP as you can be fined £1,000 for not updating the information. I think you should update the information on a BRP within three months of a change in name, address and various other things so I have read on the UKVI pages. Cost is around £100 I believe.
The BRP is credit card in size and states that the bearer is entitled to reside in the UK, it also states whether you are allowed to work also. Maybe this is a new thing brought in after your wife entered the UK. My wife received the BRP a few weeks after securing the first FLR last October. My wife now has nothing in her new passport relating to her visa for the UK.
I know it can be slightly different for us in IOM. But my wife has not got a BRP and there is no requirement for her here to have one. However, almost everything else is the same as for those in the UK and her first port of call when returning to the IOM is the UK ( cannot fly in directly ) so she passes through UK Immigration on the way back. We have not been asked for a BRP. However, maybe these Immigration dudes are sharp and know that she would not have bee issued with one? BRP is a relatively recent thing too, yes Timmers. At the time my wife applied for her visa in 2011 they had not been introduced, I recall.
My wife was not asked for her BRP on arriving at Manchester airport the other week, just showed her new passport (no visa inside) and that was that, maybe that tells us that the passport alone tells the passport control officer that they are entitled to be in the UK. Who knows what they have on their little computer screens when they swipe the passport.
