# Visa and similar questions for UK



## mulder_149 (Sep 1, 2009)

Hello everyone,

This is my first post and after reading loads of other threads I feel I am ready to ask the hard questions. A little about me, I am a 31 year old male engaged to a Romanian citizen living in the UK, she has lived and worked there for a good 2 years.
She is still a Romanian citizen. She has an apartment, job, etc. Now we looked into moving her to America for us to get married but from what we are told it is going to take 8 months + to get her K-1 and we have delt with this long distance relationship for far too long now. So for the questions.

Will I be able to get a Fiance Visa to the UK as she is not a UK Citizen? And if so, is it harder to obtain? Second Work, we all know jobs are hard to come by these days, will I need a Tier work permit or will the fact we will be married and plan on settling in the UK be enough to obtain work? This was never really clear to me from reading the UK Border Agency web site. I have 4 years of college but no Degree, my current employer is down sizing and this is part of the reason for the change of plans on who is going to what country.

(I have a good chunk of change in the bank to help support us until I am able to find work, if that is possible. Lets say from what I know of cost where she lives I could probably support my self paying rent alone for 8-10 months without working.)

So to sum it all up, basically I am curious if I have a decent chance in getting a visa with my situation, if there is a chance I can get rights to work as well. And what sort of time frame will I be looking at? I can't do anything until mid to end of October as I am on my last assignment with my job. Just to give you an idea of when I would apply for a visa.

I look forward to your responses and thanks in advance for your help.

Regards,

Nate


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## izzysmum04 (Nov 26, 2007)

*From what I can tell (but don't quote me on this, as I am not an expert or anything) from reading through the UKBA website, spouses of EU nationals (which your fiance is, as Romania is a member state) can apply for a residence card to live with their EU spouse in the UK, if the EU spouse has continually worked in the UK for 12 months. As she has been here and worked for 2 years, you should have no problem. Here is the link to this and all other pertinent information for you. 

Once you marry, and you apply and receive the Family Residence card you should be able to work. 

Good luck with everything! *


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## thegirl (Sep 8, 2009)

I don't know about the rest but I'm moving to the UK on a fiancé visa and I know being married qualifies you to work. Not on the fiancé visa though, only after you are legally married and have sent in your certificate as proof, will you be allowed to work.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

It's in fact easier to get a visa to live in a EU country as a spouse of a EU citizen but not the citizen of that country. So it's easier (much easier) for you to move to UK after your marriage to your Romanian fiancée than if she were a British citizen. The reason for this is in the first situation the EU rules take precedence, while in the latter case the UK immigration law does. By the same token, it would be more difficult for you to move to Romania to be with your wife. The EU law gives absolutely right for an EU citizen to live and work in another EU country, and to be accompanied by their spouse and children. The visa you want is an EEA Family Permit, from a British consulate in US.
[Romanians, as nationals of a country that joined EU in 2004, face many obstacles in exercising the right to free movement and work in other EU countries, as many of them have set restriction on them. UK is among a few that have an open-door policy - Romanians just have to register with Home Office and their right to certain state benefits is restricted until they have lived and worked a year.]


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## mulder_149 (Sep 1, 2009)

thanks for the replies, that does seem to be the case as I have been reading the immigration laws for the UK. But you mentioned the EEA card, from what I read you actually have to be married or in a civil partnership before you can obtain one of these. Unless I am wrong that will save my $995 on visa fees and time waiting. Well after further reading it does state that you have to show proof you lived together for at least 2 years, which the only time we have spent living together was when I visited for a few weeks here and there. So it looks like Fiance Visa is my next step. Thegirl, question for you. How recently did you obtain your Fiance Visa? And how was the process?

I am on a time crunch, as most are in this situation. I am not sure how long a Fiance Visa to the UK from America is going to take if I do in fact need to go this route, does anyone have any recent experience with this? We decided to get married in Scotland as they have no residency requirement but if I have to wait for paperwork to go through England might as well work as they have a short res requirement.

I will keep reading rules and regs but I look forward to hearing some more info from people.

Thanks!!!


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## thegirl (Sep 8, 2009)

mulder_149 said:


> thanks for the replies, that does seem to be the case as I have been reading the immigration laws for the UK. But you mentioned the EEA card, from what I read you actually have to be married or in a civil partnership before you can obtain one of these. Unless I am wrong that will save my $995 on visa fees and time waiting. Well after further reading it does state that you have to show proof you lived together for at least 2 years, which the only time we have spent living together was when I visited for a few weeks here and there. So it looks like Fiance Visa is my next step. Thegirl, question for you. How recently did you obtain your Fiance Visa? And how was the process?
> 
> I am on a time crunch, as most are in this situation. I am not sure how long a Fiance Visa to the UK from America is going to take if I do in fact need to go this route, does anyone have any recent experience with this? We decided to get married in Scotland as they have no residency requirement but if I have to wait for paperwork to go through England might as well work as they have a short res requirement.
> 
> ...



I have yet to recieve mine in the mail actually...I officially sent it in June 26th and they sent me an email saying they opened my package on July 10th...the waiting is killing me! 

The process was long and arduous but I would love to help you through it if thats the way you end up going..I could probably give you a few tips that'd save you a lot of hassle and time...which is one of the biggest reasons I joined this forum. 

The things that are most important to securing a fiance visa:

1. proof that you have enough money to support yourselves without government assistance. I was told you needed to at very least be able to cover several months worth of your current expenses. this means bank statements! keep them!

2. a place to live. best possible scenario is a lease with both your names on it. not an easy feat but not impossible as the boy and i were able to manage it by the magic of scanners and email. my legal advisor told me that they use a sort of 'home is where the heart is' sort of mentality, proving that you'll have a place to live is crucial.

3. proof of intent to marry within 6 months of being in the UK. this means wedding invitations, a location for the ceremony booked, a preacher/officiant/whatever paid, reciept for engagement/wedding rings, reciept for wedding dress, etc etc.

4. proof that the relationship is real aka photos, a lease together, ticket stubs from trips you've taken together and so on. i saved up stuff in a shoe box for this purpose for a year! 

I would also suggest using a legal advisor to make sure all of your paperwork is in order. its costly but I couldnt live with myself if i knew i'd been rejected for some minor legalese mistake. I used Global Visas and am quite happy with their service. 

I'm too tired to type out a step by step of what the process was like but let me know if you choose this route and I'll help as much as I can!


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## thegirl (Sep 8, 2009)

thegirl said:


> I have yet to recieve mine in the mail actually...I officially sent it in June 26th and they sent me an email saying they opened my package on July 10th...the waiting is killing me!
> 
> ...
> 
> I'm too tired to type out a step by step of what the process was like but let me know if you choose this route and I'll help as much as I can!


I changed my mind! I got inspired and wrote up a crash course in applying for a fiance visa, start to finish, everything i know and learned. check it out:

Guide to Applying For a Fiance Visa


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## debitopia (Sep 15, 2009)

*We skipped the finace visa...*



mulder_149 said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> This is my first post and after reading loads of other threads I feel I am ready to ask the hard questions. A little about me, I am a 31 year old male engaged to a Romanian citizen living in the UK, she has lived and worked there for a good 2 years.
> She is still a Romanian citizen. She has an apartment, job, etc. Now we looked into moving her to America for us to get married but from what we are told it is going to take 8 months + to get her K-1 and we have delt with this long distance relationship for far too long now. So for the questions.
> ...


Maybe another option for you...? I'm a U.S. citizen and my UK citizen boyfriend and I were married at the courthouse on one of his trips over for a visit. Oregon is an easy State to get married in as they don't require either party to be an Oregon resident and they don't require any other documentation except for birth certificates and I.D. for both parties and a small fee. Very simple and straightforward. Now we're onto the marriage Visa process so we can live in UK together. Hope this helps.


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## thegirl (Sep 8, 2009)

debitopia said:


> Maybe another option for you...? I'm a U.S. citizen and my UK citizen boyfriend and I were married at the courthouse on one of his trips over for a visit. Oregon is an easy State to get married in as they don't require either party to be an Oregon resident and they don't require any other documentation except for birth certificates and I.D. for both parties and a small fee. Very simple and straightforward. Now we're onto the marriage Visa process so we can live in UK together. Hope this helps.


whats the difference between a fiance visa and a spouse/marriage visa? i got the idea it wasnt much different except an extra piece of paper (the wedding certificate) but there must be an advantage if people choose one over the other.


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## mulder_149 (Sep 1, 2009)

Thegirl thank you for the info. One of the reasons we are going to go to the UK is from what we hear and read is that it is easier as she is not a UK citizen but an EEA member. I just want to be sure I do it right and I appreciate the info you gave, I will go over it today. Thanks again!!


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## mulder_149 (Sep 1, 2009)

debitopia said:


> Maybe another option for you...? I'm a U.S. citizen and my UK citizen boyfriend and I were married at the courthouse on one of his trips over for a visit. Oregon is an easy State to get married in as they don't require either party to be an Oregon resident and they don't require any other documentation except for birth certificates and I.D. for both parties and a small fee. Very simple and straightforward. Now we're onto the marriage Visa process so we can live in UK together. Hope this helps.



Well this would be nice but another reason we picked the UK instead of the 8 plus months I was told by a lawyer the USA takes to a shorter UK time, and my Fiance is an EEA settled party in the UK which from what I understand makes it different for us to get married and live there together. I have a rather odd situation right now so I am waiting to file my paperwork until next month, I just hope it doesn't take 6 months to get my Visa.


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## mulder_149 (Sep 1, 2009)

debitopia said:


> Maybe another option for you...? I'm a U.S. citizen and my UK citizen boyfriend and I were married at the courthouse on one of his trips over for a visit. Oregon is an easy State to get married in as they don't require either party to be an Oregon resident and they don't require any other documentation except for birth certificates and I.D. for both parties and a small fee. Very simple and straightforward. Now we're onto the marriage Visa process so we can live in UK together. Hope this helps.



After reading what some have mentioned about EEA family permits and just getting married in the USA while visiting, it seems that might be our best option. Problem we both have right now is I am out of the country with work until the end of next month, and the UK Fiance Visa from the I hear can take months, as I said before we are tired of being apart and adding another 6-8 months just is depressing. So what we discussed earlier today is this and I am looking for some feedback, positive and negative is appreciated.

I return home October 24th, get her to come visit, mind you she gets through US Customs *fingers crossed*, we get married in the USA with no intent to stay longer then necessary, then I can apply and hopefully get the EEA family permit.

It seems this has worked for others in the past, and it will get us together the quickest. I have read many topics on the net about this and it seems like a good idea my only concern is getting the EEA family permit, as it asks for marriage date, in my mind I believe it might spark some concern while attempting to go through the process they will see the marriage has just taken place and be suspicious. I mean I am not looking for a reason to get to the UK for other reasons, I have a decent job in the USA and in fact I am sure I will be taking a pay cut by doing this. So I hope to hear what you guys think about this idea. Give it to me straight, I can take it


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## izzysmum04 (Nov 26, 2007)

thegirl said:


> whats the difference between a fiance visa and a spouse/marriage visa? i got the idea it wasnt much different except an extra piece of paper (the wedding certificate) but there must be an advantage if people choose one over the other.




*The main difference between both visas are that with a fiance visa, you are not allowed to work at all, while you are permitted to work on a spousal visa. Also, if you are already planning to marry, the cost would be less. You would marry in the US, then be able to immediately apply for a spousal visa (£585). If you apply for a fiance visa (£585), you would have to get married in the UK within 6 months, and then immediately turn around and apply for a spousal visa (£585). That's a total of £1180 out of pocket, all in a course of 6 months. *


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

izzysmum04 said:


> *The main difference between both visas are that with a fiance visa, you are not allowed to work at all, while you are permitted to work on a spousal visa. Also, if you are already planning to marry, the cost would be less. You would marry in the US, then be able to immediately apply for a spousal visa (£585). If you apply for a fiance visa (£585), you would have to get married in the UK within 6 months, and then immediately turn around and apply for a spousal visa (£585). That's a total of £1180 out of pocket, all in a course of 6 months. *


If you enter on a fiancé(e) visa, you apply for Further Leave to Remain (Marriage) or FLR(M) valid 2 years, which costs £465 by post or £665 in person. If you get married outside UK and enter on a spouse visa, it's only valid for two years and you have to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (Marriage) or ILR(M) a month before your two years is up, at the cost (presently) of whopping £820 by post or £1020 in person. So the difference in cost is £465, still a large amount. But cost shouldn't be the only consideration. There may be a good reason why a couple want to get married in UK, rather than elsewhere, such as family consideration and custom (British brides traditionally marry in their parish church). And in the overall cost of a wedding, some may feel £465 isn't *that* much of a burden!
Every couple should decide what is best in their own circumstances.


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