# Fianc� visa procedure



## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

*Fiancé visa procedure*

Hello Joppa, Salix and everyone,

Hope everything is well for all of you. Thank you very much for all your help and advice. I had a few questions about the fiancée visa procedure. At the initial stage of registering, does it need to be register on the sponsor's name or the applicant's? To be honest with you I am scared of registering anything now before confirming with you guys. How do we proceed?

A quick background on our situation:
I am a Mauritian national currently on a student visa in Paris and my partner is British living in the UK. We want to live together now after more than 3 years of relationship, ( mostly me going to the UK) and are thinking to apply for the fiancée visa and then FLR (M) after and so on.

1. How do we proceed on the initial stages (online registration) Should it be registered on my name or his?
2. Is it true that my sponsor can do the application for me from within the UK? If this is true, ( I have doubts) does it have more impact than me doing it from France? Or is this a completely different visa?
3. We are hoping to apply in Mid June - beginning of July for an intended travel date in September and civil ceremony in perhaps November. Is that fine or should the date be earlier or later?
4. Also as a same sex couple, should we go for civil partnership or same sex marriage?
We want a marriage as we intend to have a reception later in January 2017 if everything goes as planned.


I will never be able to thank you guys enough. 

Thank you tons!


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## clever-octopus (May 17, 2015)

1. Register at https://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk

2. Your sponsor can apply on your behalf but you will still be considered the "applicant". The application doesn't hold more weight if it's submitted by the sponsor.

3. That sounds fine, just remember you can't apply more than 3 months before your intended date of travel.

4. Whichever you choose. You can have a reception later on regardless of whether you want a CP or a Marriage.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

clever-octopus said:


> 2. Your sponsor can apply on your behalf but you will still be considered the "applicant". The application doesn't hold more weight if it's submitted by the sponsor.


How does that work if he applies for me. I mean does the registration on the website needs to be on his name? is it possible to apply for a fiancé visa within UK? Will he post from within the UK? and biometrics?
Sorry if my confusion sounds a bit stupid. I think I am getting very much confused in my confusion...

Thank you for the answers for the 3 other questions.


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

No you can't apply from within the UK. You have to apply from your home country or normal place of residence. Your partner can fill out and submit the online application but you submit your documents, Appendix 2 and biometrics from the France if that is where you are applying from.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Thank you Nyclon!! I am at peace now


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Good evening everyone,

A quick question, how to prove that I am single and can enter a marriage or civil partnership?
Do I need to include a certificate of morality from Mauritius and certificate of celibacy ( if this exist)? Or any other documents you guys can suggest of?

Thank you a lot


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

If you are divorced you need to provide your divorce certificate. If not, stating you are single is sufficient.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Thank you a lot Nyclon!


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Hello everyone,

Hope you all are doing fine. 

This is a stressing procedure. So many steps. I logged onto the visa4uk website and was wondering if I can already start the procedure of application. I know it is strictly 3 months before the intended date of travel. 

1.Is it ok for me to go ahead on the page where they ask about the visa, then sub visa type and so on? I got scared from there and did not want to jeopardize anything. 

2.Is it fine for me to put settlement-settlement-marriage? Considering we are a same sex couple.

Thank you for your advice and time.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

#1 You can start completing the form, making sure you save before logging out. Your details will stay on the system for 120 days before wiped. 
#2 Settlement > Settlement > Marriage is fine for a fiancé visa, including same-sex relationship.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Thank you Joppa!! 
I will start filling the forms end of April. I will apply in June for a premium appointment in July. I hope that will be fine.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Hello Joppa, Nyclon and everyone,

Hope you guys are doing fine and your week is going great.
I had some more questions. 

1. Have any of you heard of the British Subjects Facilities Acts’? I saw Mauritius in the list. Does that in any way means that I don't need to give notice in my country too if I understand it right? In any case it seems to be a good thing.

2. I was wondering about the English test for fiancé visa? I want to opt for the GESE grade 2 Trinity college instead of IELTS lifeskills A1 or B1, because I could use the same test for the FLR M. Am I correct? Is it possible to do a higher graded test than what is required?

3. At the same time, Trinity College gives only a provisional result sheet and the certificate is available 6-8 weeks afterwards. Is it fine to apply for the visa with the provisional result sheet?

It will definitely help to reduce cost.

Thank you.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

#1 What the acts mean is you can give notice of marriage in Mauritius instead of in UK, provided your partner is resident in England or Wales. But get in touch with the register office in the district you intend to marry for further details.
#2 Your test must be taken from the approved list https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa...age_Tests_and_Test_Centres_-_1_April_2016.pdf. As GCSE Grade 2 Trinity College is on the list, you can take it instead. While at the moment, test result submitted in a successful initial entry clearance application can be used again for FLR(M), remember rules can change.
#3 You only need SELT unique reference number which you quote on application.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Joppa said:


> As GCSE Grade 2 Trinity College is on the list, you can take it instead. While at the moment, test result submitted in a successful initial entry clearance application can be used again for FLR(M), remember rules can change.


Thank you Joppa. My next visit to my partner is in May so we will definitely check it with the Registry office.
I just saw the changes on the gov.uk where they need just the SELT number. 

It keeps changing as you rightly said.

1. Do you think its worth applying for a fiancée visa with a B1 Life skills or an A2 GESE from Trinity college instead of what is required as a minimum which is A1 Life skills? 

I wanted to translate my French Masters ( Certificate in French but transcripts in English) but the costs incurred is more and the chances of it being upto the level is out of my control lol.

Thank you for your precious time and advice Joppa.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Hello everyone,


For information A1 is enough i got confused with ILR lol. And you can do the English tests in UK even if you are not living there as resident.

Thanks Joppa.

I have 2 questions,

1. When we submit the application, we wil have six month of payslip however due to starting a new job, the first payslip is slightly lower than the rest of them but still meets the minimum wage requirement and all 6 months still falls within the current employer. Will that have any impact on the application?

2. Also is the letter from the employer a necessity as corporate companies can be quite slow for providing these. However if this is required , does the letter need to be date within 28 days of the online application.

Thank you guys and have a great weekend.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

*Name of Employer*

hello everyone,

Another quick question, is it ok if on the pay slips the company name is different than the one on the contract? For e.g Lloyds Pharmacy is part of Celesio so payslips have Celesio and employment letter and contract will have Lloyds Pharmacy.

Thank you


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

Rajiv26 said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> 
> For information A1 is enough i got confused with ILR lol. And you can do the English tests in UK even if you are not living there as resident.
> ...


If you are salaried they take the lowest monthly pay slip and multiply by 12. As long as it's over £1550, it's fine. 



> 2. Also is the letter from the employer a necessity as corporate companies can be quite slow for providing these. However if this is required , does the letter need to be date within 28 days of the online application.


Yes it's a requirement and yes it should be dated no more than 28 days before application. Members have recently been refused with letters dated more than 28 days before application.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Thank you Nyclon!

Another quick question, is it ok if on the pay slips the company name is different than the one on the contract? For e.g Lloyds Pharmacy is part of Celesio so payslips have Celesio and employment letter and contract will have Lloyds Pharmacy.

Thank you and hope you had a great weekend!


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Get your employer to write a letter explaining it.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Ok thank you Joppa. So we are going to put ''Lloyds Pharmacy, part of Celesio group of Companies''. Does that sound right? 

And the person of Authority's signature has both Lloyds Pharmacy and Celesio under his name at the bottom of the employment letter. Is that ok? 

Or should we specifically add this detail in the employment letter that salary comes from Celesio?

Thank you for your time I know its late...


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Just overall cover letter attached to your payslips will do.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Ok will do a cover letter with the payslips then Joppa! Thank you! We did manage to put it the employment letter. Is that fine in any case?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Yes.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Thank you Joppa! We will stick to the employment letter with additional information on the salary as the Manager doesn't mind it being on the letter!

Another question, sorry, is it mandatory for the contract to be included too?

You guys are stars! Thank you


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

No, but if you have one, include it.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Good evening Joppa, Nyclon and everyone,

Hope everyone is doing fine. 

I have a question about translation for diplomas. I don't know if you guys will be able to give me an answer to that as I asked UK Naric, and they were quite vague.

Who can translate my diploma? A certified translator can do this, but does the translator have to be on the list they have in British Council or they could just be a sworn translator?

Thank you if you guys can help.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Usually any professional translation bureau or individual translator with credentials.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Thank you Joppa . I might be going to see one tomorrow. 
Good night Joppa and everyone.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Hello Joppa, Nyclon and everyone,

I just dropped my diploma to be translated by a sworn translator. Does this do the job?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Yes, provided he includes professional credentials and contact details.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Thank you Joppa!
Just a last question, do I need to get my diploma or copy of diploma certified by British Council? 
I just saw that they certify diplomas  (by the way what is that for, if you have any idea?)
So confused.
This is getting really expensive. I had rather do the IELTS test...


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

If you want to use your degree certificate for meeting the |English requirement, and it was taken outside UK, you should get NARIC certification that your degree is equivalent to UK bachelor's degree, plus confirmation that it was taught in English.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Ok this is what exactly my plans are .

The British Council thing is for certifying copies of the diploma....

Oh well well so many procedures hehe.

Thank you Joppa.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Hello Joppa, Nyclon and all the people,

Hope everyone is doing fine. Me and my partner are getting everything ready and we are going to apply around next month for the fiancé visa. The help on this forum has been tremendous!
I have need some help on these issues please:

1. We are meeting the financial requirement by my partner's salary (category A). He does a locum shift (2 times a month) and this shows on his bank statement. Do we need to provide the payslips for these as well? Will the ECO question this income or is it fine?

2. My partner had a bank overdraft in December (1st month bank statement). But it has been cleared 2 months from now. Will this affect anything? If it was around £2,000 but that was his agreed limit with the bank.

Thank you guys.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Hello everyone,

Hope everyone is doing fine.

I had a question concerning the Intention of Marriage.

We plan to get married in October.

We do have a letter from the registry stating that we tried to book a date but unfortunately it is not possible as I am a foreigner.

But we have receipts (booking of venue) for our reception which is going to happen in January next year. Can we include these as well?

Thank you!


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

If you are marrying in October but reception isn't until January, then no, don't include that. Think of any other wedding-related item like photographer, transport, flowers etc.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Hi Joppa,

Thank you for your answer. We want just a simple wedding ar the registrar. 

But we cannot book anything, not even the room for the civil.

We are nit doing anything big for religious reasons and family as well.

We booked photographer and florist for the reception day though....

Is there any other way to prove the wedding intentions?

I am a bit worried now :/


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## AuroraSkye (Feb 11, 2016)

Unfortunately Joppa's right in saying that because your reception is in January, it can't be counted toward the intention of marriage requirement. 

However, any correspondence like e-mails to say you've tried booking, but can't at the moment or wedding ring receipts/deposits, etc will count as they are for the actual marriage. It doesn't have to be just booked instances. Rental clothes, wedding dress receipts are common things people include as well. Anything to prove you are having the simple marriage ceremony in October pretty much.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Thanks Aurora. 

Omg. We don't have wedding rings or wedding outfits. My partner and I just wanted a simple no nonsensical civil wedding with just a few friends :/.

We booked venue, photographer, florist for reception, but nothing for the wedding day.

Can we include something like invitations or perhaps we will have a wedding cake for the October one then.

Or as you said email enquiries too. Thank you very much both of you!

If you have some cheap suggestions, I am ready for them.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Cake? No, as it can be faked for £20.
Email correspondence is useful.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Ok thank you. I panicked for the cake bit.

Joppa, if my intended travel date is mid Aug and wedding is for January, is that fine?

I guess we will do the civil in January itself then.

Thank you.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Yes, but don't have your wedding too close to your visa expiry. At least a month before is good.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Thank you Joppa. The wedding is planned for first week of January. 
And we will be going for the premium FLR (M) after. 

So I presume it is more than 1 month before expiry of fiancé visa if I apply for intended travel date to be mid August?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Yes, your dates look ok. You can apply up to 3 months before your intended travel date, so you can apply now.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Thank you Joppa . This is encouraging.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Hello Joppa and everyone,

I just needed to ask you something about evidence of my studies in Paris as I have a student residence permit.

My school is willing to give me a letter that states that I just finished my studies in 2015 and in May 2016 I finished my compulsory internship and as such, I am free from any obligation to the school and is free to attend the appointment.

I will put my status as unemployed on the VAF4a.

Just wanted to check with you if this is ok.

I passed my IELTS life skills B1 
Thank you.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Hello everyone,

Hope you guys had a great weekend.
Just needed some help with the above question.
Concerning the letter from my school.

Thank you!


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

The weekend continues as it's a Bank Holiday here so expect another quiet day on the forum. Try using the search function.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Thank you Nyclon. I completely forgot about that! I did research to no avail.

Thank you anyway.


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## AuroraSkye (Feb 11, 2016)

I think the letter from the school stating what you said and writing unemployed is just fine and accurate. You seem like you are well prepared, which is great. ^-^


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Thank you AuroraSkye . We are really trying to be on the top.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Hello everyone,

Doing the last bits of the fiancé application.

I had a couple of questions:

1. Appendix 2
1.19 have you lived with your sponsor in a relationship akin to marriage or a civil partnership at anytime?
yes or no? give reasons
Answer: No. Every time I visit him, I stay at his house

2.8 do you intend to work in the uk?
No.

I said on the online application my intented duration of stay is 6 months

Secondly do we need to photocopy the photos as well? I was thinking of doing 2 different batches with color pictures and hand written annotations.

Thank you everyone for your help


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Hope you guys can help with the above...

Thank you


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Hello Everyone,
I am so excited and stressed. Thank you for all your help. My appointment for fiancé visa is at the end of this month. I will be most grateful if you guys could just go over my document list please and advice. We are applying under Category A.

List of supporting documents:


1. Applicant's passports
2. Applicant's passport photo
3. Applicant's residence permit
4. Letter from school stating i finished course in May 2016
5. Letter of introduction
6. Online application form
7. Appendix 2

8. Copies of bio pages in sponsor's passport
9. Letter of sponsorship
10. Employment letter

11. Photographs x18 with annotations
12. i. Flight itineraries OR boarding passes
ii. Messages, email log, skype logs, call logs and Facetime screenshots (2013- 2016)

13. Payslips X 6
14. P60
15. Bank Statements X 6 
16. Employment contract
17. Land registry document
18. Mortgage 
19. Utility bills (water and telephone)
20. Council tax

21. Letter from Registry office stating that we tried to book a date to give notice for wedding
22. Receipt for booking of venue for wedding reception
23. Receipt for flowers
24. Receipt for booking DJ

26. Proposed flight itinerary

Thank you all! 

P.s if also possible to reply on the above post.


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## AuroraSkye (Feb 11, 2016)

The answers you put for the two questions and intended duration above are fine I think. Pretty much any documents you may want returned (as they reserve the right to keep them), you should make copies of. I included colour copies of my photos as I wanted the photos back, but they didn't keep any of mine in the end.

You don't need both Council Tax and Utility bills, though council tax is better. Otherwise this looks really good to me. Just make sure to include biometrics and priority receipts (if applicable).


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Thank you AuroraSkye! You are right,I did forget to include the biometrics and priority receipts!!
Ok i will remove the utility bills. 

Thank you!  

Hope everything is going well for you.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Hello everyone, 

I have a question about the courier return service.

I want my original documents back as i am sending an identical copy pile. I want to collect my passport at the TLS centre itself. Do I need to mention i want my original documents back or is it mandatory to buy the courier back service to get the documents back?

I cannot find any contact number for the TLS centre in Paris.

Thank you.


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

I hope i did not ask a silly question above...
And do we also need copies of our passport? The whole passport?

Thank you

Just a couple more days for submission!

:fingerscrossed:


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## Rajiv26 (Jun 16, 2015)

Just bumpig....:bump2:
Have a great weekend everyone


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