# UK Spousal/Fiance visa for a Zambian girlfriend?Advise Needed



## gkt (May 10, 2010)

Hi all

I and my Zambian girlfriend started chatting online last year (2009) , after a month I decided to visit her in Zambia for 9 days, I came back to England and I laer Invited her to England and she was here for a month, when she left again I decided to visit her for 21 days in Zambia and am going again soon, now we are planning that she comes to join me here in England permanently, we have been looking at best ways on how we can make this possible and easy to get the visa for her, we have 2 options, the first one is the Fiance Visa and the 2nd is the Spousal visa, on the fiance visa it would mean that she came here and we marry from here in England, on the Spousal visa it would mean I go to Zambia an marry her from there....now what do we need to do, what is the best way to go? By the way my girlfriend has a daughter who is 8 years old, how does she apply for her daughters visa at the same time as she will be doing hers? What is the best way of her getting her daughter with her to England? Any information, those who have passed through it or just some advice here will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you and waiting to hear from you.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

gkt said:


> I and my Zambian girlfriend started chatting online last year (2009) , after a month I decided to visit her in Zambia for 9 days, I came back to England and I laer Invited her to England and she was here for a month, when she left again I decided to visit her for 21 days in Zambia and am going again soon, now we are planning that she comes to join me here in England permanently, we have been looking at best ways on how we can make this possible and easy to get the visa for her, we have 2 options, the first one is the Fiance Visa and the 2nd is the Spousal visa, on the fiance visa it would mean that she came here and we marry from here in England, on the Spousal visa it would mean I go to Zambia an marry her from there....now what do we need to do, what is the best way to go? By the way my girlfriend has a daughter who is 8 years old, how does she apply for her daughters visa at the same time as she will be doing hers? What is the best way of her getting her daughter with her to England? Any information, those who have passed through it or just some advice here will be greatly appreciated.


Basically, with a fiancée visa, she will have to apply for settlement visa (£644 plus the same again for her child) in Zambia, and after her marriage in UK, will have to apply for further leave to remain (FLR: £475 or £730 same-day premium service, plus £92 or £118 for her child), so two lots of applications to make. With a spouse visa, she applies for it following her marriage in Zambia (£644 x 2), which will be valid for up to 27 months. In either case, after 2 years she can apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR). There is of course an additional cost of your travel to and from Zambia.
She applies for visa for her child at the same time, and for settlement visa (either fiancée or marriage) she has to make two concurrent applications. For her FLR in UK, the child can be included as part of her application on the same form. To take her child to UK permanently, she may need written permission of the child's father.

To apply successfully for a settlement visa is a major undertaking, requiring careful considerations and collecting a number of documentary evidence in support, including funds and suitable accommodation in UK. You as her sponsor also have to supply a number of documents. Go to the UK in Zambia site (British High Commission in Lusaka) under Visas for what is required, with links to relevant Home Office Border Agency site. All visa applications submitted in Zambia (must be made in person together with her daughter) are sent on to Pretoria for processing. There may be an interview by the consular staff (in Lusaka). Also medical screening is required. It can take up to 12 weeks.


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## gkt (May 10, 2010)

Thank you Joppa, so spousal visa looks like way to go?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

gkt said:


> Thank you Joppa, so spousal visa looks like way to go?


Maybe, but depends on personal circumstances. Certainly not having to make two applications within months of each other (a lot of the documentation is common to both) is a relief, but there are other considerations, such as the wishes of both families, cultural factors (family tie is extremely strong in Zambia?) and relative costing (travel, weddings etc). Zambian marriage will be fully accepted in UK, though you should inform of your marriage at the British High Commission so that the record will be sent to UK via the Foreign Office and deposited with the General Register Office, which makes getting further certificates easier, and a British certificate is more acceptable than a Zambian one. You can if you like do the same in London after your wedding, but this usually costs more. 
Marriage and birth in Zambia
Marriage and civil partnerships


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## gkt (May 10, 2010)

Joppa, am really appreciating your information. We checked and it says you can not deposit a marriage certicate from a common wealth country, and Zambia is a common wealth country. That is the only part we been doubting on, can the Zambia marriage certificate be recognised in the UK? And also after the marriage how long should we wait before we apply for the spousal visa? Because we were thinking if we married and after the marriage we apply for the visa right away, then maybe the ECO might think that it is a sham marriage?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

gkt said:


> Joppa, am really appreciating your information. We checked and it says you can not deposit a marriage certicate from a common wealth country, and Zambia is a common wealth country. That is the only part we been doubting on, can the Zambia marriage certificate be recognised in the UK? And also after the marriage how long should we wait before we apply for the spousal visa? Because we were thinking if we married and after the marriage we apply for the visa right away, then maybe the ECO might think that it is a sham marriage?


Yes, you are right about Commonwealth countries. Never mind, get at least three marriage certificates in Zambia!
Yes, it will be fully recognised in UK.
Applying for settlement visa straight after your wedding is no problem - it's the length and quality of your knowledge and relationship that matters. Make sure you collect all the correct documentation in support. If it says 3 months of bank statement, make sure it's full 3 months and not 2.5 months, and so on. Your financial and employment status will be crucial, as well as your fiancée's. You must have suitable married accommodation in UK, and you need to submit mortgage statement, title deed or rental agreement. Relationship and knowledge means evidence of travels to see each other, letters, photos, emails, text messages etc. Testimony from families and friends can be additional evidence.


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## gkt (May 10, 2010)

Joppa, thank you so much for your information, one more thing, my financial standing is very good, and so is my work, but maybe my fiances can be a problem, she works quite alright, but she doesn't get enough money that she can have lots of savings in her account, basically, i can say her salary is hand to mouth and she doesn't have any kind of property, but am willing to stand as her full sponser for both her and her daughter, can this then be a problem?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

gkt said:


> Joppa, thank you so much for your information, one more thing, my financial standing is very good, and so is my work, but maybe my fiances can be a problem, she works quite alright, but she doesn't get enough money that she can have lots of savings in her account, basically, i can say her salary is hand to mouth and she doesn't have any kind of property, but am willing to stand as her full sponser for both her and her daughter, can this then be a problem?


That would be ok, but it would help if you can say that she is willing to work in UK, listing her qualifications and experience. As her child is older, childcare shouldn't be a big factor in this. How good is her English? She will need to pass a test to show her command of English before her visa can be issued:
UK Border Agency | New English language requirement for partners. Also a poor command of the language will severely limit her job opportunities.


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## gkt (May 10, 2010)

Oh her English is very perfect, her daugther speaks English too, does she need to take an IELTS test? So maybe it won't be much of a problem? Well according to the correspondance that you and I have been into today, am thinking we will just go for the spousal visa.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

gkt said:


> Oh her English is very perfect, her daugther speaks English too, does she need to take an IELTS test? So maybe it won't be much of a problem? Well according to the correspondance that you and I have been into today, am thinking we will just go for the spousal visa.


Unless she has already passed a test acceptable to UKBA, or a degree taught in English, she will still have to take the test (see website quoted). This rule comes in at the end of this month.


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## gkt (May 10, 2010)

Joppa thank you once more, I will be in touch if we need further help, if there is any advise you would like to give us, please feel free to drop and we will be greatful


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## muchgrace (Jan 9, 2011)

Hi Joppa, thanks so very much for the very useful information here. I have only one query which I am hoping which I am hoping you can answer for me. My mortgage has been up and down in the past, but I am now on an agreed plan with them, is this likely to be held against us for a spouse visa? Though my partner is a Zambian graduate. Many thanks again.


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## gkt (May 10, 2010)

Joppa said:


> Basically, with a fiancée visa, she will have to apply for settlement visa (£644 plus the same again for her child) in Zambia, and after her marriage in UK, will have to apply for further leave to remain (FLR: £475 or £730 same-day premium service, plus £92 or £118 for her child), so two lots of applications to make. With a spouse visa, she applies for it following her marriage in Zambia (£644 x 2), which will be valid for up to 27 months. In either case, after 2 years she can apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR). There is of course an additional cost of your travel to and from Zambia.
> She applies for visa for her child at the same time, and for settlement visa (either fiancée or marriage) she has to make two concurrent applications. For her FLR in UK, the child can be included as part of her application on the same form. To take her child to UK permanently, she may need written permission of the child's father.
> 
> To apply successfully for a settlement visa is a major undertaking, requiring careful considerations and collecting a number of documentary evidence in support, including funds and suitable accommodation in UK. You as her sponsor also have to supply a number of documents. Go to the UK in Zambia site (British High Commission in Lusaka) under Visas for what is required, with links to relevant Home Office Border Agency site. All visa applications submitted in Zambia (must be made in person together with her daughter) are sent on to Pretoria for processing. There may be an interview by the consular staff (in Lusaka). Also medical screening is required. It can take up to 12 weeks.


Hi Joppa, well my boyfriend visited me over christmas into the new year again, he is visiting again shortly in May.......after which we plan that he comes to pick me up later in august, he will come for 2 weeks and we go back together, we are not really sure which visa to apply for, in the previous communication we had, we got advise that spousal would be best? There is my 7 year old daughter the is involved in this, we are still having debates on which one would be the best to go by looking at the fact that there is a 7 year old girl involved..... if we go for the spousal visa, dont we have to wait some time after the marriage before we can apply? Give us a clear highlight on this one...thank you


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## gibbage (May 7, 2011)

hello everyone
i'm in a simliar situation to gkt.
i met my partner(she is also zambian) at last years world cup. then i went to zambia for 2 weeks at the end of last year.
when we were there we applied for a uk travel visa but it was declined the main reason being given that she didn't have enough funds in her bank account(she had around £70 at the time) & that she wasn't working,since then she has done some work but she's currently unemployed. now we want to apply again but because she isn't working were worried the application will be turned down again

from my research it appears she must have £1000 in her bank account,what i'm not sure about is if she has to be generating an income too?
what i have thought of doing is putting the flight money in her account,then she would have the £1000
would this work?& if so what would be the best way to do this per week,per month or as a lump sum.
hope someone can help
gibbage


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