# Unmarried partner visa



## desertmom (Nov 30, 2008)

Hi

A while ago (quite some time ago) I asked questions about the unmarried partner visa,saying that we are not planning to move to the UK in the near future.Well,we have been promoted to either the US or the UK and with the US not doing unmarried visas we are coming to the UK.

We've been together for 20 odd years.Have adopted and raised 2 kids (20 and 11).

My friend and my kids have British passports but have never lived in the UK before.

I want to know should we give documents to prove all 20 years we have been together?

We have moved from our home country 10 years ago and but for photographs we didnt keep a real papertrail as we never thought we would need it.

The last 10 years will be no problem,I think, as we have joint bank accounts and linked credit cards,have lived in the same house (even though it is a company rental)i have letters from our kids to us and birthday and christmas cards.I am no a very sentimental person and have chucked a fair amount of those things away less than 2 months ago,not knowing I would need lots.

Also,we live in the middle east.As they dont acknowledge (mention or accept) same sex relationships where should we apply from?Would it be better to travel for a month to our home country and apply from there?I dont want to be jailed for applying for a visa..lol

We are seeing an immigration lawyer next week to help us with the paperwork as I have lived here under her sponsorship for the past 10 years as their servant,the only visa options available to us.

Sorry for long winded post.So the question is should we give documentation for all of the 20 years? Can we really trust the confidentiality of our applications here in the middle east?


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## 2farapart (Aug 18, 2011)

Hi desertmom

You only have to prove a total of two years living together as a couple for the unmarried partner visa, so provided you can exceed that with your evidence, you'll be fine. If you both write an introductory letter each stating when your relationship started and how, how it developed (perhaps shared interests etc) and what your hopes are for the future, you can cover your 20 years in that, and just pull together whatever evidence you have (bearing in mind a minimum two years is all that's needed).

The fact your kids have UK passports is good news as that will make their move much easier.

You'll need to prepare information on where you'll be living and how you will be supporting yourselves financially. 

This link gives information on qualifying for the visa: UK Border Agency | Can you apply? 

I'm no expert regarding applying from the Middle East, but your application would be handled by UK Border Agency staff who not only recognise same-sex partners, but will allow people to enter the UK for Civil Partnership (same-sex marriage) under the fiancée visa. Your immigration lawyer might be able to verify this. This would be the better option because your partner could only move with you to the UK on a visitor visa (unless student possibly), and switching from a visitor visa to a settlement visa is not permitted.

I hope this helps somewhat and good luck with your application


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## desertmom (Nov 30, 2008)

Hi,thanks for your reply.

My partner is the one that holds a British passport and I dont.The kids are adopted but on her name as it was easier and we didnt want to test the system back in the early 90's with kiddy no 1.

She has never lived in the UK before as an adult but her company has offered her a fabulous job there ( even better one in th US but we cant face the uncertainty of the visa I can get there) 

This is such a stressful thing for me as my little one is only 11 and I needs to start school in the UK in September (she will not be away from me,she hates it when I am not around).

I sincerely hope that we can sort this visa issue out before then or she will either have to do first semester here or I will have to home school her until me and her can go and settle there with the rest of the family.

It is so ironic how companies dont care about personal situations in the rest of the world where as here in the middle east the same company arranged everything...we just got on the plane and moved over here.My visa took only a few weeks to arrange.

Here's hoping that being in this country serves us well one more time and the processing time is shorter than in our home country,which has got the slowest processing time of all at the moment.

xxo


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## 2farapart (Aug 18, 2011)

One assurance I CAN give you: a lot has changed here since the early 1990s and gay couples are treated with the same equality in the system as everybody else. I doubt I could have brought my same-sex partner over back in the nineties either. But I managed to drag her from sunny Florida to miserable England at the end of last year and after a successful fiancée application, we wed and have now obtained our Further Leave To Remain (2-year visa). Therefore, if you WANT to marry in the UK (scemantic - is called Civil Partnership at the moment rather than 'marriage'), you will be able to and will have all the legal rights married couples have.

I do believe that your partner having a UK passport is good enough (someone else will pop in and correct me if not), and the fact the children also have UK passports (and are adopted by the two of you) should hopefully make things pretty simple.


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## desertmom (Nov 30, 2008)

Hi
We are still struggling with the visa forms.Any help will be much apreciated.

1.she doesnt have NHS number as she isnt living there yet,is this a problem?

2. If we can prove we have more than say 150 000 in savings can we book hotel accommodation for the first few weeks as we want to enter together and look for a nice house and schools for the kid together?Will this satisfy the accommodation issue?

3.It is a international company transfer for her and as we are expats we will move on again in about 4 to 5 years and therefor we dont really want to do a civil partnership.

4.and now for the big one I havent thought of before.She sponsors me as the servant for the last 10 years as it was the only way to live here.We have a joint HSBC account and a joint offshore account together though ( yes,the madam and the maid,who knows what they are thinking?lol)
Will this affect their decision on the visa?

O my,every time she gets a promotion and we think moving will be to difficult she says no thank you.This time she had 2 great offers and she has to accept one or she will never be promoted again I am sure.We said no to the US as we thought her British passport would make the UK easier but this is so stressful to me.

Thanks for any forthcoming info.


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## 2farapart (Aug 18, 2011)

desertmom said:


> 1.she doesnt have NHS number as she isnt living there yet,is this a problem?


It shouldn't be a problem. Simply explain in a covering note. 



> 2. If we can prove we have more than say 150 000 in savings can we book hotel accommodation for the first few weeks as we want to enter together and look for a nice house and schools for the kid together?Will this satisfy the accommodation issue?


The UKBA expects some transitional arrangements so I imagine (again, put your plans in writing) this will present no issue with such a huge sum of savings. If you plan on renting, then no problem, but if you plan to buy (which I doubt if you only plan on staying 4-5 years but will mention anyway), it can take _at least _3 months for all the legal stuff to go through and in THAT case it might be better to take a short-term let (tenancies are usually available for 6-month contracts) in case the UKBA are dubious about you spending months as opposed to weeks in a hotel.



> 3.It is a international company transfer for her and as we are expats we will move on again in about 4 to 5 years and therefor we dont really want to do a civil partnership.


 That's absolutely fine and you still have equal rights in Britain as an unmarried couple. If you're not planning on staying here, then a civil partnership would only cause legal complexities for countries that don't recognise it. For example: I understand Spain offers gay marriage but will not recognise civil partnership, so UK citizens have to 'divorce' in order to remarry in Spain.



> 4.and now for the big one I havent thought of before.She sponsors me as the servant for the last 10 years as it was the only way to live here.We have a joint HSBC account and a joint offshore account together though ( yes,the madam and the maid,who knows what they are thinking?lol)
> Will this affect their decision on the visa?


 Not at all. Again, add a background note explaining the situation - that you ARE a couple (not employer/employee) but this was the only acceptable way you were able to live together. The UKBA will be fully aware of the situation for same-sex couples in countries that don't accept this. Maybe in a 100 years the world will have got over itself! As said previously, Britain is a very different place for gay people now since legalisation of civil partnership and certain rights under equality and discrimination laws. Yes, there are still plenty of bigots and prejudice in pockets of the country, but most of us can live happily in an openly-gay relationship nowadays.
________________________

With a few different topics to cover in notes, make sure your notes are titled clearly (for example: "About my sponsor's NHS number", "Our planned living arrangements" etc). Print out, sign and date each. You could also put them in one longer letter if you wished, but we enclosed separate letters in case the UKBA wanted to keep a copy of one thing but not another.

Finally, there are new rules coming into effect from July 9th, and any application received on or after that date will be applied against the new rules. I'm not really sure they'll have any impact on you given your financial position and the fact this potentially isn't a permanent move. Have a read of this thread: http://www.expatforum.com/expats/br...a-requirements-being-announced-next-week.html (sorry - looooong thread!) and if you are concerned, make sure your application is in before 9th July.


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## desertmom (Nov 30, 2008)

Hi
We just saw a visa consultant (and paid a small fortune for it) and according to them,here, the cover letters are of major importance.The second most important issue is accommodation.And this seems to be a bit of a sticky one.This is a company move with a company housing allowance that goes into effect when we move.Our current allowance is about 4500 pounds per month and if this visa takes 3 months to process that is 13500 pounds out of pocket for a house that will remain empty (if we have to sign a contract now JUST to prove we will have somewhere to live).

Sounds so unlogical that we would have to do that.Now I am searching for a cheap apartment short let that can stand empty.

We will also,unfortunately,not be able to submit before july 9 as the transfer is only from September the first and contracts and finances negotiations havent even started yet.

We might settle there forever.We have learnt to never say never or forever before you have tried something and liked it.Life is too short.As it is our life here is starting to feel like paradize to me and if it wasnt for the fact that one cant sit in this type of job forever but have to keep moving up,lol,I would stay right here until we retire.We are living tax free,everything paid by company and the weather is hot,hot,hot.lol

Having said that we are causiously optimistic about the move and want to be allowed to feel excited about the new adventure that awaits us.

Lots of paperwork to do this weekend.

xxo


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## 2farapart (Aug 18, 2011)

Visa consultants are rather an expensive way of obtaining the same information you can get for free. Many of us have been burnt or nearly-burnt by it. You really only need expert (expensive) advice if there are going to be any complications (for example: past refused visas, children from a prior relationship etc). 

From what you say, arranging a short-term let is probably your best option for now. Many property agents have a raft of properties available in all areas of the UK. Just tell them what you want and for how long. You can also tell them when you would like to rent from; they will see on their books which tenancies will be coming to an end by September and can offer you prospective properties (people have to give notice prior to ending a tenancy and landlords must also give notice, so agents will usually have a good grasp on what they will have available at any one time). This would mean you won't necessarily have to pay rent for a standing-empty property. *I'm not even sure you have to go as far as signing an actual contract* (someone please correct me if I'm wrong); registering an interest with an agent and being able to define your plans is possibly good enough _(that you plan to let an [x] bedroomed property in [x] area for around [x] pounds per month using [x] agent who will be providing you with a list of suitable properties as they arise nearer the date. Once settled, you plan to purchase a [x] bedroomed house in [x] area)_. 

When neither person is currently in the UK, the UKBA will know plans will be a little transient. It's important to show that you DO have plans rather than go right ahead and buy in to big financial commitments before you've even been granted a visa. Plans are important both from the point of view of genuine relationship - and to demonstrate that you've thought about maintenance/support of yourselves. People who are vague or don't seem to have a lot of money behind their vague plans are the people the UKBA will be rooting out as potential sham marriages etc.

You COULD actually apply before July 9th but state September 1st as your starting/intended flying date (you have up to three months from application), but unless the new rules will have a bad impact on your plans, it would likely be better to plan your move in a more leisurely way.


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