# Getting ready to apply for fiance visa (US to UK), a few questions



## Lauren_999 (Jan 18, 2011)

Hi all, 

New to the forum and very impressed with the straightforward answers I’ve found so far, so I’m diving in with some questions.

Background: I’m a US citizen, my fiance is a UK citizen. We met while both on vacation in US about 7 months ago. We kept in touch daily via email/Skype/Facebook and he’s since come to visit me in the States twice. We are planning to marry and live in London (where he’s based right now). Due to finances we plan to marry at the Register Office very soon after I arrive, and once settled plan a reception. So, the questions:

-- Due to my job and resources, I won’t be able to visit him in the UK before I move there. Will this be seen as some sort of red flag or is this common?

-- According to the British Consulate I must apply online. How are important items like birth certificates and passports submitted? It sounds like I fill out a basic application online and then go in for a face-to-face interview at a local or regional office, where I bring these items as originals. And my fiance’s important documents? His passport and birth cert? Does he have to send those to me (in the mail? ack!) so I can take those in to this appointment? 

-- We plan to live with my fiance’s brother when I first move there, and he owns his home. How is this agreement best documented in the application? A copy of the mortgage and a letter signed from the brother that we can stay there? 

-- We came across a notice that they’ve “phased out” the interview process to determine if yours is a “sham” marriage, so this is determined solely on your ability to demonstrate a relationship using letters and photos. That’s fine, we have plenty of those (well, emails and photos) but how much should we include to avoid the “don’t over do it and/or send irrelevant stuff” vague warning we’ve seen? 

If you can answer any of these questions or parts of a question please do! I realize everyone’s situation is different and calls for different documentation, but we’re just looking for some sort of case study or gauge of what has worked for others. Thanks so much!

Lauren

ADDED QUESTION: If we plan on getting married right after I move there and then live there, is a fiance visa absolutely required? I've seen conflicting opinions on this. Thanks!


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Lauren_999 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> New to the forum and very impressed with the straightforward answers I’ve found so far, so I’m diving in with some questions.


Welcome to the forum!



> Background: I’m a US citizen, my fiance is a UK citizen. We met while both on vacation in US about 7 months ago. We kept in touch daily via email/Skype/Facebook and he’s since come to visit me in the States twice. We are planning to marry and live in London (where he’s based right now). Due to finances we plan to marry at the Register Office very soon after I arrive, and once settled plan a reception. So, the questions:
> 
> -- Due to my job and resources, I won’t be able to visit him in the UK before I move there. Will this be seen as some sort of red flag or is this common?


No. The fact that you have now met him twice in US suffices. You need to document his visits to US, such as travel tickets, visa stamps etc.



> -- According to the British Consulate I must apply online. How are important items like birth certificates and passports submitted? It sounds like I fill out a basic application online and then go in for a face-to-face interview at a local or regional office, where I bring these items as originals. And my fiance’s important documents? His passport and birth cert? Does he have to send those to me (in the mail? ack!) so I can take those in to this appointment?


After applying online, you attend in person to have your biometrics taken - fingerprint scan and digital photo. Then you send in or hand-deliver your supporting documents to the consulate. There is no face-to-face interview. You need his original birth certificate, but just the photocopy of the bio-page of his passport. He sends his documents to you and you take/mail them with your dossier. 



> -- We plan to live with my fiance’s brother when I first move there, and he owns his home. How is this agreement best documented in the application? A copy of the mortgage and a letter signed from the brother that we can stay there?


Yes. See details in Maintenance & Accommodation (MAA). 



> -- We came across a notice that they’ve “phased out” the interview process to determine if yours is a “sham” marriage, so this is determined solely on your ability to demonstrate a relationship using letters and photos. That’s fine, we have plenty of those (well, emails and photos) but how much should we include to avoid the “don’t over do it and/or send irrelevant stuff” vague warning we’ve seen?


You need to decide what is relevant etc, but there is a guideline in SET01- Fiancé(e)s and http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/resources/en/docs/1903073/supportingdocssettlement on supporting documents. 



> If you can answer any of these questions or parts of a question please do! I realize everyone’s situation is different and calls for different documentation, but we’re just looking for some sort of case study or gauge of what has worked for others. Thanks so much!
> 
> Lauren
> 
> ADDED QUESTION: If we plan on getting married right after I move there and then live there, is a fiance visa absolutely required? I've seen conflicting opinions on this.


Yes, absolutely. If you enter with no visa, you will not be able to stay on (settle) in UK afterwards and have to return to US. With fiancée visa, after your marriage, you apply for further leave to remain as wife of a British citizen. The only exception is if you are getting another type of long-stay visa, such as study or work, in which case you can get married and change your status ('switch') to that of a spouse of a British citizen without having to return home first.
I know you have already decided to marry in UK, but procedurally and possibly financially, many people find it's easier to marry in US, apply for spouse visa and then move to UK. Your fiancé can come just on visa waiver, and you only need to make one application to UK Border Agency soon after marriage, instead of two.


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## Lauren_999 (Jan 18, 2011)

Hi Joppa!

Thank you for the welcome and thank you for all the clarification. This is much appreciated during this overwhelming process. 

We had been under the impression that it made the process easier to marry in the UK if our plan was for me to settle there. But it sounds like just the opposite? 

To verify, we DO NOT need a fiance visa for him to come to the US with the intention to get married? Just a Visa waiver? Then once married we go through one visa application process for the Spouse Visa? Is the Visa waiver the same process as getting the tourist visa? He has done that...

Thanks again, I really appreciate the info.

Lauren


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Lauren_999 said:


> Hi Joppa!
> 
> Thank you for the welcome and thank you for all the clarification. This is much appreciated during this overwhelming process.
> 
> ...


No, your fiancé just needs to come on visa waiver, as he has already done, and can be married in US. You need to make sure you meet all local requirements such as giving notice, blood test and so on. Then once you get hold of the state marriage certificate, you apply to the British consulate for a spouse settlement visa. If you pay extra for priority service, you will get your visa within 10 working days (if you meet all the requirements) and you can travel together to begin your married life in UK. Your visa is valid for 27 months, and after 2 years you apply for indefinite leave to remain, when you effectively become a permanent resident. After a further year you can if you like apply for naturalisation as British citizen.


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## hollylane (Dec 9, 2010)

Lauren_999 said:


> Hi Joppa!
> 
> Thank you for the welcome and thank you for all the clarification. This is much appreciated during this overwhelming process.
> 
> ...



When me and my husband got married on Nov. 17th, he came to states with no fiance visa. It IS a lot easier to get married in the states then do the spousal visa, especially if cost is a big factor for you, as it would be more expensive to get married in the UK. But he doesn't need a visa here unless he plans on moving to the US. Just make sure he shows the return ticket to go back to the UK to show he has no intention on staying the states. He got some sort of visa to travel to the US I know that, but it was only around 12 some pounds that just allowed him to come visit me in the states.



edit - haha, joppa beat me to it! By seconds!!


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## Lauren_999 (Jan 18, 2011)

Joppa said:


> No, your fiancé just needs to come on visa waiver, as he has already done, and can be married in US. You need to make sure you meet all local requirements such as giving notice, blood test and so on. Then once you get hold of the state marriage certificate, you apply to the British consulate for a spouse settlement visa. If you pay extra for priority service, you will get your visa within 10 working days (if you meet all the requirements) and you can travel together to begin your married life in UK. Your visa is valid for 27 months, and after 2 years you apply for indefinite leave to remain, when you effectively become a permanent resident. After a further year you can if you like apply for naturalisation as British citizen.


Great news! Thanks so much!


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## Lauren_999 (Jan 18, 2011)

hollylane said:


> It IS a lot easier to get married in the states then do the spousal visa, especially if cost is a big factor for you, as it would be more expensive to get married in the UK.


Do you mean than doing the fiance visa? Because we still have to do the spouse visa for me to move there, right?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Lauren_999 said:


> To verify, we DO NOT need a fiance visa for him to come to the US with the intention to get married? Just a Visa waiver? Then once married we go through one visa application process for the Spouse Visa? Is the Visa waiver the same process as getting the tourist visa? He has done that...


If your fiancé comes to the US to marry on the VWP, just make sure he has proof of his intention to return to the UK. Round trip ticket usually works - but he should have evidence of the need to return to his job, his house, etc. just in case they ask.
Cheers,
Bev


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## hollylane (Dec 9, 2010)

Lauren_999 said:


> Do you mean than doing the fiance visa? Because we still have to do the spouse visa for me to move there, right?


Opps, sorry I reread my post and realized it sounded a bit confusing. Let me rephrase! It is a lot easier to get married in the states, and then after that you can apply for the spousal visa rather then doing the fiance visa and then doing the spousal visa while in the UK (paying for the fiance visa, and then paying for the spousal visa after that) Basically by getting married in the states, you save yourself roughly 1300 USD.


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## Punktlich2 (Apr 30, 2009)

hollylane said:


> Opps, sorry I reread my post and realized it sounded a bit confusing. Let me rephrase! It is a lot easier to get married in the states, and then after that you can apply for the spousal visa rather then doing the fiance visa and then doing the spousal visa while in the UK (paying for the fiance visa, and then paying for the spousal visa after that) Basically by getting married in the states, you save yourself roughly 1300 USD.


On the other hand, if you either get married in another EU/EEA/Swiss country (Ireland, say) or in the USA and then you live and work in that or another EU/EEA/Swiss country outside the UK for six months, you pay nothing for any of the visas, ever. At the rate the UK is escalating its visa charges to make money, it almost pays for 6 months' stay in another country. (The 'work' doesn't have to be very remunerative. And both spouses can work. (European Court of Justice, Levin case: celex-txt - 61981J0053 - ))


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Punktlich2 said:


> On the other hand, if you either get married in another EU/EEA/Swiss country (Ireland, say) or in the USA and then you live and work in that or another EU/EEA/Swiss country outside the UK for six months, you pay nothing for any of the visas, ever. At the rate the UK is escalating its visa charges to make money, it almost pays for 6 months' stay in another country. (The 'work' doesn't have to be very remunerative. And both spouses can work. (European Court of Justice, Levin case: celex-txt - 61981J0053 - ))


This is true. The only tricky bit would be to find work in another EEA country or Switzerland, as unemployment is rising pretty everywhere, and without good command of the local language, it will be tough competing against well-qualified and experienced locals. 6 months doesn't sound very long, but your UK fiancé's employment must be continuous (not a series of temporary jobs) with proper papers (contract, social security and health cover etc). Just look at other relevant forums to find out local conditions for job seekers.
Also if you enter UK under Surinder Singh case - Regulation 9 of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006, it takes 5 years to qualify for indefinite leave to remain, instead of two years under UK immigration rules.


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## Punktlich2 (Apr 30, 2009)

Joppa said:


> This is true. The only tricky bit would be to find work in another EEA country or Switzerland, as unemployment is rising pretty everywhere, and without good command of the local language, it will be tough competing against well-qualified and experienced locals. 6 months doesn't sound very long, but your UK fiancé's employment must be continuous (not a series of temporary jobs) with proper papers (contract, social security and health cover etc). Just look at other relevant forums to find out local conditions for job seekers.
> Also if you enter UK under Surinder Singh case - Regulation 9 of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006, it takes 5 years to qualify for indefinite leave to remain, instead of two years under UK immigration rules.


I understand that a lot of the Surinder Singh UK spouses work as waiters, etc. Whether there are such jobs in Ireland (where I assume English works) I can't say. I believe that employment by a temp agency (Reeds, Manpower, etc.) is sufficient. You are on their books (it's like "employee leasing", where technical staff are employed by a specialist firm which handles all the tax and insurance matters, and they can work for any number of companies although in fact most don't move around at all).

Here in Switzerland I am told there are tens of thousands of openings in IT, for what that is worth.

As for the 5 years to qualify for ILR: so long as the marriage is stable (you don't have to continue living together so long as the EU spouse remains in the country and you remain married) that's not necessarily a disadvantage since European law grants one the right to remain regardless.) 

Besides, the Home Office regs are full of anomalies. Here's just one, a conundrum for today: X lives in the UK with ILR on a US passport. He has dual nationality. His other country of nationality becomes an EU member and of course he uses that passport thereafter to the exclusion of his US passport. Does that mean his ILR has expired? If so, then any children born to him in the UK thereafter will not be UK citizens even if they would otherwise be stateless (wildly improbable you say, but it is conceivable especially if he has not lived in the USA for 5 years, including 2 years after the age of 14). (Yes, he could register with the Home Office with his EU passport, but that takes 5 years too. And we are assuming that the other EU country does not acknowledge the UK-born baby as its national, another wild improbability especially in view of the Ramadanoglou case (Greek passport of a Muslim Greek citizen cancelled while he was working in Germany under then-Art. 19 of the Greek nationality law. Behind the scenes the European Commission seems to have told the Greeks that they can't do that: expatriate a citizen who is using his right to work in another EU country.)


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## boodabrit1 (Jan 19, 2011)

*spouse visa*

I have just completed the visa application process. If you are still in the process and would like some answers, feel free to send me an email and I tell you what I have done (I am a US citizen, just been married to a UK citizen). cheers.




Lauren_999 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> New to the forum and very impressed with the straightforward answers I’ve found so far, so I’m diving in with some questions.
> 
> ...


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## Lauren_999 (Jan 18, 2011)

Great, thanks so much for all this info, it is all so helpful. We are now planning on marrying in my state of residence, and not only is it cheaper, but MUCH easier as we don't have to "give notice" or even book it in advance (we are doing a courthouse ceremony). Completely different as compared to trying to create a timeline around Register Office requirements, visa application process and my arrival there... yeesh.


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