# Can I (US citizen) apply for a UK spousal visa while on a tourist Visa in non-UK EU?



## Chomp123 (Jul 13, 2011)

Hello Expat Forum!

Still trying to figure out the specifics of my upcoming move, etc, and something occurred to me. 

I'm a US citizen. My boyfriend is an IRL citizen who works in the UK. 

If I go to the UK on a visitor visa and then want to marry my IRL boyfriend and apply for a spousal visa, do I need to go back to the US and be in the US in order to fill out the paper-work/ wait for the visa? Or would it be possible to get married in another EU country on a visitor visa, and then fill out the paperwork wait there in another country in the EU (so long as I'm not in the UK). 

Thank you very much!


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

Whether or not you can get married in another EU country would depend on what sort of rules that country has and what kind of visas it requires for the marriages of non-citizens. 

Check this link to the UKBA site for information on applying for an EEA Family permit:

EEA and Swiss nationals - visa application guide


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## Chomp123 (Jul 13, 2011)

Hi Nyclon!

Thanks for the info. I wasn't planning on applying for the EEA family permit, but rather the UK spousal visa (or whatever the technical name was). Sorry if I wasn't clear on that!

My question is:l I know that one cannot be in the UK on a visitor visa and then switch over to a spousal visa, in order to switch to a spousal visa, one must apply for outside the UK. My question is whether I need to simply be outside the UK in order to apply, OR if I have to be *in* the country that I'm a citizen of (ie the US). 

He's an IRL citizen so, for example, it might make sense for us to go to IRL, get married there, and then stay in IRL while I apply for and wait for a UK spousal visa.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Chomp123 said:


> Hi Nyclon!
> 
> Thanks for the info. I wasn't planning on applying for the EEA family permit, but rather the UK spousal visa (or whatever the technical name was). Sorry if I wasn't clear on that!
> 
> ...


As you are marrying an Irish citizen, you can apply for your EEA Family Permit anywhere outside UK. You don't have to be a resident there. EEA Permit is what you want, as spouse settlement visa is when marrying a British citizen or someone settled in UK, though Irish citizen can sometimes be regarded as settled. At least it costs you nothing to apply for EEA Permit and you appply for residence card within 6 months in UK.


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## Chomp123 (Jul 13, 2011)

Joppa said:


> As you are marrying an Irish citizen, you can apply for your EEA Family Permit anywhere outside UK. You don't have to be a resident there. EEA Permit is what you want, as spouse settlement visa is when marrying a British citizen or someone settled in UK, though Irish citizen can sometimes be regarded as settled. At least it costs you nothing to apply for EEA Permit and you appply for residence card within 6 months in UK.



Thank you very much Joppa! :clap2:


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## Chomp123 (Jul 13, 2011)

Joppa said:


> As you are marrying an Irish citizen, you can apply for your EEA Family Permit anywhere outside UK. You don't have to be a resident there. EEA Permit is what you want, as spouse settlement visa is when marrying a British citizen or someone settled in UK, though Irish citizen can sometimes be regarded as settled. At least it costs you nothing to apply for EEA Permit and you appply for residence card within 6 months in UK.


Looking at it more, the EEA family permit seems like a much better idea for us than the UK Spousal Visa, but on the off chance that we do decide the UK Spousal Visa makes more sense for us, can we apply for *that* from anywhere outside the UK?

I had been under the (albeit it seems like mistaken) impression that I would need to fly back to the US in order to change my visa from a visitor visa to any other kind of visa/permit/etc. The idea that I can potentially apply for an EEA family permit from inside the EU makes things a lot easier.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Chomp123 said:


> Looking at it more, the EEA family permit seems like a much better idea for us than the UK Spousal Visa, but on the off chance that we do decide the UK Spousal Visa makes more sense for us, can we apply for *that* from anywhere outside the UK?
> 
> I had been under the (albeit it seems like mistaken) impression that I would need to fly back to the US in order to change my visa from a visitor visa to any other kind of visa/permit/etc. The idea that I can potentially apply for an EEA family permit from inside the EU makes things a lot easier.


*IF *you are eligible to apply for spouse settlement visa, no, you can only apply in US or where you have a residence visa/permit longer than 6 months. So you cannot apply in a country where you are just visiting as tourist.


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