Fiancee' Visa Application Forms

I was in the process of applying for my Fiancée' visa to enter the US, the petition has just been approved.

Now my Fiancée' has second thoughts of applying for her visa and come to the UK instead, after all the application forms etc. to apply to USA I am now a little "Rusty" on all the documents that are required for my fiancée' to fill in to enter the UK for her Fiancée' visa.

Does anyone have a list of forms required !
What order they are to be sent off first ?

Thanks !!

There's no order for sending things off, everything goes in one envelope and gets mailed to Sheffield, UK.

When she applies for a fiance visa, she needs to fill out an online application (and print it when it has been submitted) and also the VAF4a Appendix 2 form.

To meet the financial requirements based on your employment (the UK citizen's employment), you must be earning at least £18,600 in the UK and have been earning it for at least 6 months. You will need to include 6 months of original bank statements and payslips, a letter from your employer, your job contract and your P60.

You also need to include evidence of where you will live together in the UK and evidence of your relationship to show you are in a genuine relationship and in regular contact while living apart.


The process for applying:

- Research the visa and figure out if she can qualify for it

- Gather up all the supporting documents (personal details, evidence of meeting the financial requirement, accommodation evidence, relationship evidence)

- Fill out the online application (selecting visa type: Settlement -> Settlement -> Marriage) and also the paper copy of VAF4a Appendix 2.

- Submit the online application form, pay for the visa online and book a biometrics appointment online (the date she does this will be her official application date). Print the online application and the biometrics confirmation sheet

- She attends her biometrics appointment with her passport, confirmation sheet (and printed application?). The confirmation sheet will be stamped when she is there.

- Place the passport, application and stamped sheet in the package with the rest of the documents (and Appendix 2) and mail them to Sheffield, UK for processing. If she wishes, she can purchase Settlement Priority Processing from VFS Global for an extra $510 to get the application put to the front of the line for faster processing.

- Wait for the visa to be delivered back to her in the US. Current processing times seem to be about 3 weeks with priority processing and 2-3 months without.

This is just a basic overview of the process and documents involved - we can give more details later when you're sorting things out for the application

Many thanks for the information provided, as she was first going to come over 4 years ago things have slightly changed . . .

Question: Do the following VAF4A form have to be filled in ?

PERSONAL DETAILS FORM (VAF4A DECEMBER 2013)
FAMILY SETTLEMENT APPLICATION FORM

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-for-uk-visa-for-family-settlement-form-vaf4a

No, the VAF4a is the same as the online application and is only accepted in countries where there is no facility to apply online (just Cuba and North Korea).

You can read through VAF4a for reference while you are preparing to apply (although some of the questions are slightly different), but you are not allowed to submit the VAF4a itself, you have to fill out the online application instead.

You DO however need to print and fill out VAF4a Appendix 2, even though the UKVI website implies that only people from Cuba and North Korea have to fill it out. It reads as though the intention was to made Appendix 2 part of the online application, but this has not actually been done as of yet.

Appendix 2 contains all the specific questions relating to how you meet the requirements for the fiance visa (finances, accommodation, relationship), so it's very important that you complete it.

Once again many thanks for answering my question,

Regardless most of the information I already have which I photo copied from previous K1 visa to USA.

I do notice there is a Big difference in entering the UK compared to entering the USA as the UK are far more "Fussy" on everyone's Financial requirements compared to entering the USA . . .

Have you read any posts:
On how their approach is towards claiming Disability being exempt  in replace of meeting the £18.600 . . . are their approval standards as much as those meeting £18,600 or are more on Disability turned down ?

Thanks

I do notice there is a Big difference in entering the UK compared to entering the USA as the UK are far more "Fussy" on everyone's Financial requirements compared to entering the USA . . .

It used to be the other way around - before July 2012, it was easier to meet the financial requirement for a UK visa than for a US one, but the government have tightened the requirements considerably since then in order to reduce immigration to the UK.

Have you read any posts:
On how their approach is towards claiming Disability being exempt  in replace of meeting the £18.600 . . . are their approval standards as much as those meeting £18,600 or are more on Disability turned down ?

There is no 'approach' towards it and the approval rate is the same regardless - they only publish the overall approval rate for all family visas, which for applications made in the US is between 95-98%.

If you tick all the boxes pertaining to your situation (whether it's £18,600 per year, £62,500 in cash savings, or exemption from meeting the requirement), you will get the visa. Simple as that.

It's just that if you are claiming DLA, then you are exempt from having to meet the new financial requirement of £18,600 per year. So, as long as you can show that you are receiving the DLA and that you have enough money to support yourselves without the US citizen accessing public funds, the visa will be granted.

'Enough money' is defined as:
- after paying your rent and council tax, you have at least the amount left over that a UK couple/family would receive in income support each week. This amount is currently £113.70 per couple per week (plus £66.33 per child per week).

So, you need to have: Income - (rent + council tax) = £113.70 or more per week (£492.70 per month)

Bear in mind though, that the financial requirement has to be met for every visa, so once you are married, you will have to show this again for the FLR(M) visa, then again after 2.5 years for the second FLR(M) and again for ILR after 5 years in the UK.

If in the future, you stop receiving DLA or any of the other 'exempt' benefits, you will need to meet the £18,600 requirement instead for each of these visas (but once she has FLR(M) and can work in the UK, you can combine your salaries to meet the requirement). If you can't meet the financial requirement at any visa application stage, you will be put on the 10-year path to ILR instead of the 5-year path.

So therefore once reaching the process in two years for ILR and 5 years ILR if I do loose my Disability my Fiancée' would have to leave and return to USA if I do not meet the £18,600. . .

I thought you only had to meet the Financial requirements for her entry and in two years just check if we are still living together if not then she would have to return to USA.

No Home To Return To ! 

So therefore once reaching the process in two years for ILR and 5 years ILR if I do loose my Disability my Fiancée' would have to leave and return to USA if I do not meet the £18,600. . .

No, it's 5 years for ILR for everyone now - the 2 years to ILR was abolished in 2012 and everyone who applies after July 9th 2012 is now under the new rules of meeting the £18,600 financial requirement and 5 years to ILR.

If you don't meet the financial requirement for any of the FLR(M) or ILR applications, I believe she will be put on the 10-year path to ILR - so she won't have to leave the UK and go back to the US (unless she chooses to), but it will now take 10 years to get ILR, not 5 years.

I thought you only had to meet the Financial requirements for her entry and in two years just check if we are still living together if not then she would have to return to USA.

No, that's under the old rules in place before July 2012. They no longer apply to any applications made after July 9th 2012.

It will now take 5 years for her to qualify for ILR on two FLR(M) visas, but if you don't meet the financial requirement at any stage of those visa applications, she won't be able to qualify for ILR for 10 years.

The visa path is:

- Fiance visa (6 months) - must meet financial requirement/DLA exemption
- Marry in the UK
- Apply for FLR(M), valid for 30 months (2.5 years) - must meet financial requirement/DLA exemption
- Apply for another FLR(M), valid for 30 months (2.5 years) - must meet financial requirement/DLA exemption
- Apply for ILR after 60 months (5 years) in the UK - must meet financial requirement/DLA exemption

If for any of the FLR(M) or ILR applications, you cannot meet the financial requirement/DLA exemption, she should be put on the 10-year path to ILR, rather than having to leave the UK.

Once again many thanks for keeping me updated !

I see there is a Big change since 2010 and my only concern is how the Government are treating the "Genuine Disabled" of their benefits even though in theory due to some dying in intensive care and been declared fit to work, you do not know how they will treat you in two years time.

So there is a period of 5 years to clear in receipt of Financial requirements in the UK and 2 in the USA.

So what does this mean ?
She should be put on the 10-year path to ILR, rather than having to leave the UK.


She will have to wait for 10 years before she can become a permanent resident even if Financial Requirements are not met at this stage ?


Many Thanks !

To meet the financial requirements based on your employment (the UK citizen's employment), you must be earning at least £18,600 in the UK and have been earning it for at least 6 months. You will need to include 6 months of original bank statements and payslips, a letter from your employer, your job contract and your P60.

Hi ksand24- I am in a similar situation (me = USC, bf= UKC).  Is there a financial requirement for the US citizen?  Do I need to provide evidence/documentation related to this ?  Thanks so much again for your help. 

As you asked previously, the answer is the same. The US citizen does not have a financial requirement.

Hi ksand24- I am in a similar situation (me = USC, bf= UKC).  Is there a financial requirement for the US citizen?  Do I need to provide evidence/documentation related to this ?  Thanks so much again for your help. 

What geeta said.

We've both already answered this question for you on your other thread.