Visas & Citizenship / Re: Marriage visa logistics - living together, income / savings
« Last post by ksand24 on Today at 12:08:18 PM »* We currently don't live together, though we are starting to talk about how/when we'd like to do that. For purposes of the visa application, I think we still need to show evidence of cohabitation even if we're legally married? I'm guessing that we'd need to be living together for at least a few months to accumulate letters / documents showing us both at the same address?
No, if you are married (and you are switching from a work visa to a family visa) you do not need to have lived together before applying.
If you have lived together, then great - you can show evidence of that, as well as evidence of your relationship prior to marrying.
If you haven’t lived together yet, you just show the evidence of your relationship while not living together.
* Is there anything else we need to consider in terms of proving a "real" relationship? Will it be seen as suspicious if we get married too close to the time of my visa application, or too close to the time my current visa expires?
As long as you show that the relationship is genuine by providing evidence for the entire time you have been a couple, it won’t be an issue.
* We are unlikely to meet the income requirement at the time we apply. He's been a freelancer but has been struggling this year and has finally just signed on / is looking for full-time employment. Hopefully he'll find something, but honestly from what I've experienced on the job market and seen others go through, I would not be surprised if it takes a year or more. (It took me a year and a half after graduation to get my first job in my field.
I'm currently employed on a temp contract that's coming to an end, and I have seriously been considering moving back into freelancing, which I think I could actually succeed at given where I'm at in my career and the contacts I've made over the past few years. I would far prefer going down this route; I'm excited thinking about it! But that means I also wouldn't meet the income requirement, because it looks like you need to show evidence of a full year (at least) as a sole trader.
However, I DO have enough savings in a US bank account to meet the savings requirement, on my own (over £88,500). But would it not look bad on my application if neither of us is "properly" employed? Or do they truly not care if I just show I have the money and it's accessible?
Nope, it won’t look bad at all. All they care about is that you meet the requirement under any of the financial categories.
Savings is the easiest way to qualify, and it requires the least amount of evidence, which is why I usually recommend using savings instead of employment if at all possible.
If you have more than the minimum amount needed (£88,500), then go for it .
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk