Has Tier 1 visa...still need a fiancee/marriage visa?!

Hello everyone,

My US girlfriend of 1.5 years has been over here on a student and then BUNAC visa for last 2 years or so. She had to go back to the US in April and applied for the new Tier 1 (Highly Skilled Migrants) Visa...which she has now been granted!

My question is - if, say in a year's time, we wanted to get married - would she need a separate and additional fiancee visa/marriage visa as well, or will this current Tier 1 visa (which she has spent a lot of time and money on) suffice and we can just continue to get engaged and married as normal?

Many thanks for all your help!

Tim

You will need to obtain a Certificate of Approval (CoA) from the Home Office before you get married, but she won't need a separate visa.  However, if you wish to settle in the UK permanently, she might want to switch from the economic (Tier 1) track to the family track.  It is a shorter and less expensive way to obtain citizenship.

Is this Certificate of Approval a hassle to obtain or is it straightforward?

If, by next April we decide to get engaged, we woudl have been togther for 2.5 years but only loving together (i.e have "evidence" as in utility bills) from Jan 2009 - so 1 year and 4 months. Is this likely to cause a problem?

I take it she would only switch from the economic track to teh family track when we're married?

Very grateful for you invaluable advice!

I haven't ever applied for a CoA, so I can't say how difficult they are to obtain.  Here's some info about them http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visitingtheuk/gettingmarried/certificateofapproval/

Your time spent living together is irrelevant in this case.  There is no requirement to live together before marriage. 

I believe that she will simply be able to switch to FLR(M) once you're married.  I'm not 100% sure of that, but hopefully someone else will be. 

COA information can be found here: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visitingtheuk/gettingmarried/certificateofapproval/, Which hopefully will answer most of your questions.

Your living together time will only apply to the Unmarried Partners visa so not applicable in your case.

A switch from Economic to Family can only happen a) once you are married or b) once you have lived together for 2 consecutive years thereby qualifying under the Unmarried Partner rules.

x-posted w/historyenne

If she's here on a Tier 1, obtaining a CoA should be very straightforward, nothing to worry about.

If, by next April we decide to get engaged, we would have been togther for 2.5 years but only loving together (i.e have "evidence" as in utility bills) from Jan 2009...

I can't believe no one spotted this Freudian slip, but it's a "lovely" one to make, don't you think?   

I'm in a similar situation, except I'm the other half. I've been in the UK two years under HSMP and just got my FLR (Tier 1), and engaged. Busy summer.

We're not planning on getting married till Dec 2010 so for me it doesn't make sense to switch to a Spouse visa, as it'll be faster and cheaper to get ILR/citizenship on my current track. I'd look carefully at how much each visa costs and what the total cost is on each option, which'll depend on the timing of when you get married vis a vis her Tier 1 path.

Another thing to consider is the impact on any current or future job hunting, as employers may prefer someone with ILR so someone on a fixed-term visa.

Of course, I'm also the fiercely independent type who's always said I wanted to earn ILR and/or citizenship on my own (not very romantic, I know), so that's been a factor for me as well. I'm proud (and lucky) I've been able to.

Best of luck!