UK Fiance Visa checklist

Dear All,

  I'd like to move to London with my fiancee before our summer wedding  (we want a beach theme wedding in the East Sussex area)
About us: He is British, lives in the UK, I am American currently residing in the U.S.

I'm sorry for asking such a silly question but..

- Does he need to apply for an sponsor fiancee visa before I move in?
- One of the requirements is proof of income; his income tax OR mine from the U.S.?

Anything else I should be aware of?

Thank you

Dear All,

  I'd like to move to London with my fiancee before our summer wedding  (we want a beach theme wedding in the East Sussex area)
About us: He is British, lives in the UK, I am American currently residing in the U.S.

I'm sorry for asking such a silly question but..

- Does he need to apply for an sponsor fiancee visa before I move in?
- One of the requirements is proof of income; his income tax OR mine from the U.S.?

Anything else I should be aware of?

Thank you

There is a long list of requirements to meet to be granted a visa and it’s an absolute pain to legally marry in the UK.   

Does your fiancé make a minimum of £18,600 a year?  How long has he been with his employer?

Your income cannot count for the visa.

KFdancer, Thanks for your reply, Fiance makes more than that, self employed.

Dear All,

  I'd like to move to London with my fiancee before our summer wedding  (we want a beach theme wedding in the East Sussex area)
About us: He is British, lives in the UK, I am American currently residing in the U.S.

Congratulations on your engagement, and welcome to the forum .

- Does he need to apply for an sponsor fiancee visa before I move in?

He doesn't need to apply for anything because he is a UK citizen - you are the one who has to apply for the fiance visa so that you can move to the UK.

He will be acting as the sponsor for your visa, and providing most of the supporting documents for it, but you are the one who applies .

- One of the requirements is proof of income; his income tax OR mine from the U.S.?

Only his UK income can count for the visa, so your income will not be considered at all.

In order to meet the financial requirement for the visa, if he is self-employed, he will have to provide a number of documents (about 13 or 14 different documents) to prove he meets the financial requirement for self-employment.

See here for more details:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/636618/Appendix_FM_1_7_Financial_Requirement_Final.pdf

How much research have you done into the visa and visa requirements so far? The requirements and documents required are very specific, so it's worth spending a few months researching and preparing before you apply for the visa.

See here:
https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa

Self-employed is the hardest category to qualify under as there are numerous required documents for a specific period.  He can only use his self-assessment income (taxable income needs to be greater than £18,600) from his most recent HMRC return.

Alternatively, to have the easiest visa category, do you have savings of £62,500?  It can be in either of your names.

Is he the director of a company or a sole trader?

ksand24, Thank you! We are very happy.

So I have to apply in America for the fiance visa before I move in to London?

I have visited the UK Visa Bureau site, requirements:

The sponsor and the applicant must intend to get married within a six month period. YES
They must have met each other. YES
They must intend to live together permanently. YES
The applicant must be able to support him/herself, or be supported by their partner, without access to public funds. YES
There must be adequate accommodation in place. YES

ksand24, Thank you! We are very happy.

So I have to apply in America for the fiance visa before I move in to London?

Yes, you need to get the visa first, before you can move to the UK.

I have visited the UK Visa Bureau site, requirements:

The sponsor and the applicant must intend to get married within a six month period. YES
They must have met each other. YES
They must intend to live together permanently. YES
The applicant must be able to support him/herself, or be supported by their partner, without access to public funds. YES
There must be adequate accommodation in place. YES

It's not quite as simple as just saying 'Yes' to those... you have to provide hard evidence to prove you meet the requirements.

You need to show:

- your sponsor meets the financial requirement, and you must provide every single document in the correct format
- you have suitable accommodation in the UK, evidenced by tenancy agreements/landlord letters or house deeds/mortgage statements etc.
- you are in a genuine relationship (evidence of meeting each other, visiting each other, regularly communicating with each other)
- you plan to marry with the 6 months... evidence of the wedding planning etc.

It's more expensive and difficult to marry in the UK than it is to marry in the US, so that might be something to consider.

To marry in the UK, you have to get the fiance visa, then be resident in England for 7 days before giving notice to marry, then you have to wait a minimum of 28 days after that before you can actually marry... but this could be extended to 70 days if they refer your case to immigration.

Or, he could fly to the US without a visa and you could get married within a couple of days. Then you could apply for a spousal visa, move to the UK, and then just have a wedding blessing in the UK in the summer.

Also, you cannot work on a fiance visa and you are not entitled to NHS care, but with a spousal visa, you can work immediately and will have full access to NHS care. Plus, marrying in the US will save you about £1,000 in visa fees and it means one less visa to apply for.

Yes we can do that, after all he comes to the U.S. every month. so you are saying get married in America, move to the UK with my American marriage certificated and validatE the marriage in the UK.

Would the process be easier that way? Thank you for your patience !!

No matter which option you chose, you MUST apply for your visa prior to moving to the UK.

I have that clear that I have to apply in the US I was just wondering if marrying in America would make the process any easier/faster. Thanks again

I have that clear that I have to apply in the US I was just wondering if marrying in America would make the process any easier/faster. Thanks again

Much easier, and cheaper!

Yes we can do that, after all he comes to the U.S. every month. so you are saying get married in America, move to the UK with my American marriage certificated and validatE the marriage in the UK.

You don't need to validate anything in the UK. You just apply for a spousal visa, showing you are married, and then move to the UK.

If you still want to have a wedding in the UK, you can just do it as a blessing and not a legal ceremony, since you will already be married

Would the process be easier that way? Thank you for your patience !!

Much easier and cheaper:

Marry in the UK
- apply for 6-month fiance visa (currently £1,464, but prices will rise in March/April, plus £551 for priority processing to get it processed faster, if you wish)
- move to the UK
- you cannot work, study or use the NHS for 'free' until after you are married and have received your next visa (so you will need health insurance)
- wait at least 7 days, then give notice to marry
- wait at least 28 days, possibly up to 70 days, then get married (so you have to be careful with your timing and don't book the wedding until you have the visa)
- after the wedding, apply for FLR(M) to stay in the UK. Currently this costs £993 plus £500 IHS surcharge (to use the NHS for 'free'. It takes about 8 weeks by post, or you can pay £590 more to apply in person for a same day decision
- once you have the FLR(M), you can start working

Total visa cost
=  Fiance visa: £1464 + (£551) and FLR(M) visa: £993 + £500 + (£590)
= between £2957 and £4098
but the prices may well rise in March/April and it could be a lot more

Marry in the US
- he flies to the US... he doesn't need a visa to marry as long as he will be returning to live in the UK afterwards
- you get married
- apply for 33-month spousal visa (currently £1,464, but prices will rise in March/April, plus £600 IHS surcharge, plus £551 for priority processing to get it processed faster, if you wish)
- move to the UK
- you can work, study and use the NHS for 'free' immediately

Total visa cost
=  £1464 + £600 + (£551)
= either £2064 or £2615
but the prices may well rise in March/April

So, if you can marry and apply for a spousal visa before the prices go up, it will be at least £893 cheaper in visa fees to marry in the US, possibly up to £2,000 cheaper... and also much quicker, and a lot less hassle. Plus you can start working in the UK several months earlier, which may be helpful for you income-wise.

And if he visits the US each month anyway, you won't be paying out extra for him to make a special trip to get married .

You don't need to validate anything in the UK. You just apply for a spousal visa, showing you are married, and then move to the UK.

If you still want to have a wedding in the UK, you can just do it as a blessing and not a legal ceremony, since you will already be married

Much easier and cheaper:

Marry in the UK
- apply for 6-month fiance visa (currently £1,464, but prices will rise in March/April, plus £551 for priority processing to get it processed faster, if you wish)
- move to the UK
- you cannot work, study or use the NHS for 'free' until after you are married and have received your next visa (so you will need health insurance)
- wait at least 7 days, then give notice to marry
- wait at least 28 days, possibly up to 70 days, then get married (so you have to be careful with your timing and don't book the wedding until you have the visa)
- after the wedding, apply for FLR(M) to stay in the UK. Currently this costs £993 plus £500 IHS surcharge (to use the NHS for 'free'. It takes about 8 weeks by post, or you can pay £590 more to apply in person for a same day decision
- once you have the FLR(M), you can start working

Total visa cost
=  Fiance visa: £1464 + (£551) and FLR(M) visa: £993 + £500 + (£590)
= between £2957 and £4098
but the prices may well rise in March/April and it could be a lot more

Marry in the US
- he flies to the US... he doesn't need a visa to marry as long as he will be returning to live in the UK afterwards
- you get married
- apply for 33-month spousal visa (currently £1,464, but prices will rise in March/April, plus £600 IHS surcharge, plus £551 for priority processing to get it processed faster, if you wish)
- move to the UK
- you can work, study and use the NHS for 'free' immediately

Total visa cost
=  £1464 + £600 + (£551)
= either £2064 or £2615
but the prices may well rise in March/April

So, if you can marry and apply for a spousal visa before the prices go up, it will be at least £893 cheaper in visa fees to marry in the US, possibly up to £2,000 cheaper... and also much quicker, and a lot less hassle. Plus you can start working in the UK several months earlier, which may be helpful for you income-wise.

And if he visits the US each month anyway, you won't be paying out extra for him to make a special trip to get married .

On top of all this, UKVI sucks the romance out of marrying in the UK.  Your wedding date will basically be controlled by when others say you can marry.  I’d only marry here if you are happy for it to be on any day (no date in particular) and you don’t want any guests.  Seriously.