Marriage visa logistics - living together, income / savings

Hi, looking for advice on how to plan for a marraige visa application next year! My situation:

* Entered UK in Oct 2017 as a PhD student
* Graduated in 2022, received 3-year Graduate Visa in July 2022
* Was living with a partner and planning unmarried partner visa, but the relationship broke up
* Started dating new partner (UK citizen) in July 2023

My partner and I want to stay here, moving to the US isn't an option for him for various reasons. We've agreed that while it's rushed, getting legally married / civil partnered and applying for a visa on that basis is the best option available, so we're starting to make plans for that. My questions:

* 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?

* 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?

* 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? 

Thanks so much for any help anyone can give!
Erin

* 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 .


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Thank you so much, that is really encouraging! I was under the impression that cohabitation was the primary way they decided whether or not a relationship was "genuine," so what is the best evidence to give in lieu of that? Affidavits from friends and family?

Thank you so much, that is really encouraging! I was under the impression that cohabitation was the primary way they decided whether or not a relationship was "genuine," so what is the best evidence to give in lieu of that? Affidavits from friends and family?

No, affidavits from other people cannot be considered - only evidence provided by yourself and your spouse is allowed.

Normally, the evidence provided to show a genuine relationship includes:
- letter of support from the UK spouse, detailing how they meet each requirement for the visa and giving a basic overview of the relationship timeline
- 1 or 2 photos of you together (I.e. one from the beginning of the relationship, one from the wedding)
- evidence of trips to see each other, such as flight boarding passes, train/bus tickets etc
- evidence of letters/cards written to each other
- evidence of regular communication by way of emails, texts, messages, call logs etc.

Of course, most of that evidence is aimed at couples in long-distance relationships who mainly communicate online and only see each other in person a couple of times a year, so if you see each other regularly, you could also include evidence of doing things together (like tickets to events/shows you’ve been to).


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Best of luck with your Spouse/Family visa! If youre married/in a civil partnership it's really quite easy and since you'll be relying on your savings, you'll have a lot less paperwork than most.

kSand is great. She helped me with my visas and I'm just savign up for citizenship. We've waited a bit as I was eligible right when Covid started.

Not to jump in(too much) but…….wow! So lovely to see you Lyonaria!


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Not to jump in(too much) but…….wow! So lovely to see you Lyonaria!


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Hey Rick! Great to see you! I started a seperate topic if you want to say hi in chit chat.