Fiancee Visa.

Two questions here that I would greatly appreciate any input on

1. Is it possible for a US citizen visiting the UK on a visitor's visa to legally marry a UK Citizen?

2. Is it possible for a US citizen visiting the UK on a visitor's visa to apply and receive a fiancee visa while still in the UK - without need for going back to America first?

It seems to me that the visitor's visa has the same limitations as a fiancee visa. But any input would be great thanks!

Two questions here that I would greatly appreciate any input on

1. Is it possible for a US citizen visiting the UK on a visitor's visa to legally marry a UK Citizen?

2. Is it possible for a US citizen visiting the UK on a visitor's visa to apply and receive a fiancee visa while still in the UK - without need for going back to America first?

It seems to me that the visitor's visa has the same limitations as a fiancee visa. But any input would be great thanks!

For the first question:  yes.  You can marry in the CofE, for example.  To marry in England and Wales at a Registry, you will need a Certificate of Approval (COA).  Section 3 of the COA asks if your visa is 6 months or more and if not, they are going to need a really and *really* good reason.  The reason will need to be legally compelling on constitutional grounds and not something like "we can't stand to be apart".    Constitutional grounds means that you need to convince them that they did not contemplate your circumstances when they made the law (I&A TOC 2004).    So in practical reality, the answer is no.

For the second question, the answer is no, they are not going to let somebody convert from a visitor to a fiance or spouse.  There was too much abuse of that loophole (mostly by Americans) in the 90's and 00's and they changed the law to forbid it (I&A 2002).  There's a provision to allow exceptions, but once again it can't be something like "We love each other too much to abide by the rules".  Generally it's not worth fooling around with exceptionals because you can damage your credibility. 

Edit:  You don't necessarily need to go stateside.  You can go to any country where you have domicile.  Ok, for most that's the USA, but not necessarily for every US citizen.

Thanks for the reply.

In question 1, would pregnancy be a reasonable answer to why we have to stay together?

here's another question (we're really racking our brains out about how to do this)

3. If we travelled from the UK to California to get a Fiancee visa, and came back to the UK and got married, would we have to travelback out to America YET AGAIN to get a marraige Visa? That doesn't seem right.

Once again, any replies greatly appreciated.

If you're in the UK on a fiance visa you can get the spousal visa in the UK.

Thanks for the reply.

In question 1, would pregnancy be a reasonable answer to why we have to stay together?

here's another question (we're really racking our brains out about how to do this)

3. If we travelled from the UK to California to get a Fiancee visa, and came back to the UK and got married, would we have to travelback out to America YET AGAIN to get a marraige Visa? That doesn't seem right.

Once again, any replies greatly appreciated.

1. Pregnancy does not allow you to avoid following the rules. You have to go through the same procedures as everyone else does to emigrate to the UK.

2. What Slices said.

Thank you thank you

Ok we now finally know what we're going to do, thanks to everyone here!

-Damien.

Damien, assuming your girlfriend is a US citizen, you guys can get married in the US (you don't need a fiance visa for that since you won't be living there after the wedding).  After the wedding, you can go to NYC, Chicago, or LA to apply for your then-wife's spousal visa (or apply by post -- 2-4 weeks turnaround).  After that she can enter the UK as a spouse will full residency and employment privileges.  That way, you won't have to pay for her fiancee' visa and then pay the fee for the adjustment to the spousal visa.

That'll save you a nice chunk of change if you're going to the US anyway.

For the first question:  yes.  You can marry in the CofE, for example.  To marry in England and Wales at a Registry, you will need a Certificate of Approval (COA).  Section 3 of the COA asks if your visa is 6 months or more and if not, they are going to need a really and *really* good reason.  The reason will need to be legally compelling on constitutional grounds and not something like "we can't stand to be apart".     Constitutional grounds means that you need to convince them that they did not contemplate your circumstances when they made the law (I&A TOC 2004).    So in practical reality, the answer is no.

What is the C of E?  How do you get this Certificate of Approval?  My fiance and I are experiencing MAJOR problems trying to marry in the US and come back to the UK to live.  He cannot legally enter the US due to a prior drug conviction.   Is this a legally compelling reason to grant a spousal visa?  If we married in the UK and then applied for a spousal visa, will the INS or Home Office just flat-out refuse or is there just a longer process to get it?

What is the C of E?  How do you get this Certificate of Approval?  My fiance and I are experiencing MAJOR problems trying to marry in the US and come back to the UK to live.  He cannot legally enter the US due to a prior drug conviction.   Is this a legally compelling reason to grant a spousal visa?  If we married in the UK and then applied for a spousal visa, will the INS or Home Office just flat-out refuse or is there just a longer process to get it?

CofE- Church of England.  Certificates of Approval give non-UK citizens/ILR holders permission to marry in the UK if they're already in the country on another visa of more than six months (ie work permit, student visa etc- otherwise, to get married in the UK you need a fiance visa or a marriage visit visa.)

The spousal visa is for you, right? So if your fiance has a prior drug conviction that shouldn't impact your application at all since he's a British citizen (at least, this is what makes sense to me- someone please correct me if I'm wrong!) 

If he can't enter the US then your only choice is to get a fiancee visa for you and marry in the UK (in which case you won't need a COA) or get married in a third country and then you fly back to the US, get your spousal visa and then head to the UK.

The spousal visa is for you, right? So if your fiance has a prior drug conviction that shouldn't impact your application at all since he's a British citizen (at least, this is what makes sense to me- someone please correct me if I'm wrong!)

Getting married in the UK is probablly the best bet here... but I suggest SalfordUSA read up on the process of getting a Fiancee visa and what it really takes to prove it, so you can make sure you can go to the UK.  If all of the ducks are in a row, you should be ok.  If Miss SalfordUSA, you are in the States now, don't try going over to get married in the Church of England on a visitors visa.  If they think for a moment that you might be trying to go over for a reason other then stated, you might run into problems that make it difficult for both you and your intended.