Marriage, work permits and residency

Hi everyone,
I haven't been on here in AGES.  Hope everyone has been doing well

I have been working for the past 2 years on a work permit (Sep 04 - now).  It is a 5 year permit, so I can apply for residency etc at some point.

Prior to that, I was on a full time degree prog in Bath (Aug 03-Sep04).  Prior to that, I lived in Oxford on a BUNAC visa and worked for 6 months, with 2 months on a visitors permit. I have always kept an address in the UK since arrival in Nov 02 and have never left for more than 3 months at a time.

I am engaged to a dual Kiwi / Brit citizen who is in the RAF.

My questions are as follows if anyone can help:

1) Do we need to do anything particular in order to get married? Or is it really as straight forward as making an appointment at the registry and turning up? (we are getting married in Thailand so are just planning on doing the registry wedding in the UK beforehand as it will be easier).  Surely there is paperwork involved as I am just on a work permit?

2) Does the time I was in the UK in the past count towards my residency? I want to be able to work for whoever I want and to obtain residency as early as possible so am looking for the most efficient way to do this.  However, I don't want to pay the fee if they are going to reject my application.  I have heard conflicting things.

3) My fiancee was able to push through his citizenship far earlier than standard due to being in the RAF.  Does any of this extend to me?

Thank you very much, I appreciate the help. I have been trawling through the IND website but can't seem to find what I am after.

Glad to be back 
k

Don't know about number 3, but I can help with the first two:

1) Surely there is paperwork involved as I am just on a work permit?

You're right, there is paperwork- you need to get a COA (certificate of approval.)  You have to have at least six months left on your visa, which you obviously do so no problems there.  You have to have the COA before you can give notice at the registry. (You can get the application form at http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk.)

2) Your time in the UK before you got your work permit does not count towards ILR.  Note that if you switch to a spouse visa before you reach the three year mark on your WP, you could get ILR a few months before you would on your WP, as well as getting the benefit of being able to work anywhere you want as soon as you switch into a spousal category.

edited to add: by the way, after you get married to your Kiwi/Brit you'll be eligible for naturalization as soon as you get ILR.

Thanks Andrea!
By naturalisation, you mean citizenship? I get confused between residency and citizenship

Re: the earlier residency etc., does that mean that the time on my work permit would count towards the spousal 3 years?

Is it cheaper to just wait the 2 years until I have residency on my work permit, or better to just do it now? We aren't fussed as to when we do the registry wedding - our actual wedding is the 9th of Feb 2008, but the ceremony will be symbolic rather than legal.  If we do get married beforehand we'll just pretend like we're not married yet to our friends and family

Any idea how long the COA takes? And do we have to give up our passports?

Thanks!
Katie

Thanks Andrea!
By naturalisation, you mean citizenship?

Yes.  What you're calling residency is ILR- indefinite leave to remain.

Re: the earlier residency etc., does that mean that the time on my work permit would count towards the spousal 3 years?

Not for ILR- if you switch into a spousal category, your ILR clock will start over again (I am 95% sure of that, but it would nice to have some official confirmation ) Also, the time requirement for ILR as a spouse is only two years, not three.  BUT....If married to a Brit, you need to have been resident for three years (not necessarily as a spouse) & have ILR before being eligible for citizenship, which is why I said that whenever you get your ILR you will be instantly eligible for citizenship.

Is it cheaper to just wait the 2 years until I have residency on my work permit, or better to just do it now? We aren't fussed as to when we do the registry wedding - our actual wedding is the 9th of Feb 2008, but the ceremony will be symbolic rather than legal.  If we do get married beforehand we'll just pretend like we're not married yet to our friends and family

Just checking- are you aware that the rules have changed with regards to ILR and WPs?  You now need to be on a WP for five years before being eligible for ILR, not four.  If you don't mind being tied to your job and you're not getting married until 2008 it makes sense to just stay on your WP and get ILR in Sept 2009.  If you switch to a spouse visa before Sept 2007 you will get ILR before you would be eligible on your WP...but it would likely be only a matter of months so you might not want to bother with the extra £335 or £500 it would cost to switch to a spouse visa.

Any idea how long the COA takes? And do we have to give up our passports?

I'm actually not sure how long it takes...it's not an obscene amount of time, but it's definitely more than a few weeks.  I'm pretty sure you will have to submit your passport- I'm not sure about your fiance.  The detailed info on the COA is all on the link I posted, so you can get all your answers there.

Thanks!

No problem, Katie

Right again...I feel surplus to requirements again!

Just a little thing..the time spend here on other categories will all count in cases of the 10 year residency application for ILR, but that isn't relevant in this case.

And I can't see that being a spouse of someone in the RAF would speed up the qualifying period for ILR, but i'm not 100 per cent sure about that as it's nothing I have come across before and I don't have my magic text books in front of me at the moment.  It might be worth talking to RAF personnel dept about it.

Vicky

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it. I didn't know they changed the ILR requirements for work permits - I was thinking I would be eligible after 4 years.  We talked and I think we'll go ahead with applying for the COA.  Then we have it and can get married when we want. 

Do either of you know how long they are valid for in England? I have heard from 3-12 months but want to be sure. It seems like if we didn't apply for a COA and get the wheels in motion, that if something went wrong with my job, work permit etc. things would be a huge hassle and we would be wishing that we had started the process.

It is a bit of insurance, I guess, and since we are already engaged, might as well get going with it.

Thanks again, you guys are great!
k