Fiance Visa timeline

Hi Guys!

(I introduced myself a few weeks ago, but have since changed my profile pic)

I’m planning on moving to England by the end of this year on a fiancé visa.  I’m hoping some of you valuable and experienced folks can give me advice on a timeline.  I’d like to stay in NYC for about another 4-5 months to save some money.  Then I’d like to go back to MN for a month to visit family and then move to London near the end of the summer or early winter.

So my first question (I'm sure I'll be back later with more) is about the wedding day.  Should this be the first thing we decide on?  How is it even possible to select and plan a wedding day when you don’t know how the visa application will turn out?  I’d like to have a small ceremony in England involving family from the US.   Let’s say we picked a Dec date – when would be the best time to start the visa application process by applying online?

Thank you!

Your visa can be post dated for up to 3 months, so if you want to arrive in December, you could apply in September.  But your visa will be for 6 months, so if you wanted to apply this summer then go over a few months before your wedding, that wouldn't be a problem. 

Personally I think the wedding date should be decided first, and then work back in time from that. The fiancée visa is for 6 months and the marriage needs to happen during that 6-month period. Not only that, the application (in the UK) for the spouse visa, needs to happen after the wedding but before the expiry date of the fiancée visa.

Also appreciate that after arrival in the UK, and before the wedding can happen, there are legal formalities to observe. These effectively mean the wedding cannot possibly happen for the best part of one month after you arrive in the UK. See this webpage from Birmingham Register Office (as an example) to get some idea about the timescale of the legal formalities.

So whilst not necessarily deciding the exact wedding date, at least plan for about when that should be. December 2009? Personally I would plan to have the start date of the 6-month fiancée visa somewhere between July 2009 and October 2009.

Have you considered getting married in the US and then having a blessing ceremony in the UK? That's what we did and it was so much easier. Your fiance doesn't need a fiance visa to get married in the US. Then, all you need to do is get your spouse visa in the US before you leave, which will allow you to live/work in the UK for two years. No UK fiance visa to mess with, then Further Leave to Remain (FLR) visa. You'll be all set from the moment you set foot in England.

As for the ceremony, I had my heart set on a traditional English church wedding, but our blessing was just as good. The ceremony was nearly exactly the same as the wedding ceremony and all of our guests treated it as if it were our only wedding. Plus, you get to wear your wedding dress twice - bargain! 

This is all very helpful.  Nice to know I can postdate for 3 months as a buffer if needed.

I'm definitely considering getting married in the US and then getting the Spouse visa.
 
Let's see if I'm understanding this.  On a fiance visa - we pay for both the fiance visa ($800 approx) and the FLR ($680 approx) and then I can work in the UK.  But with a spouse visa ($800 approx) I can land in UK and start to work right away and have up to two years before I need to get a FLR ($680 approx).  So the benefit is that we'd only pay the $800 to get me to the UK instead of $1460?  Is this correct?

Thanks so much!

This is all very helpful.  Nice to know I can postdate for 3 months as a buffer if needed.

I'm definitely considering getting married in the US and then getting the Spouse visa.
 
Let's see if I'm understanding this.  On a fiance visa - we pay for both the fiance visa ($800 approx) and the FLR ($680 approx) and then I can work in the UK.  But with a spouse visa ($800 approx) I can land in UK and start to work right away and have up to two years before I need to get a FLR ($680 approx).  So the benefit is that we'd only pay the $800 to get me to the UK instead of $1460?  Is this correct?

Thanks so much!

You'd get your ILR after your two years on a spousal visa, instead of the FLR (FLR gives you Further Leave to Remain after your fiance visa). You can work after you get your FLR, or you can work as soon as you enter the UK on your spousal visa, so yeah, it works out like that kinda

But, just a disclaimer, ILR as we know it may not be around in the future, I think the details of what would replace it are still up in the air 

But with a spouse visa ($800 approx) I can land in UK and start to work right away and have up to two years before I need to get a FLR ($680 approx).  So the benefit is that we'd only pay the $800 to get me to the UK instead of $1460?  Is this correct?

Not quite - the spousal visa is essentially the same as the FLR, but it has been granted from outside the UK (FLR is the name given to the spousal visa when applied for from within the UK). What you apply for after 2 years is ILR/permanent residence (at the moment anyway, but this is likely to change). Whichever way you go about it (Fiance visa -> FLR(M) or spousal visa directly), you will still have to apply for ILR 2 years after you start the FLR/spousal visa.

So as of the current rules and fees you can either pay for fiance visa ($800), spousal visa/FLR ($680) and then ILR after 2 years on FLR ($1,200 by post, $1,500 in person), or you can pay spousal visa ($800) and then ILR after 2 years ($1,200 by post, $1,500 in person).

But to answer your underlying question, marrying in the US and getting the spousal visa is nearly always cheaper than getting the fiance visa, though you do have to consider the cost of getting your fiance to the US. 

Ok - I think I got it.  I was getting confused btwn the Spousal visa & FLR.  $680 seems a substantial savings.  Next step is to talk to the Fiance and see what he wants to do.

Thanks for clearing this up for me!

Ok - I think I got it.  I was getting confused btwn the Spousal visa & FLR.  $680 seems a substantial savings.  Next step is to talk to the Fiance and see what he wants to do.

Thanks for clearing this up for me!

It is a big savings but also keep in mind that you need to add the cost of your fiancee flying over to the US for the wedding.

But to answer your underlying question, marrying in the US and getting the spousal visa is nearly always cheaper than getting the fiance visa, though you do have to consider the cost of getting your fiance to the US. 

It is a big savings but also keep in mind that you need to add the cost of your fiancee flying over to the US for the wedding.

And your flight to the UK!  If you can get his flight to the US and your flight to the UK for less than the cost of the fiance visa, go for it, but do some number crunching first just to make sure!

Yeah, but she's going to be coming to the UK anyway!


Vicky

Yeah, but she's going to be coming to the UK anyway!


Vicky

I think I worded that wrong.  If HIS ticket to the US is less than the cost of the fiancee visa, then do it.  But if his ticket would cost more and you're concerned with saving money, tehn doing the fiancee visa first is probably best. 

Duh. I'm an airhead. Although somewhere in there I was thinking her ticket has to come into account too when figuring out the finances, but now I can't remember how I had worked that out.   

Thanks everyone.  This is much clearer to me now.  I'll relay our options to the BF and he'll be completely impressed with how smart and well-informed I am.  Thanks for making me look good!