California to UK

Hello everyone!
I'm 26 years old born and raised in California. I met my bf(32yrs old) last November(he's from Manchester, UK.) I've gone to visit him 3 times and he's came twice to see me. We've been talking about moving together and realistically since he's a homeowner and has his own business it would make more sense for me to move with him(i live at home with my parents.) I really love everything about The UK and can really picture myself moving there. However, I wouldn't know what kind of VISA I'd have to apply for or how the process works. Looking at the different visas there is, it's down to the Fiance visa, or try and shoot for the work visa. I'm looking for some guidance as to what would help me make this process smooth? 

Hello everyone!
I'm 26 years old born and raised in California. I met my bf(32yrs old) last November(he's from Manchester, UK.) I've gone to visit him 3 times and he's came twice to see me. We've been talking about moving together and realistically since he's a homeowner and has his own business it would make more sense for me to move with him(i live at home with my parents.) I really love everything about The UK and can really picture myself moving there. However, I wouldn't know what kind of VISA I'd have to apply for or how the process works. Looking at the different visas there is, it's down to the Fiance visa, or try and shoot for the work visa. I'm looking for some guidance as to what would help me make this process smooth? 

Hi Dlovess, welcome! 

Work visas are very hard to come by so if you are in a position to apply for one of the partner visas, that would be the way to go.

Easier and cheaper (because there is one less visa application involved) would be for you to marry in the US and apply directly for the spouse visa. 

Hi Dlovess, welcome! 

Work visas are very hard to come by so if you are in a position to apply for one of the partner visas, that would be the way to go.

Easier and cheaper (because there is one less visa application involved) would be for you to marry in the US and apply directly for the spouse visa. 

Thanks for the response! That makes sense. I see. How soon after we get married could I apply for the partner visa? We wanted to move in together by September, but we may have to change that if we will need to get married.

Thanks for the response! That makes sense. I see. How soon after we get married could I apply for the partner visa? We wanted to move in together by September, but we may have to change that if we will need to get married.

Assuming your boyfriend meets the financial requirements, you can apply straight away, as soon as you have your marriage certificate.

Of course, if you prefer, you could apply for the fiance visa and get married in the UK within 6 months (during which you would not be permitted to work or use the NHS for free) and then apply for further leave to remain.

It sounds like he may be self employed though? It is quite a bit trickier applying using self employment.

Take a look at these which explain the requirements in detail.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/525708/Appendix_FM_1_7_Financial_Requirement.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-fm-se-family-members-specified-evidence

Hi Dlovess, welcome to the forum!

Best of luck to you and your boyfriend. You've come to the right place for advice - as you can see already! 

Thanks for the response! That makes sense. I see. How soon after we get married could I apply for the partner visa? We wanted to move in together by September, but we may have to change that if we will need to get married.

You could apply immediately as long as he qualified with all of the other paperwork. Crucial would be proving he met the financial minimum for the previous 6 or 12 months, depending on which category he is (self-employment, in our case, was category F and required 12 months of financial paperwork).

Hey, I'm from California too!

I applied to join my husband in the UK and am waiting for a decision.

What part of CA are you in?!