US to UK Immigration for a Relationship That is Less Than 2 Years

Hey there,

I'm a British citizen that did something silly and ended up falling for an American girl online. We really hit it off both online and off (just got back from spending a couple of weeks together over in the States). Long story short she's interested in moving to the UK since I'm the one with a stable job and place to live etc.

I've been digging through the Visa documentation and since our relationship is only really a few months if you include the online stuff it looks like we're stuck with just using a visitor Visa for a 6 month visit. I won't get into specifics but once those 6 months are up she wouldn't really have anywhere to go back to in the States so this isn't exactly ideal. There's the marriage Visas but I'm not quite crazy enough to jump into that after only a few months...

I did see the SU07 Sponsor a visa applicant form but from what I understand this is only really supplementary evidence to support a Visa application that you're already eligible for; haven't seen too much info on how the sponsorship stuff works though.

Just posting here on the off chance that someone has some advice on what could work for us here? I've got income to support us both and a place to live but just not sure how I can have it so that she can stay indefinitely.

Thanks,
Dan

Hey there,

I'm a British citizen that did something silly and ended up falling for an American girl online. We really hit it off both online and off (just got back from spending a couple of weeks together over in the States). Long story short she's interested in moving to the UK since I'm the one with a stable job and place to live etc.

I've been digging through the Visa documentation and since our relationship is only really a few months if you include the online stuff it looks like we're stuck with just using a visitor Visa for a 6 month visit. I won't get into specifics but once those 6 months are up she wouldn't really have anywhere to go back to in the States so this isn't exactly ideal. There's the marriage Visas but I'm not quite crazy enough to jump into that after only a few months...

I did see the SU07 Sponsor a visa applicant form but from what I understand this is only really supplementary evidence to support a Visa application that you're already eligible for; haven't seen too much info on how the sponsorship stuff works though.

Just posting here on the off chance that someone has some advice on what could work for us here? I've got income to support us both and a place to live but just not sure how I can have it so that she can stay indefinitely.

Thanks,
Dan

There are lots of people in your position, but unfortunately, it's either marriage visa or visitor visa (or work or student). There's no 'shack up' visa. 

It's not ideal when all you want to do is test the waters. You'll find international relationships end up moving at a different pace than domestic relationships.

Keep in mind that the two year rule you're probably referring to is for non-married partners who have lived together for a two-year period. Even if you'd been in a relationship online for two years, it wouldn't make you eligible for the unmarried partner visa. This usually applies to couples who have lived together in the US or UK on a different visa (work or student) or lived together in a third country.

A visitor visa is probably best for your situation, but she will need ties to the US to show she'll return. Even if she intends to apply for a fiance visa, she'll have to return to the US to do it.

I stayed with my now-DH in the UK for a few months one visitor visa, he visited me a few times in the US and then we took the plunge and applied for the fiance visa. If we didn't have visas to worry about, we probably would have taken a bit more time, but we can than UKVI for the quick pace.

Keep in mind that the two year rule you're probably referring to is for non-married partners who have lived together for a two-year period. Even if you'd been in a relationship online for two years, it wouldn't make you eligible for the unmarried partner visa. This usually applies to couples who have lived together in the US or UK on a different visa (work or student) or lived together in a third country.

Yeah, that kind of what I expected. Thanks for the info.

Why'd this stuff have to be so complicated? 

Guess we'll go with the visitor Visa and just work things out from there.

Thanks again.

Welcome to the forum .

Sounds like you're going with the visitor visa for now, but your various options for visas are:

- she visits on a visitor visa for up to 6 months, but she'll need to prove she has a life in the US to return to (job, home etc.) and is a genuine tourist, and not just using the visitor visa to try out living with you

- you get married in the US and she applies for a spousal visa to move to the UK

- she applies for a 6-month fiancé visa  to move to the UK and you get married within those 6 months. After getting married, she switches to a spousal visa to stay

- she applies for a student visa to study for a degree in the UK (this would probably mean moving in Aug/Sept 2018 at the earliest as it's too late to start this year)

- she tries to qualify for a work visa for the UK... but it can be extremely difficult to get one unless she is very highly skilled or works in a shortage occupation


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Welcome to the forum .

Sounds like you're going with the visitor visa for now, but your various options for visas are:

- she visits on a visitor visa for up to 6 months, but she'll need to prove she has a life in the US to return to (job, home etc.) and is a genuine tourist, and not just using the visitor visa to try out living with you

Thanks for the extra info.

We're still a bit worried about how extensive the visitor checks are. She's recently just finished with College over there and doesn't really have any income at the moment. Her Parent's address could be listed for return to the US but there's no proof of income that could really be provided. Is it common for a lot of questions to be asked when someone is coming in as a visitor from the US? Would the sponsorship documentation help?

Sorry for all the questions! 

Thanks for the extra info.

We're still a bit worried about how extensive the visitor checks are. She's recently just finished with College over there and doesn't really have any income at the moment. Her Parent's address could be listed for return to the US but there's no proof of income that could really be provided. Is it common for a lot of questions to be asked when someone is coming in as a visitor from the US?

There's no way to tell, I'm afraid - it's completely dependant on the immigration officer at the border. She may not be asked any questions, or she may be asked to show ties to the US. She'll just need to gather as much evidence of ties as she can and hope it's okay.

If she wanted, she could apply for a visitor visa in advance of travel, so she would know if she's been approved before she flies.

Also, it's a good idea to take a shorter visit of maybe 1-2 months and not try for the whole 6 months in one go... because the longer you try to stay for, the more scrutiny you'll be under.

They will look at:
- does she have a return ticket?
- does she have enough money for her trip?
- is she planning to do tourist-related things in the U.K.?
- does she have a job in the US?
- is she maintaining a place of residence in the US?
- does she have commitments to return to? (Family, events, interviews, appointments etc.)
- how much time has she spent in the UK in the past?
- how often does she visit?
- is she spending more time in the UK than in the US?
- does it seem like she's using the visitor visa to make a life for herself in the UK?

Would the sponsorship documentation help?

No, it wouldn't because the SU07 form is only accepted for exceptional circumstance settlement visa applications, namely the following visas:
- elderly dependant relative
- adult dependant relative
where the visa applicant is incapable of taking care of themselves and has no one in their home country who can care for them (can't dress or feed themselves, can't work, and are completely financially dependant on the sponsor).



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International relationships definitely move at a different pace! 

For us, most of his, he's the UKC, friends have been with their partner for 10 - 12 years, married for 2 - 4 years.  We've been together 14 and married over 12.  We didn't have the luxury of dating for a couple years, then living together for a few more years and then getting married in our late 20s to early 30s like they did.

Just because your partner might qualify for a 6 month stay in the UK doesn't mean she has to stay for that long.  The shorter the visit, the less likely she is to be questioned at immigration and the more ties she has to her home country the better it looks.  My sister has an immigration history of long bi-annual stays with us, we always write her letters of support, but this time she was heavily grilled over the not being employed in a paying job  - she's a housewife.  If you visit back and forth just be honest with immigration, clear about any intentions that you're asked about and provide evidence and links to home countries where possible.

There is no shack up visa.  You can either do the visits back and forth until you decide you're ready (or immigration questions you so heavily you decide that you need to) for marriage.  Or if you qualify you can get married and apply now, just having a shorter courtship than you'd otherwise expect.  Benefit: bragging rights about being married over a decade when you still look very young   Drawback: hearing "but are you sure, it's so quick" all the f-ing time.

Can you go somewhere else and live together for a while, or maybe just travel?  I don't actually know what the visa requirements are for places like Prague or Spain, but you can move there because of the EU and there might be a shack up visa. 

I bet it wouldn't be too difficult for you guys to shack up somewhere else than the UK.

Thanks for the advice everyone - really nice community here. 

It looks like we're not in the best position here and trying for a 2 - 3 month visa might be the more sensible option for now. She won't really have anywhere good to go back to once she has to return to the US so we're still trying to figure out what to do. It's crazy how a quick marriage actually looks like the smartest option available - kinda messed up system when you think about it, lol. 

Guess we'll just do what we can for now, spend more time together and go from there.

My husband and I were in a similar situation two plus years ago. I didn't want to stay where I was in the US, and he didn't really want to leave his family in the UK. I knew that I wanted to do my MA so I decided to do it abroad.

It's a valid choice if she feels like she wants to go on to higher education and can see a future in the UK. It will be expensive though. But it will get her in the country for (potentially, depends on the programme) two or so years so you could do the unmarried partners visa.

However, she'd have to apply for next year, 2018. 

Alternatively, jimbocz raises a good point. My friends have gone off to Japan, South Korea, China, etc to do teaching or various other jobs abroad. Some companies will work with couples. I have no idea, but there might be other countries to try.

We're having a pretty tough time of figuring out how to make things work. Think I'm starting to realise that there are no real quick solutions for these long distance relationships, huh?

Pretty sure that any attempts for an extended visit won't work if there is any kind of scrutiny at customs and there's been an unfortunate backlash from her family who are basically threatening to leave her homeless if she comes to the UK and then tried to go back home. 

Wish I was eligible for a work Visa out in the states, almost feels like that would be easier but from everything I've read my education level and job wouldn't be specialised enough for me to qualify. (Mainly I.T. work with about 4 years of experience, only got NVQ's as my highest qualifications).

We even toyed with the idea of marriage but the Fiancé visa for the UK seems like it's going to be an expensive and slow route to take and since the relationship hasn't been that long we're worried that it could appear as fraudulent.

My respect to the people on this forum that has managed to make these relationships work. It's tough 

You can get a visa to work over the summer in the US really easily, and jobs at a summer camp or in a National Park are easily obtainable by Americans and British alike.  I'm thinking summer because that's how I managed to capture Mrs jimbocz, but maybe you could do the same thing in a ski area for the winter . 

You both should apply to work at Trail Ridge rd in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Spend the summer selling hot dogs together for the ultimate test of compatibility.  Worked for me.

Can you go somewhere else and live together for a while, or maybe just travel?  I don't actually know what the visa requirements are for places like Prague or Spain, but you can move there because of the EU and there might be a shack up visa. 

I bet it wouldn't be too difficult for you guys to shack up somewhere else than the UK.

She would have to see if any EEA countries will allow US citizens to move there and work.


I don't think there will be a 'shack up via the EU' as many EU countries won't even accept non-EEA citizens unless they are married, as they won't allow that under their own immigration laws either. I think that France is one of those countries that won't? I don't know about the stance of Spain or the Czech Republic. The UK would require 2 years proof of living together "akin to marriage".

Even if an EEA country wil allow an unmarried partner, and the non-EEA citizen can meet their requirement, that country can still choose not to let them stay in their country. Unlike a spouse who comes under Direct Family Member of an EEA citizen, a unmarried partner only comes under Extended Family Member and there is no automatic rights under the EEA Regulations, for EFM to be in an EEA country.