Questions regarding work/re visas and also embassy personal answering questions.

We have not met in person. I'm open to the idea of marrying but upon probing the idea my girlfriend seemed much less willing towards the idea.

It’s great to look at the future and plan for it.  But take your time, travel to see her, get to know her, have her visit you, etc.  Enjoy dating - it’s a fabulous part of a relationship.   

We have not met in person. I'm open to the idea of marrying but upon probing the idea my girlfriend seemed much less willing towards the idea.

You're both still very young, so I probably wouldn't recommend marriage at this point in your lives yet anyway. My advice would be to arrange a trip to see each other so that you can meet in person, and then do the long-distance thing for a while, meeting up when you can, so you can get to know each other better in person before you make any big decisions.

In terms of options for moving closer to each other, maybe you could consider something like a study abroad semester or year in the future (i.e. when I was at university in the UK, I did a study abroad year in the US)... but I think it's likely too soon for you to be thinking about permanent life changes.

We have not met in person. I'm open to the idea of marrying but upon probing the idea my girlfriend seemed much less willing towards the idea.

In which case your options are:
- visitor visa: this would give you up to 6 months to spend time with your girlfriend in the UK and travel around a bit together or separately. Generally you don't need to apply for this in advance of travelling, but you can apply beforehand which is advisable if wanting to stay in the UK for more than a couple of weeks.
- Tier 4 student visa: you would have to apply for and be accepted by a college/ university and pursue a course in the UK. This can quickly become quite expensive in tuition fees, living costs. You might be allowed to work part-time depending on the level of the course.

There is no 'shacking up and getting to know you because we don't want to get married (for very valid reasons)' visa. Meet each other and see where it could go from there.

In which case your options are:
- visitor visa: this would give you up to 6 months to spend time with your girlfriend in the UK and travel around a bit together or separately. Generally you don't need to apply for this in advance of travelling, but you can apply beforehand which is advisable if wanting to stay in the UK for more than a couple of weeks.

Just to note that as the OP’s girlfriend lives in Ireland, if he flies directly into Ireland, and not into the U.K., he’ll get an Irish visitor visa, which is valid only 3 months not 6 months.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We have not met in person. I'm open to the idea of marrying but upon probing the idea my girlfriend seemed much less willing towards the idea.

Well, there's still the "signifant other/unmarried partner" Irish option. Potentially.    Complicated, but possibe.

Otherwise, if you have an Irish parent or grandparent you can get Irish citizenship and live in the UK or Ireland. (Or anywhere in the EU, really.) Any chance of that? If so, it's relatively easy to do.

Failing all, you're going to have to have a skill that the UK needs.  Nursing, or other medical professional would get you a ticket in, most likely.  "Ordinary Guys" who work entry-level jobs are not the kind of people that the UK wants to allow in. (Except temporarily to do menial work for short bursts.) Just like in the USA.

Sorry to not have better options for you.

OML, I was a proper dumb dumb and forgot where I was hoping to emigrate too. I'm trying to emigrate to the UK, this is where my girlfriend is hoping to go to study in just a few short months.

Right, but I was going off this...

But visiting Ireland before she relocates to the UK could be a possibility.

Right, but I was going off this...

But visiting Ireland before she relocates to the UK could be a possibility.

Yeah, and I think it'd be easier to have her sponsor you in Ireland than in the UK. But since you've never actually met, this is a reeeeeal stretch for any sort of arrangment. They are pretty serious about documenting your relationship, and you don't seem to actually have much of one (in realtime).

There's always the future.