Do I need a visa and, if so, which visa do I need?

I am an American citizen soon to be marrying a UK citizen.  The wedding will be in America, and I plan to travel back with him to the UK after the honeymoon to settle in England.  I am lost as to the visa requirements.  Every official UK website, as well as the phone numbers I have called, has redirected me to this new service Abtran which is $2.10 per minute to call.  I finally bit the bullet and called, and was assured repeatedly that I do not, in fact, need a visa to initially enter the UK after we are married, provided I travel back to the US within 6 months to apply for a spouse visa from there. 

I am currently in England on a visit, and when I went through UK Immigration Control at the airport, was informed that if I attempted to enter as a spouse, regardless of my intent to leave within six months, I would be refused entry period. 

First question, do I, or do I not need a visa to initially enter the UK as a spouse, if my intent is to leave within six months to apply from the US?

If I do need a visa, then my next question is - do I apply as a fiancee, or as a spouse?  Again, I plan to enter the UK with my fiance pretty much as soon as we are married.  If I apply as a fiancee, will there be a problem since I will be a spouse by the time I actually enter the UK?  If I apply as a spouse, they want to see the marriage certificate, which obviously we won't have until we're actually married.

Please help!!!

I'm confused- why do you need to enter as a spouse for a limited period only to go back home again and apply for a visa??

Your situation sounds very common and straightforward visa-wise- you go home after your current visit is over, you get married in the US to your fiance (who can come over as a visitor- that's fine), and then you apply for your spouse visa in the US before going back to the UK for a life of marital bliss

Am I missing something? 

The difficulty is the timing - we are getting married April 8th, plan to honeymoon right after, and then go straight to the UK after the honeymoon. 

I originally called Abtran to ask whether to apply as a fiancee or as a spouse.  It was at that time that I was told I did not need a visa initially, and that as long as I return to the US within six months to apply for my visa, entering the UK after we are married would not be a problem.  But as I said before, I was informed otherwise by Immigration Control at the airport, and quite emphatically .

In order to apply for a settlement visa, they require that my passport be submitted, which means I cannot enter the UK or be IN the UK during that time.  Without a visa, I can remain in the UK for up to six months on my US passport.  However, I was informed by Immigration Control at Gatwick Airport that this is not the case if I am intending to settle permanently but do not have a visa when I first enter as a spouse, EVEN if I state that my intention is to return to the US within six months to apply for a visa.  It's all very confusing to me!

where is your honeymoon?  In the US, or abroad?

If it's in the US, this shouldn't be too much of a problem- just send in all your documents by post as soon as you have your marriage license while you honeymoon, or visit a consulate in person right before/after your honeymoon to get your visa the same day.

If it's abroad (but not in the UK, I'm assuming!), you'll need to go back to the US to get your visa after the honeymoon *unless* you delay your honeymoon for as long as it takes to get a marriage license, then go apply for your visa in person.

I'm still confused as to why you would need to be in the UK as a spouse but without a visa- if your honeymoon is in the UK you need to get your visa before you go.

I would go with the immigration officer's advice on this one- if you're planning to settle in the UK as a spouse and you don't have a proper visa, they can and will turn you away even if you're planning to go back to the US to get a visa.

Edited to add- is your honeymoon in Europe by any chance?  Because then I would see the difficulty in not wanting to go all the way back to the US just for a visa.  Unfortunately, that's exactly what you'd have to do unless you got your visa before you left the US.

We plan to honeymoon outside of the U.S., but not in the UK.  Perhaps it would be best to just apply as a spouse and explain that I can't show a marriage certificate until April 8th?  Or should I just apply as a fiancee, and then have the visa changed once I'm in the UK? 

You can't apply as a spouse until you are married and a fiance visa is not appropriate. Where are you going on your honeymoon? Is there a British Embassy there? If so apply there. If not, you will have to go back to the US to get the visa before travelling here.

Either Barbados, U.S. Virgin Islands, or St. Maarten (if I've spelled that right).  I'll check on any British Embassies there.

The difficulty is the timing - we are getting married April 8th, plan to honeymoon right after, and then go straight to the UK after the honeymoon.

That's our wedding anniversary!

The other alternative would be to delay your honeymoon a bit and get the visa before you go.

Yeah, sounds like you might have to be a bit flexible with dates, etc.

just a note- most countries won't let you apply at their embassies if you a) don't live there or b) don't have an extended visa (say as a student or something.)  I know that's why I couldn't get a visa for France (this was before I became a US citizen) when I was in the UK (because I was only there for five months.) 

But do check with each country- maybe some of the Caribbean Missions are more laid back

Good luck (oh, and congrats on your wedding!!)

Yeah, you definitely need to be flexible with dates.  I'm in the UK on a fiancée visa.  Once we're married (here in the UK), we can't go on our honeymoon (abroad) straight-away because I can't re-enter the UK on my fiancée visa since I'd already be married.  I'd need a spousal visa.  Sucks, but we'll deal.
I would think you'd need to have your spousal visa to come to the UK with your husband, as no immigration officer is likely to allow you to enter as a visitor, knowing that you're married to a British citizen and resident.

Having read this thread, I think you have no choice but to change your plans.  If you try to enter the UK as a visitor having just married a UK national and intending to settle there, I very much doubt that you will be permitted entry, regardless of whet the rip-off phone line tells you.  You will also not be able to apply for entry clearance form an Embassy in a different country, as you do not have residency, and the Embassy will not accept the application.

YOur only choice is to either delay the honeymoon or delay the move to the UK.

Victoria

Thank you all for your help!  I plan to phone the British Consulate tomorrow before I fly back to the US, just to double check with them, but after reading everything here, I think we'll plan on staying in the US for a while after the wedding so I can go through the visa process.