What is the first step towards getting a visa?

Aradia I wish you all the best and much luck...if you are not planning to marry there really aren't a lot of legal options

I think it's unfortunate, I'm facing it myself...fortunately  I think my partner and I are hoping to make our relationship a permanent finalized one, altough there has been no mention of the M word yet...

no im about to go to school in texas.  but its not a real college. its called the job corps and i will live on campus and get my high school diploma ( cause i dropped out of high school). once i have my diploma, i will be taking  classes in business office technoligies. learning computers and that sort of stuff.  i also go out and get a job while im there, a job doing something that im going to school for you know.  i was thinking it would be cool if i could find a job that would have a office in england and i could get a work visa but i doubt that would work. and becuase its not an actual universatiy or college i cant get a student visa.

but i was wondering if the time we have spent together visiting eachother counts for living together time. anyone know? cause my bf was just saying we should look into it and i can just get an extended holiday visa until we have 2 yrs added up.  i think i remember reading somewhere before that visit time does count. i was living with him for 2 months over the summer.

Time living together as a visitor does count, but only if a) you can prove it b) it is the last two years before the application is made.  By the sounds of it you don't qualify for this visa.  You will not be able to stay in the UK for 2 years as a visitor, so you are going to have to simply make future plans and work with the fact that you either marry or have a long distance relationship until you are ready to marry.

Victoria

Aradia I wish you all the best and much luck...if you are not planning to marry there really aren't a lot of legal options

I think it's unfortunate, I'm facing it myself...fortunately  I think my partner and I are hoping to make our relationship a permanent finalized one, altough there has been no mention of the M word yet...

well good luck. simon and i have discussed it so many times but always on a negative note. guess maybe we need to try to see it more positively.

thnx for clearing that up for me victoria.

Sadly people who wouldn't normally get married, do in this situation because it is the only way to be together unless you wanted to attend a university in the UK and go on a student visa. You would need your high school diploma first and I am sure it would be a lot like getting into a US university. Other than that like Victoria said, it is marriage or nothing. If neither of you are ready for marriage just try to visit each other a cpl of times a year until you are ready.

You could come over for a 5 month holiday but you have only 6 months in any12 month period and so we found out it has to be rolling so you could do another 2 months go back and you will have to wait 12 months from your last visit or you could apply for the fiance visa stay the 6 months and if you get on on that basis get married at least you have tried it so to speak.

It might not be so scary once you have been together for a while.

my boyfriends mom has her own business she does from home.  what she does is call doctors and medical specialists from all over the world and arrange interviews and conventions with them for other people.  The business is only a yr old and shes having to turn down studies cause its just more than she can handle.  meaning, the business is doing really well and she needs help. simons idea is that i can apply for a work visa and work for his mom. the idea behind it being that a lot of her phone calls are to doctors in the states, so having an american working for her to call those doctors would be easier for her. also since im about to go to school for computers, i can do all her book keeping and stuff. because she is diabetic and all that time on the computer is bad on her eyes. plus my computer skills will be way more advenaced than hers ( they already are, lol). so this is our newest idea. we spoke on the phone not to long ago and my bf said that when the time comes he is gonna consult someone to give advice and help us out and such. so who knows what will happen.

my boyfriends mom has her own business she does from home.  what she does is call doctors and medical specialists from all over the world and arrange interviews and conventions with them for other people.  The business is only a yr old and shes having to turn down studies cause its just more than she can handle.  meaning, the business is doing really well and she needs help. simons idea is that i can apply for a work visa and work for his mom. the idea behind it being that a lot of her phone calls are to doctors in the states, so having an american working for her to call those doctors would be easier for her. also since im about to go to school for computers, i can do all her book keeping and stuff. because she is diabetic and all that time on the computer is bad on her eyes. plus my computer skills will be way more advenaced than hers ( they already are, lol). so this is our newest idea. we spoke on the phone not to long ago and my bf said that when the time comes he is gonna consult someone to give advice and help us out and such. so who knows what will happen.

she'd need to prove to the home office that she made a stringent effort to hire a UK or EU national for such a job.  and then it's up to the Home Office to decide.

think Victoria is offering some pretty sound advice here.

Expat is right -- qualifying for a work permit is very difficult if you don't have specialised skills and it has to be proven that no UK or EU citizen could do the job in question, which isn't really the case in the job with your boyfriend's mom as it just sounds like she needs an admin assistant.

If you aren't planning on studying here, can't get a work permit, don't qualify for BUNAC or an unmarried partner visa, and can't qualify through ancestry, getting married is your only permanent option.  If you aren't ready to marry yet, there's nothing stopping you from visiting each other until you are ready.  No, it's not easy being apart, as so many of us know, but once you're finally together for good, it's worth it.   

well good luck. simon and i have discussed it so many times but always on a negative note. guess maybe we need to try to see it more positively.

thank you sweet,  the same to you...
just a note, when I was your age, I hated the idea of  marriage as well...now I'm 37, never been married, and feel positive about the commitment...perhaps your views will naturally change over time

Getting a work permit would not be that easy.  For a start, unless you have a degree or three years relevant work experience, you wouldn't qualify anyway.  Secondly, your fiance's mum would need to advertise in an EEA wide circulation paper to try to recruit, and would have to show why each applicant was not suitable, but you were.  Thirdly, she would have to pay you a comparative graduate salary; this would have to be at least £20k in my experience, depending on where she lives.  From the sounds of it, none of this would be possible.

I know it is difficult, but plenty of people have to put up with long distance relationships and, though ti is difficult, they last the distance.  Lots of people on this site have done it, my brother did it for seven years with the Canadian girl who is now his wife....I think that you have little choice.


Victoria

well im very grateful for all yalls help.  since we still have a few more months before we really have to worry about it im not going to worry about it right now.  my bf has decided to just consult legal advice when the time comes, considering his sister is a lawyer, shouldnt be to difficult.  we spoke earlier and was talking about all this, we decided that we would get married if we had nothing else. as far as we are concerned marriage is just your signature on a piece of paper that states you are a couple in the eyes of the law.  i did some thinking about that and its actually a good idea anyways, i dunno how it works in the Uk but here in the states, if you are not married your partner has no say so in your life, legally.  we are not gonna let anything keep us apart and i certainly wouldnt mind having his last name.

Do be aware that not all solicitors specialise in immigration law.  Make sure you consult someone who is registered with the Law Society or who is listed on www.oisc.gov.uk as a regulated immigration advisor.

You are, of course, free to ignore me, but just to let you know that you have been given good, sound advice here, and by at least one immigration specialist 

If you think marriage is just about a signature on a piece of paper, then good luck to you.

Victoria

as far as we are concerned marriage is just your signature on a piece of paper that states you are a couple in the eyes of the law. 

Man, that's one expensive piece of paper for a lot of couples who have been through divorce. 

Aradia, I hope you mean by that that you are already committed to be together for life, because marriage is a declaration of lifetime commitment to the other person.