Round two of stress (support income question)

So I did the unthinkable and packed up my life to come over here to London in May to give it a go with this guy who has since then become my fiance  (yay!). We went and gave our notice to our borough (£60), set a date at the registry (not religious) and then found out that as I am here on a visitor visa, well, you all know the rest. What gets me is that I didn't come over in the first place on a fiance visa because the question wasn't asked until I got here (hindsight 20/20 or what?) so it seems almost unfair that I have to go back home to do it all over again. (Why not just marry then return on a spouse? Because he is a mature student and my savings are nil and the only wedding date we could get is for 2 hours before my originally scheduled return flight and I cannot afford a whole new ticket and he has to enroll for school... Irony abound.)

I guess I just want to thank everyone else here who is having issues with the visa thing too as now I realize that I am not the only one! And bless my man's cotton socks as why he would want to put up with all this beaurocratic nonsense is beyond me.

I'm concerned about the whole letter from the work proving he can support me deal. How serious are they about this as, again, being a student, my man works part time most of the year and although I understand that even if I get a job as soon as I return I will not get paid for a month, my income is far, far greater than his being a professional and I will be going back with savings and solid job leads. Will that make a difference or am I just being super paranoid about the seemingly sexist "supporting the spouse" thing? They wouldn't not let me have the fiance visa because of his low income, would they?

Hi Delara I don't know the definite answer to your question but when Stu got his fiance visa we showed that I had a place for us to live, evidence of my salary and evdence of money he had in the bank etc, I don't think there is a rule about how much your Brit fiance has to earn as long as it is enough for you both to survive on, I htink the sccommodaiton bit is probably just as important as how much he earns, if not more so.

I'm in kind of the same boat as you, in terms of the uncertain funds. I have a British passport that says I am a UK citizen on it, but I have only spent about five weeks total there in my whole life, and I am for all practical purposes an American. I'm sure the British people will think of me as an American.

My wife, too, is an American. We just got married a month ago after a long engagement. For as long as we have planned to marry we have been tentatively planning to make a permanent move to the UK.

So with my passport, there's no question that I can and will make this move and take my wife, but first I have to go to the UK on my own to "set up shop" on my own and pave the way for my wife and kitties. Move to Britain and get the first job with a reasonable income and get the first home I can find that meets our necessities, that's my mission more or less.

I am a lowly artist who has never really made much money. I haven't even bothered to keep a bank account for the past three years. I have almost no money, and my wife's savings (she earns a far prettier penny than I) is pretty much just enough to get us to the UK, tickets, PETS fees, Spousal Settlement Visa Fees and all that, plus the big road trip that we have to take to say 'ta-da' to our families and friends -- all that's gonna wipe us out by the time we hit the ground in England!

So the BIG CONTINGENCY is whether or not, as a Yankee with a UK passport, I can get a good enough job (I won't be picky and will take anything I can get at first, just to get us over there), secure a home, and open a UK bank account. I have a huge fear of coming up short in the finance department and therefore not being able to get a Visa for my wife. But then again, it seems like most of the people on this forum have had fair to downright decent experiences in getting their own Visas, so maybe I have nothing to fear so long as I've got SOMETHING cooking in the UK.

I guess I'm going to take a bundle of paintings and art materials with me too, in case I find find an opportunity to turn them into cash money, but that is always a matter of luck. Most likely I will have two jobs: one washing dishes and one picking up garbage, because other than my art skills, I've got nuthin'!

But this is something of huge importance to my wife and I. We see a whole lot more sense in doing it sooner rather than later, as one of the reasons we want to make the move is we believe there will be greater financial opportunity for a guy like me to support a family to our standards -- and let the Misses go back to school like she wants to and perhaps one day raise a dual national baby or two...

Good luck to you on your venture! I will be arriving on my Mission not long after you make your move. I can't wait to stop reading and writing and talking about it and just be there and feel British earth beneath my feet!

Hi Jimfat, your wife will be coming on a spouse visa and be allowed to work so it won't be such an issue ... the fiance visa does not allow people to work, hence the Brit sponsor has to be able to support them.

I'm concerned about the whole letter from the work proving he can support me deal. How serious are they about this as, again, being a student, my man works part time most of the year and although I understand that even if I get a job as soon as I return I will not get paid for a month, my income is far, far greater than his being a professional and I will be going back with savings and solid job leads. Will that make a difference or am I just being super paranoid about the seemingly sexist "supporting the spouse" thing? They wouldn't not let me have the fiance visa because of his low income, would they?

If you're coming in on a fiancee' visa, the above items are VERY important.  Your fiance' has to prove that he can support you until you're married and you have permission to work (which could be up to six months, depending on when you get married and have your FLR).  Therefore, they're going to want to see substantial savings and/or a reasonable income.  Since your fiance is working part-time, you'll do best to both do some saving before you apply for a fiancee' visa.  Unfortunately, you aren't likely to get a fiancee' visa if your fiance' doesn't make enough to support both of you for at least a couple of months.  Savings are key in a case like this.

If you're applying for a spousal visa, you are able to work as soon as you set foot in the UK.  They'll still look at your bank statements and a your fiance's letter of support, but I think there's a bit more leeway there as you can get a job and contribute to the household almost immediately. 

lolabola,

we've already got our wedding date: 14 September.  I go back to LA and jump straight into a job and though I may not have much saved after the fiance visa and the one way ticket back (probably do a return as I would like to introduce the new hubby to the folks at the lovely American traditional meal: Thanksgiving), I plan on returning a few days before the date. Should this be something I should impress upon the good people at the Consulate? I figure that between the both of us (living in shared accomodation until I get a job sorted so the rent is low and my god, my bills look so less daunting in the £ rather than in USD$!) his part time wages will suffice.

Unless I am incorrect in assuming that the day after the ceremony we can walk into Croyden and sort myself out with the FLR!

I'm confused.  Where are you now?  Where are you getting married? 

If you're getting married in the US, why not skip the fiancee' visa?  Just get married and head to the British consulate to get your spousal visa and then return to the UK.  The good thing about that is that you're done with paperwork (for 2 years!) since you get your spousal visa and FLR at the same time.  You can start work immediately upon arrival in the UK.

Sorry for the confusion. At present I am in the UK and will be returning to the states on my own to get the fiance visa. Orignially we were going to get married in two weeks but found out that I have to leave the country to get the spouse visa. So we canceled that date and moved it later because my return flight took off from LHR two hours before the only date we could get in our borough.

He cannot come with me to get married there because of work and frankly, the airfare is too much. It's cheaper for us to get me the fiance visa in LA and upgrade to FLR back here in London than it is to get a last minute plane ticket to Los Angeles. More hassle, but easier on the wallet. And considering we need all the savings we can get right now...

I am a little confused also.  You do have to register for marriage in the reigistrar's office where you live but you can marry in another area.  My fiance and I have registered in Wokingham as required but will have the ceremony in Reading.  Have you checked for open dates in other communities near by?

We were told that we'd have to give our notice again in that other borough. i.e. if we found a sooner date in Hammersmith and Fulham we would have to pay another £60 to do so and we are trying to keep our costs down.

Of course, if this is incorrect, I am so gonna get medieval on the Ealing registrar's ars*.

Oh and, Eliza, we are having a striclty civil marriage -- no churches -- which for some reason makes it all the more difficult.

I am in no way qualified to answer this as I have not been through the process myself yet, but from what I have read...can't it take quite a while to be granted your fiancee visa? From most posts I have read, you can apply for your spousal visa after returning to the states married, get an interview in a few weeks time, and be granted your spousal visa at that interview. I think. (I hope...because...well...)

Am I right, you guys with first hand knowledge?!

Delara--We paid our £60 at Wokingham and later that day we scheduled the ceremony in Reading.  The lady in Wokingham said she had to have the date before she could post our "intentions".  She called me the next day and asked when the ceremony would be.  I told her and she said "Great" and that we could pick up our papers to take to Reading after July 28th.  Nothing was said by her or the man we visited in Reading about having to pay at both places.  We do have to pay £37 in Reading for the ceremony but we would have had to pay that in Wokingham if the ceremony was held there.

The reason you have to register in the community where you live is that the notice of intent has to be posted in the community where you live.  This posting is done in case someone knows a reason why you cannot legally marry and they want to come forward with this information.  I asked her what kind of reasons that would be and she said if someone knew you were still legally married to someone else they could come forward with that information.

Geally--If you apply for your fiance visa or spousal visa in person, it is usually issued the same day.  If you apply by mail, it can take some time.  From what I have read there usually is no interview when you apply by mail.  They can ask for an interview if they want one but it can be by phone.

Geally--If you apply for your fiance visa or spousal visa in person, it is usually issued the same day.  If you apply by mail, it can take some time.  From what I have read there usually is no interview when you apply by mail.  They can ask for an interview if they want one but it can be by phone.

I'll second Eliza's info.  We applied for my spousal visa in person at the NYC consulate and I had it in a matter of hours.

I wonder why the Ealing woman told us that we would have to pay again? I suppose it is now officially "round three" of calls to find a borough with a cancellation in the next two weeks! Man, this would make it all so much easier. Eliza, thank you!

Oh and yeah, you can get your fiance visa in one day. Drop off the info in the AM and pick it up after lunch (at least that is how LA does it).