My fiancée wishes to move to England, please advise. :)

Hello everyone,

Firstly, I'd like to thank you for any input that you may wish to give. It's greatly appreciated as it is something which is stressing us out as there isn't really any clear and straight cut information on the web to some of our questions.

Initially, I was planning to move to the USA to marry her there and begin our lives together but due to recent changes, she has decided that England is where she would rather be living and that we should be looking at starting our lives together on this side of the great big pond that is the Atlantic.

I appreciate that there is quite a large number of questions that we are trying to answer but any insight would be absolutely fantastic.

I’ve read up on a number of the questions but I thought I’d just post them here anyway. I’ve got some vague answers to them which I have filled in beneath the questions. Please feel free to point out what I’ve misunderstood or just gotten wrong. Right, question time...

Can the financial requirements be met by both partners?
From what I have researched, I need to be on a minimum of £18600 a year and I must have been in that job for at least six months with proof of the income by providing bank statements that are stamped by the bank and printed by them too to prove their authenticity.

The real question is: can I have money in my bank that is saved, let's call it £5000 for arguments sake, and will/can the money from my fiancée be taken into account as well to prove that she won't be any sort of liability. She has £15000 - £20000, perhaps more, if we take her "college fund" into consideration and if that were transferred to her personal savings, or to mine.

How much does it cost and what forms and/or visas are required?

Do I have to have my own house/apartment, be it either rented or owned?

Will my fiancée be able to go to university in the UK after we get married?

Will she be able to work after we get married or is there a waiting period like in the US (one year I believe)?

Would we be able to travel between countries whilst the application is in progress?

How long does it take once you’ve submitted the paperwork?

How do you prove that you’re intending to marry within six months?

How do you show that you are a genuine couple?
I understand that providing proof such as photographs of us together is a good place to start. I also assume that they want to know how long we have been together and that we have common interests in certain things in life, but what else?

I think that's about all for now. If you've got anything else that we aught to be looking into, please do let me know so that it can be explored.

Once again, I'd like to thank you for any input at all. If I think of any other questions, I'll be sure to post them.

I look forward to any replies.

Hello everyone,

Firstly, I'd like to thank you for any input that you may wish to give. It's greatly appreciated as it is something which is stressing us out as there isn't really any clear and straight cut information on the web to some of our questions.

Initially, I was planning to move to the USA to marry her there and begin our lives together but due to recent changes, she has decided that England is where she would rather be living and that we should be looking at starting our lives together on this side of the great big pond that is the Atlantic.

I appreciate that there is quite a large number of questions that we are trying to answer but any insight would be absolutely fantastic.

I’ve read up on a number of the questions but I thought I’d just post them here anyway. I’ve got some vague answers to them which I have filled in beneath the questions. Please feel free to point out what I’ve misunderstood or just gotten wrong. Right, question time...

Can the financial requirements be met by both partners?
From what I have researched, I need to be on a minimum of £18600 a year and I must have been in that job for at least six months with proof of the income by providing bank statements that are stamped by the bank and printed by them too to prove their authenticity.

The real question is: can I have money in my bank that is saved, let's call it £5000 for arguments sake, and will/can the money from my fiancée be taken into account as well to prove that she won't be any sort of liability. She has £15000 - £20000, perhaps more, if we take her "college fund" into consideration and if that were transferred to her personal savings, or to mine.

As the UKC, you need to have been earning £18,600 a year for the past six months.  No one else can help you meet this requirement.  If you make less, savings that has been held for a minimum of six months can be used.  The savings can be in either your name or your fiance's name.  The calculation for the shortfall is ((£18,600 - current salary) x 2.5) + 16,000.  So if you make £15,000 a year, you need ((£18,600-15,000) x 2.5) +16,000 = £25,000.

[/quote]
How much does it cost and what forms and/or visas are required?[/quote]  The application and appendix are required for a fiance visa.  It's around £850, not sure of the exact amount as the cost just increased on the 6th.

[/quote]
Do I have to have my own house/apartment, be it either rented or owned? [/quote]

No, but you need to have permission from where ever you do live that she can move in with you and proof that it won't be overcrowded.


[/quote]
Will my fiancée be able to go to university in the UK after we get married? [/quote]

Yes, but she will have to pay international fees.  This will be VERY expensive.  After you have been married for three years she will be able to qualify for UK fees.

[/quote]
Will she be able to work after we get married or is there a waiting period like in the US (one year I believe)? [/quote]
She can work as soon as she has FLR(M) which is the next visa you apply for after you are married.  But I don't believe there is a waiting period in the US...  not sure where you heard that one.

[/quote]
Would we be able to travel between countries whilst the application is in progress? [/quote]

You could travel as you will have your passport, but her passport will be with the UKBA and she will be unable to travel.

[/quote]
How long does it take once you’ve submitted the paperwork? [/quote]  Right now it's taking about six weeks without priority processing (an extra £300).  With priority it's taking about three weeks.  This changes all the time.  Sometimes it only takes a few days.


[/quote]
How do you prove that you’re intending to marry within six months?  [/quote]

Contact your local registry office (email is best) and show communication around provisional dates and such

[/quote]
How do you show that you are a genuine couple?  I understand that providing proof such as photographs of us together is a good place to start. I also assume that they want to know how long we have been together and that we have common interests in certain things in life, but what else?
[/quote] 

A couple of photos of you together, boarding passes from visits to one another, phone records (or Skype logs) that show regular contact

[/quote]
I think that's about all for now. If you've got anything else that we aught to be looking into, please do let me know so that it can be explored.

Once again, I'd like to thank you for any input at all. If I think of any other questions, I'll be sure to post them.

I look forward to any replies.
[/quote]

I reflect everything KFDancer put.

As a suggestion (what I did and a few others chose to do), why don't you fly over to get married in the states, just a cheap ceremony, and apply for the spouse visa.

That way, once the visa is approved, your wife can work instantly and is eligible to NHS treatment etc. It can actually work out cheaper to fly over and get married than to apply for the fiancée visa and then FLR(M).

My ceremony was secret, and am planning to organise my main ceremony next year.

This is a nice structured breakdown ksand24 provided me with on one of my posts



A lot of people find it easier and cheaper to marry outside the UK and apply for a spousal visa.

The two routes:

Fiance visa
- Apply for a fiance visa in the US. Cost £851, valid 6 months, No work allowed.
- Move to the UK and get married
- Apply for an FLR(M) visa to stay in the UK. Cost £578 by post (can take a few months to be processed) or £953 in person (same-day decision), valid 30 months, you can work once you have received it.
- When it expires (after 2.5 years), apply for another FLR(M) visa (cost and validity as above)
- After 5 years in the UK, apply for ILR (permanent residence). Cost £1,051 by post, or £1,426 in person.

Total visa cost (current prices - the fees rise each year):
£3,058 (postal applications) or £4,183 (in person applications)


Spousal visa
- Get married in the US
- Apply for spousal visa. Cost £851, valid 33 months, work allowed.
- After 2.5 years in the UK, apply for an FLR(M) visa. Cost £578 by post (can take a few months to be processed) or £953 in person (same-day decision), valid 30 months.
- After 5 years in the UK, apply for ILR (permanent residence). Cost £1,051 by post, or £1,426 in person.

Total visa cost (current prices - the fees rise each year):
£2,480 (postal applications) or £3,230 (in person applications)

Each visa has a financial requirement. For a couple with no children (or UK citizen children), the requirement is earnings of at least £18,600 per year before tax.

For the initial fiance or spousal visa, only the UK citizen's income can count, so you would need to be earning £18,600 in the UK in order for her to qualify for a fiance or spousal visa.

Once she is in the UK and able to work (on a spousal visa or FLR(M)), her income can count towards the requirement for the next visas, so you can combine your salaries to meet the £18,600 requirement.

I reflect everything KFDancer put.

As a suggestion (what I did and a few others chose to do), why don't you fly over to get married in the states, just a cheap ceremony, and apply for the spouse visa.

That way, once the visa is approved, your wife can work instantly and is eligible to NHS treatment etc. It can actually work out cheaper to fly over and get married than to apply for the fiancée visa and then FLR(M).

My ceremony was secret, and am planning to organise my main ceremony next year.

You can use the NHS on a fiancé visa.

But I do agree that it is much easier and cheaper to get married in the US.

Thank you all very much for your replies!

It certainly seems that it is easier to get married within the States. Perhaps we need to have a good and long chat together. I had no idea that I would need to have £25k in the bank in order to consider that "counted towards the requirements." I was under the impression that you just had to make up the difference. That's a shame!

It may be best if we were to settle in the States instead and then perhaps move here five or ten years down the line if we decide that we still want to live here instead of there.

If we did do that, would I then need to come over on the promise of a job as I would technically be immigrating back to the UK?

Thank you all very much for your replies!

It certainly seems that it is easier to get married within the States. Perhaps we need to have a good and long chat together. I had no idea that I would need to have £25k in the bank in order to consider that "counted towards the requirements." I was under the impression that you just had to make up the difference. That's a shame!

It may be best if we were to settle in the States instead and then perhaps move here five or ten years down the line if we decide that we still want to live here instead of there.

If we did do that, would I then need to come over on the promise of a job as I would technically be immigrating back to the UK?

The amount you need in the bank depends on the shortfall of your current salary so it may not be £25k.  The first £16k of savings doesn't count, then you need 2.5 times the shortfall.

Settling in the US is easier as the financial requirement is less and you can have third party support.  It just takes a longer.

Yes, under the current rules if you want to return to the UK together (after living in the US), you will need to have earned £18,600 in the previous 12 months AND have a job offer starting within 3 months that earns at least £18,600.  BUT the rules change frequently and the requirement is currently being challenged in court.  So the requirement could be less (or more) by the time you are ready to return.

You would not need a job as you are a citizen and can return to the UK at any point. But you would need one to be able to sponsor your partner to move to the UK with you.

Thanks again for your replies.

It's definitely something that I'd have to talk to her about as the requirements to get into the UK are seemingly more difficult.

I am not a British citizen, just a legal resident. I've been living here for ten and a half years but I still hold a Dutch passport. I assume this would complicate things a bit further...?

This is by far the most useful information that I've come across. You lot are fantastic.

I believe that being a member of the EU changes things, I might be wrong though....


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I would also be inclined to think that it would complicate/change things too. 

I don't think it is necessarily negative
I think maybe it makes it easier...
But don't quote me on that lol


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You should have mentioned that fact in the first place. That makes it much easier for you. As an EEA national exercising your treaty rights in the UK, you have the right to bring your wife over without any income requirements. You merely have to apply for an EEA permit. See:

https://www.gov.uk/family-permit

Thanks geeta! I had a feeling it would be easier for them because of that (: I just didn't want to give false hope incase I was wrong lol


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Yes, much better than being a UK citizen.  Free to apply and no income requirement.  Lucky duck.