Help Needed! NHS Refunded, Visa Denial

I have received the NHS surcharge refund and am aware that this means that UK settlement visa has been denied.

My question is whether or not I will be able to come in to the UK has a visitor, without a hassle at the border. I want to visit my fiancé for the period of one month prior to applying for my student visa. We are getting married in Belfast in August and have submitted the necessary forms to do so in Northern Ireland.

I have been admitted to the London school of economics for my PhD and have to be back in the United States by August in order to apply for my student visa. I was planning on bringing these documents with me to show my intent to return to the United States.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

*i have to be back in the US by the end of August


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I visited my fiance fresh off of a fiance/marriage visa denial for 5 weeks. I didn't apply for a visa ahead of time because I wanted to leave and visit him within the month of getting the denial. It is recommended to apply for a visitor visa if you have a settlement visa denial. 

I made sure I had bank statement showing I could support myself, a letter from my fiance saying he was inviting me to stay with him and that he was going to help with my upkeep, a letter from my job saying I was taking a 5 week leave of absence and that my job was going to be there when I got back, AND my return flight information.

We were going to do a fresh application for my fiance/marriage visa when I got back to the States so this was also a document collecting visit. My knowledge of the visa application process really helped in my favour with the IO at Heathrow. He was direct but our exchange was only a few minutes and I was free to collect my baggage.

You also have to go there with the understanding that they may or may not allow you into the country if you haven't applied for a visa before hand. They could allow you in for as much time as they feel is appropriate, which can be zero... It is a bit of a gamble.

Do you need a marriage visitor visa for Northern Ireland? I expect you do as you do need it for England, Scotland and Wales...

Welcome to the forum - sorry to hear that .

However, what visa exactly have you applied for? If you are not married yet, and are applying for a 6-month fiance visa to marry in the UK, then you should not be paying the NHS surcharge at all anyway, because the NHS surcharge only applies to visas valid more than 6 months.

What type of visa did you select on the online application form?

If it was a settlement visa and you were directed to pay the NHS surcharge, but you are not yet married, then it sounds like you've applied for the wrong type of visa. A fiance visa to marry in the UK (no NHS surcharge) is Settlement -> Settlement -> Marriage, but a spousal visa (with NHS surcharge) if you are already married is Settlement -> Settlement -> Wife (or Husband).

My question is whether or not I will be able to come in to the UK has a visitor, without a hassle at the border. I want to visit my fiancé for the period of one month prior to applying for my student visa. We are getting married in Belfast in August and have submitted the necessary forms to do so in Northern Ireland.

If you have been refused a visa, you should not attempt to enter the UK as a visitor without applying for a proper visa in advance.

Also, you cannot enter the UK as a visitor to get married... you need to apply for either a Marriage Visitor Visa or a Fiance visa first, because you are not allowed to marry in the UK if you only have a visitor visa - it's against the rules.

I'm a little confused about your visa situation though - are you trying to apply for a fiance visa to marry in the UK, or a Marriage Visitor Visa to marry in the UK, or a Student visa to study in the UK? You can't apply for all of them.

You either:

a) apply for a fiance visa, marry in Belfast, and then switch to FLR(M) spousal visa after the wedding, which means you don't need a student visa... you can study on the FLR(M) - although if you are not marrying until August, you likely won't get the FLR(M) in time to start your PhD.

or

b) Apply for a Marriage Visitor Visa to marry as a visitor in the UK, then return to the US to apply for a spousal visa, and then move to the UK on that visa... you can then study for your PhD without needing a student visa

or

c) Apply for a Marriage Visitor Visa to marry as a visitor in the UK, then return to the US to apply for a student visa and move to the UK on that visa... but student visas can take a while to be processed during the summer as they get very busy and August would be cutting it very fine - I would recommend applying for the student visa no later than July.

Thank you Iyonaria. Northern Ireland has a form called section C, which enables someone with visitor clearance, like a US citizen, to state their immigration status and get married.

My situation is a little bit complicated because I do plan to come back to the UK to settle for five years while doing my PhD


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Welcome to the forum - sorry to hear that .

However, what visa exactly have you applied for? If you are not married yet, and are applying for a 6-month fiance visa to marry in the UK, then you should not be paying the NHS surcharge at all anyway, because the NHS surcharge only applies to visas valid more than 6 months.

What type of visa did you select on the online application form?

If it was a settlement visa and you were directed to pay the NHS surcharge, but you are not yet married, then it sounds like you've applied for the wrong type of visa. A fiance visa to marry in the UK (no NHS surcharge) is Settlement -> Settlement -> Marriage, but a spousal visa (with NHS surcharge) if you are already married is Settlement -> Settlement -> Wife (or Husband).

If you have been refused a visa, you should not attempt to enter the UK as a visitor without applying for a proper visa in advance.

Also, you cannot enter the UK as a visitor to get married... you need to apply for either a Marriage Visitor Visa or a Fiance visa first, because you are not allowed to marry in the UK if you only have a visitor visa - it's against the rules.

I'm a little confused about your visa situation though - are you trying to apply for a fiance visa to marry in the UK, or a Marriage Visitor Visa to marry in the UK, or a Student visa to study in the UK? You can't apply for all of them.

You either:

a) apply for a fiance visa, marry in Belfast, and then switch to FLR(M) spousal visa after the wedding, which means you don't need a student visa... you can study on the FLR(M) - although if you are not marrying until August, you likely won't get the FLR(M) in time to start your PhD.

or

b) Apply for a Marriage Visitor Visa to marry as a visitor in the UK, then return to the US to apply for a spousal visa, and then move to the UK on that visa... you can then study for your PhD without needing a student visa

or

c) Apply for a Marriage Visitor Visa to marry as a visitor in the UK, then return to the US to apply for a student visa and move to the UK on that visa... but student visas can take a while to be processed during the summer as they get very busy and August would be cutting it very fine - I would recommend applying for the student visa no later than July.

Thank you so much for the advice, I applied for a settlement visa with intent to marry. The three options you have provided are accurate, but made complicated by my situation.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What it be an option to apply now for the student visa, and come in as a visitor prior to my course starting?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

*would it be


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

You either:

a) apply for a fiance visa, marry in Belfast, and then switch to FLR(M) spousal visa after the wedding, which means you don't need a student visa... you can study on the FLR(M) - although if you are not marrying until August, you likely won't get the FLR(M) in time to start your PhD.

or

b) Apply for a Marriage Visitor Visa to marry as a visitor in the UK, then return to the US to apply for a spousal visa, and then move to the UK on that visa... you can then study for your PhD without needing a student visa

or

c) Apply for a Marriage Visitor Visa to marry as a visitor in the UK, then return to the US to apply for a student visa and move to the UK on that visa... but student visas can take a while to be processed during the summer as they get very busy and August would be cutting it very fine - I would recommend applying for the student visa no later than July.
[/quote]

I think I will probably do option number two, with priority visa service on the spousal visa.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you so much for the advice, I applied for a settlement visa with intent to marry. The three options you have provided are accurate, but made complicated by my situation.

Are you sure that's what you actually applied for, because you should not have paid an NHS surcharge if you did apply for that visa (the NHS surcharge prompt comes up as part of the spousal visa application, but not the fiance visa). How did you pay the NHS surcharge - were you directed to pay it as part of your online application, or did you go to the IHS website separately to pay it?

If you were prompted to pay it during the online application, then you have probably applied for the wrong visa, because the fiance visa does not ask you to pay it.

If you paid it separately, then it may be that your NHS surcharge has been refunded because you were not supposed to pay it and not because the visa has been refused. Which could mean that your fiance visa might be approved after all.

Thing is though, if the fiance visa is approved, in order to get your FLR(M) visa in time to start your PhD, you would likely need to pay an extra £500 to apply in person for a same-day decision. Because if you apply for FLR(M) by post in August, it could take a couple of months for the visa to be approved... which means you couldn't start your studies until maybe October or November.

Thank you Iyonaria. Northern Ireland has a form called section C, which enables someone with visitor clearance, like a US citizen, to state their immigration status and get married.

Yes, there is that section, however, if you try to marry without a visa, your case is likely to be referred to UKVI for further investigation, and you may have to wait up to 70 days before you will be allowed to marry. Normally you would have to be inside the UK for this 70-day period (due to needing to be resident in the UK for 7 days before you can give notice and then you would need wait either another 28 days or 70 days before you can actually marry), but not sure if NI is different.

The regular visitor visa rules explicitly state that getting married is not allowed.... so if you were to try it and were successful it would likely be a special case, and not the norm.

From the webpage regarding section C:

The minimum notice period in Northern Ireland is 28 days. However if you do not have the appropriate immigration status, correct visa, or evidence in support of your application, you will be referred to the Home Office for investigation and the period of notice may be extended to 70 days.

(https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/marriagecivil-partnership-and-immigration-control)

Thank you so much for your responses. We have already recorded the letter from the Home Office declining to investigate us and we registered in March.

I hope what you say is true. I think I applied for an "unmarried partner" visa.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I can't quite recall if I went to the IHS site separately but I believe I was directed to pay


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I hope you are right!!!!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you so much for your responses. We have already recorded the letter from the Home Office declining to investigate us and we registered in March.

I hope what you say is true. I think I applied for an "unmarried partner" visa.

I can't quite recall if I went to the IHS site separately but I believe I was directed to pay

Ah, okay - that explains it. You have applied for the wrong visa - so the NHS surcharge will have been refunded because the visa is being refused.

What you should have applied for is a 6-month 'Marriage' visa if you want to marry in the UK.

The 'Unmarried Partner' visa is completely different. It's a 33-month visa (with NHS surcharge) for people who are NOT planning to get married, but instead have been legally living together in a relationship 'akin to marriage' for 2 years (24 consecutive months) before applying for it.

For the Unmarried Partner visa, you need to provide evidence that you have been legally living together in the same house and in the same country for the last 2 years. The only way you would qualify for it is if your partner has been living with you in the US for 2 years on a work or student visa, or you have been living with your partner in the UK for 2 years on a work or student visa (or in a third country).

Ah! Ok. So the problems remain but at least there's an explanation. What a was. Thank you ksands


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk