Need advice on UK Visas

Forgive me for the long post but this is my first time on a forum and I wanted to give as much detail as possible in order to get the best answer. I have rang a Visa Information company but the guy on the phone sounded miserable and honestly wasn't very helpful so hopefully you guys can give me the information I need.

Basically I met my girlfriend (US Citizen) over 3 years ago and we've been dating for 2 years now. I'm a UK citizen, and we met when she was studying abroad for 5 months, I was her neighbour. After the 5 months we were in a long distance relationship for a while, with her coming to the UK to see me, before I went to the US to see her.

In September 2015 we both started a working holiday visa in Australia, and decided not to live together as we didn't want to rush in to things (we regret this massively now). We lived in Melbourne for 7 months before travelling for 2 and then living and working together in rural Queensland for 3 months. However there is no record of us actually living together as we paid cash at our place in rural Queensland, because it's all a bit dodgy out there and I was obtaining the 88 days work needed for a second year Australian Visa, while we saved up to travel elsewhere.

I have since had to come back to the UK due to a friends death, and so thought I'd try and research visas so we can look at living together permanently. As she is a US citizen she is not eligible for a second year visa in Australia, and so we plan to go to New Zealand and live and work there for up to 9 months before travelling South East Asia.

While looking at Visa options for her to come and live and work in the UK (as it seems much easier than me going and living in the US), I have discovered two options:

Either we get a Fiance visa and get married within 6 months of being in the UK

OR

We get an Unmarried Partner Visa.

(Neither of us have skills needed by either countries I don't think so cannot enter via this route)

HOWEVER

We are 25 and 24 and so not sure if we are quite ready for marriage just yet, having only been in a relationship for 2 years, although we are sure that we are the 'ones' for each other, being such a young age, we do not want to just get married just so we can continue to live and work together. Although this looks like the only feasible option.

The second option requires me (the UK citizen) to earn over £18,600 which shouldn't be a problem, BUT it does require you to prove that you have lived together in a marriage type relationship for 2 years, and there is no lenience on this, it HAS to be 2 years. But obviously with her being a US citizen and me being a UK citizen it is almost impossible for us to live and work together for 2 years. The only option I can think of is if we stayed and lived/worked in New Zealand for a year and then the following year went and did the same in Canada, both times on Working Holiday Visas. But this would require us to stay in one place in both countries in order to get the necessary documentation.

Does anyone have any advice or has been through a similar situation?
Are there any other options for us?

It's looking like a fiance visa and marriage is the easiest route but like I said we are still young. I'm thinking of going to New Zealand and continuing our plans for the next year before making that leap.

Also any info on the total costs of the Visas would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks guys x

Hi, welcome to the forum .

You're right about the Unmarried Partner visa - not many people can qualify for it... it's either for people who have lived together abroad for at least 24 consecutive months, or for people who are both living in the UK (i.e. she has a work or student visa) and have lived together in the UK for 24 months.

You mention the fiance visa, but what about just getting married abroad and then applying for a spousal visa instead, thereby skipping the need for a fiance visa altogether (the fiance visa does not allow her to work or study in the UK, and it gives no NHS access).

For example, you could move to New Zealand together, get married in New Zealand when you're ready, and then move to the UK, getting her a spousal visa to join you.

That way you don't need to live together for 2 years, and you can save yourself a visa application (by skipping the fiance visa) - it would save you about £800 (or more) in visa fees.

Be aware though that all the family-related visas require you to be earning £18,600 in the UK - whether you apply for a fiance visa, spousal visa or unmarried partner visa, you MUST meet the £18,600 requirement.

You can meet it either by:

1) moving to the UK ahead of her and working in a job paying £18,600 for at least 6 months... after this, she can apply for a fiance or a spousal visa (or unmarried partner)

OR

1) securing a UK job offer paying at least £18,600 and starting within 3 months of moving back to the UK
AND
2) proving you have earned at least £18,600 in the 12 months immediately prior to submitting the visa application, either abroad or in the UK

Welcome, your situation isn't unusual. 

And it is MUCH cheaper and easier for you to go the US than for her to come to the UK.

The financial requirements are the same no matter what visa you apply for for her to come to the UK.  You need to have been earning at least £18,600 a year for the past twelve months AND have a job to return to in the UK paying at least £18,600 a year.  This is for the fiancé visa, spouse visa, or unmarried partner visa.

Yes, to qualify for the unmarried partner visa you would need two years continuous proof of living together.  There is no getting around this.  This only works for people where one person already has the right to live and work in the UK or if you have lived together outside of the UK (valid visas needed of course).

The UK visa route to indefinite leave to remain is currently just under £6k in total but the fees are rising approximately 25% each year.  Currently an entry visa for her (whether fiancé, spouse, or unmarried partner) is £1,195 plus a £600 NHS levy.

Thanks for the welcome guys.

I knew it would be hard but didn't realise it would be even more complicated than anticipated.

With regards to earning £18,600, I feel confident I could secure a job paying that, but didn't realise I'd have to work it for 6 months until she could come over EVEN if we were married. That's 6 longggg months apart And earning that much abroad could be problematic because as a traveller in NZ it's very hard to secure a good paying job like that, but maybe it's possible.

What is the Idefinite Leave to Remain visa option? Would that still require us to be married and earning the £18,600??

Also would you be able to provide me with more information on the visa needed/requirements and total costs if I chose to go to the US and we went that route?

Thanks again so much guys you're really helping us.

Indefinite leave to remain is permanent residence, and you only qualify for it once you spend 60 months in the UK with two consecutive spouse/partner visas (30 months each).  It's the final visa you apply for once you meet the UK residency requirements, and isn't something you can apply for initially.

The UK is anti-immigration at the moment, and it's difficult and expensive to obtain a visa to move over, even if the applicant is married to a UK citizen.

What is the Idefinite Leave to Remain visa option? Would that still require us to be married and earning the £18,600??

As Aquila said, you cannot qualify for ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain) until you have lived in the UK for 5 years on spousal visas. You need 2 spousal visas of 2.5 years each, before qualifying for ILR... so you have to meet the £18,600 requirement twice. However, once you are both in the UK, your incomes can be combined to meet the £18,600 requirement. It's only the first visa that only the UK citizen's income can count.

Also would you be able to provide me with more information on the visa needed/requirements and total costs if I chose to go to the US and we went that route?

To go to the US, the visa you need depends on whether you are already married (spouse visa), whether you wish to marry in the US within 90 days (fiance visa), or if you have been married for more or less than 2 years.

You can read more about the visa options here: https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/family-immigration/
and
https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/fiancee-2/

Essentially, there is still a minimum income requirement, but it's only that the sponsor is earning at least 125% above the poverty line, which I think is around $19,000... however, you can have a co-sponsor, so if a family member meets the requirement they can use their income instead.

I believe your wife may need to return to the US to apply though. The first step is for her to file a petition for a visa to bring you to the US, which takes about 4-6 months to be approved.

Once the petition has been approved, you can apply for the visa - which involves attending a private medical exam in London with a US-Embassy-approved physician, and also a visa interview at the US Embassy in London. It can take a couple of months to get appointments and then maybe a few weeks to get the visa after that.

I think the visa costs either $265 or $325 (a fiance visa is a K visa. Not sure about spousal visas), depending on which type of visa you qualify for. The medical exam is about £300, I think (I had to have a blood test for a US visitor visa a few years ago, and that alone was about £200).
See: https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visa-fees/

You can read more about the visa options here: https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/family-immigration/
and
https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/fiancee-2/

Essentially, there is still a minimum income requirement, but it's only that the sponsor is earning at least 125% above the poverty line, which I think is around $19,000... however, you can have a co-sponsor, so if a family member meets the requirement they can use their income instead.

Fiance apparently starts at just over $16k and if you are married it's over $20k as a required income for a household of 2 people, amount goes up for each additional person.

Bear in mind that if you are going to live with family when you first move over or if they co-sponsor you, those family members (and their houehold) are included in how much money needs to be earned for the requirement.

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/affidavit-support

Income Requirements

You also must meet certain income requirements (whether you are a sponsor, a joint sponsor, or a substitute sponsor). You must show that your household income is equal to or higher than 125% of the U.S. poverty level for your household size.  (Your household size includes you, your dependents, any relatives living with you, and the immigrants you are sponsoring.)

If you, the sponsor, are on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States, and the immigrant you are sponsoring is your spouse or child, your income only needs to equal 100% of the U.S. poverty level for your household size.

To see if you are above the poverty level, see the “Form I-864P” page.

Also:
There are different earnings required whether you are married or simply engaged (fiance). From the looks of it... it also varies depending on if you are in the continental US or AK or HI.

This lawfirm has awesomely provided the amounts.

Fiance:
http://asl-lawfirm.com/fiance-visa-income-requirements/

Marriage:
http://asl-lawfirm.com/marriage-visa-income-requirements/