Marriage (Fiancé) Visa - Redundancy before FLR(M)

Hi all!

I just arrived in the UK on my Marriage (Fiancé) Visa and we have just found out that my Fiancé is going to be made redundant much sooner than we ever thought. We are getting married mid/end of September and my Fiancé visa is valid until the middle of January. It looks like he will be out of his current job at the end of August (we were first thinking it would be November). He is looking for a new job right now so hopefully won't have any time in between the 2 jobs. He has also been making over the required financial requirement and we don't foresee it being a problem with a new job.

The question is, how do you put this into the application? Is it ok if he hasn't been with his new job for at least 6 months when we apply for he FLR(M)?

Thanks for your help - it's been a very stressful few days.

Julia

Hi all!

I just arrived in the UK on my Marriage (Fiancé) Visa and we have just found out that my Fiancé is going to be made redundant much sooner than we ever thought. We are getting married mid/end of September and my Fiancé visa is valid until the middle of January. It looks like he will be out of his current job at the end of August (we were first thinking it would be November). He is looking for a new job right now so hopefully won't have any time in between the 2 jobs. He has also been making over the required financial requirement and we don't foresee it being a problem with a new job.

The question is, how do you put this into the application? Is it ok if he hasn't been with his new job for at least 6 months when we apply for he FLR(M)?

Thanks for your help - it's been a very stressful few days.

Julia

I'm very sorry to hear about his job - scary times!

If he has started a new job and is able to show at the time you submit your application that he has earned £18,600 in the previous 12 months, he will still meet the requirement to sponsor you.  If he has not found a new job or earned £18,600 in the 12 months prior to the application, you will need to return to the USA until he can sponsor you to return again.

Can you marry NOW and submit the FLR(M) ASAP (in person ideally) before he is made redundant?

I'm very sorry to hear about his job - scary times!

Can you marry NOW and submit the FLR(M) ASAP (in person ideally) before he is made redundant?

I agree.  I'd serve notice, make plans as soon as you can in line with residence requirements and get legally married ASAP and spend the extra money to apply in person before your partner's redundancy.

If you're planning a wedding celebration you can still have that in September and if you'd prefer, there's no reason for friends and family to know that the legal hoopla was a few weeks earlier.  Once you have your FLR(M) & BRP in hand you can apply for work too and hopefully with both of you being able to work you'll have your ducks in a row in a calmer manner when you next apply in 2.5 years.

Thanks for your quick answers! Yes it is a very scary time. We haven't done the registration yet for our marriage and that has to be done at least 28 days before we marry so we are looking at doing it asap and we have no problem paying extra to do the FLR(M) appointment in person. Glad to know that it just has to be the amount over 12 months - takes a load off my shoulders! Thanks!!!!

Thanks for your quick answers! Yes it is a very scary time. We haven't done the registration yet for our marriage and that has to be done at least 28 days before we marry so we are looking at doing it asap and we have no problem paying extra to do the FLR(M) appointment in person. Glad to know that it just has to be the amount over 12 months - takes a load off my shoulders! Thanks!!!!

Over the 12 months prior to application AND he needs to have secured another role.  That's the bit that could be a bit trickier.  He needs to take ANYTHING that will secure that, at least until you have your FLR(M) in hand.

Over the 12 months prior to application AND he needs to have secured another role.  That's the bit that could be a bit trickier.  He needs to take ANYTHING that will secure that, at least until you have your FLR(M) in hand.

And don't forget that the new job must also pay at least £18,600.

So, he needs to meet 2 requirements:
- he has a new job paying at least £18,600 before tax
AND
- he has earned at least £18,600 before tax in the last 12 months

I'm very sorry to hear about his job - scary times!

If he has started a new job and is able to show at the time you submit your application that he has earned £18,600 in the previous 12 months, he will still meet the requirement to sponsor you.  If he has not found a new job or earned £18,600 in the 12 months prior to the application, you will need to return to the USA until he can sponsor you to return again.

Can you marry NOW and submit the FLR(M) ASAP (in person ideally) before he is made redundant?

I think we are now going to try and get married ASAP - planning on doing the pre-wedding registration early next week.

Question on making the in person appointment: I see where I pay for the IHS surcharge, is the part where I book the in person appointment just after paying the IHS surcharge or is it through a separate website? Do we pay for the 1033 pound fee at this time or in person at the appointment?

Thanks!!

I think we are now going to try and get married ASAP - planning on doing the pre-wedding registration early next week.

Question on making the in person appointment: I see where I pay for the IHS surcharge, is the part where I book the in person appointment just after paying the IHS surcharge or is it through a separate website? Do we pay for the 1033 pound fee at this time or in person at the appointment?

Thanks!!

It's separate, you pay at the time of booking. You should use the paper form FLR(M).

Hi again!

My fiancé is having a hard time with the idea of getting married ASAP and doing the FLR(M) appointment hopefully at the end of August or beginning of September. He thinks he will be able to work a week or 2 in September and will be getting a lot of redundancy money on his pay-stub at the end of September. He also thinks he can get a job in October so there wouldn't be a month where he didn't receive a paycheque. Assuming, that he could still get the required monthly wages, is it fishy for him to have a several week gap in employment and have a ton of income in 1 month (from his redundancy) and then a different job? It sounds odd to me and I really would hesitate to try it and see at the appointment sometime after October.

I know this is such an odd situation - thanks for any advice!!

It's a massive risk.  If he doesn't get a new job before you apply that meets the requirement, you will have to return to the USA until he is able to sponsor you to bring you back.

That being said, if he's not ready to marry, he's not ready to marry.  Not going to lie, to me this would be a warning sign!  He's relying on a lot of things falling into place smoothly (which will hopefully happen), instead of taking the bull by the horns and controlling the situation to secure your future with him and in the UK.

Why doesn't he want to get married right away?

I agree that it's a huge risk.  It's one I wouldn't want to take.

That being said, my sister got married early for tax reasons and her husband had trouble "lying" to friends and family so ended up telling everyone.  He had this idea of a perfect wedding, perfect whatever, and that being The Real Deal.  Doing it early for practical reasons played on his mind a lot even though it's quite common and perfectly valid.  Why does your partner not want to get married now and mitigate your visa risk, separation, and additional cost (flights, a place for you stay, etc) if you having to go back to the US for a couple / few months?

secure your future with him and in the UK.

Yes 100% agree. I would be worried why there is even any hint of hesitation. Why risk something this important when there is a clear path ahead, regardless if it’s not the one you wanted to take.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi again!

My fiancé is having a hard time with the idea of getting married ASAP and doing the FLR(M) appointment hopefully at the end of August or beginning of September. .

You are here on a fiancee visa so it's not as if he was going to have long before the wedding anyway! 

If it's the idea of a quickie ceremony he's not into, you can still have whatever celebration you had planned later too but I agree with the others, get the legal part taken now while you know that you can. 

Thanks everyone for your advice. It's as Larissa said - he is very sentimental and wanted our big day to be the one with all or our friends and didn't want to "lie" but I've explained it's just the official part. He has trouble with making decisions so it's just the moving things up and logistics that freaks him out. He's been super excited about the wedding ing general which has been great. I'm going to do the registration on Monday and hopefully also make our appointment online ASAP. Thanks again!!

I think the visa process breaks you of sentimentality over the traditional things.  It becomes an exercise in practicality to some extent as you have to forego the typical relationship patterns and timings that others may get to choose including living together, where and how to marry and when to take a honeymoon.

By all means, make your legal ceremony mean something special and sentimental to the two of you.  Or make plans to pretend it never happened and don't celebrate it.  But I would encourage you not to jeopardise your visas and stay in the UK for the sake of moving the legalities forward by 2-5 weeks.  If the worst case were to happen and your partner couldn't get a job in time you face spending a not insignificant percentage of your first year married living thousands of miles apart.