How is it cheaper to marry in the US then go to the UK

I have a question and i guess I am just really confused right now  Im in Texas, and my fiancee is in the UK..
how is it cheaper and how do you do it, to have him come here and get married and then both of us together go back to the UK.
Can we get married here just on his passport or does he have to apply for something first.

I got married in the US with just a passport. In the UK you have to have a fiancé visa and ask for permission.. of sorts.


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wow... ok... we are looking into this now.. I am so glad I found this site..
Yes, we spent 5 hours video chattin this weekend going over the Fiancee Visa and its crazy..
If we got married here, am i allowed to return home with my new husband and just file for a spousal visa while there, or will I have to come back the States to do it?
I appreciate this help so very much 

I have a question and i guess I am just really confused right now  Im in Texas, and my fiancee is in the UK..
how is it cheaper and how do you do it, to have him come here and get married and then both of us together go back to the UK.
Can we get married here just on his passport or does he have to apply for something first.

It's different for each state. I live in Louisiana and my (now husband) is a British citizen.

We were on the Fiance Visa track until we realized how much more difficult it was in regard to finances/timing. With a spousal visa (meaning you are already married when you apply for the visa) allows the US citizen moving to the UK to apply for jobs and access the UK healthcare immediately, whereas the fiance visa does not.

I was born and raised in Louisiana and my husband in the UK. When we decided to get married in the US, I visited the Clerk of Court in my town and asked them a few questions. (It might be different in Texas so please take my experience with a grain of salt!!) For me, all we BOTH needed was our original certified birth certificate/social security numbers. Since he is NOT a US citizen, he didn't have a social security #. He had to sign an affidavit to that effect. (Note: Texas might have different laws)

 When he came through US customs, he had to prove that he was NOT saying here for a prolonged period of time (i.e. a return flight to the UK) So he did not have to apply for a specific visa or fill in any forms. The US customs was really chill. He was able to land, marry me, fly back to the UK.

We had a very small informal marriage ceremony here with my family, and our big wedding is planned for 13 October in England. We were married 14 June 2018 and I submitted the online application on 15 June for SPOUSAL Visa. If you get legally married in the US you don't need to apply for fiance visa in the UK anymore! We are still awaiting an answer on my visa.

But please please double and triple check everything you plan to do! Good luck to you.

wow... ok... we are looking into this now.. I am so glad I found this site..
Yes, we spent 5 hours video chattin this weekend going over the Fiancee Visa and its crazy..
If we got married here, am i allowed to return home with my new husband and just file for a spousal visa while there, or will I have to come back the States to do it?
I appreciate this help so very much

If you are married here, you MUST apply for the visa from within the United States. If you are married here you can go back to the UK with him on your normal passport (if you two had a honeymoon over there planned/etc) but you cannot legally stay there above the normal "visitor" passport time until you submit the online application, attend biometrics, mail off your supporting documents and receive the visa in the mail.

It is all very, very, complicated. But we're here to help!!

How are you planning to budget for this? The spousal visa costed me roughly $4,000 + the plane ticket I'll need to buy once my visa is (hopefully) approved.

I have a question and i guess I am just really confused right now  Im in Texas, and my fiancee is in the UK..
how is it cheaper and how do you do it, to have him come here and get married and then both of us together go back to the UK.
Can we get married here just on his passport or does he have to apply for something first.

I realized I did not answer the "how is it cheaper" bit.

It's cheaper because on the Fiance visa track you have to pay for the fiance visa application. The fiance visa has a few more timing requirements, for example you have to be in the UK x amount of days before your wedding. The contents of the application are a bit different too. You pay the application fee which is about $3,000 if you do priority. The visa expires within 6 months, and you have to immediately apply for FLR (For leave to remain) which is an additional $3,000 or so + the International Healthcare Surcharge which is currently about $800 but will go up sometime this year.

If you marry in the US and apply as a spouse, you skip that visa entirely and go straight into Spousal Visa. It's still expensive, but you save thousands of dollars and take away those time restraints.

I hope I'm making sense. There are also many people on this forum who are more experienced than me, and they may possibly correct my statements or give better information. Be sure to read every reply!

I have the money for the Fiancee Visa i was going to apply for next month, I have moved back with my brother, sold my car. I will use that for the spousal visa with he looked into and as of now shows to be 2098.00 .
My work is paying for my flight there which takes alot of anxiety out of my life, as you can understand. I will look more into this and let you know what we come up with.
Thank you for your answers.

I have the money for the Fiancee Visa i was going to apply for next month, I have moved back with my brother, sold my car. I will use that for the spousal visa with he looked into and as of now shows to be 2098.00 .
My work is paying for my flight there which takes alot of anxiety out of my life, as you can understand. I will look more into this and let you know what we come up with.
Thank you for your answers.

Good luck!

Fiancé visa:  $2088
Priority: (processing 6-8 weeks, recommended) $793
Shipping $ 294
FLR(M) after married :  £1,033
NHS:  soon to double from £500 to £1,000
Priority if wanting to find work quickly (not recommended) £610
Total = £4,487 using priority from the US and standard in the UK. Also no work (remote or otherwise) or NHS care

Spouse visa:  $2088
Priority: (processing 6-8 weeks, recommended) $793
NHS fee £600 raising to £1,200
Shipping $ 294
Total = £3,650
can work from day 1 and use the NHS without paying

If you can get the app as a spouse in before the fee hike, you’ll save £600.  If you come as a fiancé, I’d be surprised if you sneak in before the fee hike.

Just food for thought.  In the US you can have the kind of wedding you want, honeymoon you want.  Totally different kettle of fish over here!   

 Here’s an example of the costs:

Fiancé visa (marry in UK):
-   Apply for fiancé visa (£1,523, plus £573 for priority processing if using)
-   Move to the UK
-   You cannot work or study or use the NHS for free
-   Wait 7 days to give notice to marry
-   Wait another 28 days before you can marry… but this could be extended to 70 days as you are subject to immigration control
-   Get married
-   Apply for FLR(M) visa (£1,033 plus £500 IHS surcharge (which will double to £1,000 sometime this year), plus £610 if you want to apply in person for a same-day decision. It takes about 8 weeks by post)
-   When you have your FLR(M) which is valid 2.5 years, you can now work, study and use the NHS for free
Total visa cost to get FLR(M) = between £3,056 and £4,239 (depending on priority/in person), or £3,556 and £4,739 (once IHS doubles to £1,000)
Plus cost of one flight to the UK with the visa


Spousal visa (Marry in US):
-   Fly to US without a visa (just on ESTA)
-   Get married
-   Apply for spousal visa, valid 33 months (£1,523 plus £600 HIS surcharge (soon to be £1,200), plus £573 for priority processing if using)
-   Move to the UK
-   You can work and study and use the NHS for free immediately
Total visa cost = between £2,123 and £2,696 (or £2,723 and £3,296 once IHS doubles to £1,200)
Plus cost of a round trip to the US to marry and a flight to the UK with visa

Spouse visa:  $2088
Priority: (processing 6-8 weeks, recommended) $793
NHS fee £600 raising to £1,200
Shipping $ 294
Total = £3,650
can work from day 1 and use the NHS without paying

KFDancer,

I'm curious- Do the prices on priority/shipping vary? I just did my application in June and my priority was $834, and my shipping was $265. The other costs seem to be the same.

KFDancer,

I'm curious- Do the prices on priority/shipping vary? I just did my application in June and my priority was $834, and my shipping was $265. The other costs seem to be the same.

Yes, the price is set in GBP.  Each month-ish they update the USD fees based on the exchange rate.  The dollar is stronger now.  (Booooooooooo).

My work is paying for my flight there which takes alot of anxiety out of my life, as you can understand.

Are you planning to work remotely while in the UK on the fiancée visa? Because unfortunately that is against the rules of it, you can't work until you're married and have FLR(M). I just want to make sure you know that in case it is part of your plans. I haven't heard of a company paying for a flight for an employee who is getting married, but if its just a kind gesture that's amazing

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Yes, the price is set in GBP.  Each month-ish they update the USD fees based on the exchange rate.  The dollar is stronger now.  (Booooooooooo).

Oh, I see. Boo indeed! One fear I have about my visa being refused is that I can't afford all of that again

Good vibes, good vibes

I know one thing....and that seems to be all I know today LOL... I wish all of us all the love and luck and good vibes that everything goes smoothly for all .
Check back soon for updates