Hi all
My fiancee received her visa yesterday and is moving from Michigan to UK in two weeks. Does anyone have a checklist of things that should be done upon her arrival? We have our list and want to compare it against others just to ensure we have not overlooked anything. Naturally as she is on a Fiancee visa she will live with me and won't be working.
Get her name added to a utility as soon as possible so you can receive post in her name. You need this to prove she is now resident in the UK. Then when she has proof of residence, you guys can start looking into registering to get married. This process takes some time, so don't leave it
too long, as her fiancee visa is only valid for 6 months.
While you're adding her to a utility, add her to as much as you can (but I recommend keeping your finances in separate accounts to avoid the UKC partner having their details reported to the US... joint utilities are good, joint banking is undesirable for many).
Since you'll be doing FLR(M) after you get married, make sure you continue to keep your employment up to continue to sponsor her. When the time comes to apply, you'll need a fresh batch of payslips, bank statements, employer letter (dated within 28 days of the next application), etc., so don't make any changes! This time, though, instead of chat logs and boarding passes to show how you keep in touch, you'll show official correspondence sent through the post to the both of you at the same UK address. This is why you should get her on as many bills/utilities as you can. You'll need to keep submitting this type of evidence for FLR(M)#1 right after you marry, FLR(M)#2 thirty months after the first one, and ILR after she's been on further leave for 60 months. So turn off paperless billing, get as many joint bills as you can, and save
all of your utility bills, GP letters, government agency letters, etc.
She
can register with a GP, but she is not entitled to "free" NHS care until she switches to the FLR(M) after you're married, so she will need insurance cover while she's on her fiancee visa.
