Might have to do a fiancé visa now, help?

Hello!

I've been following the UK-Yankee Forum for over a year now and I'm excited to finally participate!

Background:
I've been with my fiancé for over 4 years, about 3.5 of those years have been long distance. He's English, I'm American, and we met in grad school in the UK. We got engaged in December and are starting to plan our visa journey. Ideally, I'd be moving to the UK at the end of 2020/beginning of 2021. We were originally thinking of getting legally married in the US this summer so we could do the spousal visa (as it seems most do on this forum) and then have a wedding/marriage celebration in the UK in May 2021 with family and friends (which we've already booked). However, with the change in life and travel restrictions that COVID-19 has brought on, we're starting to think that we might not be able to legally marry within the timeframe that we need to (potentially won't be able to see each other during the summer if travel restrictions continue and neither of us are able to take time off from work in the fall) in order to apply for a spousal visa.

Problem:
When I search this forum to learn more about the fiancé visa and what other people's experiences have been with it, it only pulls up posts from 2002 and 2003, which is obviously out of date information. It seems like people on this forum predominantly do spousal visas, which has been so helpful when we were originally starting to plan for that route of action, but I'm seeing very little resources for if we do in fact have to do a fiancé visa.

Questions:
1) If I'm for some reason just missing an up-to-date thread of information, could you please share?
2) Is the timeline for processing a fiancé visa comparable to that of the spousal visa?
3) How much does it cost to upgrade from the fiancé visa to a visa with marital status? And how long does that take?
4) Are you able to go on a honeymoon with a fiancé visa and then upgrade upon return? I've seen mixed information about this on other sites. (Also tried searching this on the UK-Yankee Forum and only got posts from 2004.)
5) Why do most people do the spousal visa? I assume it's for the same reasons we want to: one application, less money, ability to apply for jobs and work, etc., but I'd love to hear any more reasons why people choose it over a fiancé visa.

Basically just trying to get a clearer picture of the what the whole process looks like for the fiancé visa since there are some different and additional steps.

Sorry for the lengthy post! I hope everyone is doing well during this wild time. The visa process is stressful to begin with and I know COVID-19 must adding more stress, so best of luck to everyone who is going through the process during this time!

Thank you!

Welcome!

I'll work backwards:

Reasons we recommend a spouse visa over a fiance visa is for many reasons.  There are many MANY hoops to jump through for the fiance visa.  You have to apply for the visa (same length of time for a spouse visa as they go "in the same pile"), when you get your visa you have 6 months to:
1.  Move to the UK
2.  Get your name on the council tax or utility bill
3.  Receive the bill in the post
4.  Register notice to marry at the registrar
5.  Wait 28 - 70 days to get clearance from the Home Office to marry
6.  Marry
7.  Apply for your next visa, which is called FLR(M)

So you really CANNOT go into that with a specific date in mind, as it's all dependent on the availability at the registrar, how long it takes to get your name on a bill, how long it takes for the application to be processed, etc.  UKVI very clearly state to NOT book anything before receiving your visa.  You can provisionally book - but at your own risk.  And most wedding insurance will not cover visa issues, but it's worth checking out.

The other reasons why we recommend the spouse visa is on the fiance visa, you cannot:
Work (evenly remotely)
Study
Volunteer
and the biggest of all USE THE NHS

The tough part about the NHS is you'll go to see someone, they will insist you don't need to pay, then you apply and find out you DID need to pay and it turns into a whole circus.  They mean well, but an unpaid bill of £500 is an automatic refusal. 

Whereas you can do all of that from Day 1 with a spouse visa, PLUS you have £2000 less in visa costs and can plan your wedding for how you want it.

And yes, they changed it about 2 years ago allowing a single exit and reentry from the UK *after* you marry for a honeymoon.  But keep in mind how much you have to do within the 6 month window.... and the romance is GONE!

Welcome .

KFDancer covered most of it but just a tip for using the search function:

The basic search doesn’t work very well - as you’ve discovered it only seems to pull up really old posts.

However, if you click on the Advanced Search button underneath the search box, it will give you lots more options, including specifying how old the messages are (in days), so if you put in something like 0 to 180 days you will only get posts from the last 6 months






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Questions:
1) If I'm for some reason just missing an up-to-date thread of information, could you please share?
2) Is the timeline for processing a fiancé visa comparable to that of the spousal visa?
3) How much does it cost to upgrade from the fiancé visa to a visa with marital status? And how long does that take?
4) Are you able to go on a honeymoon with a fiancé visa and then upgrade upon return? I've seen mixed information about this on other sites. (Also tried searching this on the UK-Yankee Forum and only got posts from 2004.)
5) Why do most people do the spousal visa? I assume it's for the same reasons we want to: one application, less money, ability to apply for jobs
and work, etc., but I'd love to hear any more reasons why people choose it over a fiancé visa.

Hi,

Me and my wife did it this way in 2017. We looked into getting married in the US as well but the cost of venues in NYC was much more than in Scotland as you can imagine, so that was one reason for us doing the fiancee visa way.

Your questions,

2. I think it just depends how busy the UKVI place is in Sheffield or whereever it goes. I think ours took 53 business days, I was stressfully counting them at the time lol. We applied around March 2017 I think, I specifically remember it was approved on Friday 7th July 2017. The timeing worked out ok for us as our wedding was on October 8th 2017. But if you plan a wedding there is a chance it won't be approved in time or get refused in which case you can't legally get married.

3. For us it was £993 plus £500 NHS Surcharge, although I know the NHS Surcharge is more now. That one was approved much quicker for whatever reason, I think maybe 1 month or so.

4. We didn't at the time we were advised not too so we just went on a trip in Scotland instead, although I think this has been clarified since and you can do this? I remember seeing that somewhere. At the time it was a legal technicality that when you get married your fiancee visa is technically canceled, therefore if you leave the uk before your next visa is approved you might not get back in. As I said I think this has since been clarified.

5. As I said we looked at US venues but it was like $20000, but only £4000 in Scotland so that was one reason, plus my wife wanted to get married here I think.

Edit: I see KFDancer answered no 4. Yeah I thought I remember seeing that somewhere.

We got married in NYC for $25. Definitely depends on what you are looking at.  You can go high or low both places!

We got married in NYC for $25. Definitely depends on what you are looking at.  You can go high or low both places!

True 

One think I've always wondered, could we have just got a marriage visit visa, then my wife could have went back to New York and then applied for the spousal visa? Or is that not in the spirit of the regulations?

True 

One think I've always wondered, could we have just got a marriage visit visa, then my wife could have went back to New York and then applied for the spousal visa? Or is that not in the spirit of the regulations?

We did that because I needed to sell a house and a bunch of other stuff, but I regret it. I wish we'd just gotten married, moved and did everything else later. The wedding itself was lovely but it was very stressful. Its also worth mentioning the notice requirements are the same whether on a marriage visitor visa or a fiance visa, Scotland will let you give notice by mail though!

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True 

One think I've always wondered, could we have just got a marriage visit visa, then my wife could have went back to New York and then applied for the spousal visa? Or is that not in the spirit of the regulations?

It’s perfectly fine to do it that way, as long as you can prove you are only visiting the UK and will return to the US after the wedding. As mentioned though, the requirements to marry are still the same as the fiancé visa regarding giving notice etc.

It really just depends on which option works better for you personally:

- Marry in the US and apply for spousal visa
Or
- Marry in the U.K. on a fiancé visa and switch to FLR(M) from inside the U.K.
Or
- Marry in the U.K. on a marriage visitor visa and return to the US to apply for a spousal visa
Or
- Marry in a third country and return to the US to apply for a spousal visa


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Ah ok, that makes sense, I didn't think about the giving notice aspect, would have saved us a few hundred pounds, but would have sucked my wife having to leave again.

Hi again!

I'm revisiting this thread as months have now gone by and the opportunity for getting legally married still has not presented itself due to COVID-19 and the continued travel ban, so it is seeming more and more likely that we'll have to do a fiancé visa this fall.

I have a follow-up question for you, @KFdancer . So far, you are the only person who I've seen mention "Wait 28 - 70 days to get clearance from the Home Office to marry" as a step after arriving on a fiancé visa in order to get married. I'm wondering what exactly you mean by this? Can you further explain that process? I've read various blogs about the fiancé visa process and no one mentions this. Also, I understand that we need to get my name on various bills for proof of living together but I've only seen people talk about this in reference to applying for FLR(M) after getting married. Are you saying that we actually need this proof when looking for clearance from the Home Office to marry?

I have a follow-up question for you, @KFdancer . So far, you are the only person who I've seen mention "Wait 28 - 70 days to get clearance from the Home Office to marry" as a step after arriving on a fiancé visa in order to get married. I'm wondering what exactly you mean by this? Can you further explain that process? I've read various blogs about the fiancé visa process and no one mentions this. Also, I understand that we need to get my name on various bills for proof of living together but I've only seen people talk about this in reference to applying for FLR(M) after getting married. Are you saying that we actually need this proof when looking for clearance from the Home Office to marry?

KFDancer is talking about the residency requirements and waiting periods in order to give notice and to get married in the UK - these apply to everyone who wants to marry in the UK, including UK citizens.

- If you will be marrying in England or Wales, you must be resident in the county you will marry in for 7 days before you can give notice to marry.

- Once you have given notice to marry, there is a mandatory waiting period of 28 days before you can actually get married (this applies to ALL weddings in the UK).

- However, if you have a visa for the UK and are therefore subject to immigration control, your case may be referred to the UK Home Office for further investigation, to confirm that your relationship is genuine... and this can extend the waiting period to 70 days.

So, for weddings in England or Wales, you have to wait a minimum of 35 days after entering the country before you are allowed to get married, potentially as long as 77 days.

In Scotland, the 7-day residency period is waived, but you still have to wait 28 days from giving notice before marrying, potentially extended to 70 days if your case is referred to the Home Office.

If you have a fiance visa though, you will have already been granted permission to marry in the UK, so it's unlikely you would have to wait more than the mandatory 28 days.

See here for more information about the waiting times:
https://www.gov.uk/marriages-civil-partnerships/give-notice

Hi @ksand24 ! Thank you for responding, that makes a lot more sense now. We will live in London but hopefully still get married in Scotland. It appears that Scotland does not have residence requirements but we will still need to give notice no earlier than 3 months and no later than 28 days. Thank you for your help, this doesn't seem so bad now.

Hi @ksand24 ! Thank you for responding, that makes a lot more sense now. We will live in London but hopefully still get married in Scotland. It appears that Scotland does not have residence requirements but we will still need to give notice no earlier than 3 months and no later than 28 days. Thank you for your help, this doesn't seem so bad now.

Yes, as I said above, there is no 7-day residency requirement in Scotland, which makes things easier .

Also, you should be able to give notice by post in Scotland, whereas in England/Wales you have to give notice in person.

My brother and his wife got married in Scotland, while they were living in China (they are both UK citizens)... they were able to organise the wedding and to give notice from China and then they flew to the UK a few days before the wedding.


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We were married in Scotland as well because we could give notice by mail. (Well, FedEx, don't use the postal service for important documents!) It's a lovely place to get married.

Hi again,

I'm hopping back on this thread as I believe I read that it's best to keep all questions in the same thread so that people can see what advice has already been given. Since it is still not a possibility for us to get married in the US to do the spousal visa, we are moving forward with the fiancé visa! After 4+ years of long distance, I can't believe this is finally happening, it's so exciting!

I've filled out the application as much as I can until we have all documents ready and I have a few questions. I apologize for how long this is!

1. Is "single" the right relationship status for a fiancé visa? The wording they use to define relationship statuses is really confusing.

Their definitions are:
'Single' means that you have never been married or in a civil partnership, and that you do not currently consider yourself in a relationship; and 'Unmarried partnership' means that you currently consider yourself in a relationship but are not married or in a civil partnership.

So at first I put unmarried partner because I consider myself in a relationship, but then when I got to the document checklist, one of the items was proof that we have lived together, which obviously we haven't done. So I went back to the beginning and changed the status to single and then the checklist changed to say proof of intent to marry in 6 months. I think this is now correct, but since it was confusing, I wanted to double check here that this is the correct status.

2. For the section that asks if you've ever received medical treatment in the UK, I have two questions.

First, while on my student visa for grad school, I visited the health centre three times. I paid the required healthcare surcharge as part of my student visa so was completely authorized to access the NHS. Do I need to include these visits in this section? I've requested my health record from the university so I'm prepared to include these visits but wanted to check here.

Second, while visiting my fiancé in London in 2018 (2 years after my student visa) I went to A&E for a health emergency. I was seen by the doctor and given medicine, and was never told that I needed to pay. I hadn't thought twice about this until I started filling out the visa application. It seems that according to this NHS page (https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/nhs-services/visiting-or-moving-to-england/how-to-access-nhs-services-in-england/), that I'm in a clear standing because it was A&E. Or do I need to somehow check if I have an outstanding bill? Has anyone dealt with this before?

3. For speeding tickets, I have two speeding tickets on my driving record. Pretty straightforward circumstances: I got the ticket, I paid them, and did online driving school for one of them. I saw someone else say that they were providing a signed letter from a lawyer to address their speeding ticket. Do I need to do that if they were simple cases?

4. The application never asked me if I had ever applied for another UK visa, it only asked if I have ever applied for leave to remain in the UK in the past 10 years (which I have not). So there was nowhere for me to list my student visa. I'm assuming that we would just mention this in both of our cover letters and then they'll see it stamped in my passport. Is there anywhere else this should be mentioned?

5. My fiancé currently lives with a bunch of roommates, so we will stay with his dad until we find our own place and are using his dad's address on the application. Ideally we'd find our own place before I arrive. If we do find our own place before I arrive, is it okay that our address will no longer be his dad's address? Do we have to give notice of the new address?

6. When it asks for how many times I've traveled to the UK, does that include every time I entered the UK while on my student visa? I went home for the holidays and went on a few mini trips in grad school, so I have 7 entries just from grad school on my student visa. I'm assuming yes, but just wanted to double check. Also, I do not have a stamp in my passport for every time I've entered the UK. I'm not worried about this for my last 4 visits as US citizens were then allowed to just scan their passports when going through immigration, but when I returned from visiting Ireland in grad school, I never received a reentry stamp.

7. I know that we must get married in 6 months, but does that 6 months start from when my visa is approved or from when I enter the UK on the visa?

8. I fully trust this forum and you all are incredibly knowledgeable, so let me preface this by saying this is not a questioning your advice question it's a curiosity question. The documents checklist in the application does not say anything about a cover letter, sponsor letter, pictures, proof of communication, flight confirmations/tickets, or a letter and title deed from my fiancé's dad authorizing us to live with him. It only asks for proof of our intent to marry and the various forms of proof of my fiancé's employment and citizenship. Without this forum, I would have know idea that you need to provide those supplemental items. So how in the world would anyone know to do that on their own?? With that said, is there anywhere that we need to indicate that we are including these additional items? I think I've read that I would detail this in my cover letter. And, is there any specific order that we need to put these documents in with the required items listed on the application?

9. Is there a thread to see application timelines? I know there used to be the thread where people would give updates on the timeline of their applications but I don't see that anymore.

Once again, I'm so sorry this is so long! I really appreciate everyone who has already given advice, you're all wonderful.