A plea for advice! Visa questions

Evening,

Thanks for reading my post, and advice would be much appreciated. I'll try to sum up our scenario as promptly as possible; Myself (British) and my partner Rachel (Texan) have been together for a year and are desperate for her to move over here. We have looked at various visa options - as she's an English teacher we thought that may be a route in but the UK is only looking for Science and Maths at the moment for a work visa. We are therefore concluded that getting married in the US and then applying for a UK spouse visa would be our best option.

We had hoped to do this over the summer but the current covid restrictions have put an end to that, and there is currently no light at the end of the tunnel. She has recently gone back to Texas having spend 5 months in the UK this year spread over three trips. We were hoping she could come back mid November but we now think that would put us in breach of the 6 months allowance for US citizens to visit the UK.

So that is the scenario, my questions, which I'd be hugely grateful if anyone can answer are -

Is the US marriage our best option?

After we get married (assuming it is the best option) how long before she can come over here?

What kind of finance am I going to need to facilitate the above?

Is it likely the UK government would allow her to have been here for 6.5 months this year given the covid situation or should we not chance it?

Finally does any think the UK travel ban the US is going to be lifted any time soon!   

Thank you in advance  - I'll try to return the favour to others in the future

Cheers Steve (Bristol)

Hi, welcome to UKY!

She has recently gone back to Texas having spend 5 months in the UK this year spread over three trips. We were hoping she could come back mid November but we now think that would put us in breach of the 6 months allowance for US citizens to visit the UK.

In regards to this, the general rule is to spend as much time in the UK as out, and generally no more than 6 months in a 12 month period.  However, this is general guidance, and it is possible she could be granted another visit visa upon arrival in November that's good for another 6 months.  It's up to the IO at the time, and if s/he believes the rules are being circumvented by using successive visit visas to live in the UK (which is not permitted).

As an example:

Someone visits the UK for 5 months in one go.  Spends 1 week in Paris.  Enters the UK after 1 week spent outside requesting another visa as a visitor.  It would be unlikely this person would be successful as this would be a pattern of using successive visit visas to essentially live in the UK.

Someone visits the UK for 3 months, then spends 3 months back in the US.  Returns to the UK for 2 months, then spends 3 months back in the US.  Upon a third trip requesting 2 months in the UK, it is more likely (though not certain) that the chances of being granted a visitor visa are higher than in the previous scenario based on the pattern and length of visits to the UK and time spent out of the UK.

Another option is to apply for a visitor visa in advance, so you know there won't be any surprises when she lands and she'll have prior authorization to visit. 

Is the US marriage our best option?

We typically recommend marrying in the US as it provides more benefits than going the fiance(e) visa route; however, if you are dead set on marrying in the UK (e.g. venue, relatives, etc), it is certainly feasible.  The requirements and process of applying for a UK spouse or fiance(e) visa are almost identical.  The paths are as follows:

Fiance(e) visa > FLR(M) > FLR(M) > ILR > UK Citizenship (6 months > 2.5 years > 2.5 years > Indefinite)

- You will be paying for the fiance(e) visa, 2 sets of FLR(M), ILR, and citizenship
- You cannot work or volunteer with a fiance(e) visa - you must wait until FLR(M) has been granted
- You are not entitled to use the NHS with a fiance(e) visa and must have insurance or pay out of pocket for medical expenses - you must wait until FLR(M) has been granted
- Once married in the UK, you CAN remain in the UK to apply for FLR(M)

Spouse visa > FLR(M) > ILR > UK Citizenship (2.5 years > 2.5 years > Indefinite)

- You will be paying for the spouse visa, FLR(M), ILR, and citizenship (one less visa fee than above)
- You pay the health surcharge with spouse and FLR(M) visas, so upon arrival in the UK, you can use the NHS immediately if needed
- With a spouse visa, you can work and/or volunteer in the UK immediately
- You will need to factor in the cost of travel for you to go to the US to marry

Marriage visitor visa > Visit and marry in the UK > Return to US > Apply for spouse visa in the US

- Same benefits as above

If you are keen to have her visit in the future and like the idea of a UK wedding (but not the disadvantages of the fiance(e) visa), you could look into a UK marriage visitor visa.  It allows a visitor to enter the UK and marry, but she MUST leave the UK after her visit and cannot make further applications from within the UK to remain.  If she wants to return to the UK to live, she would need to apply for a spouse visa from the US.
 

After we get married (assuming it is the best option) how long before she can come over here?

Unfortunately at the moment due to the pandemic, visa processing time is anyone's guess.  After marriage, you would apply for the visa and she could move over once the visa is granted.   

What kind of finance am I going to need to facilitate the above?

To meet the financial requirements, you would need to be earning a minimum of £18,600/year or have significant cash savings (£62,500 untouched for 6 months) if not employed at all (assuming it's just your partner you are sponsoring to move over - the threshold increases if dependent children are moving as well).  There are many ways of meeting the requirements, and the documents you need to provide will differ based on how you are meeting them (e.g. salaried employment, non-salaried, self-employed, cash savings, combining employment and savings, etc.).

Finally does any think the UK travel ban the US is going to be lifted any time soon!   

Gosh, I wish I could say.  How long is a piece of string?  With infections on the rise and second waves... who knows... 

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply much appreciated and I think it all makes sense to me.

Two things, when asking about the financial side I was more wondering the cost of all the visas just so I can make sure I have enough saved in advance - as she’s a teacher she’ll hit the income threshold without a problem.

With regards moving here after we get married - could she stay here (UK) for a couple of months whilst we wait for the spouse visa to go through, or would she have to remain in the States?

Thanks again!

Two things, when asking about the financial side I was more wondering the cost of all the visas just so I can make sure I have enough saved in advance - as she’s a teacher she’ll hit the income threshold without a problem.

The financial requirement must be met by you, the UK sponsor.  Unfortunately, unless she's contributing cash savings (or other allowed finances), her past or potential income cannot be considered.

As a general rule of thumb, with all the fees combined, we recommend to save or have a minimum of £10k for all the applications over the 5 years.  I'm not sure what the exact fee is for each visa now off the top of my head (will go look up).

With regards moving here after we get married - could she stay here (UK) for a couple of months whilst we wait for the spouse visa to go through, or would she have to remain in the States?

She would need to remain in the US while the visa application is processing.

From what I can see now, the fee for the initial spouse or fiance(e) visa is $2035.  If a spouse visa, add in the health surcharge of £400 per year.

If a spouse visa, add in the health surcharge of £400 per year.

Just to note that the health (IHS) surcharge is supposed to be increasing from £400 to £624 per year sometime in the next month or so.

So, the fees for a spousal visa will be:
£1,523 visa fee ($2035)
£1,872 IHS surcharge (£624 x 3 years... the visa is valid 2 years, 9 months, so the surcharge is rounded up to 3 years)

And for a fiance visa:
£1,523 visa fee ($2035)
No IHS surcharge, but she would need health insurance as she will not be entitled to 'free' use of the NHS while on the fiance visa.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply, I'm very grateful!

I think most our questions have been answered, the one final thing I wondered if someone had a better idea of was the process that immediately follows the marriage in the States - what is a rough idea of the timescale from that point until the visa is granted? And can she still visit the UK on a visitors visa until the point at which it is granted or does she have to stay out of the country until then?

I guess what I'm asking is how long could we potentially have to be apart for following the marriage?

Thank you all